Saturday, October 18, 2014 [What’s Most Important]
36 “You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God.
Jerusalem - God’s City.
Zion - God’s Mountain.
The Temple - God’s House.
The Israelites had put all of their trust in the "things of God." They worshipped in Jerusalem, at the placed where God lived, in His Temple. In their minds, as long as they went to Temple and made the proper sacrifices they could do whatever else they wanted. They placed their security, hope and confidence in the “things of God” rather than the Lord God Himself. They felt as if they were indestructible because they lived at the "center of the world," worshipping the God of the universe. “What can possibly happen to us,” they must have thought. In his book, The Promise-Plan of God, Walter Kaiser comments, “It was as if they were using God’s temple as a rabbit’s foot charm for good luck. God could not and would not storm his own sanctuary and dwelling place - so Judah thought!” They held on so tightly to the “things of God” that they completely ignored, and turned their hearts away from, "the God of all things.” Their lips worshipped God, but their hearts worshipped things.
This is an easy trap for us to fall into. God blesses us with a new job and soon the job becomes our object of worship above the One Who Gave it. God blesses us with a new love and soon the person/relationship becomes our object of worship. God blesses us with finances, opportunities, position, etc., and it becomes easy for us to worship that “thing" rather than God. So, what was God’s plan for helping His children to see this great error? He had to allow the things to be taken and destroyed so that they might see that in their absence He still remained.
There are times when God will take things away so that He can show us how much greater He is. This is not to steal our joy, security or hope, but rather to help us see the true source of it all. God knows that if we put all of our confidence in anything other than Him we will eventually be shaken, stumble, and then fall. What kind of Father wants that to be the end for His kids?
So, how can we guard our hearts from falling into the trap of worshipping things?
1. Remember and rehearse that “every good and perfect gift is from above.” (James 1:17) The blessings of life, and life itself, are not “luck” or “chance.” They are given to us by God.
2. Give thanks to God in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:18).
3. Remember our identity (Jeremiah 32:38) - We are His people and He is Our God. This is a relationship that is like a marriage. We need to strive to keep “things” from coming in between this relationship.
Father, all life, hope and security is in You. As the psalmist sang, “all our fountains are in You.” Help us to turn our hearts away from the things around us and teach us how to keep our that we would turn our hearts toward You.
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