Deuteronomy 5:7-10

7 “You shall have no other gods before me. 8 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

God is the Creator. He made everything in the world and He gave it all to man to rule over. God made everything, including man, so everything belongs to Him. Being able to live, using the things that God gave, is a great blessing. But man disregards God and doesn't give thanks to Him. Man's personality has degenerated in this way. In the Bible's times God decided to wipe away all of mankind because of this sin.

"5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created - and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground - for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." Genesis 6:5-8

Those who had lost the purpose that they had been created for were destroyed. In the same way as Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed, God destroys those who are not loyal and obedient to Him and who don't give Him glory, thanks and praise; but instead they commit all kinds of sins (Jude 6-8).

When the Israelites were held in slavery in Egypt, they cried out to God and He heard their prayers (Exodus 2:23-25). God sent the 10 plagues on Egypt and let the Israelites escape with a lot of the Egyptians' wealth. God let the Israelites cross the Red Sea as on dry land, and He fed them manna and water in the desert. He led them by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

They lived entirely by the grace of God, but whenever they encountered any challenges, they sinned against God and complained to Moses, their leader. Instead of giving thanks to God for providing for them, they challenged Him. God was not pleased with them, so He destroyed them (1 Cor 10:1-12).

God created man with a personality to receive and live by his grace.

"20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles." Rom 1:20-23.

But man ignorantly worships other things rather than God. God will curse to the third and fourth generation those who do like that. We should give thanks to God for all He has done for us. He gives us grace to live on the earth, and He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save and to forgive our sins, those who repent. We should not commit idolatry, and we should worship God only. Then we will inherit the blessing to a thousand generations.

2013.1.17