“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them,.. and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and… he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen… For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet… has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who… redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
“If your brother,.. or your son or daughter or wife or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples around you,.. you shall not yield to him or listen to him.” Deuteronomy 12:29-13:7
“I will ponder the way that is blameless…
I will walk with integrity of heart..;
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.” Psalm 101:2a,3-4
God’s warnings against idolatry were many and stern. His instructions are practical and invite commitment. He requires His people to be serious about both sin and strict adherence to His ways, for their good.
When God regenerates our minds to grasp the gospel and hearts with holy affection, we enter a relationship with Him by faith that is inextricable. But our enemy sullen lurks! He will do everything he can to unsettle our settledness, to sprinkle doubt into our certainty, to disrupt peace and shake loose our trust in the Savior. That’s why God warns again and again against idolatry. That’s why He states first things first: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:2-3)
But over and over we do! We sing the Lord first in our hearts, yet allow swinging passions to woo us away from His supremacy. The tantalizing sparkle and feel-good comforts of lesser gods catch us in their trap of immediate pleasure and temporal emotional satisfaction. How aware are we of the little gods that beckon?
What places, what people, what pleasures lure us from the true God who alone satisfies the soul? How committed are we to spiritual integrity? The Lord honors holy desire.
Father, give me discernment and determination to follow You alone, to Your esteem and praise.
As the rain and snow 