God Comes First
A sermon for the chapel worship at the McAfee School of Theology
From Exodus 20:1-3
September 1, 2009 Rev. Dr. Robert H. Walker, Jr.
1Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3"You shall have no other gods before Me.
Setting the stage:
Israel, the fugitive nation of run-away slaves has found itself deep in the wilderness. Moses had told Pharaoh that they wished to go three days journey to worship their GOD, they had now indeed traveled for three months and find themselves at the base of Mt. Sinai. As they are settling in to their encampment, the pattern for their life with God is being established:
- Remember that it is YHWH who saved you;
- Obey YHWH’s voice;
- Keep YHWH’s covenant;
- Live as the blessed people of YHWH;
- Become a Holy kingdom of priests.
They also have a pattern of worship established:
Worship in the ancient world is reserved for the perceived source(s) of power that effected people’s lives. In worship people sought to pay homage to these powers seeking their blessing, and they paid attention to these powers seeking to gain knowledge and wisdom. It is with this understanding of the ancient mindset that the pattern of worship for Israel is set in chapters 19 &20:
- Call to worship;
- Consecration for worship;
- Coming together for worship;
- Creation of consecrated spaces (just like in the tabernacle & temple – congregation, priests, high priest)
- Calling of God to the people;
- Consternation of the people in the presence of God;
- Calming assurance of the from the priest to the people;
- Commitment of the people to God. “All that YHWH has spoken to us we will do”
Hearing what was said:
- I Am YHWH – Yahweh or Jehovah depending on your linguistic preference
- I Am Your GOD
- Not Ra, Hathor, Sekhmet, Nut, Geb, Osiris, Seth, Horus, Isis, Toth, Anubis
- Not Dagon, Baal, Ashtaroth, El Elyon, Lotan, Molech, Athirat, Yam, Mot
- I Am the Source of your Salvation
- I have already saved you
- My laws are not a means of salvation, rather they are to shape your life as saved people.
- I Am to be First in your life
- Literal trans. “There are not to be to you other gods in my presence.” John I. Durham
- Henotheistic demand to be the first among all the perceived gods
- Not in an effort to receive salvation, but in response to salvation recieved
What we need to hear today:
- I Am the LORD
- The personal LORD that has been revealed to you in Jesus Christ, as testified to you through: the Holy Spirit; the scripture; the church; the saints; and your life’s experiences
- I am your God
- I Am not your:
- Theology or worldview
- Family or friends
- Political party or agenda
- Career or Calling
- Fantasy’s or dreams
- Favorite person, place, or thing
- Hobby
- Security blanket
- I Am the source of your Salvation
- Through the atoning sacrifice of Christ
- With the work of the Holy Spirit
- By Grace through faith
- I Am to be first in your life – The first fruit of which is our worship
- Consecration for worship;
- Coming together for worship;
- Creation of consecrated spaces (just like in the tabernacle & temple – congregation, priests, high priest)
- Calling of God to the people;
- Consternation of the people in the presence of God;
- Calming assurance of the from the priest to the people;
- Commitment of the people to God. “All that YHWH has spoken to us we will do”
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