idols and ideals

Deuteronomy 4:¹⁵ "But be very careful! You did not see the Lord's form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. ¹⁶ So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, ¹⁷ an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, ¹⁸ a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.

 

We are starting into a study of the book of Deuteronomy this week in the Mini Bible College (9:30 am Sunday morning, Rm 120 at the Chapel). Moses knew that he would not be entering the Promised Land with the rest of the Hebrew people because God had told him so. In fact, only two survivors from the Egyptian Exodus would enter: Joshua and Caleb. All the others, who had travelled the 40 year journey in the desert would not be permitted to enter because of their unbelief that God could deliver the powerful occupiers of that land into their hands. So Moses assembled a collection of messages to convey the lessons learned during the Wilderness experience to the next generation, who would enter the land. So Deuteronomy is a kind of "retelling" of Exodus from the standpoint of teaching and application. One of the themes that Moses emphasizes is that God must be "number one" in their hearts and minds. There can be no room for worshiping idols. I was struck with the words from verse 15 in chapter 4. Moses seems to be saying that God wants a living relationship with His people but a relationship that doesn't depend on being seen but a relationship that depends on being trusted. I thought about who real God is every day. He is real in His creation. He is real in His provision for us. He is real in hearing and answering our prayers. He is real in communicating truth and in knowing us deep inside. We have come to love the Lord, not because He is seen but because He is so real and true without having to be seen directly. When we worship idols of any kind (and many modern examples exist) we are investing our heart and our belief and our trust in something we can see and we forfeit placing our trust in the unseen God who sees us (and loves us faithfully)!

 

blessings,

Rob Smith