“Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor.” Isaiah 26:13 NIV
Israelites knew what captivity looked and felt like. They knew what it was like to have others rule over them. Their people had been led away in captivity several times resulting in hundreds of years of living in foreign lands. They were instructed to honor the kings, emperors, and idols of whatever land they found themselves in. Some followed those instructions and others did not, usually at the risk of harm.
The prophet Isaiah is stating that he and those who were faithful to God, were only going to honor God. He acknowledges that there were times during their months and years of captivity that they could have chosen to do what their captors wanted but they decided to not honor, bow down to, or worship anyone or anything other than their God, their Creator and their Protector. Isaiah is proclaiming that the people of Israel are only worshipping one God, the One True God.
We face the choice of who to honor and worship even today. We are not captive in foreign lands with foreign kings or emperors but we have other ‘rulers, idols, kings’ that can draw our attention away from God. Rulers, masters and kings come in all shapes and sizes and do not need to actually be people. As a society, there are those who spend a lot of time trying to have as much money as they can get, obtaining as many belongings as they can, proving to others that they are worthy enough to be liked.
As we go into the week before Christmas, where we celebrate the actual Lord, I encourage you to look at where you focus your attention. Is it on God or something else?