Deuteronomy 6:4-5 - “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
How many different gods do you think have been worshipped in the history of the world? Some estimate that there have been at least twelve thousand, but it all depends on how you define a god to begin with. For instance, some would say that Hinduism contains thirty three million gods, while others would argue that it is only thirty-three. Regardless, there has been no shortage of gods that have received praise and worship from humanity.
For Israel, there were always threats from other nations that their gods would make their way into the lives of the Israelites, and make their way in they certainly did. You may wonder, why do some people believe in so many gods to begin with? Because most of these gods were created in man’s image, we end up needing a specific god for all the different parts of our lives.
What you then end up with is weakness and failure in these so-called gods because we are weak and we fail. The problem with this is that when gods give in to certain failings that can only be described as inherently human, they prove themselves to not be worthy of the title of god. They are merely imaginations of humanity, seeing gods as a reflection of ourselves rather than us being a reflection of the gods.
The God of Israel is different from these other gods. Instead of him being made in our likeness, we are made in his. Instead of Israel having to worship a god of the harvest, and then a god of winter, and then a god of summer, and so one and so forth, they only worship one God who is Lord of all these things. The God of the Bible is the true God because he satisfies every need that humanity could need, and in all things he shows himself to be the authority and one true king.
There is only one God and He is the Lord of Israel, and our Lord as well if we are in Christ. Our love need not be spread thin amongst many gods, but we can give our whole hearts to him in worship. Our souls are not divided into compartments of worship for one god here and another there, but instead we can give our whole soul to God. It’s not uncommon when you worship many gods to need to work hard and do the right things in order to earn their favor. This is exhausting and impossible, but with the one true God, he extends his favor first, we receive it, and then he alone is who we work for, using our strength in its entirety for him.
So the question you must ask yourself is this: Am I living day by day loving and living for the one true God, or am I dividing my heart, mind, soul and strength among many gods or idols? If you are doing the latter, then you will find that your hope is fragile and your strength will be weak. However, if you really do have a relationship with God, then you will know that when you pray, he is the one who hears you, he is the one who loves you, and he is the one who will do good in and through you. The Lord is one, praise be to the Lord.
