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Making the right choices – Ten Words
Word # 2 No idols!
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (Exodus 20:4)
The first two commands that Israel received were clearly in connection with the unique supremacy of God. Israel was given the unquestionable command to never entertain any other deities by participating in idolatry or placing images and idols before the true and living God. The entire Bible gives witness to this abominable question of idolatry which is a fundamental tool of the enemy to dethrone God and dehumanise mankind.
This second Word is a strong protest against idolatry and materialism through which we can become enslaved. The god behind money, which Jesus revealed as mammon, likes to work through material things, our possessions, which can become idols. We think we control them, but they actually have the potential to control us.
The writer of the psalms very graphically described the nature of idols. “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.” (Psalm 115:4-8)
Idols promise much, but they are empty promises. They do not deliver.
An idol is whatever you look at and say in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning; then I’ll know I have value; then I’ll feel significant and secure.”
Idols are the things that distract you from God. They capture your affection and distract your passion away from Him. Idols are what consume you instead of being preoccupied with God.
An idol is that thing in your life that you look at and say, “If I can only obtain that, then my life will be fulfilled and I will have peace and happiness.” That is a demonic lie because the only way we can find true purpose and happiness in life is through a relationship with God. The Creator, not creation, is the only One that can fulfill our deep longings in life.
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About this Plan
One of the most famous sections in the Bible can be found in Exodus 20, often called the Ten Commandments. The Bible does not call them ’the Ten Commandments,’ but ‘The Ten Words.’ These ‘Ten Words’ or instructions God gave form the basis for making right choices, the foundation on which to make good practical, moral, and ethical decisions, personally and for your family, business and society.
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