Today's Reading: Exodus 20
"God is Numbah One"
The Ten
Commandments are comprised of ten concise and powerful statements which cover a
range of topics, including the worship of God, the sanctity of life, and the
importance of respecting others. The Commandments are an expression of God's
will for His people and serve as a guide for how we should live our lives in
relationship with God and with one another. They are considered to be the
foundation of the moral code in Judaism and Christianity.
The first of
these Commandments, “you shall have no other gods before me,” sets the
foundation for the entire set of Commandments. It is a call for the Israelites
to worship and serve only one God, and to not place any other gods or idols
before Him. In Hawaiian pidgin, this verse is translated, “God is Numbah One.”
This emphasizes the preeminence of God as the number ("numbah") one pursuit over all other things, persons,
or pursuits.
This
commandment applies to us today, as it reminds us of the importance of
prioritizing our relationship with God above all else. In today's world, there
are many things that can compete for our attention and devotion, such as
material possessions, career success, or relationships. However, this Commandment
reminds us that nothing should take the place of God in our lives.
To apply
this commandment to our lives, we should seek to make God the center of our
lives and prioritize our relationship with Him above all else. This means
devoting time to prayer, studying the Bible, and seeking His will for our
lives. We should also be aware of anything in our lives that might be competing
for our devotion to God and work to remove those distractions.
In Matthew
22:37-38 (ESV), Jesus says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and
first commandment."
Jesus is
essentially emphasizing the same message as the first Commandment, but He expands
upon it by adding the importance of loving God with all of our heart, soul, and
mind. This means that we should not only avoid placing any other gods before
Him, but we should also love and worship Him wholeheartedly. This statement
emphasizes the importance of prioritizing God above all other things.
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