Leviticus 26:1-5: a reflection

1“‘You shall make for yourselves no idols, and you shall not raise up a carved image or a pillar, and you shall not place any figured stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God. 2“‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. 3“‘If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments, and do them, 4then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5Your threshing shall continue until the vintage, and the vintage shall continue until the sowing time. You shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

This passage opens a section of promises with two foundational commands: You shall make no idols, and you shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary; I am the LORD your God. Before all else, God is to be worshiped alone, with no idol set beside him, and reverenced as holy. And to those who walk in his ways, God promises good: rains in their season, a fruitful land, bread to the full, and safety in their dwelling. A life ordered around God, worshiping him alone, is a life under his blessing.

Notice what comes first: no idols, and reverence for God alone. Before the promises of blessing, God lays down the foundation of the relationship, that he alone is to be worshiped, with nothing set up beside him, and reverenced as holy. The blessings flow from a life rightly ordered around God, worshiping him alone. The foundation is the exclusive worship of God: no idols, no rivals, reverence for him as the LORD.

That foundation is as basic for us as for Israel. The first thing is that God be worshiped alone, with no idol set beside him, no rival for the devotion that belongs to him. It is easy to let other things creep in, to set up idols of various kinds beside God, dividing the devotion that should be his alone. But God calls for exclusive worship: no idols, reverence for him as the LORD your God. Examine your life for the idols that may have crept in, the rivals for your devotion, and put them away, giving God the exclusive worship he calls for. Let your life be ordered around God alone, with no idol beside him; for the life rightly founded on the worship of God alone is the life under his blessing. Make no idols; reverence God alone as the LORD your God.

Lord, this passage opens with two foundational commands: make no idols, and keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary, for I am the LORD your God; and to those who walk in your ways you promise good. Show me that the first thing is the exclusive worship of you, with no idol set beside you, reverenced as holy. It is easy to let other things creep in, to set up idols of various kinds beside you, dividing the devotion that should be yours alone. But you call for exclusive worship: no idols, reverence for you as the LORD my God. Help me examine my life for the idols that may have crept in, the rivals for my devotion, and put them away, giving you the exclusive worship you call for. Let my life be ordered around you alone, with no idol beside you; for the life rightly founded on the worship of you alone is the life under your blessing. Help me make no idols, and reverence you alone as the LORD my God. Be my only God, Lord, with no rival beside you.