DAY 7 Exodus 29:1-40:39
About four months. That's all it took for the Hebrews to modify God's plan. You would think that:
Seeing all the plagues in Egypt;
Being delivered from bondage;
The Pillar of Cloud by day;
The Pillar of Fire by night;
Watching the Red Sea part;
Seeing Pharaoh's army destroyed;
Being provided manna and quail;
Watching water come out from a rock;
Defeating the Amalekites;
And observing the cloud with thunder and lightning settling on Mount Sinai;
Would be enough to gain your allegiance, your trust, and your faith. But it wasn't enough. So they added something to God's plan, not to mention broke the commandment given to them in Chapter 20 about making an idol and worshipping it.
Now, the meaning of worship is to show honor, respect, or devotion. What we honor in our lives is shown through our priorities. Our priorities can usually be determined by what comes first, where we spend our money, and how we spend our time.
Read Chapter 32 very carefully. The Israelites got impatient waiting on God's guidance through Moses. So, they built the golden calf and the next day had a festival to the Lord. They needed something else besides God. God wasn't enough.
Now before we get too judgmental on the Israelites. We have all sorts of golden calves in our lives when we get impatient waiting for God's guidance. And for the most part their very subtle. We don't replace God with them, we just add them to God's plan in our lives.
Materialism is a very subtle idol. Did you know that 21 percent of the world's population in 2001 lived on less than $1 a day, which convicts me about that Dr. Pepper I had today. Is our faith in God and our 401K to provide for our needs? The point is not about how much we have, but do we put our trust in it. If it was gone tomorrow, would it change your devotion to God.
Leisure time is another very subtle idol. How much do we watch TV versus ministering to those that are in need. How much time do I actually spend at the mall? in movies? on the computer? Again, the point is about the balance of how we spend our time. Are we redeeming the time we are given for God's purpose.
We even have spiritual idols, the things that we add to the gospel of Jesus Christ that "good" Christians must believe or do. One of the greatest hindrances to our relationship with Jesus are all the idols that we make Him share our faith with.
Just like the Israelites, I am prone to forget how God has delivered me from bondage and provided for my life. Which reminds me, I have a fire going out back so I can burn my idols, then I have to grind them to powder, scatter them in a water bottle, and force myself to drink it. (32:20) And then take some Alka-Seltzer.
