Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Do not have other gods besides me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands. Exodus 20:1-6
A Guide to Eliminating Strongholds
All throughout the Bible God warns his people about the stronghold of idolatry. This is because he knew we would possibly struggle with this stronghold most of all. At the root of most sin is idolatry – when we worship ourselves most of all by indulging in wrong things to feel better or to get what we want instead of surrendering to our Heavenly Father and his will for our lives. We want what we want when we want it. We can be patient for a little while but when the waiting draws out, instead of drawing to God, we sometimes get drawn to idols.
When Moses led the Israelites out of the bondage of slavery and into the wilderness, God gave them rules, or guidelines to follow because he knew they did not need to be without guidance. We need his moral instruction and guidance, and The Ten Commandments are part of the guidance he gave them. We have a God in heaven who expects moral behavior as representatives of him and his kingdom, and there are consequences to both – obeying or disobeying his commands. The Ten Commandments along with the whole Bible contains everything we will ever need for guidance in this life. We can go to the Bible for answers for any circumstance we might come up against. The Ten Commandments provide the guidance we need to eliminate strongholds and live The Jesus Way.
God speaks of idolatry first in this list of commands and that shows the importance of guarding against this stronghold. He starts by reminding them of who he is - I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Pastor Jim told us Sunday that forgetting the Lord is one reason we turn to idols. We quickly forget all he has done and who he is when things get tough. Making an intentional effort to keep him at the forefront of our thoughts and actions will help us not to forget who he is when things get hard. If we do that we will be far less likely to fall into the stronghold of idolatry.
Every word in God’s word is intentional and for our benefit. He gave us moral instruction and guidance. He has shown us how to serve and love. We have everything we need to help us eliminate strongholds if we follow his commands in obedience. When we know his word, study his word, memorize his word and write it on our hearts, this will help us to stand in our faithfulness, eliminate the stronghold of idolatry, and live The Jesus Way.
