PSALM 115 YOU BECOME YOUR IDOL!

October 22

PSALM 115

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

                                                                                      – Psalm 115:1-8

PSALM 115 YOU BECOME YOUR IDOL!

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

If you do not acknowledge God and his true character

You will likely make an image that will defy his true nature

If you doubt that God made you in his own image for his glory

You will possibly create an image that will thwart your true purpose

When you twist and change God’s design for your life

You will most likely make idols that negates God’s plan

Then you will have a mind that doesn’t acknowledge your Maker

You will make your own idol and realize that you are exactly like them.

Sources say that the writer of this psalm is unknown but this psalm is a contrast between God’s sovereignty and the foolishness of making idols that counterfeit God’s divinity and eternal character. It is ironic that the purpose of idol-making is to glorify the one who created it when the reality of such creation is to defy God’s existence. They want to be worshiped and adored but it seems that they are actually bowing down to the object they made, which makes them the slave of that idol.

Verses 2-8 illustrates the negation of these pagan nations of the existence of the One true God. They defy God by making idols that resemble God’s greatness so they can have slaves to bow down to it. Paul explains the consequence of these idol-making in Romans 1:24 when he said “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.” In this psalm, the writer spells out another result of idolatry: they become lifeless like them. They look like they have mouths but are mute. They have ears but can’t hear. They have hands that can’t feel, noses that can’t smell, feet that can’t walk, throats that can’t make a sound. In other words, they are lifeless objects trying to pretend that they can compete with God Almighty. What futility is this? If you recall the story of the tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9, God confused and dispersed them to destroy their pride in their abilities to make anything. Pride was their idol.

REFLECTION

·       How is pride one of the biggest idols that defy the Lord God Almighty?

ACTS 17 THINGS MADE BY MAN VERSUS GOD’S CREATION

October 21

ACTS 17

29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. – Acts 17:29-34

ACTS 17 THINGS MADE BY MAN VERSUS GOD’S CREATION

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As a believer, we ought not to compare God to any of our creations

There are no other gods who can bring to life anything out of nothing

Only the Almighty God brings life into whatever he breathes on

Humans cannot bring life into another thing or human being

Even mothers and fathers didn’t create their own children

God wove every part of that baby in their mother’s womb

Nothing we have made out of our own hands truly matter

But each creature God made plays a part in his grand design.

This account in the book of Acts focuses on God’s warning to his people regarding how his children must never compare him to any of the images made by their own hands. The Lord is divine and they are human. God made it clear to them that nothing made by man, no matter how great it is. It must not be given such value because they do not belong in God’s kingdom but in this world.

Because of our sinful nature, we could easily get caught up with the love for the gifts God gave us and begin to place higher importance on such masterpieces instead of praising and thanking the giver of such talents and abilities and glorifying him with God’s generosity.  Before I became a reformed Christian, I was a prolific visual and performing artist. I was a painter, photographer, teacher of Arts and Drama and also a Stage Manager and Stage Actress way back in my country of origin. When I moved to Canada, my plan was to continue making Art and earn money out of it as I did back in the Philippines. But, little did I know that God had a different plan for me. He addressed my trauma which I wasn’t even aware of and at the same time, changed the course of my life. It was after 8 years that I began to see why after putting up exhibits, I only sold probably not even 10 artworks. I thought I could continue the sales of 400 from my painting career back in the Philippines. I was so angry and despite 3000 applications for a job, I never got a decent job to keep me sustained. He gave me a second husband after I was abused by the first one and he provided a venue for me to address my trauma. God moved me to a true Christian church after two false churches and it was God’s word that healed my traumas. He showed me my idols of art.

REFLECTION

  • Cite instances how our work or creations can easily become an idol and replace the Lord.

EXODUS 23 UTTER NOT OTHER GODS

October 20

EXODUS 23

10 “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.12 “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.13 “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

20 “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.

