No other gods, only me. (Exodus 20:3 The Message)
False gods and idols may seem an archaic subject to our post-modern view of the world and the times in which we live. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Idolatry abounds; the worship of false gods, if anything, has intensified in these years of the 21st century. What we may be inclined to deem an ancient worldview of civilizations long ago continues with us today.
In the story of Exodus, God leads his enslaved people out of Egypt through Moses. In their journey they were led to Sinai, the mountain of God. With the people gathered at the foot of the mountain, God and Moses met. From that meeting Moses came to the people with the “Ten Words” or “Ten Commandments”. These words were to define the identity and life of this people--a set-apart people of God.
The message of God through Moses to the people begins with God identifying himself as the God who brought the people out of Egypt. What follows is the first of the commandments, “No other gods, only me.” (Here I refer to this from Peterson’s Message for its blunt and stark pronouncement.) There is neither room for nor additions to be considered. God! This God and only this God!
As we know, Israel’s story from this point onward can be seen for the continuing failure to observe this first word. False gods and idolatry, accompanied by autonomy, degradation, injustice, and confusion, lead them into exile from their land and from their God. Such may be our appraisal of these ancient people and their story. Oh, we may look upon all this with varying degrees of seriousness, but almost certainly, we are tempted to dismiss the relevance of their story for us today.
False gods and idols are then and now. Certain images from civilizations and cultures may be relegated to antiquity, but what they represent are readily sought and worshipped. The false gods may be designated in various ways, but their association with sex, power, and wealth continues with us in saturating persistence. The lure of the false gods and the idols of our making entice their adherents with promises of pleasure, safety, and security. And yet, time and again, their promises have dissipated with exposure to time and circumstance. And so, they will.
Before I end, I think it is important to sum up at heart what our allegiance to false gods and the worship of idols does to us: it reduces us into being less that we are. When we give our allegiance and worship to false entities we give over our calling and responsibility as those created in the image of God to that which is lesser than ourselves. We cheapen ourselves; we lessen who we are in our turning from God. All such is the result of a defiance that diminishes the God who is, “I am.”
Be assured, peace will not be known in the allegiance to the false gods and idols of our age or any age. These offer merely a mirage of life only to deliver nothing more than false peace.
Peace be with you.