You shall not bow yourself to them nor serve them, for I, Jehovah your God, am a jealous God Deuteronomy 5:9 Bow – Serve – Idolatry comes in two related flavors. The first is shachah, to bow down in submission or reverence or worship. Hollywood has exploited this flavor of idolatry with its scenes of…
1 Peter 5:7 One of the wonders of the Bible is that in spite of multiple writers, various historical periods and different cultural backgrounds, there are only a few themes that weave in and out of every book. We can usefully picture these themes as threads woven into a great tapestry. Every thread contributes to…
Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19 Doing – What an important verse this is! Not…
You shall not make for yourself an image Deuteronomy 5:8 Image – It’s all connected. Let me show you how. Idolatry is the substitution of devotion to something other than God. Keep that in mind as we look at a story from the life of Moses. In Exodus 33:23, God fulfills Moses’ request to see…
You shall not make for yourself an image Deuteronomy 5:8 NASB Image – What is an idol? We certainly recognize the idols of ancient religions. The Hebrew word here (pesel from pasal, meaning “to cut or hew”) makes it clear that the initial emphasis of the commandment deals with all those sacred objects men make…
You shall have no other gods besides Me. Deuteronomy 5:7 Other Gods – An axiom of human resource management applies here. People almost always do what they believe to be in their best interest. When you aren’t getting the behavior you desire from others, use this axiom to discover why they think behaving as they…
“In this world you have affliction” John 16:33 If you knew the whole picture, you might change your mind. Christianity as commonly presented in the Western world is a religion of reward. We hear about the blessings of being a Christian. We are exhorted to enter into the abundant life, to experience God’s gracious provision,…
You shall have no other gods besides Me. Deuteronomy 5:7 Besides Me – In Hebrew literature, this is the first word of the Ten Words; those saying that we commonly call The Ten Commandments or The Decalogue. The first Word is all about loyalty and exclusivity. This phrase in the first “word” is very difficult…
You shall have no other gods besides Me. Deuteronomy 5:7 No – It’s too bad that we can’t read this verse in Hebrew. If we could, we would see that it begins with the most important word in the verse, and that word is not You. It is the Hebrew word lo, which means “no.” …
The Talmud suggests that the definition of Man is “the creature who prays”. This idea sets the stage for understanding what prayer really is. Prayer is the defining characteristic of what it means to be human. In other words, to be truly human is to be in communication with the Creator. Men and women who…
