Really Want To Know?

“Listen, you remnant of Judah. The LORD has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today. For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the LORD your God for you. You said, ‘Just tell us what the LORD our God says, and we will do it!’ And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the LORD your God any better now than you have in the past. So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.” [Jeremiah 42.19-22]

How many times have we gone to God asking Him to show us the way only to refuse to walk in it after He does?

To be specific, Israel had an idolatry problem. The thing is though, they still wanted God to bless them.

God has given us His Holy Word defining quite clearly what our lives should look like. Yet, in lust for our idols, we interpret God's Word through human reasoning to mean what we want and need it to mean so we can hold on to our idols.

God said:

You must not have any other god but me. [Exodus 20.3]

We say:

God uses my idols to accomplish His will.

What? WE DON'T SAY THAT! (Do we?)

At great risk of sounding repetitive, I persist to repeat what God has been speaking since time began. An idol is anything or anyone we look to for that which God promised us. 

Although not the only offensive idol in our lives, in its plethora of forms, science (the work of man's hands and knowledge) stands out as perhaps the leading contender (idol) for our trust. We can say, "It isn't so!" to our hearts' content, but what good is content in our hearts when our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17.9)?

With the overwhelming rebuke of idolatry in the Old Testament as it pertained to Israel (representative of God's people), how can a "believer" make the statement, "I know God is my [insert here any role God promised to play in our lives], but He uses [insert here any work of man's hands or ingenuity].

Again, what is idolatry? Idolatry is looking to anyone or anything (in part or in whole) for benefits God Himself promised.

So, while we say, "God, please speak to us!" Is that really what we want, or do we want instead for Him to give consent to our idolatry (which is exactly what Israel wanted)?

The fact is, God has already spoken to us: You must not have any other god but me. How far do we take this command? (stop and think about this)

The Old Testament is nothing if it is not a description of Israel's idolatry in spite of God's love. Offerings, rituals, and sacrifices offered no lasting remedy but, in fact, became laced with idolatry as well. What a mess. The solution came in Jesus Christ - not a new set of rules, but a lifestyle of faith based entirely upon His blood. It is no wonder Jesus used very exclusive terms when referring to Himself and The Way (I am The Way... and, narrow is the gate...).

The question is then, "How singularly do we trust Christ?" 

Do we really want to know the truth about our idolatry?

Father, as much as I "want answers," I am 100% convinced I already have them in Your Word. May I be found submissive to Your Word above human reasoning. So be it.