"The Lord Is Greater Than All Gods"

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Exodus 18:10-12

10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.” 12 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.

 
 

One of the goals of the exodus was to show the Lord’s superiority over the so-called “gods” (really, “demons”) of Egypt. Here, Jethro shows us that that goal has been realized, as he proclaims that “the Lord is greater than all gods.”

We’re getting ahead of ourselves, but at Sinai (chapter 19 and following) Israel will be charged with representing the Lord to the nations. The same charge lies on the church today—we represent the Lord to the watching world. This is why our conduct is so important: it teaches others—for good and for ill—about the Lord.