- TODAY'S BIBLE TEXT
Text: Exodus 32:1-35
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. 16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. 17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. 18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. 19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. 20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? 22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. 23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. 25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) 26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. 27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. 28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. 29 For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. 31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. 33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. 34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. 35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
- FRIDAY, 16TH FEBRUARY 2024 DEVOTIONAL
Friday, 16th February 2024
THE SNARE OF FALSE gods
Text: Exodus 32:1-35
Memory verse: Exodus 23:33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
We often think how primitive it was for people in the Old Testament to worship idols made of wood and stone. Those idols were nothing more than empty images made in man’s own imagination and mind. In this sense it was the reversal of Biblical truth that God made man in His image; but sinful men make a god in their own image. It is hard to believe people believed that these man-made images were powerful gods.
However, today we are not that different, except with the images. It is still possible to worship a “false image” even if it is one just in your own imagination or head. Any image of God that we worship that doesn’t fit the Biblical view is a “false image.”
Most idols sprang into being out of desperate needs, and so man created an image to fit that need. Whenever we don’t get what we want, or when we desperately want something, we are driven to finding the “god” we need to meet our desperate needs. This is how we often create “new gods.” Then, we spend our energy and resources to sacrifice to that “god” with the hope that we will get what we want. Tragically, Christians sometimes “reinvent” the true God into an image that will satisfy what THEY WANT too, always with disastrous results.
“We need to worship the GOD OF THE BIBLE, not the one in our heads.” When Moses was up in the mountain receiving God’s commandments for Israel, he was gone so long that the people of Israel began to feel desperate and alone. In their fear and desperation, they decided they couldn’t wait any longer for a clear picture of God and they pressed Aaron into making a god for them from an image they already had of a god, a golden calf. The Bible teaches us that desperate emotions can cause us to create or reinvent God into our own image, an image usually very different from the image in the Bible. Then we end up serving the image rather than the true God. We must fight the temptation to serve other gods, it is a trap from Satan.
- TODAY'S HYMNAL
CGDS HYMN 58: SS&S 118:
CHRIST HATH REDEEMED US"
1. Christ hath redeemed us": sing
the glad word!
Mercy's sweet message be telling,
How, through the ransom made by
His blood,
Christ now within us is dwelling.
Refrain:
"Christ hath redeemed us": Praise to His
Praise Him, ye angels in glory! [name!
"Christ hath redeemed us," bearing our shame;
Tell out the wonderful story!
2. "Christ hath redeemed us," making us free,
Free from the sins that enslaved us;
Never in bondage more Can we be,
Trusting in Him who hath saved us.
3. "Christ hath redeemed us": we are His own,
Purchased by blood—He will hold us;
Nor will He ever leave us alone,
Safely His arms shall enfold us,
4. "Christ hath redeemed us": soon with the throng
Gathered in glory we'll meet Him;
Oh, with what rapture join in the song,
When face to face we shall greet Him!
- TODAY'S PRAYERS
Prayers:
1. Lord Jesus, help me to take away any person or objects that want to become gods in my life taking Your place.
2. LORD God Almighty, help me to take away anything that want to take Your place in my life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
3. Pray for others in this regard.
