It was a trivial thing...

-



Scripture

It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him.
(1 Kings 16:31 NASB)

 

Observation


These are the words which describe the reign of King Ahab. He was ultimately more evil than any king who served before him and his wife, Jezebel...her very name has become synonymous with evil. Sadly the leap wasn't too far because gradually from generation to generation the people of God had kept moving away from him until this final leap which was so evil became a trivial thing.

 

Application


This is the way that evil works in our lives. Rarely does anyone begin a journey with the desire to become extremely evil. Instead, we begin a journey, and if we do not keep our eyes on God, we will incrementally get on the wrong track. This wrong track may not take us too far off of the path, but what are we establishing for the next generation? Will they ever be able to see and understand what God truly desired for them? Instead will they also follow a trajectory that takes them down a path that ends in an even greater distance from God's intention? Finally, one like Ahab comes along and it becomes a trivial thing for him to walk in evil. It becomes a trivial thing to marry a woman like Jezebel. It becomes a trivial thing to murder the followers of God. It becomes a trivial thing to build idols to the pagan gods. It becomes a trivial thing to break all of God's laws.

We think that this story is incredibly extreme -- but is it? How far away is contemporary society from God? Have we slipped into an attitude of complacency and would our forebears be shocked at our attitudes toward the encroachment of other gods into our lives? Has it become a trivial thing to accept the things of this world as normal?

For us to be faithful followers of God and to be able to pass our love for him to the next generation, we need to be wholeheartedly sold out to him. We cannot be Sunday only Christians (Or every other Sunday Christians!). While being a follower of Christ is not only about church attendance, church attendance does speak to our commitment. What is our commitment? Is it to ourselves and our desires for a fun weekend, or do our children see that we are wholeheartedly committed to God and to serving him? Do they see that God is a priority in our lives?

The sad truth is that if we are not careful, it will become a trivial thing to move off into the direction of sin. It's the way the enemy works -- by slyly and cunningly leading us down a path that we can so easily justify. May God help us to remain on the path he has for us and for those who will come after us. May it never become a trivial thing to walk in evil paths.

 

Prayer


Lord, please keep me on the path today and everyday that leads toward you. I pray for my children that they too would keep you ever before them. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a time when we try to carry
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have
Read more