22 “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. – Exodus 23:10-13,20-22

EXODUS 23 UTTER NOT OTHER GODS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When the Lord God saved you from your old life

He gave you the ability to be faithful and abide in him

The Son of God laid down his life so you can be free

Do not even utter the names of other gods for it is sin

Pay careful attention to his laws and make sure you obey it

If you rebel, you open doors for the devil to tempt you to sin

Rebellion is witchcraft for it operates in getting what it wants

It creates its own gods that strays you from praising the One true God.

It is interesting how verse 12 mentions to honor the Sabbath as a condition for us not to do what he says in verse 13.  Why do you think God emphasizes in verse 13 that we ought to listen with all ears to what he says and refrain from mentioning the names of other gods? I think that God wants us to know what he loves and what he hates. He gave us his laws as a boundary for us to remember who he is and what he allows us for his people to do. He was clearly defining that he cannot tolerate spiritual adultery and even just the utterance of the names of these pagan gods stirred him to wrath. But he also gave his people a defence against such idolatrous acts when he pointed out to honor the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for us to stop working and doing things so that we will be protected by that day of rest that we ought to honor him with. What is interesting in our world today is that we take the Sabbath as a rest for us to reward ourselves for the hard work we’ve done throughout the week. We treat ourselves to pleasures such as vacations, indulgences in activities and things we love and many don’t even remember that the rest we were given is for us to reflect on thanking and praising God for all that he has done and given us. Pleasure and lust replace worshiping and thanking God. No wonder we fall prey to idolatry because we allowed the devil to twist our worship to God and turned it to worship ourselves.

REFLECTION

  • What happens to our bodies, mind and spirit when we don’t honor the Sabbath?

ISAIAH 45 IDOL MAKING LEADS TO CONFUSION & CHAOS

October 19

ISAIAH 45

Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.

15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 All of them are put to shame and confounded;

 the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.

18 For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,‘ Seek me in vain.’
I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.

20 “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together,

you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.

                                                                                      – Isaiah 45:14-20

ISAIAH 45 IDOL MAKING LEADS TO CONFUSION & CHAOS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

God made humans for him through him and in him

Human beings changed that purpose when they sinned

That sin’s consequence became a constant love for the self

Man’s loyalty altered from loving God towards idolatry

Because idols are man-made, they belong to the world

God Almighty on the other hand, wasn’t made and has no end

Idols are physical and made by man and they are limited

When man generates idols to replace God’s place

It will generate double-minds, confusion and chaos.

In this account, the prophet Isaiah becomes God’s voice and points out to the Israelites their difference from the pagan nations around them. In other words, God wants to let his people know that they must be separate from them and not look like them in any form, tradition or practices that they engage in. In verse 18, God asserts his kingship over his people. They need not pledge loyalty to any other king but himself alone.

The Lord warns his people of the consequence of making idols and bowing down to them. They are empty and foolish. They do not have knowledge because they have turned their backs to the only source of wisdom. They become double-minded and confused and live in darkness.

REFLECTION

  • Cite an example of an idolater exhibiting a double-mind or confused and chaotic mind.

JEREMIAH 7 IDOLS PROVOKE GOD’S WRATH

October 18

JEREMIAH 7

16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 19 Is it I whom they provoke? declares the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? 20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.” 21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. 22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. 26 Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. – Jeremiah 7:16-26

JEREMIAH 7 IDOLS PROVOKE GOD’S WRATH

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As a believer, God requires you to be faithful to him

You were given his Spirit so you can turn away from sin

The Lord is a jealous God and will not tolerate competition

If you make or bow down to another god, you are provoking him

Do not forget your covenant with the Lord your God; serve only him

You are desecrating God if you give your loyalty to other gods

Don’t even think that you can get away with unfaithfulness

You’ll receive his wrath if you continue your adultery to idols.

In this account, the Lord reminds his people through Jeremiah to stop following traditions and practices of their forefathers. This prophecy focuses on the consequences of those traditions of preparing food and drink offerings to those other pagan gods. The Lord sets the boundary to his covenant people about the provocation of his wrath will lead them to destruction. In verse 23, they were admonished to obey his commands and keep their vow to be loyal to God since they were already freed from wickedness.

