July, 2025 – Faithful Living® ~
Is it easy for you to distinguish between the genuine and the counterfeit? Do you know when someone or something is a fake? At times, it is not easy to determine the difference between the true and the false.
Knowing those who are sincere and truthful in their relationships with others is easy for our Lord because He sees and knows all. He can quickly differentiate for example, between the wheat and the chaff. The valuable from the worthless.
The following verses from 2 Kings 17: 14-20 MSG is a perfect example of the utter frustration that God had with His beloved people. Time and time again they fell away from abundant living. The prophet [either Ezra, Ezekiel or Jeremiah] who penned these words from God nearly 550 years before the birth of Christ, describes in great detail His condemnation.
“But they wouldn’t listen. If anything, they were even more bullheaded than their stubborn ancestors, if that’s possible. They were contemptuous of his instructions, the solemn and holy covenant he had made with their ancestors, and of his repeated reminders and warnings. They lived a “nothing” life and became “nothings”—just like the pagan peoples all around them. They were well-warned: GOD said, “Don’t!” but they did it anyway.”
“They threw out everything GOD, their God, had told them, and replaced him with two statue-gods shaped like bull-calves and then a phallic pole for the whore goddess Asherah. They worshiped cosmic forces—sky gods and goddesses—and frequented the sex-and-religion shrines of Baal. They even sank so low as to offer their own sons and daughters as sacrificial burnt offerings! They indulged in all the black arts of magic and sorcery. In short, they prostituted themselves to every kind of evil available to them. And GOD had had enough.”
“GOD was so thoroughly angry that he got rid of them, got them out of the country for good until only one tribe was left—Judah. (Judah, actually, wasn’t much better, for Judah also failed to keep GOD’s commands, falling into the same way of life that Israel had adopted.) GOD rejected everyone connected with Israel, made life hard for them, and permitted anyone with a mind to exploit them to do so. And then this final No as he threw them out of his sight.”
This despicable practices and blatant disobedience adapted from the nations surrounding them, caused this tragic fracture. The worship of idols, child sacrifice and divination resulted in God’s punishment, forcing the Israelites from His presence. To be honest, has anything changed in bringing history forward to the present day? Absolutely nothing.
How about this one: God asks Jonah to travel to Nineveh and preach to this wretched idolatrous city. Hate is a word to tame for this prophet in describing the Ninevites. After considering the command, he rejects the assignment and quickly travels in the opposite direction. God, gets his attention nevertheless, in a unique turn of events.
Then Jonah prayed to his God from the belly of the fish. “In trouble, deep trouble, I prayed to GOD. He answered me. From the belly of the grave I cried, ‘Help!’ You heard my cry. You threw me into ocean’s depths, into a watery grave, with ocean waves, ocean breakers crashing over me. I said, ‘I’ve been thrown away, thrown out, out of your sight. I’ll never again lay eyes on your Holy Temple.’ Ocean gripped me by the throat. The ancient Abyss grabbed me and held tight. My head was all tangled in seaweed at the bottom of the sea where the mountains take root. I was as far down as a body can go, and the gates were slamming shut behind me forever—Yet you pulled me up from that grave alive, O GOD, my God! When my life was slipping away, I remembered GOD, and my prayer got through to you, made it all the way to your Holy Temple. Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds, walk away from their only true love. But I’m worshiping you, GOD, calling out in thanksgiving! And I’ll do what I promised I’d do! Salvation belongs to GOD!” Jonah 2:1-9 MSG
When Jonah decided to hustle in the opposite direction, this disobedience was idol worship because he valued his personal desires above God’s will.
What idols are you chasing after and trusting in? Fame, wealth, status, position, pleasure? Are your priorities near or far from the presence of the Lord? These empty vanities will not fulfill. They are of short duration and have no permeance.
What does God end up doing with Jonah? He remained faithful and extended His grace and mercy toward him. God allowed him to repent. Jonah turned and became obedient to the call on his life. God extends the same blessings to us.
Maybe it’s time for all of us to some self-reflecting in taking a true assessment of where our relationship is with the Lord. Are we real before the Father? Have we rejected the false idols in our lives?
If you are running from God in the opposite direction, how’s that working for you? Turn back, receive His forgiveness, repent of what has captured your attention and rest in His abiding love. True happiness and contentment become realized when the fraudulent desires of this world are replaced completely with the one true God.