They Put Away Their False gods (1 Samuel 7:3-4)

4/30/2010 9:21 AM

 

SPIRITIUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  They put away their false gods

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference:  1Sam. 7:3-4

 

            Message of the verses:  “3  Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the LORD with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the LORD and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." 4  So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the LORD alone.”

            In the history of the people and then the nation of Israel idols was a great problem.  Abraham came from a family of idol worshipers when God called him to worship the one true God.  Jacob and his family brought idols back to the Promised Land when they were returning from living with his father-in-law.  Then when the children of Israel were living in the nation of Egypt there were some who worshipped idols.  When Moses was up on the mountain receiving the Law the children of Israel made an idol to represent God and worshiped it.  During the time of Joshua when the Promised Land was conquered, or at least most of it that generation did not worship idols, but the next one did.  One of the reasons that they did is because they did not drive out the remaining Canaanites from the land and thus picked up their detestable practices.  Baal was the Canaanite storm god and Israel worshipped this god when the rains did not come.  Ashtoreth was the goddess of fertility whose worship included unspeakably sensual activities. 

            Today’s SD is the beginning of the third chapter of Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 1Samuel, the commentary that I use to make some sense out of what the Word of God has to say.  His “Be” series have been a wonderful help in my spiritual journey and I am thankful for Warren Wiersbe’s great help in explaining the Scriptures so that I can understand them for he puts the cookies on the shelf where I can reach them, and I like cookies.  The title of this third chapter is “The Call for a King,” and the first main division is “Seeking the Lord,” of which the first sub-section is today’s SD.

            The Ark of the Covenant is now safely back with Israel resting in the house of Abinadab where it will stay until David brings it up to Jerusalem (1 Chr. 15). Samuel is now judging the nation of Israel and there arises a new generation who wants to change the political climate in Israel by asking Samuel for a king.  This is a transitional period in the life of the nation of Israel, and God has chosen Samuel to lead the nation through this period and the first thing that needs to be done is to turn back to the Lord and that is what this meeting at Mizpah is all about.  The verses in this section are a call to go back to the Lord and put away those loathsome idols that get Israel in trouble.

            “An idol is a substitute for God—anything that we trust and serve in place of the Lord.” 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Warren Wiersbe writes the following concerning idols:  “Believers today have more subtle and attractive gods:  houses and lands, wealth, automobiles, boats, position and recognition, ambition, and even other people.  Anything in our lives that takes the place of God and commands the sacrifice and devotion that belong only to Him, is an idol and must be cast out.  Idols in the heart are far more dangerous than idols in the temple.”

            I fight with the idols that are in my heart most everyday and like the children of Israel who were to drive out the Canaanites who worshiped these false gods and did not do it and thus began to worship them too I must drive out the idols of unclean thoughts, and sports so that I can do as Samuel called the children of Israel to do and that is get rid of their false gods so that they can truly worship the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Turn from the idols that I worship and get rid of them so that I can worship the Lord and fellowship with Him.

 

4/30/2010 10:01 AM