The Lord Commanded Israel Not to Worship False Gods

Deuteronomy chapter 4 begins with, “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the Land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.”  Statutes are laws and judgments, according to the footnote, refers to ordinances.  The Israelites were promised if they kept the laws and ordinances, they would live and possess the Land that was promised to their fathers.  We can be converted and have a desire to keep the Lord’s laws and ordinances if we have a desire to know the truth.  The Holy Ghost will then touch our hearts and minds and we will know the truth.  In verse 10 of the same chapter, parents are given the responsibility to teach their children these same statutes and judgments.  In D&C 68:25-28, parents are counseled to teach their children repentance, faith in Christ, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.  If they do not, the sin is upon the heads of the parents.

Deuteronomy 6:5, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”  This is the greatest commandment given to the Israelites and to us today.  In verse 8 of the same chapter the Israelites are told, “And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.”  The Jews have taken this verse literally.  They write down certain scriptures, including these ones I have mentioned here, on small pieces of paper and put them in phylacteries.  Phylacteries are small, about 1 ½” square, boxes and tie them to their left arm or forehead, usually worn during morning prayers.  Verse 9 says, “And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”  The Jews also add these small scriptures in to a cylinder shaped box called a mezuzah and place them on the doorframe.  They will touch it as they come and go from their home.  Having these objects near them help them remember the Lord and devote their lives to Him.  I think we have similarities to these objects in out home; a picture of Christ, a temple picture, and several favorite scriptural passages on plaques throughout our home.  They are constant reminders for our family, to turn our hearts, minds, and souls to Christ.

Several times in Deuteronomy, we are counseled to not worship false gods, including chapter 6, verse 14, “Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you.”  The Lord feels so strongly about this that he counseled the Israelites to destroy any evidence of false gods (Deut. 12:3) and to put to death the people who worshiped false gods (Deut. 13:6-9 and Deut. 17:2-5).  There are many things in the world today that people worship like their occupations, their possessions, and money.  We must constantly be focusing on our Savior.  We all need those things to survive in this world, but we to not be obsessed or let them consume our focus.

In Deuteronomy 7:3-4, the Israelites are prohibited from marrying outsiders because, “they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods.”  As we marry someone who has the same love of the Lord that we do, we can support each other.  Our faith will grow together and we can teach our children our shared principles and values.  But the biggest benefit will be in the next life where we will have eternal life and obtain the highest degree of celestial glory if we keep our sacred temple covenants that we have made together.