abominations – Page 2

150. Within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

1 Kings 14:21 Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

Ezekiel 16:47-48     Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

Romans 1:24-27    Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!

Deuteronomy 32:18-21  You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.  “The LORD saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.  And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.  They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

Do you ever wonder how people get so far away from God that they replace serving, honoring, following, and obeying Him with something else? It is not as though God changed who He was or His steadfast love and holiness changed. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What changes in the lives of people that they no longer have a heart, mind, and soul for the one and only true God. I have an idea it was a slow decline over time. They allowed the very evil and wayward thinking of the people God drove out before them to find it’s wake back. It is not as though they woke one day and said: “I am going to do this really stupid thing I know is wrong against God”. No, it was more like a slow steady decline and turning of their heart and mind away from God and His word. They spent less and less time thinking about Him and more and more about themselves. They spent more time listening to those who have no heart for God than time in God’s word.

Acceptance of false teaching and sinful living is the beginning of the fall. Some may think since it is just the beginning of the fall it is not that bad. If you jump off of a cliff there is really no difference in the ending from the beginning. The outcome is the same, it is just the little bit of time between. It is not as though you can grab onto anything while you are in midair on a free fall. Such are the lives of many who spend little to no time in God’s word and their heart and mind are listening to that which does not serve, honor, or glorify God. It is a slow heating of the water and nothing aware of how hot it is getting before you are dead.

There is no one holding you back from serving, honoring, glorifying, following, and obeying God but you. You choose each day.

13. Don’t be influenced by any of these people or listen to them.

Deuteronomy 13:6-11     “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known,  some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other,  you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him.  But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.  You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of egypt the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.

Exodus 20:3     “You shall have no other gods before me.

Proverbs 1:10     My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.

1 John 5:21     Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Ephesians 5:11     Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Ezekiel 5:11     Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity.

God knows our intents and thoughts. He examines our heart, mind, and soul. There is no place a person can hide their thoughts or actions from God. “You shall not yield to him or listen to him” is a command from God. Don’t listen to the deceits, lies, and foolishness. Don’t yield to the temptation to listen, follow, or join in. You have to know that out of over the million Israelites that crossed the Red Sea there was one who spoke first complaining about no water. Again when they were hungry there had to be that first person who spoke complaining about no food. Again when Moses went up onto the mountain and God presence was with Him for 40 days, there had to be that one person who spoke up saying “make us a god that we can worship”.

The command is given to us as a warning. A warning about our nature and a want to be joined with others for a like cause. A warning that if we do not keep a heart deep desire to honor, serve, follow, and obey God it is natural for us to seek other things to fill that void. If God is not first and only in our life, we will never be truly satisfied and will sink deeper and deeper into a lifestyle that does not honor God, and farther and farther apart from Him with a high probability we will draw others down this same path.

His word is a safe harbor and shelter from the deceptions and lies this world proudly proclaims and so easily follows after. Stay in His word. Make Him first in your life. Humbly serve Him, listen to Him, follow Him, and obey Him.

Pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease

“Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.”

Genenis 13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD. And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

Genesis 18:20 Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

Isaiah 1:9 If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

Isaiah 3:9 For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.

Ezekiel 16:46-50 And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. As I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.

Matthew 11:23-24 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

2 Peter 2:6-8 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

The path Lot chose was place he likened to “the garden of the LORD” and why not, well watered and established. Abraham chose whatever Lot did not. I imagine, if we are given a choice, we will pick the path that seems more pleasing.

Either path is right but what lies ahead can be a bit deceiving. Looks, as they say, are deceiving. Who would think a land of prosperity, abundance of food, and prosperous ease would lead to anyone having pride rather than thankfulness.

I wonder how much our culture resembles the life styles, thoughts, actions of Sodom. I question the liberal application of morals and adoption of them by many – How close are we to that of Sodom? Are we half way there or surpassing?

Oh, God heal our nation, draw us back to where You and Your word are guiding and directing our thoughts. Place barriers in our paths that might otherwise lead us away from thinking and desiring You. Light a fire in our soul and fill us with your Spirit, anew. Open our eyes and ears to see and hear what is right and acceptable in Your sight. Soften our heart to those in need, fill us with courage to stand up for that which is right in Your eyes. Teach us to be humble, thankful, generous, king and loving so that our lives honor and glorify You alone.

Reread this last paragraph with “Me” instead of our or us.

Living for God is intentional

Genesis 6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Genesis 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.

Genesis 13:13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

Ezekiel 8:17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger?

Hosea 4:1-2 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Psalms 11:5 The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

Romans 2:13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Deuteronomy 6:3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

2 Chronicles 34:27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD.

Deuteronomy 30:12-14 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

James 2:21-25 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Luke 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

One would think that the more wrong a person sees being done that they would become more and more concerned about doing what is right. Yet it seems as though the more we see and hear of wrong it just sets a new norm and dilutes and clouds and blinds us to what is right.

In the early 80’s I can remember an older pastor friend telling me that something troubled him. He said that he had realized that the church (christians) always seemed to be 10 to 15 years behind what the culture was adopting. What was not acceptable became questionable which became acceptable over time.

As a culture walks blindly further and further away from God, it seems to drag, pull and entice the church (individual christians) along the same path. The path of what a life of humble service, heart honoring, mind and soul following, and heart deep obeying God, is over grown with false truth, false hope, and false behaviors.

What must happen to capture the hearts of individuals to keep pure to the truth of God’s word. The serpent said it cleverly “did not God say…” using enough of God’s word to make sense of a lie and entice Adam and Eve to sin. There are plenty in this world who can twist the word of God into lies and leave many questioning what is true and honorable in the sight of God.

How do we stay unpolluted from a culture that is running at warp speed away from God? Reading His word with a heart like David when he said

“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”

With so much technology and immediate sharing of thoughts and ideas through media outlets, it is no wonder confusion to what is pure, holy, right and true happens. One would think the easiest way to stop this downward spiral would be to get back to a simpler life without all of the technology. History would tell us this is not true, for the heart of man seems to have always been set on satisfying self and denying God.

One would think that seclusion away from interference and influence of others who do not know God might help. We only have to look at Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, and the 40 years of God’s people in the wilderness to know that the heart of mankind, when yielded to, will choose to follow what is right in their own mind and for their own satisfaction whether for good or evil.

Choice has been given to each human. This choice allows them determine to follow their sinful nature or to humbly submit to honoring, serving, following and obeying God.

Spend time in His word – live for Him – seek Him – desire Him – love Him -learn from Him – honor Him – follow Him – obey Him – listen to Him – worship Him – glorify Him – want to be lead by Him – Grow in knowledge and understanding of Him.

Living for self is natural. Living for God is intentional.

God of Knowledge

“ Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.”

“knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

“Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.”

Malachi 2:17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

Psalms 95:9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”

Isaiah 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.

Isaiah 43:24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.

Jeremiah 15:6 You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting.

Ezekiel 16:43 Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

Psalms 73:3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

Zephaniah 1:12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’

Discerning the will of God is a life long process. Each day we are led into new understanding of serving Him. Each day we find new mercies and blessings given to us by the grace of God. This we find when we have a heart desire to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him. However if we do not we will find ourselves like many in the past who have become complacent and turned away from full commitment to Him. These scriptures today explain the mind and thoughts of man. You can see the application of the word of God and service to Him being diluted by complacency. They do not even see that the path they are on is not God honoring. Let each of us learn from this. He will reward those who fully delight and desire to serve Him.