Based on Deuteronomy 12:29–13:18 (New King James Version)
“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. ‘Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it. ‘If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst. ‘If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you. ‘If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you to dwell in, saying, ‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’’—which you have not known—then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you, you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock—with the edge of the sword. And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.’”
Dr. Charles Stanley said: “God’s voice is still and quiet and easily buried under an avalanche of clamor.” The world is a noisy and very active place. It is full of distractions, activity, energy, entertainment, war, plaque, etc. There is so much to look at and so much to observe! We have so many things competing for our attention. Everything around us emits some sort of noise, light, movement, etc.; with the intent to attract one, if not, all of our five senses. It is quite difficult to just concentrate on one single thing in a given moment.
Most of that activity is Satan, especially when it has to do with pulling our attention away from God. In today’s passage, we read of very stern warnings from God relating to the worship of other gods. God’s warnings were so harsh that if anything or anyone tried to take you to something else, that either the person or object had to be destroyed. And during the time that God was giving these directives to His people, there were many gods. People worshipped different gods, animals, and even demon or malevolent creatures, with the intent to gain favor, or to obtain some sort of benefit or power. They worshipped these variations of deities for some sort of reason that made sense to them.
There were horrible practices such as the worship to Moloch. He was a Canaanite god, precisely the one that God warned against in this passage. To find favor with this god, people made child sacrifices. The statue was made of bronze, shaped with extended arms. The ritual was to heat up the statue with fire until it was burning hot. Once it was hot enough, people would lay their children (alive) on its extended arms, burning them to death. Why would anyone do such a horrible thing, offering their own infant sons and daughters as burnt offerings? I don’t know and I don’t know how they could watch and listen to that happen! Horrible, right?
Some may say, “Well, I certainly don’t worship any other gods.” And here is where we must be careful. Many people may not worship animal-like idols, or observe cruel practices, but Satan has managed to give brilliant disguises to the gods of today. What we must understand is that people were created for worship. Whether we understand it or not, because we were created for worship, our function is worship; no matter what we do. And what determines our worship is our devotion. If your most meaningful and significant attention is not towards God, then you are worshipping something else. That thing or person you pay more attention to has become a god. Even if the atheist says, “I don’t believe in anything;” because we are creators of worship, then they have become their own god. There is the god of money, the god of pleasure, and god of ego. Many people kill their unborn children today through abortion, so that personal plans and goals are not interfered with (that’s their god). They may not necessarily put their infants on a burning statue, but they kill the innocent nonetheless (the worship to Moloch continues – there were 664,435 legally induced abortions in the US). There is the god of family, of careers, etc. Even your problems can become an idol, when that is all your thinking about; consumed by circumstances. Everything you give priority over the Lord turns into a god, an idol. And when that happens, everything after that turns into a mistake, a problem, a wrong turn; and it will lead to certain destruction in the end. We can even turn the blessings that God gives us into idols if we pay more attention to them than to Him. There is a place for everything, but nothing should take God’s place in your life; for your own good.
So, are you serving other gods and idols? Lord bless! John