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What on Earth Am I Here For?
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Sunday, September 7, 2003
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank you for this week of study of the life of Moses! I pray that as Moses was faithful to You and filled with Your Spirit, that You would fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I, too, may be faithful. I pray that I may have the resolve of Moses, who listened to You steadfastly even when thousands of people murmured and spoke against You. I pray that I may be a leader for You, that will bring You glory and honor. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Verses*
Exodus 20:1-6
1Then God instructed the people as follows:
2“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.
3“Do not worship any other gods besides me.
4“Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. 5You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. 6But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations.
Exodus 23:23-24
23For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them. 24Do not worship the gods of these other nations or serve them in any way, and never follow their evil example. Instead, you must utterly conquer them and break down their shameful idols.
Exodus 34:12-17
12“Be very careful never to make treaties with the people in the land where you are going. If you do, you soon will be following their evil ways. 13Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash the sacred pillars they worship, and cut down their carved images. 14You must worship no other gods, but only the LORD, for he is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you.
15“Do not make treaties of any kind with the people living in the land. They are spiritual prostitutes, committing adultery against me by sacrificing to their gods. If you make peace with them, they will invite you to go with them to worship their gods, and you are likely to do it. 16And you will accept their daughters, who worship other gods, as wives for your sons. Then they will cause your sons to commit adultery against me by worshiping other gods. 17You must make no gods for yourselves at all.Reflecting on Worship
What do you suppose it would have been like to worship God out in the wilderness as one of the Israelites traveling to the promised land?
Exploring Worship
What specific commands do the Lord give the Israelites regarding worship in Exodus 20:1-6
What specific commands did God give the Israelites concerning worship in Exodus 23:23-24
What specific commands did God give the Israelites concerning worship in Exodus 34:12-17
Understanding Worship and My Purpose
Why do you suppose it was so crucial for the Israelites not to have anything to do with the people in the lands they were to inherit, or their worship, but only to worship the LORD?
What do you suppose would have been the most difficult aspect of fulfilling God’s commands to Moses regarding worship?
Applying Worship to My Daily Life
What is the most important application to your daily worship from today’s Scripture reading?
Moses and Worship
God made it clear to Moses and the people of Israel that worship belongs to Him and to Him alone. God knew the power that “tolerance” has to water down our faith and lead us to idolatry. In our day, tolerance is such a key concept being drilled into us and our children. Actually, tolerance is a good thing if it means to tolerate another’s viewpoints, to let them peacefully co-exist with us. But in our day tolerance has come to be a synonym for acceptance. This is precisely the concern that God’s commands to Moses regarding worship sought to avoid. For God, there is absolutely no truth that “all paths lead to the top of the mountain.” He is the only God, as Jesus put it so clearly, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” There are not multiple entry points to heaven. There is one. There are not two, ten or dozens of “gods. There is one. God wanted to make certain that His people were “monotheistic” that is worshiping only one God, with that God being He. As we read the representative Scriptures from Exodus today we see that God’s concern for an exclusive relationship between Himself and the people of Israel is reiterated time and time again. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters…” The statement is still true. God, and God alone must be first in our lives, and we can tolerate no other understanding than that, if we are His children. We certainly want to co-exist with others, and our ultimate God is to introduce them into the great God we serve, that they may know Him as well!
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