“You shall have no other gods before me.”
Exodus 20:3
I have a gym membership that boasts of being a lug-free place. They really discourage those big muscle bound dudes from showing off. It’s the grunting under intentional physical duress. It’s the slamming of the overloaded bar bells on the equipment. These are not allowed at this gym. In fact, there is an alarm button on the wall that is designed that if anyone catches a lug in action, the button can be pressed to alert staff to the presence of a lug.
Lugs tend to be simply showing off how superior and stronger they are than everyone else. There is a selfish look-at-me mindset.
God did just that, though. He was flexing His muscles. He demonstrated His power in ten different plagues. In each plague, God attacked ten different Egyptian deities, those lugs who were showoffs. After each case, God provided for the care and protection of the Israelites.
Finally, at the Red Sea, God flexed His muscles once more. There, the biggest lug was taken down. Pharaoh was destroyed as the waters come crashing down. The god above all in the land of Egypt was no more.
As much as there is an absolute prohibition on having other gods, God flexes His muscles before Israel. He recalls what He has done to the gods in Egypt. “I’ve destroyed the other gods. I have taken care of the lugs in your life. You shall have no other gods before me. Quite frankly, it’s because I’m all there is. I brought you out of the land of Egypt and I am leading you to the Promised Land.”
The Israelites praised God after the crossing of the Red Sea. They sang “I will sing unto the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously. The horse and rider He’s thrown into the sea.”
For us God continues to flex His muscles. In Jesus, He flexed His muscles on the cross to defeat the devil and at the empty tomb to defeat death. Even in our daily lives God continues to flex His muscles and sent the lugs packing. How have you witnessed Him do that?
Isn’t God’s muscle flexing awesome? Yes! And that gets me excited to know that I can fear, love, and trust in Him above all else!
Written By: Pastor Bartholomew