Word of Encouragement (05/10/2023)
"There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty. 27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, 'Destroy.' 28 So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew. 29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs."
Moses first praises God, saying, “There is none like God....” What did he mean by this? He was not merely saying that the God of Israel was different from other gods. If there were other gods, each would be different from all others, just as each of us is different from everyone else. We can say of each god/goddess, “There is none like you!” Moses was not speaking about how God was unique among His peers; he was speaking of God’s peerless uniqueness as the one and only true God.
This is not to say that the Bible doesn’t speak of other gods. But these “gods/goddesses” are not co-equal with the God of Israel as co-Creators of the heavens and the earth. When the Bible mentions other gods, it is acknowledging what the people think and believe, not affirming their beliefs. Whenever the Bible mentions other gods/goddesses, we should understand them to be the “so-called gods/goddesses.” And we should not think that they are just a figment of people’s imagination (even though some of them are). They may not be what the people believe to be, but they are real.
Then, what are these gods/goddesses? The answer is given in Deut. 32:17: “They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.” The Bible identifies the pagan gods/goddesses (at least some of them) as demons; they were “no gods.” Though fallen, these former angels are powerful beings. Even so, they don’t have divine control over natural elements as pagans believed. Even so, the same verse says that the Israelites sinned against the LORD when they worshipped and sacrificed “to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently.” These were no gods in essence, but they were worshipped as gods by the foolish pagans, and the Israelites joined them. Insofar as the demons are fallen creatures, they cannot be God (or gods), who is the Creator of all: nothing that is created, no matter how powerful, can be God.
The Bible declares that no one is worthy of our worship other than the one and only true God. This affirms the peerless uniqueness of God as the Creator and sovereign Lord of all, of course. But it also affirms the honor of a high position God accorded us in His kindness. So noble are we as God’s image-bearers that no being is worthy of our worship but the true God alone! So then, it is shameful that we should worship anything other than God (“worship” in the sense of viewing our lives as not worth living without it, whatever it may be). Let us not humiliate ourselves by worshipping anything less than God Himself!
Are you sad or angry or fearful because you lack certain things in life or have a problem that refuses to go away? Do you think you cannot be happy, let alone get on with your life unless your circumstances change? If so, you may be in danger of harboring an idol in your life. The terrible thing about an idol is that it makes God and His love for us insignificant in our eyes! Oh, what injustice we do to God, who is like none other, who alone can satisfy us with His love and joy! May the Lord loosen your grip on your idols as you look to God and worship Him alone!