Exodus 19-21: If you have never read the Bible in Chronological order I highly recommend doing that one year. It puts things into context and you are able to see why God sometimes did what He did or said what He said at that time. Today’s reading is a prime example. The Hebrew Children had just come from slavery in Egypt. They had been there for a few generations. All this generation of people knew was the Egyptian way of life. In that culture they worshiped many gods. Pharaoh was the greatest, but there were many smaller ones. That is what the plagues were all about is defeating one after the other. So when God gives the 10 Commandments and starts with He is the ONLY God and you should have no other gods before Him, it made total sense. That is all they had known was other gods. When He tells them not to fashion any gods out of clay, stone, wood or any other thing, it is because they had seen that so often and it made sense to them to pray to a god of their making. Even not taking His name in vain was a reminder that He was not like their other gods that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. He was sovereign and cold be trusted. He reminded them to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy because they were not a god and they needed physical rest. They also needed a day to focus on Him and His goodness and His provision. They needed to know God not turn to other things.

We too need to remember that He alone is God. We don’t need to lean on other worldly things. Those things like their gods will let you down because they have no power. They may suffice at the time, but they do not care about you like your loving Heavenly Father. He cares for you! Revere His Name. Don’t curse using it. Choose to honor Him as God. It is the foundation of life that will not allow you to fall apart with the storms of life come.

The Hebrew Children were in for some big storms. Some would really rock their world. Some chose not to trust Him. BUT others did, and today we read of their faithfulness as an example for us to follow.