Today’s Reading Numbers 23-25
Focal Scripture: Numbers 25:1-2 “While Israel was staying the the Acacia Grove, the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab. The women invited them to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods.”
When you are planted certain places you have to make sure that you do not conform to the culture. I want to point out that you need to understand the culture. You must know how it works, how people think, and especially what they believer. However, in no circumstances can you change what you believe fundamentally and follow their pagan practices.
This is what is happening here in these verses. The Israelites were traveling and began to meet other people. In their travel they started to have deep relationships with people who did not believe like them. This caused them to worship false gods and idols. This caused their hearts to be turned away from God and onto a personal relationship. These scriptures serve as a great example that people will abandon what they believe for the chance at a relationship that makes them feel a certain way.
Abandoning your belief system and worshiping idols is never part of the plan. Unfortunately, when personal relationships get involved one person will usually forsake what they know to be true to save a relationship. I have seen it numerous times. A young person who knows their faith, believes in it completely but will walk away from it because it hinders a dating relationship. Their desire to be wanted and loved has them turn their worship to another.
This should serve as a warning for all of us as we are on a journey of worship. If we are not careful if something catches our attention or meets a needs can distract us from the best relationship possible. On the one hand their is obviously a need that is being neglected for someone to walk away from what they hold true. On the other hand how deeply do we believe if we can be swayed by our feelings.
My challenge for you today is to ask yourself if you have any idols in your life that you worship. It may be another relationship, it might be your job, it might be how you feel from day to day. Anything that takes the focus off of Christ in your life is an idol. We all deal with this. This is a battle that must be fought daily. God wants all of us and we need to be able to give him all that we have.
So today surrender your idols and look for anything that will try to capture your heart.
Tomorrow I plan on reading Numbers 26-27
