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Exodus 20:1-5

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me.”

Our passage today contains the first commandment of the Ten Commandments, given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. God begins with the clear statement, “I am the Lord your God.” And then the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” God’s reasoning is this, “For I the Lord your God am a jealous God.” Later, in Exodus 34:14, God told Moses, “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (El Kanna).”

Jealousy, tainted by man’s sin, is a character flaw. Jealousy causes us to want things that are not ours. It embitters us to the person that has them. In Galatians 5, Paul calls jealousy an act of the “flesh.” However, for God, jealousy is not marred by sin. It is his perfect desire for us to be his people and for him to be our God. He is God, and there is no other. Our search for other gods leads us to emptiness. God wants us to be filled with him. He passionately loves us. Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 4:24, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

God, whose name is Jealous, loves you so much that he sent his Son to die for you on the cross. He yearns for you to know him and love him. He desires for you to find your significance and security in him. He wants you to know that he accepts you for who you are and desires to forgive and empower you with his Spirit. It is time to get rid of any other gods in your life. The Lord God is a jealous God. He is El Kanna.

Lord God,

Show me anything or anyone in my life that I hold as a god. Show me any habit, possession, person that I place before you. Help me to serve you and you alone. Help my love burn passionately for you just as your love burns passionately for me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Can we pray for you? Email us at prayer@ronmoore.org.

Today‘s Journey Message:

Do We Really Need to Talk About This? – Part 1