Keep God #1

You may have your own favorite car rental at the airport.  Avis has been in the car rental business for over 50 years.  They really got popular the year I was born—1962.  That year Avis launched their advertising campaign—“We’re number two. We try harder.”  Since 1972 Avis still uses “We try harder,” but they dropped the, “We’re number two.” I wonder why?  I would think it’s because yelling, “We’re number two” probably doesn’t go over very well. Or who is going to remember the college baseball team that lost the College World Series this past week?  Not many!  But, this year we all know who the champions are!  The Oklahoma Sooners!  Yay!

The whole idea of being #1 is a part of who we are.  That’s why we look for the best deal when purchasing a car—we want to get the best bang for the buck!  Yes, some of you might already be thinking, “I’m not a very competitive person. I’m content with the skills and abilities God has given me, and I accept my lot in life. I don’t have to be number one.” That’s great, but the fact remains that ever since Adam and Eve bit into Satan’s lie, every human has a default program that is set to be number one.  We acknowledge this when we see little kids hiding their faces and say, “Oh, look who’s being Mr Shy!”  Give that kid time and he’ll come out of his shell and be so proud when he does something better than the other kids!  No matter how shy or reserved you see yourself, no matter how selfless and other-centered you have tried to be, you and I have been infected with this deadly “me-first” disease.

Today in Exodus we hear about the Israelites who had an epidemic of the “me-first” disease.  God had rescued the Israelites out of Egypt where they had been enslaved for about 450 years!  That’s a long time (considering the USA is only 250 years old!). The Lord put the escape plan together and appointed his leader, Moses, take them through the Red Sea to a Mountain range at Sinai.  There God had a special plan to set aside this nation with his moral, ceremonial and civil laws until the Savior would be born. But Moses’ trip up the mountain to get that information was taking too long.

“²⁸ Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights” (Ex 34:28). 

The people came up with all sorts of worries! 

1. Maybe Moses got too close to the fire and lightning we see up there.  
2. If Moses is dead then we’re going to be stranded out here in the middle of nowhere.
3. Who will lead us?
4. How can we have any hope and help to get out of this situation?”

So, they convinced Aaron to fashion something that would represent a higher power, not a hidden God but something they could see. “How about an image like the nature-god we knew in Egypt?” Aaron got them to cough up their jewelry and fashioned a golden calf. There stood blatant evidence of what was in their hearts, that me-first attitude. Aware of what was going on, God interrupted his chat with Moses, and told him,

“Hurry down, because your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves!” (32:7).

Moses had to teach the basic reason for God and his commands. It is the lesson the Holy Spirit puts before you and me today!  Yes,

Keep God Number One

By Listening To His Word

 “¹⁵ Moses turned and went down the mountain, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand—tablets that were written on both sides, written on one side and on the other.”

You all remember the account of Moses and the 10 Commandments from Sunday School.  It probably went like this. Moses went up on that mountain, stayed there for a long time, came down, saw the foolishness and filth, broke the tablets of stone, cleaned up the mess (not the tablets, but the people), and then went back up for the carbon copy. But after reading these chapters in Exodus we learn that Moses had been up on that mountain talking to God and coming back with the words of God five times already! Why all those trips? Because it wasn’t just 10 Commandments written by God’s finger! The Lord had lots more to say to them. God gave

1. special rules about who they could or couldn’t marry, how to give their offerings, and even how to give their offerings.  God did this so his people would not blend in with other cultures, and disappear as a nation because the promise of the Savior coming through them would have disappeared. He also wanted them to have
2. visual aids to picture the coming Savior so they had something to look forward to. But before they could look forward to that Savior, they had
3. to look inward and know why they needed that Savior. The Israelites needed to sense that their souls were starving for a Savior.

“¹⁵ Moses turned and went down the mountain, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand—tablets that were written on both sides, written on one side and on the other.”

We know what was written on those tablets.  We can summarize it like this: The Lord is God. They are people. He is holy. They are not. If the people wanted to enjoy his blessing, then they had to be as holy as he is. And the number one test to see if they match up was to Keep God Number One By Listening To His Word.  The people heard these words from Moses mouth before.  Now they were coming to them in print on stones!  And it always happens when people hear God’s Word that there is a reaction.  Either the people would give up in despair, or they would fool themselves into thinking they could keep his laws. The Israelites chose the second reaction.  It was the “me-first path,” and made their own god, which was in essence making themselves gods. They were more concerned about preserving themselves and having a good time doing it than relying on God to provide comfort, joy, hope, and safety. That was not keeping God number one. Just the opposite. It was idolatry. Aaron was right when he told Moses, “You know how prone these people are to evil.”

