10 Commandments
Morning Fuel – Exodus 20:5 – God Is Jealous
In Exodus 20, God is giving ten commandments to the Israelites. After he gives the second commandment (don’t worship idols), he then explains WHY in verses 5. He says, “…for I the Lord your God am a jealous God…” What he is saying is that he doesn’t want us to worship other “things” because he wants the worship for himself. He is a JEALOUS God. What does it mean for God to be jealous? After all, didn’t Paul say in…
Morning Fuel – Exodus 20:4-5 – God Cannot Be Contained
In Exodus 20:4-5, God continues the Ten Commandments by giving commandment two. He says, “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…” So in commandment 1, God says that we should worship only him. That we should not put anything or anyone else to his level. No one else deserves our worship!…
Morning Fuel – Exodus 20:3 – No Other Gods
God says in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.” This is the first of the 10 Ten Commandments. The word “gods” refers to exactly that: gods. Supreme beings. God is referring to not putting anyone or anything up to the level of himself. This was a major temptation for the Israelites, and later on we see it play out in Judges (among other places). Most of the time, the Israelites would not flat-out reject God and…
Morning Fuel – Exodus 20:2 – I Am The God
In Exodus 20:2, God says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” These words are his introduction to the 10 Commandments. Notice it’s a SHORT introduction. Before he lays out the ten most important commandments for the Israelites, he simply says, “Hey, I am the Lord.” The English word that we translate into “Lord” is the Hebrew word Yahweh. Yahweh is God’s “personal” or “proper” name. Just like my…