God Exodus 20:1-3 “And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Extra Reading: Exodus 20:1-17
It is fashionable to hear an African man say after you have witnessed to him about knowing God through salvation found only in Jesus Christ, “I am an African. I approach God through ancestral spirits. The Christian God is foreign to my belief system. I think he is a European God. He was brought to us by an aero plane from Europe”. I used to get frustrated when I heard such statements but I am at ease now, and God has given me the wisdom to continue my conversation with a man like that. In the book of Deuteronomy 11:28 God warns, “And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.” This is a stern warning from God. No wise human being will just ignore it. God was about to give the people the land. Yet He demanded their obedience as a condition for its occupation and enjoyment. Our God has not juniors or assistants. He is superior and self-existent. He doesn’t have to get Himself into competition with some small gods of this world. King Ahaz’s idolatry and unfaithfulness to God (2 Chron.28:19) led to God’s judgment. Rather than repent, Ahaz sought to appease the gods who had defeated him, the gods of Damascus.
Please take note of what God’s Word says in 2 Chronicles 28:22-23 “In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord-this same king Ahaz. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me. “But they were the ruin of him and all of Israel.” This is the time when Judah has reached its lowest point before the exile through Ahaz’s desecration of the temple and his suppression of worship according to the Law of Moses (2 Chronicles 28:24; 29:7, 18-19) in favour of pagan practices. The blasphemous worship of false gods is now promoted by a Davidic king. Although this will be reversed somewhat by the reforming kings Hezekiah (chapters 29-32) and Josiah (chapters 34-35), Judah is set on a course that will culminate in destruction and exile. (see 28:5). Ahaz is denied burial in the royal tombs a mark of God’s judgment on his wickedness (see 21:20; 24:25; 26:23). The funny thing with following false gods is that we you are in trouble with the true and living God, they run away from you. You remain alone in the mess you created for yourself. God promises in His Word that all people who follow idols and false gods will be destroyed (Deuteronomy 4:3). There are many gods like Baal Peor, a god of the Moabites (Num. 25:3), Dagon, a god of the Philistines (Judges 16:23), Diana, a goddess of the Ephesians (Acts 19:24), Molech, a god of the Ammonites (Leviticus 18:21), Baal, a god of Phoenicia and the Caananitish Tribes (Numbers 22:41), Ashtoresh, a goddess of the Phoenicians (Judges 2:13). They are no match to our true God.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, may you become the true and living God to people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
There are no products |
There are no products |