Happy Friday! It is July 19, 2024. As the old saying goes, “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” One of the reasons for reading the Old Testament is that it gives us the raw stories of how God’s people drifted into godlessness. This is what 2 Kings 17:7-8 tells us led to the Assyrian Captivity in 721 BC. How did the slide happen? What were they involved in? History reads like a story of… us! Read on...
Today's Reading:
2 Kings 17; 2 Chronicles 28; Psalms 46; James 3
Scripture
“So, while these nations feared the Lord, they also served their own idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day.” (2 Kings 17:41)
Observation
God (capital G) became one of the many gods (small g). The Lord was in the mix, but so were many others. 2 Kings 17:30 gives the names of several gods. When one didn’t come through, they would try another, and if that one didn’t work, they’d try a third until people totally forsook the Lord. They would even blend them together and make a “hybrid god” that combined various characteristics from them all!
Application
We haven’t learned much because we still do that today. When we need a god to support what we want and desire, we go shopping. God is “one” of the gods, not the only Lord. We have other gods to whom we give allegiance to. So often, it’s God plus …
- Mammon. The big, demanding, desirable god of money — where our self-worth becomes our net worth, and our goods become our gods.
- Asherah and Baal. Sexual immorality and pornography are some of the biggest businesses in America, and tens of thousands worship at these altars daily.
And — the many who worship these gods are also called … “Christians.”
I don’t think that we’ve changed much at all, but then we wonder why our nation is like it is. We may not be able to change the nation overnight, but we can change our hearts as the people of God and as Ambassadors for Christ.
Prayer
Father, renew my faith and redirect our hearts back to You daily! Please help me learn from the past so we can be better in the future. Our sons and daughters depend on us as leaders, parents, and veterans in Christ’s army. Help us to ensure that we serve only one God, one Lord. That’s my one choice!
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