Exodus 20:3

Exodus 20:3

This was the commandment broken by Adam and Eve in Paradise; they obeyed the voice of the devil, and took him for their god instead of their heavenly Father. Since that time the devil has been called the god of this world and the prince of this world, because men have commonly obeyed him and hearkened to his voice. Even the one family and nation to whom God revealed Himself were quite as unwilling as the rest of the world to serve Him alone, and so they needed this commandment.

I. It may be asked why it is necessary to say, "Thou shalt have no other gods but Me," because we know that there is no other god at all. If we do not worship and serve God, yet we cannot give His honour to another, for there is no other to give it to. The reason is this, that all those false gods and false religions are ways in which the devil is worshipped and served, for whenever we fall away from the worship and service of God, we fall into his power; we take him for our god.

II. What Satan requires is only, as it were, that we should once serve him. Such was his temptation to our Lord, to Adam and Eve, to Daniel, to the first Christian martyrs. On the other hand, God requires our whole service. As long as there is any single point in which we are acting contrary to the law of God, no other service we can do will be acceptable to Him. Satan would have us but once worship and serve other gods, because we thus become so polluted in our heart and conscience as to be unfit to serve God at all.

Plain Sermons by Contributors to" Tracts for the Times,"vol. i., p. 240.

References: Exodus 20:3. S. Leathes, The Foundations of Morality,pp. 53, 66; J. Vaughan, Children's Sermons,3rd series, p. 152; J. W. Burgon, Ninety-one Short Sermons,No. 22.