Sixteenth-century reformer John Calvin wrote, “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols”. There is an attraction in every culture and society to look to other gods or sources for guidance and provision. This might look like using tarot cards to predict your future, relying on astrology, or making your intentions known to “The Universe.” Today’s business world is filled with individuals who often, like the people of Yahweh in Exodus, try to synchronize belief in God with other more tangible representations of His presence. Or, they simply worship another deity or divine representative altogether. You and I need to be discerning and careful to not engage in these types of idolatrous beliefs and practices. True faith in God is, by definition in Scripture, exclusive (“You shall have no other gods before me” Ex 20:3).
But the reality is, we can literally turn anything into another god or idol. Success, sex, power, status, money, affirmation, our own bodies, religion, work, and on and on it goes.
After Jethro’s advice to Moses in Exodus 18, the people of God remained in the wilderness of Sinai. This was now three months after their deliverance from Egypt. Yahweh was in the process of preserving them and setting them apart from the pagan people groups around them. He referred to His people as a “treasured possession” and a “holy nation” (19:5-6). Yahweh desired that His people would pursue moral excellence as a means of reflecting His own character to a watching world. So, the narrative of Exodus shifts now in chapters 20-31 to focus on this specific covenant community and the ways that they should worship and work together.
Exodus 20 records perhaps the most well-known set of instructions given by God—the Ten Commandments (or Ten Words). Like a national constitution, these words from God outlined key instructions for how the new people of Yahweh should interact with Him and with others. This was for the purpose of creating a society that existed for God’s glory and the good of all.
The first word addressed God’s exclusive claim for service and allegiance from His people (“You shall have no other gods before me” 20:3). In a culture that possessed and worshiped multiple national, family, and personal gods, Yahweh demanded supreme worship. To be truly separate and distinct, God’s people could not follow any other form of divine representation. Fast-forward to chapter 32 and read about an instance where the people of God formed a golden, calf-shaped idol. There, Yahweh revealed again that He was a jealous God (“whose name is Jealous” 34:14). He alone was worthy of worship, commandment number one states.
Yahweh’s fourth word reminded His people of the richness of rest (“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” 20:8). This rest day was instituted from the very beginning—we considered it in Devotional 4. Now some 2,500 years after the Garden of Eden, the people of God were to implement this day of rest as a “sign” of God’s covenant with them (31:12-17). Sabbath was to be a lifestyle and mindset demonstrating that the people belonged to Yahweh and were sustained by His hand. On this side of Egypt, the weekly Sabbath was to be a means of remembering their redemption from slavery. Slaves were to be freed (21:2), and every seven years the land was not to be cultivated for a year (23:10-11). This was a pattern of work and rest.
With the tenth and final word, Yahweh instructed His people not to covet what did not belong to them, which included houses, spouses, and possessions (20:17). Coveting (wanting, craving, desiring) in general was not prohibited. However, desiring things that were not theirs was a sin. This addresses an issue of mind and heart and is connected to the first word dealing with worshiping other gods.
Yahweh wanted His people to trust Him as their provider and curtail their desires for the good of the broader community.
In today’s culture, the early 19th-century philosophy of manifestation (Law of Attraction) has become increasingly popular. The basic premise is that there is a universal inter-relatedness without a central deity. As a result, we can create our own reality by carefully controlling our thoughts, beliefs, and desires. This is sometimes associated with mindfulness, meditation, and visualization. What might appear on the surface as positivity has roots fixed in manifesting things or experiences that we don’t currently have, the essence of a covetous heart. Marketing and sales experts might say the reason
you aren’t successful yet, is because you haven’t attracted or manifested success. Be careful with this kind of thinking and with practices such as vision boards, which can be helpful in setting goals, but can often be a means of highlighting the idols of our heart.
What other gods are you most tempted to worship, to depend on? If you’re like me, this is an ongoing battle because our hearts and our culture are continually pumping out new idols. You might believe in God and His Word, but are also relying on things that are more tangible, that you can hold and physically experience. Even some of our worship experiences have been so influenced by sensuality, me-centered individualism, consumerism, materialism, etc. I would argue that when that is the case, it is not true worship of God, but rather a syncretistic, idolatrous form of worship. May God give us the discernment we need to know the difference and the grace we need to repent.
[This is adapted from Volume 1/Devotional 15, The Danger of Desire, from The Wisdom Calling Devotional Series. You can find more information at www.wisdomcalling.org.]