Lent 2023 Day 22 “Worthless Idols”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2081;%20Jeremiah%202:4-13;%20John%207:14-31,%2037-39

Jeremiah 2:4-13

⁴ Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel.

⁵ This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. ⁶ They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ ⁷ I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. ⁸ The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. ⁹ “Therefore I bring charges against you again,” declares the Lord. “And I will bring charges against your children’s children. ¹⁰ Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar[a] and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: ¹¹ Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. ¹² Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord. ¹³ “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Worthless Idols

There’s nothing like adversity to help us put things into perspective. Money rolls, cars, and clothes are signs of success and status in our world. Many of us work tirelessly to acquire money and the materials it can purchase. When we finally make the big purchase we have a tendency to be protective of it. I have seen fights break out over somebody accidentally stepping on someone’s new shoes. We cherish our things and at times we forget to remember who gave us the strength to work and the ability to get the job done. Our possessions begin to possess us. In short, we become worthless protectors of worthless idols. This will go on forever if we don’t pause and pay attention to YHWH. Adversity can help us to pause.

The Word of the LORD comes through Jeremiah for the people of Israel and we can draw meaning from it for us today. YHWH instructs Jeremiah to ask the people what faults did your ancestors find in me that they strayed so far from me? As they strayed they forfeited their value because they forgot to remember who was the ultimate provider. For us today, the question is do YOU have stuff or does stuff have YOU? What is really most important in YOUR life. Often times abundance can be just as distracting as adversity. We can become so smug in who we are and what we have that we forget to remember our CREATOR. The prophet Jeremiah says they exchanged their glorious GOD for worthless idols.

Let us be clear that not all idols are made of materials. Some of us may have made an idol of our health and others idolize their skill sets. An idol is anything that can distract us from the DIVINE. YWHW is ever-present yet we must be careful to keep our lives in a proper perspective. Scripture teaches seek first the Kingdom and all other things will be added. Lent gives us an opportunity to regulate ourselves and reclaim our joy. Lent is like a massage for the soul. We work out tensions, address problem areas, and prayerfully exit our forty days stronger and more faithful. Let’s do this.

Point to Ponder: What idols have YOU had to deal with. Is there anything between YOUR soul and YOUR savior? In what ways have YOU forsaken GOD and how will you respond?