We are reminded of our sinful nature that tends to idolize and be unfaithful to God by remembering what God has done to free us from such sinfulness. There is a very strong tendency for humans to be automated in following traditions and old habits of sin. But if only believers remember what sacrificed was done for them through Christ, they wouldn’t go back to the prison of idolatry and unfaithfulness.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think idols provoke God’s wrath? What’s the message to God when we have idols?

1 CORINTHIANS 6 IDOLATRY DEFILES GOD’S TEMPLE IN YOU

October 17

1 CORINTHIANS 6

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteouswill not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joinedto a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sina person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:9-20

1 CORINTHIANS 6 IDOLATRY DEFILES GOD’S TEMPLE IN YOU

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

You were made to honor your God alone and not anyone else

When he chose you, he gave you his own Spirit so you can glorify him

Then he lived inside of you so you can continue to praise him alone

But you forgot that you are the temple and you defiled it with idols

If you continue to carve creature made by God himself and bow down to it

You are rebelling against a God who knows and sees what you are doing

Destroy the idols that you replaced God with and you’ll begin to live again

If you serve idols, you’ll receive his wrath and his punishment severely.

In this account, Paul teaches the believers in the church in Corinth about the different kinds of ways that the believer can defile God, but the most important aspect of this teaching is the reminder to the Christian church that there is no longer a physical temple that the believer needs to go after Christ died for them. Their own bodies became the temple of God because after Jesus’ resurrection, the promise of the Helper was fulfilled to live in us. Since God is holy, he expects his people to be holy as well. In the physical temple, God had very specific instructions how to worship him which was explained in the Old Testament as how God wanted to be worshiped. In the same manner, we ought to follow the commands of God in order to stay holy and not defile his temples in each believer’s body. Idolatry defiles it.

REFLECTION

·       How does serving idols defile the temple of the Lord? Cite some examples.

JEREMIAH 10 THE WORLD IS A FACTORY OF IDOLS

October 16

JEREMIAH 10

Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them,
3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. 5 Their idolsare like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”6 There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might.7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you.8 They are both stupid and foolish;
 the instruction of idols is but wood!  – Jeremiah 10:1-8

JEREMIAH 10 THE WORLD IS A FACTORY OF IDOLS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

The world system is a kingdom of Satan which makes all kinds of idols

It wants to veer you away from acknowledging the one who made you

Its main concern is to distract you from knowing the purpose of your being

Instead, it wants you to create your own idea of yourself through doing

The customs and traditions handed down to you twists your calling

It keeps you enslaved to follow what were handed down to you unknowingly

Instead of worshipping God who created all things in heaven and on earth

Satan wants you to make and carve your own image to compete with God.

In these following verses, Jeremiah the prophet, voices out God’s warning over customs and traditions of man that is geared towards the manufacturing of idols. In verse two, the people of God are warned against following the ways of the nations. When nations are mentioned here, we can allude to the surrounding pagan countries that do not have a covenant with God. The nations as described here are dismayed at the signs of heaven. In other words, the world is against what God stands for. Because of their non-acknowledgement of God, they have to make their own gods from their own hands. In Genesis 11, we hear the narrative how the Babylonians were all in one language and one people. They began to think and were able to build the tower of Babel so that they could reach God. They used their skills to prove to themselves that they can build such a very high tower because of their abilities and efforts.  God was watching and said in verses 6-8:  6And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Man tends to rely on their works to build up their own abilities (their idolatry of their gifts) instead of worshipping and thanking God for it.

REFLECTION

·       How is the world a factory of idols as God warns his people in this prophecy?

DEUTERONOMY 4 FORBIDDEN TO MAKE IDOLS

October 15

DEUTERONOMY 4

15 “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. 21 Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. 22 For I must die in this land; I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of that good land. 23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. – Deuteronomy 4:15-24

DEUTERONOMY 4 FORBIDDEN TO MAKE IDOLS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Because God is Spirit, he didn’t present an image of himself

He didn’t want for any of us to make one for ourselves

All his covenant people were forbidden to carve images

No creature that God created should surpass his greatness

The Lord God is a jealous God and a consuming fire

If you turn against him and make an idol, you’ll have to face his wrath

He cannot condone any form of idols that will compete with him

It is a sin to replace the Almighty, the Creator of the earth and the heavens.

