Tag: Their gods

43.o. “Wilderness” – 7.v. Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone

 

Exodus 22:20  “Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

 Numbers 25:2-4   These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.  So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.  And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

 Deuteronomy 13:1-15    “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,  and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’  you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.  But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God

 Deuteronomy 17:2-5   “If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing his covenant,  and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden,  and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel,  then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you shall stone that man or woman to death with stones.

 Deuteronomy 18:20   But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’

 Joshua 23:15-16   But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you,  if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

Unto the Lord only; the true and living God; Jehovah, the self-existent, immutable, and eternal Being; the Creator of all things, the possessor of heaven and earth, the most high God, and the only one: sacrificing takes in all the acts of service performed to an idol as to the true God, as offering incense, pouring out a libation, as well as slaying and burning an animal as Jarchi observes: he shall be utterly destroyed; be accursed, anathematized, devoted to destruction, as the word used signifies. (Gill)

Man is wired to seek and worship the Creator. Denying and rejecting God, this inward yearning will turn to almost anything as a substitute and will become their act of worship and sacrifice. Look at the world around us. It is full of the lost who need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and acts of love, grace, mercy, kindness, gentleness, and generosity of the redeemed. Let it be our goal, commitment, and intentional choice to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do.

What fellowship has light with darkness

Genesis 24:1  Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Nehemiah 13:25    And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Exodus 34:16    and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4     You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,  for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17    Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Matthew Henry writes about marriage of Isaac;

Marriage is to be undertaken with much care and with reference to the will of God, and with prayer for his direction and blessing. When God is not consulted and regarded His blessing cannot be expected. It is natural for parents to be concerned about the welfare of their children’s souls and that their walk this side of eternity is on the path of God’s purpose.   Note that Abraham remembers what God had wonderfully brought him out of the land of his birth, by the call of his grace; and therefore does not doubt He will prosper what he has placed in his care – His son Isaac.

It is also true that if we think we can partner or bond with things of this world and liberal culture and it not have an affect on our commitment to God is foolish.   When His word is void in our daily lives there will be no guiding light to direct all of the decisions big and small.  When the world culture is the major influence in your values it is impossible to discern what is honorable and in obedience to God’s plan and purposes.

Aim to humbly honor, serve, follow, glorify and obey Him surely our decisions will be inline with His word and the quiet whispers of His leading.

Who – Me?

Judges 6:25
That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night

Exodus 34:13
You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

 

More than 500 years prior to Gideon God gave the Israelites a command and warning.  Tear down these false idols for they worship a false god.  Tear them down because it will be very easy for you to join them and follow the ways of those who do not worship Me the true God.  As I look at our culture it seems this is still true for us today.  Easy to adopt the ways of the culture.  I wonder if this is due to our lack of spending time in His word.

Gideon was from the weakest clan and least in his fathers house.  God chose him.  Gideon was willing yet he still had that human part of doubt when he asked – how can “I “save Israel.  It is natural for us to look at our weaknesses and automatically assume God can not use us.  Moses said something similar – I cannot speak to pharaoh or lead the Israelites as I am weak in speech and stutter.  We may have weaknesses but it is not in our strength that God will use us.  More than likely it will be in our weaknesses.  I think we turn our ears off to hearing God speak into our lives because what we hear is telling us to do something we have no strength or ability in our own power to accomplish.  It is in His strength, power and might not ours.  It is though faith in His strength, power and might that we are able to say yes Lord I will do it.  We do need to take that step forward even with all of the questions pounding around in our head.  Like one of the old hymns put it “listen and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, listen and obey”