Exodus 20: 22-26
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen
for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods
to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. 24
“‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my
name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar
of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it
if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your
private parts may be exposed.’
Title: Our means
of worship, as God wants it
Message: God
demands that He alone should be the object of our adoration and worship. A
duplicate or a representative of Him may draw our attention away from Him and
that He disfavors. He puts emphasis on simplicity when he mentioned the Altar. He
does not want it well-adorned. He does not want it to be presented with steps
greater than expected for if this will be allowed, sacrificing and offering
might cause people down below to see the nakedness of those going up the Altar (John
Gill).
Promise to Claim: Honoring
God will make Him listen and bless us. We feel His presence when we worship and
praise Him.
Command to Obey: Make God the only object of our worship. Keep
the Altar simple and plain.
Warning to Heed: Our
defiance – worshiping idols and building an Altar that does not go with God’s
preferment – will bring about our embarrassment and cause us sin.
Application: I will keep
in mind these commandments that I may avoid sinning.