Why do you think God forbade humans to carve images? In this account, he explains the reason why it is prohibited for his people to make idols.  He is Spirit and he didn’t present himself to his people in a physical form. I think that it is a good reminder for us humans that we are not just physical but spiritual, mental and emotional beings. Many of us are not even aware of our spirits. We study how our mind works through psychology and try to understand our behaviors based on our experiences and thoughts. Even at times, some Christians fail to worship God in Spirit and in truth and we become religious and we practice and follow church traditions and rituals which can miss out the true way of worshipping God. We read the bible and fail to follow it so we don’t get transformed by the truth. It is very clear that the command not to make idols is a clear protection and boundary for all those who belong to him.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think God forbade the carving of images?

EPHESIANS 5 COVETOUSNESS IS IDOLATRY

October 14

EPHESIANS 5

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”– Ephesians 5:1-14

EPHESIANS 5 COVETOUSNESS IS IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When we obsess about something we desire so much

It can be a hindrance against prioritizing God first

We can be consumed by such obsessions for those wants

Then we end up addicted to it and it enslaves us

Because of the pleasure it gives, we bow down to it

It changes the trajectory of our worship from God to them.

In this account we hear from Paul about the concept of “walking in love.” When we hear this phrase, a lot of us don’t truly know what it means, so we have difficulties applying it in our lives. We just throw out the phrase, but have no idea how challenging it is to live a “love-focused” life for Christ in a very corrupted world system with a sinful nature bent that we got from our first parents. The world gives us a different meaning to “love” which is self-focused and very different from the true love that God has given us. The Apostle Paul explains that to walk in love is to keep ourselves pure from the corruption around us. As Christians, we cannot participate in anything that displeases God which includes engaging in unfruitful works of darkness. He mentions sexual immorality as one of the most impure ways we can engage in the ways of the world. Paul also exposes covetousness is idolatry in this account. When I read this verse, it took me a while to make sense of it and when I looked at the meaning of covetousness in the bible, it means an intense obsessive craving for possessions, status or money. So, it does make sense that these strong desires and wants become idols for those who chase such objects to replace God.

REFLECTION

·       Why do you think covetousness and idolatry are the themes of the law of the Lord?

DEUTERONOMY 7 IDOLS ARE DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION

October 13

DEUTERONOMY 7

17 “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ 18 you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. 21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. 22 The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under heaven. No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. 25 The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destructionlike it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction. – Deuteronomy 7:17-26

DEUTERONOMY 7 IDOLS ARE DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

The Lord God made you to bring him praise

He created all things in heaven and on earth

Sin made you believe that you can be equal with God

It twisted the gifts you received and turned it to idols

The idol’s purpose is to deny the presence of the Lord

It wants to replace the ranking of God in your life

Idols are devoted to destroying your whole being

It makes you fruitless, lifeless and focused on doing

In this account, we hear God reassuring his people not to be afraid of the enemies and nations that have conquered them. He reminds them of the things he has delivered them from such as their exodus from the Egyptians and the fate of Pharaoh who competed with God’s power and prohibited the Israelites to worship their God. In verse 20, God clearly told his people that hornets will be sent to destroy the enemies and they were reassured that they need not fear since God is in their midst. He also declares his character in this verse when he said that he is a great and awesome God. In verse 23, God reveals the plan of destruction for these idolatrous people. They will be destroyed in great confusion. Isn’t this a very interesting way to demolish an enemy? To confuse them. The devil is the god of confusion and what an irony that God uses this tool of the devil (to confuse) as an actual weapon against them and defeat them with the very thing they use to attack God’s people. Their idolatry led them to ruin.

REFLECTION

  • Give insight as to how idols can lead man to destruction or ruin.