Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
	Exodus 20:3
In this simple phrase, we see a premise and a promise. The premise is that there are indeed other gods . . . Baal was the god who supposedly hurled lightning down from heaven (1 Kings 18:24). Baal was the god of power. Munching on power bars, listening to power tapes, thinking they’re powerful and in control, lots of people still unknowingly worship Baal today. Ashtoreth was the goddess of sensuality, of pleasure, a goddess worshiped extensively in our society by those with the “if it feels good, do it” mentality. Mammon was the god of money, the god of prosperity. Because it is the love of money, rather than money itself, which is evil (1 Timothy 6:10), it is not only the wealthy who are prone to worship mammon. Anyone who places a priority on money, worries about money, or strives for money is vulnerable. Molech was the god of practicality. To earn Molech’s blessing upon his new business, the Molech worshiper would place his firstborn in an earthen jar and build the walls of his shop around it, believing that the baby entombed within the wall wasn’t really dead, but would reappear in his next child. Many a parent does virtually the same thing today when, in the name of practicality, they ignore their children in the name of advancing their careers, mistakenly thinking that once their business is successful and their place in the company is secure that they can re-connect with their kids. The problem, however, is that kids grow up, time is lost, and opportunity dies on the altar of practicality. In addition to the premise that there are indeed other gods, this first commandment carries a promise that other gods will not pull on God’s people indefinitely. Having captured the ark of the covenant—the gold-covered box which held the Ten Commandments—the Philistines placed it in the temple of their god, Dagon, a being which was half man and half fish. The next day, when the priests of Dagon went into the temple, they found Dagon knocked down before the ark. The priests returned Dagon to his original position, only to come in the following day to find him on the floor once again, his head and hands severed from the fall (1 Samuel 5). The same thing happens today. “Let Me into the temple of your heart,” God says, “and I’ll knock Dagon down; I’ll knock Baal out. I’ll take care of Mammon. I’ll deal with Ashtoreth.” The Ten Commandments is the only law of antiquity that forbids the worship of other gods. All other codes and cultures allowed and even encouraged the worship of other deities. Why? Because all other gods work as a team to bring hell into peoples’ lives and to damn them eternally. There will be no other gods before the true and living God because those gods will not come through ultimately. In the last day, every knee shall bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus alone is Lord (Philippians 2:10–11). And what a day that will be! By Pastor Jon Courson Daily Manna in FB