The Seriousness of Idol Worship
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 13:12-14:2 (NASB)
12 “If you hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that 13 some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), 14 then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you, 15 you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword. 16 Then you shall gather all its booty into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its booty with fire as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God; and it shall be a ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt. 17 Nothing from that which is put under the ban shall cling to your hand, in order that the Lord may turn from His burning anger and show mercy to you, and have compassion on you and make you increase, just as He has sworn to your fathers, 18 if you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.
“You are the sons of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave your forehead for the sake of the dead. 2 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
SUMMARY
Moses warns the Israelites of the danger of falling into idol worship and gives strict rules on how to protect the nation as a whole against those who lead them into idolatry. God commands for a careful investigation for those who lead the people into idol worship and commands the people to utterly destroy the city that falls into idol worship, including its inhabitants and property.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
God is a Jealous God and He also knows how easily we become tempted to worship idols. God is serious about not allowing even a tiny particle of our lives to worship idols because we, the people of God, become continuously exposed to the temptation of worshiping idols for generations. Idol worship is a sin that destroys the foundation of our faith. During this time of the pandemic and political division in America, rather than seeking the place of faith people have been seeking places where they can express their feelings and have been falling easily into different types of idol worship. What the people blindly believe and rely on have become their gods, even among Christians. Moses' message is particularly applicable to people today. We need to remove in our lives the idols that we trust more than God.
APPLICATION
The concerns that Moses had regarding God's commands are still applicable today. We are experiencing the same situation of the dangers of idol worship now. The shapes and forms of idols have changed over time, but it is still so easy to fall into false worship, which consumes so much of our energy in our lives. I need to fall down on my knees and ask God for guidance during these troubled times. I want to seek comfort in the love Jesus showed me on the cross.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, please help me to follow You, only. Give me strength and wisdom to identify all the idols that I am following even without me even knowing, and remove them completely from my life. Help me to always come to You first by kneeling down and crying out to You. Let me fully trust You no matter what. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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