Hosea 2:8 NKJV
”For she did not know That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, And multiplied her silver and gold— Which they prepared for Baal.“
The above passage tell us about the children of Israel, how they made an Idol to worship out of the things God blessed them with. Also remember when the children of Israel left Egypt, they also made an idol, golden calf to worship out of the jewel's, riches GOD made them to get out of favor from the Egyptians...
Exodus 12:35-36 King James Version (KJV)
And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
Exodus 32 NIV The Golden Calf
32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
Now it’s easy to blame the children of Israel and say oh they should have known better, how could they; but really let’s ask ourselves, WHAT ARE WE MAKING AN IDOL OF, WITH THE THINGS GOD HAS BLESSED US WITH?
How often has God blessed us and we use the very same things he has blessed us with and make an IDOL out of them, we prioritize these things, we love them more than we love God, we serve them and even seek to draw pleasure out of them instead of God.
All things God has blessed us with, life, health, money, career, relationships, everything should be used to absolutely bring glory to Gods name. And unconsciously many of us including myself sometimes really let our focus shift from using it to bring glory to Gods name to serving, prioritising them.
What is an IDOL?
I saw this definition from Pastor John from desiringGod.org:
“Anything in the world that successfully competes with our love for God is an idol.”
GOD is going to ask us to account for everything HE has blessed and given us with on the last day:
Remember everything God has given us are talents/properties that has been entrusted to us by God and should be used to bring glory to his name, advance the kingdom of God, to do the work which God our master has sent us to do. Like the parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30; we are going to give an account of it all on the last day......
Matthew 25:14-30 ESV
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property
21.23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
This is a short charge to not let our focus shift from CHRIST, don't create an IDOL out of things, people, relationships, career GOD has blessed us with. Don't even lets create an IDOL out of the things we are expecting and trusting GOD for.
GOD commands us to only serve and worship HIM.
Exodus 20:4-5 New International Version
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
Let's be wise and glorify GOD in all things and with all things.
Romans 1:21-23 New International Version
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
I leave you with this, as Paul said to the Romans and to us; don’t worship and serve the things God has given you rather than GOD Himself.
Romans 1:25 TPT
“all because they traded the truth of God for a lie. They worshiped and served the things God made rather than the God who made all things—glory and praises to him forever and ever! Amen!”
Prayer
Lord we thank you for your continuous blessing upon our lives, we really thank you for it all; your blessings, favour, grace; thank you LORD. LORD we ask for forgiveness in areas where we have left our first love, forsaken you; we ask for forgiveness in areas where we have created an idol out of the very things you have blessed us with. We repent and turn back to you LORD, LORD JESUS give us the grace to always prioritise YOU, to use all the things we have to bring glory to YOUR name, advance the kingdom of GOD. For this is our true worship and sacrifice.
Thank YOU LORD JESUS, I LOVE YOU FOREVER AND ALWAYS.
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