Deuteronomy 4:23-24
23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
The idea of idolatry seems foreign in our modern culture. To actually think that a spirit resides in some object (“a carved image”, verse 23) can seem rather primitive and silly to many of us. But idolatry still exists in our progressive, sophisticated culture. The essence of idolatry is the idea that something other than God can bring us peace, security, and happiness. Few of us today still look to the sun or statues for those things, but now we look to money, jobs, sex, relationships, etc. for those things. Our addictions are idols, they are crutches that we use to cope with life, but they become replacements for a relationship with the true living God. What are my idols, what do I go back to when I am stressed and looking for help? Verse 24 says that God is a "jealous God", meaning that He wants our undivided hearts, our love and loyalty. And He will work to tear down any idol that gets in the way.
God, I confess to often running to idols that seem more tangible than You. Forgive me for worshipping false substitutes for Your reality.
23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
The idea of idolatry seems foreign in our modern culture. To actually think that a spirit resides in some object (“a carved image”, verse 23) can seem rather primitive and silly to many of us. But idolatry still exists in our progressive, sophisticated culture. The essence of idolatry is the idea that something other than God can bring us peace, security, and happiness. Few of us today still look to the sun or statues for those things, but now we look to money, jobs, sex, relationships, etc. for those things. Our addictions are idols, they are crutches that we use to cope with life, but they become replacements for a relationship with the true living God. What are my idols, what do I go back to when I am stressed and looking for help? Verse 24 says that God is a "jealous God", meaning that He wants our undivided hearts, our love and loyalty. And He will work to tear down any idol that gets in the way.
God, I confess to often running to idols that seem more tangible than You. Forgive me for worshipping false substitutes for Your reality.