Bowing To The Hand Made Rather than The God of the Universe

Bowing To The Hand Made Rather than The God of the Universe

 

 

 

Hear the word that the Lord has spoken to you, house of Israel. ² This is what the Lord says:

"Do not learn the way of the nations

or be terrified by signs in the heavens,

although the nations are terrified by them,

³ for the customs of the peoples are worthless.

Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;

it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.

⁴ He decorates it with silver and gold.

It is fastened with hammer and nails,

so it won’t totter.

⁵ Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,

their idols cannot speak.

They must be carried because they cannot walk.

Do not fear them for they can do no harm—

and they cannot do any good."

 

In some ways the poetic declaration of the prophet Jeremiah, in the opening verses of chapter 10, remind me of the prophet Elijah’s confrontation with the 450 prophets of the false god Baal & the 400 prophets of the false god Asherah in 1 Kings 18:20-38. In a sense, there is a note of sarcasm, even a hint of taunting, from Jeremiah, aimed at the fake gods the Nation of Judah was worshipping. “…Someone cuts down a tree from the forest; it is worked by the hands of a craftsman… He decorates it with silver and gold. It is fastened with a hammer and nail, so it will not totter (Perhaps they learned a lesson from the Philistines in 1 Samuel 5:1-12). Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak… can do no harm… cannot do any good.” Jeremiah surely marveled that God’s chosen people would bow down and worship, even sacrifice their own children, to something they had paid someone to carve out of a piece of wood. Instead of worshipping the God that formed them by His own Hands and breathed into them the very breath of life. 

 

Most who read this breathe a sigh of relief here. This is certainly not something we struggle with in our day and age! Certainly not in America! Why I’ve never bowed to any idol! In the words of the famous theologian Lee Corso “Not so fast my friend!” I would suggest that if we think deeply on this, our tune may change. To bow is a picture of surrender. While we may not physically bow, if we are not careful, we can daily surrender to that which God never intended for us to worship. The list is endless;

·      A home

·      A job

·      A business

·      My spouse or family

·      Girlfriend or boyfriend

·      Car

·      Game

·      Sport(s)

·      A Sports Team

·      A ministry or church

·      Bicycle….

My fingers could wear out before I finished this list, and these are just the things I personally have struggled with in my own life. What’s on your list?

 

My prayer, as we enter this New Year, is that my heart would be fully devote to the sovereign God. That I would reserve all my worship for Him, and Him alone. That as I am unswervingly devoted to Him and dive deeply into the unchanging, eternal truths of His Word, that He would transform me, from the inside out. That He would accomplish the unexplainable in me and through me, to the glory of His great Name. 

 

Would you join me in this prayer?

 

Pastor Jim

Song of Surrender