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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Get Rid of Your Idols

Then God said to Jacob, "Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau." So Jacob told everyone in his household, "Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone." So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob's family. (Genesis 35:1-5 NLT)

I find it interesting that we now have television programs that openly promote donning someone as our "Idol." It's an indicator of where we are as a society.  Don't get me wrong.  We've had idols in our lives for as long as humanity has existed.  An idol is anything that demands our time, attention, resources in "worship."  Over the years, idols have shown up in the form of statues, pictures, belongings, buildings, animals, nature, and people.  There have been times in history that we've been more subtle and not called them idols.  There have been other times, like now, that we are arrogantly open about our worship of the created rather than the Creator.

When Jacob was getting ready to go to a place where he knew he had encountered God, he told everyone in his house hold to get rid of their idols and purify themselves.  Entering into the presence of God is not something to mess with.  There's no room for any other gods.  There's no room for idols.  When they began their travels, God blessed their faithfulness by protecting them from harm.  In essence, He was honoring them because they honored Him.  No one attacked Jacob's family.

Perhaps is really is easier to walk with God than we think.  When I think about the things that vie for "idol" status in my life, I realize just how many of them there are.  When I get rid of them, it's amazing to see the time, attention, and resources that become available.  Suddenly, I have all the time I need to do those things God wants me to do.  I just don't have enough to serve God and all those idols.  The solution?  Get rid of my idols.  Then I have more than enough of everything to worship God and enjoy a walk in the garden with Him.

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