Things used by God become and idol and a snare, when we begin to put our faith in the ‘thing’ instead of in the God who used the ‘thing’.
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Scripture
2 Kings 18:3-4
“And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (It was called Nehushtan).
Observation
What amazing courage Hezekiah displayed! It takes guts to tear down the ‘high places’ and Asherah poles of the nation–but Hezekiah took things a step further and smashed the bronze serpent made by Moses at God’s command! I can almost hear the gasps of shock, as the nation watched him commit this unthinkable act:
“What are you doing, Hezekiah!?!? Don’t you realize that God himself ordered Moses to create that serpent?! Don’t you understand the amazing role it played in delivering our people from a deadly crisis? Don’t you have any appreciation or respect for our heritage and history?!”
Yet Hezekiah understood something profound: Things used by God become and idol and a snare, when we begin to put our faith in the ‘thing’ instead of in the God who used the ‘thing’.
Application
Heritage is important, and history matters. But when my heart and spirit wander from true faith in God alone, then the thing that has replaced God in my heart must be shattered–whether would be my calendar, my plans, my bank account, my hobbies, or my deeply-treasured traditions and heritage.
God alone deserves my allegiance, my faith, and my trust. Anything else becomes an idol, no matter how important and appropriate it may have been at one point in time.
Prayer
God, thank you for this reminder of the importance of faith rooted immovable in you! Help me to never let anything else replace you in my life–whether it be my own idols, or an idol of tradition based on what you have done in the past.
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