The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/deuteronomy/2.htm

In Chapter 2, Moses reviews their journey through the wilderness and the battle with King Sihon.

In Chapter 3, Moses reviews their battle with King Og, as well as how the promised land was divided between the tribes. He also relates how he became angry and struck the rock, and how because of that, God denied him entry into the promised land.

In Chapter 4, Moses reviews the importance of being obedient to Gods laws and Commands, and he warns specifically to be wary of idolatry. This is because the land of Canaan, which they are entering, was full of pagans who worshiped idols like Baal. And he knew the childred of Israel would have a difficult time with that because they already had; they worshiped a golden calf they made at the base of Mt. Sinai, and then they began fraternizing with the women of Moab and worshipping their idols. Moses knew it was important to remind them against idols and to reinforce that command.

In Chapter 5, the Ten Commandments are repeated and reviewed. Today, we review the first Commandment.

6‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage. 7‘You shall have no other gods [b]before Me.

Some might immediately think of other deities besides our Christian God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; god’s such as Budda, the many gods of the Hindu religion, and others. Throughout history, it is estimated that humans have worshiped over 3,000 gods. Notice I spell the word “god” in lower case, because I am a Christian, and I believe our God, the Abrahamic God, is the only one Holy and therefore the name “God” is capitalized.

But are there other “gods” we might fall to worship that God is warning us about? One of Merriam Websters definition of “god” includes;

“specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality like Greek gods of love and war” We know the Greeks had many god’s they worshiped such as Apollo, Athena, and Diana. And a “god” doesn’t necessarily need to be a human figure.

Another definition in Merriam Webster is;

“a person or thing of supreme value, as inn ‘he had photos of baseball’s gods pinned to his bedroom wall’”.Notice the wording “thing”. A thing can be a god to us if we worship it or spend more time with it than we do with out Christian God.

How many people spend more time on their phone than they do praying or reading scripture?

How many people worship television? Is that a “thing” of supreme value. Would we be more upset that our television borke, or would we be more upset that someone spilled a drink on our Bible.

How many people worship food or alcohol? (I have a problem with food, I confess.)Jesus said it is easier for a “camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven.” How many in our society have a collection of jewelry or collectible autos, or antiques? Do we worship our possessions more than we worship our God?

And some of us worship people; movie stars, musicians, and even pastors. There, unfortunately, are several mega-church pastors that are worth millions of dollars because people worship them and donate money to them.

So when God says “you shall have no other gods before me?”, stop and think, do you have a “god” in your life that you value or that controls you? If so, you might ask for forgiveness, the work on distancing yourself from those “gods”.

If you’re a drug addict or alcoholic, get sober.

If you’re a glutton, cut back and eat only what is needed to live.

If you have an expensive jewelry collection, or antique collection, perhaps you should think about spending an equal amount of money (or more) on the poor and needy, or on church donations,

The word “god” doesn’t necessarily mean just another deity. It is anything you worship greater than your worship of God.