Beware of the Idol of Prosperity
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 28:47-57 (NASB)
47 “Since you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a cheerful heart, in gratitude for the abundance of all things, 48 you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and devoid of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
49 “The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down; a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation with a defiant attitude, who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. 51 Furthermore, it will eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed; a nation that will leave you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the newborn of your cattle or the young of your flock, until they have eliminated you. 52 And it will besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it will besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you. 53 Then you will eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the hardship by which your enemy will oppress you. 54 The man who is refined and very delicate among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife he cherishes, and toward the rest of his children who are left, 55 so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, since he has nothing else left, during the siege and the hardship by which your enemy will oppress you in all your towns. 56 The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and tenderness, will be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter, 57 and toward her afterbirth that comes from between her legs, and toward her children to whom she gives birth, because she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the hardship with which your enemy will oppress you in your towns.
SUMMARY
Moses declared the consequences of the people’s actions when they forget/neglect the source of all their abundant blessings. He exclaimed that they will be serving their enemies, they will lack in all things (v. 48), they will be under yoke until He destroys His people. All that the people of Israel had worked for, they will all be besieged by their enemies-their children, flock, produce and their very lives will perish. Ultimately, they will be in such dire need and desperation, that they will eat their own offspring because of the distress by which their enemy will oppress them (V. 53).
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
It was personally heartbreaking to read today’s passage as God painted such a clear and graphic picture of what is to be when His people did not serve the Lord with joy and a glad heart, in the abundance of all His provisions. Why was it so wrong for the Israelites to have this attitude of disobedience and why such a harsh punishment? Besides, isn’t our God, a loving and forgiving God? Isn’t this unfair? Why would He bring His people out of Egypt to only destroy them?
As I pondered on these questions, I was reminded of the nature of God and His purpose for calling out His chosen people and nation. In Lev. 19:2, it says: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”
And repeatedly in the book of Numbers, Psalms, Exodus, Revelations and The New Testaments, God declares His holiness and how He has called His people to be holy, set apart for Him.
I don’t think I will ever know the extent of how holy God is. But I do know that, because He is holy, He can not tolerate sin. And the sin of idol worship is what He speaks against loud and clear. We all enjoy the blessings of our good Father, but when we fail to recognize the Giver, we just made it, our idol. When we trust in the high and fortified walls, instead of God (v. 52), we fail to worship Him as our Lord.
In 2 Kings 17:36 it says, “But the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and to Him you shall sacrifice.”
God wanted His people for Himself that He would be their God and that they may be His people. We are not fulfilling our purpose if we’re not doing what He has called us to do and be. He has called me and you to worship Him alone, no other idols. He is supreme above all and He deserves the right to be worshipped since He delivered us out of our slavery (sin), into a relationship with the living God.
To think that God chose me (and you) out of all the billions of people that we may know and worship Him...what a privilege and honor that is. I don’t deserve this grace and divine appointment. So why shouldn’t I give Him my heart, life and service? I’m forever indebted, and will never be able to repay His favor over me (us).
Also in 1 Peter 2:9, it says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Because He is holy, God lays out the detriments of the consequences of choosing to live unholy lives-not serving the Lord, trusting in our abundance. Because of His nature, it is only fitting and right to judge and penalize sin...if He didn’t, He contradicts His character. But what great news it is for us to know that when we choose to worship Him, He forgives and turns from His anger and restores us back to Himself, hallelujah!
Praise the Lord.
APPLICATION
The QT today portrayed the horrors of our worst nightmare. The destruction of all areas of one’s life – their relationship with their God, their spouses and children and all that they possess coming to ruins.
Stripped of any dignity and respect for mankind, it created both dread and awe at the same time for me. I realize how sensitive and vulnerable I can be. One day being thankful and rejoicing while on another day, I can be down and lost in the troubles of day. I repent for fixing my eyes in things that have possessed my heart and devotion. The very things that God has blessed me with have sometimes become my idols-family, positions, possessions. I’ve forgotten that they were given to me to glorify Him and fully enjoy and serve Him. I vow to remember and focus on what really matters and lasts, the eternal things-my relationship with God first. If He has given, He is able to take away, and I have nothing to say, since it was never mine to begin with. Every morning and evening, I will give thanks to God for the gift of eternal life and the gift of knowing Him. I will share with my children on a daily basis of how the Lord is our provider and that we give all the glory to Him.
PRAYER
The QT today portrayed the horrors of our worst nightmare. The destruction of all areas of one’s life – their relationship with their God, their spouses and children and all that they possess coming to ruins.
Stripped of any dignity and respect for mankind, it created both dread and awe at the same time for me. I realize how sensitive and vulnerable I can be. One day being thankful and rejoicing while on another day, I can be down and lost in the troubles of day. I repent for fixing my eyes in things that have possessed my heart and devotion. The very things that God has blessed me with have sometimes become my idols-family, positions, possessions. I’ve forgotten that they were given to me to glorify Him and fully enjoy and serve Him. I vow to remember and focus on what really matters and lasts, the eternal things-my relationship with God first. If He has given, He is able to take away, and I have nothing to say, since it was never mine to begin with. Every morning and evening, I will give thanks to God for the gift of eternal life and the gift of knowing Him. I will share with my children on a daily basis of how the Lord is our provider and that we give all the glory to Him.
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