Israel's history is one of spotty obedience at best.  From Abraham to Malachi and everyone else in between, some were faithful, but most did what was right in their own eyes.  When Israel fled Egypt, they took the idols of Egypt with them, building a golden idol in the shape of a calf, naming it "the Lord."  And this just a few mere weeks after having been told clearly by God Himself from the cloud at the top of Mount Sinai: "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.  You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain."  At the end of this incident, Moses, who had just been on top of Mount Sinai with God, makes two requests: that God not depart from them, despite the idolatry and that God show His glory to Moses.  The people had just committed treason against the one, true God Who had just delivered them out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: they had fashioned and worshiped a false god and had given it the name of the one, true God.  In other words, they had violated the second and third commandments--not to mention adultery and murder and covetousness.

An interesting observation is that all the actions flow from the thoughts, beliefs, desires, and worship.  What you believe and where your affections lie drive what you do and what you reach for.  In Israel's case, they got impatient with God and with Moses, so they took their worship into their own hands.

This pattern continued throughout Israel's history, and in Micah's day, the word of the Lord was one of judgment and doom because, as Isaiah his contemporary prophet said, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."  When presented with the opportunity to enter the promised land, Israel said in essence, "No, thank you, God.  We don't think you can defeat the armies that are so much greater than we are."  When the judges ruled between Joshua and King Saul, Israel did whatever was right in his own eyes, and that resulted in several terrible occurrences.  (See Judges 19-20 as one example.)  When the kings ruled and reigned, Israel and Judah had 40 kings between them.  All but eight good kings of Judah led the people into idolatry.  Only two of those eight good kings of Judah (Hezekiah and Josiah) destroyed the high places where the people worshiped the false gods.  But by the time of the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah, idolatry had been so ingrained into the people's hearts that the high places were re-constructed almost immediately after their deaths.

Unless you think, "I would never do anything like that," where do you spend your time?  What holds your affection above all else?  Whom do you seek to please the most?  Whose definition of goodness guides your beliefs, desires, and actions?  If your honest answer to any of these questions is anything other than the one, true, sovereign God of Scripture; then you are guilty of idolatry.  If you place God's name on something that He has pronounced as evil or vile, then you are guilty of taking His name in vain.  Some of the key topics in our day and age range from abortion to identity to family.  What has been pronounced good in America is giving freedom to the individual to do what is right in his own eyes.  Sound familiar?

What does God do to the high places Israel set up throughout their lives in the promised land?  He comes down from on high and destroys them.  He melts them.  He tosses the rocks of the high places into the valleys.  In essence, He is saying, "Enough!" to the idolatry found throughout the land of Israel. 

Perhaps you are thinking, "Yup.  The angry god of the Old Testament.  Always full of wrath and never any mercy or love."

But, this way of thinking is from a misunderstanding of Who God truly is.  He is holy and full of wrath against sin, but that is because He is full of steadfast love for righteousness.  His perfection demands it.  He created us to bear the image of perfection that He is, and we said, "No.  I'd rather have my own perfection," and this has led us into so many trials and hardships and tribulations that I lack time to enumerate.  Be that as it may, God is the One Who is most pained and most offended and most violated by all this treason against Him.  And He patiently waited for 1,400 years from the time of the exodus to the time of Christ.  He did destroy Samaria and Jerusalem, but He brought His people back to Jerusalem. 

God is both merciful and just, and His glory is revealed in the fact that He faithfully dispenses both according to His steadfast love that He has for His Own people, each of whom He has chosen from all eternity.  How do you know if you are one of His elect or not?  Are you amazed that God hasn't wiped us off the face of the earth yet, or are you thinking that God is not fair for sending His judgment on innocent people?  If the first, rejoice!  If the second, you are right in your evaluation of justice, but the idea that people can be innocent before God is simply false.  There is only one who is a mediator between God and man, the Man Jesus Christ.  There is no other name given under heaven by which men must be saved: Jesus Christ.  If you recognize that He is the standard and that you fall short of that standard, then trust Him completely and only for your righteousness.  He alone is good.  Trust Him.  Follow Him.  Love Him.  Together with us!

#comeandseeJesus

#comeandlivebyfaith

#loveandworshipHim

#SoliDeoGloria