5/31/2011 10:11:00 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Israel disobeyed its law
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 2Kings 17:7-17
Message of the verses: “ 7
¶ Now this came about because the sons
of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from
the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had
feared other gods 8 and walked in the
customs of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel,
and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced. 9 The sons of Israel did things secretly which
were not right against the LORD their God. Moreover, they built for themselves
high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set for themselves sacred pillars and
Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they burned incense on all the high
places as the nations did which the LORD had carried away to exile before them;
and they did evil things provoking the LORD. 12
They served idols, concerning which the LORD had said to them, "You
shall not do this thing." 13 Yet
the LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer,
saying, "Turn from
your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law
which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the
prophets." 14 However, they
did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not
believe in the LORD their God. 15 They
rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His
warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain,
and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the LORD had
commanded them not to do like them. 16
They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for
themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped
all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17
Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and
practiced divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the
sight of the LORD, provoking Him.”
This
section of Scripture is similar to what the Apostle Paul writes to the Romans
in the first few chapter of that letter.
One of the differences is that in that letter Paul is giving an
indictment to all of mankind including the nation of Israel. Here the writer of 2Kings is just indicting only
the nation of Israel along with some words about Judah. There is no defense for the nation of Israel
as first they started to worship idols in secret (verse 9), and then they did
it openly and actually came to the point of killing their own sons and daughters
by putting them through the fire in an act of worship to their idols.
Psalm
115:8 shows that people become like the gods that they worship, (Those who make
them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them). (Those who make them have become just like
them, have become just like the gods they trust). (Message)
The verse can be seen very clearly in the “Message” and so it was with
the nation of Israel, for they became “vanity” (emptiness, nothingness) because
the worshiped vain idols.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: These are some verses that bring fear to my
heart for I do want to become like the God that I worship in fact that is what
I, as a believer am suppose to do. “For
God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so
that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters (Romans
8:29 NLT).
I
look at the nation that I live in and I see similar things’ happening to it
that happened to Israel and to Judah and that brings fear to my heart. An example is the homosexual issue, for when
I was growing up there were homosexuals living in our country, but they were
“in the closet” and now they brag so much of coming out of the closet. When you read Paul’s letter to the Romans
there is a slide that people and nations take as the slip to deeper and deeper
sins and the last part of this slide is homosexuality. Paul writes something like not only do people
do these kinds of sins but they applaud those who do them too. This is a very sad time to live in our
country seeing it fall to the moral levels that it is falling to and knowing
that judgment is not far off.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Give myself to the Lord for worship and for service
so that I can be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2.
Continue to learn contentment.
3.
Remember the need for the spiritual armor.
4.
Continue to pray about the job situation and also
what spiritual reason that we are here.
5.
Pray that the meeting with the Pastor this week will
happen and that it will be profitable.
5/31/2011 10:45:40 AM
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