You know what’s next, don’t you?  Who gets more time in your life every day?  God or your phone?  How often does “OMG” carelessly spill out of your mouth?  It may not be made of gold, but social media do you dance around at the expense of failing to listen to God’s Word? If we put in our time at church out of habit and fail to take to heart and put into practice during the week the truths we hear, we’re dancing around the calf, not listening to God’s word.  If we disagree with governing authorities in a disrespectful way, if we harbor a grudge that borders on hate, if we let our sexual desires run wild, if we steal what is not ours or withhold gifts from God just because we don’t like the ministry spending plan the majority voted on, if we let our tongue flap around loose with gossiping or griping, if we sinfully desire what belongs to others, we’re dancing around the calf, not listening to God’s words, and not keeping God number one.  How can we ever expect to stand in God’s presence and see him smile at us? There’s only one way. He will have to deliver to us with more words, different words, the promise of forgiveness through a Savior. Keep God Number One By Listening to His Word and

By Watching Him At Work

“¹⁹ As soon as Moses came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses’ anger burned. So he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water. Then he made the people of Israel drink it.”  

Was God angry?  Yes!  Was it a lesson that God cannot stand sin?  Yes!  But the scene gets more disturbing.  

“²⁵ When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had let them get so out of control that they were disgraced among their enemies), ²⁶ Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me!”  All the descendants of Levi gathered themselves together to Moses. ²⁷ He said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man is to strap his sword on his thigh and go back and forth throughout the camp, from one gate of the camp to the other, and every man is to kill his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’”

3,000 people died! Was this a consequence for those who were especially lewd and crude? Probably. Was this slaughter to serve as a warning to others? Absolutely. Was this the work of God who condemns and cuts down sinners? Definitely. And the Israelites watched. Sadly, many in that nation were so immersed in their self-absorbed me-first state that they didn’t learn the lesson. God had to return with more condemning and more killing, but only on those who had first cut themselves off from his love and killed their own hearts, already dead in unbelief. For example, complainers who said, “There’s no meat to eat,” gagged and choked on quail. Not long after that, 250 rebels were swallowed by the earth, and 14,700 of their supporters were wiped out by a plague. After nearly 40 years of wilderness wandering, venomous snakes bit a bunch more, and, after reaching the Promised Land’s border, 24,000 more died in a plague because they had been diving head-first into the same lewd behavior as their parents around the golden calf.

There is no doubt that there are consequences for sin.  And where there is sin you see God At Work!  Yes, God has condemned and killed sinners on the spot who deserved exactly what they got. The big question is, “Does he still do that today?” If we think we can read the mind of God and guess that God is bringing vengeance on our nation or on certain people by allowing disasters, is wrong thinking. It’s not our job to read the mind of God. But it is our job to keep God number one.  Look at your life and watch God at work. God did send “Levites” to slay us when he used our parents and pastors to slay the inborn sinful nature, drowning our old Adam in baptism’s flood waters. And because the me-first attitude is so resilient and tends to raise its ugly head daily, he strikes it with a Levite-like sword every time he works through the Word.

“²⁹ Moses said, “Begin your service of the Lord today. Yes, because every man among you took a stand against his son and against his brother, the Lord is bestowing a blessing on you today.””

He crushes our sins with his serious threats.  Then he brings us to life again by directing our eyes to watch what he did in slaying his Son instead of us.

For there is no better way to keep God number one than by watching Jesus at work. He kept God number one by praying and never tossing his Father’s name around unnecessarily. He worshiped regularly, respected his parents, and taught people to pay their taxes even to a government that was oppressive. He could have called down lightning from heaven to consume his enemies, but he never did on earth (no, he saved that for their eternal judgment). He upheld the sanctity of marriage by attending a wedding and providing for the reception. He remained generous with his time, talents and treasures to even feed 5,000 people! He never cut others down in order to make himself look good, and his desires were always as pure as the driven snow. All of this was God At Work For Us.  Jesus did what we could not do.  Jesus lives for you.  Jesus offered his perfect life as payment for all your sins.  And some day when Jesus returns, we won’t have to feel like the Israelites who were dancing around the golden calf with their pants down, because you will be covered in the robe of Jesus’ righteousness and heir of heaven. All of that is God at Work for YOU!

It really doesn’t matter to me what car you rent the next time you go to the airport.  You might try Avis, not because they’re #2, but because they try harder!  Today is awesome because now we are motivated to try harder!  We get to Say It Out Loud!  Love God Above All!  Yes, Keep God #1 by listening to his Word and watching him Work!  Focus on the words and works of God, and you will be keeping God number one.  And do you want to hear the best part?  Because of Jesus, God considers you to be number one!  Dear Christian friends!  Be what God has made you!  Amen!