And God spoke all these words:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:1-3
Dave and Charlie both worked for my father in retail establishments in LaFollette many years ago. Both were fairly clever men. I’m not certain which one made the statement that I wish to relate to you, so I must give equal billing. A customer asked one of them for directions. He replied after some thought that “I will have to start you out from the Royal Pool Room.” The implication was that no one began a journey before checking in at the Pool Room. The Royal was the civic communication center for LaFollette and one could receive the most up to date and helpful information there.
As background for Exodus, Chapter 20, God had recently rescued 2 million people from Egyptian slavery. The majority were descendants from Abraham and Sarah who were pagans that lived in southern Iraq hundreds of years before. God had established a covenant arrangement with this pair that was extended to their descendants. God was now making good His promise to them. God had promised them both a land and prosperity but both depended upon their obedience to God who had called them. He had given to Moses, His chosen servant, His requirements written in stone by His own hand. We know them as the 10 Commandments.
The first of the declarations was that he and he alone was worthy of worship and there would be no toleration of other gods as equals or subordinates. The truth of mankind’s history is that he will always worship. Even the most primitive of people on analysis have been shown to worship something that they consider superior to themselves. But what is God’s claim to be the One True God?
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis 1:1-2
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
7 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26-27
God in His autobiography in early Genesis does not attempt to prove that He exists but discloses that He is Creator of all that is visible and invisible and of mankind himself.
The why of mankind’s creation is revealed by the disclosure that he is created in the image of God. Man therefore can show love, procreate life and emulate the very light of God. Why would God create us knowing of our subsequent disobedience and fall from grace? We are God’s love object and the means for fellowship and glorification of God.
Since God is our Creator, it is He who has the right of judgment over us. He therefore has the right to dictate to us that our worship must be directed to Him alone. He tolerates no rivals. At a later time, God laid out His credentials for demanding our worship of His person. In the Book of Job, Job demanded an audience with God requesting an answer to why he suffered. Beginning in Job, Chapter 38 God does not respond to the question directly but questions Job.
The LORD Speaks
Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-
while the morning stars sang together and all the angels] shouted for joy?
Job 38:1-7
The basic question relates to whether Job has the right and is qualified to question God. Job responds in silence for his knowledge is meager.
Before we step further back in time, let me mention one other critical point. Some have belittled the Old Testament as being myth and fanciful and not factual. If you have considered this possibility, let me pose a question before your mind. Can myth be God inspired? Cast your eye on
Job 38:16
“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Now, Job had not ventured there nor you and I as well. In the 2003 February edition of the National Geographic Magazine, springs on the floor of the ocean were captured by underwater photography unavailable until this modern era. Up until this time, only God knew they were there. This fact alone makes the fictional nature of this book unlikely in my understanding.
Based upon His credentials as Creator of all that is good, God demands that He alone should be the focus of mankind’s worship. He is intolerant of all rivals and acknowledges no subordinate gods. This simply decries the acceptance of more than one object or person as being worthy of worship. God tolerates no rivals.
Within Christianity, we embrace the singular nature of God but declare that He is triune. God is of three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are not three Gods but God is of Three Eternal Persons who share fellowship with each other.
Recall that we are made in the image of God and consist of three parts: body, soul and spirit. God demands that we worship Him alone but contemplates our perfection so that we may be in eternal fellowship with Him by faith in Jesus as our Savior. It is God’s desire to save us from sin, Satan, and ourselves. His solitary worship is demanded.
