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The Book of Deuteronomy |
Just What Are 'Other Gods?' |
Deuteronomy is generally thought to be a collection of Moses' speeches or sermons during the last month of his life, a reiteration of the main points of the Law for the new nation of Israel about to enter the promised land. The word itself means "second law." It is fascinating to read, and relatively easy to figure out its main point, and then create an outline around that main point. It's main point is that the people are to have "no other gods but Jahweh." The writer repeats that over and over again through the book. The problem for the preacher, as I learned only too well trying to create an honest-to-God sermon on the book, is trying to figure out what the "others gods" are that confront us today. The cliches are easy, so easy as to be glib. But I determined to stay away from the cliches and see if there was some other way to think about "other gods," since the term "god" is so slippery. In short, "application" of a very good old book became the challenge. The question of "other gods" is a good one, though. Listen to the sermon to see if my "thinking through it" is of any value. |