I Am the Greatest

December 1

(Psalms 135:1-5 NIV) “Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord; praise him, you servants of the Lord, {2} you who minister in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. {3} Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant. {4} For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession. {5} I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.”

(Exodus 18:9-11 NIV) ““Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. {10} He said, "Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. {11} Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.””

(Exodus 20:1-4 NIV) ““And God spoke all these words: {2} “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. {3} You shall have no other gods before me. {4} You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.””

In the last century, there was a star athlete who told people, “I am the greatest”! At the time, in his particular sport, that seemed to be very true. Today, our Psalm writer makes the same claim about God. He maintains that God is the greatest -- greater than all other gods. He stands on solid ground because God Himself declares that He is the greatest. The Lord commands His people not to worship other gods. God is worthy of our undivided praise. He says that His servants should know this, His ministers should proclaim it, His musicians should sing about it, and His chosen should always remember it. Israel was never to put another god ahead of Yahweh. Neither should we! There are other gods who will vie for our affection, but there is no other god worthy of our worship. The command is to never put another god before Him. Heed it, because He is the greatest! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day