DAY - 9 EL KANNA

DAY – 9

EL KANNA

" Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. " Exod 34:14 " You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me...!" (Ex 20:5) (Psalm 8) declares, "O Lord, Our Lord, What is the man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit? The Psalmist's words illustrate God's incomparable greatness, limitless understanding, and tremendous power. The Universe came into existence merely through the power and authority of His words. God was just not content with that; He desired to create a Human in His image. He breathed the air through His Nostrils, God's very own breath. Being made in the image of that kind of god Almighty, all of Mankind in front of Him, whom He has created out of clay, is ultimately a void without Him. Let us try to gain a better understanding of the creation. What was God's purpose in creating Man, especially in His image? Why was He/She made? God's intention in creating man is motivated by His conflict with Satan and the fallen angels. God brought a judgment on that original creation when he rebelled and led several angelic forces with him, resulting in chaos, emptiness, and darkness.

The angels utterly failed to honor and glorify God, which was their purpose for being. In terms of confronting Satan, the man was created in the image of God to serve Him, to dwell with the Almighty God in His presence, and to rule over the creations. Yes, God created man in his image to be a perfectionist. But what transpired? Instead of obeying God and giving Him glory, He desired to be God himself, failing to serve Him. Despite knowing good and evil, man has yet to grasp the ideology of knowing what to do or what not to do. So God gave certain commandments to be strictly followed and abide by to help them (men) focus on the paths that lead them to Him. Before entering the Promised Land, God gave Moses, the chosen leader through whom He rescued His people, ten framed laws. The Great and Glorious God appeared before Moses on Mount Sinai and gave the Laws written by His own hands.

And the most significant command was, "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath, or in the waters beneath." Exodus 20:4 As time passed, they forgot about God, collaborating with others in worshipping their pagan gods, worshipping their idols, making sacrifices to them, and so on. These were regarded as the most heinous acts committed by men.

ISRAEL BECAME POLLUTED.

Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, lived in that period. (1Kings 11:23) Jeroboam was an Ephrathite and a valiant warrior. He began to plot conspiracies to become king of the ten tribes, influenced by Prophet Ahijah's words. Following King Solomon's death, the ten tribes revolted and invited him to be their king. The actions of Rehoboam (Solomon's son) favored Jeroboam's plans, and he was proclaimed "king of Israel" as a result. Jeroboam became the first king of Israel's ten tribes. Following that, he established his capital.

He fortified and lived in the city of Tirzah in Shechem. After a few days, King Jeroboam thought to himself, "If these people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people shall turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah." (12:27) This he said because King Jeroboam was so concerned about his reign and authority over the people, and he was well aware that he was a common man who had once worked as an administrator in King Solomon's court, and was ambitious and jealous in capturing the kingdom, rebelled against King Solomon and Solomon's son King Rehoboam, and became king.

"Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever," God promised David. (2 Samuel 7:16) Jeroboam, an Ephrathite, was terrified that the people could return to King Rehoboam at any time. As a result, he devised a cunning plan. He cleverly told the people that it would be difficult for them to travel a long distance to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice to God, so he made "two golden calves" (similar to Aron's calf), one in Bethel and the other in Dan (at opposite ends of the kingdom), and made the people worship.

God saw the king and the people defiling themselves and rebelling against God and His law. His gaze was drawn to their abominations. As a result, He sent His words to King Jeroboam through an unknown prophet. The prophet cried out, " Altar! Altar! " as Jeroboam stood on the Altar to offer sacrifice to the golden calf idol. 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David,' says the Lord. He will sacrifice the high priests who make offerings here on you, and human bones will be burned on you.' That same day, a man of God gave a sign: "This is the sign that the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be scattered."

When King Jeroboam heard this, he stretched out his hand from the Altar and commanded to seize him, but the hand he extended toward the man shriveled up and he couldn't pull it back. In addition, the altar was divided and its ashes were poured out following the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord. Despite this, King Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, which resulted in his downfall and the annihilation of the House of Jeroboam from the face of the earth. (13:34) Because he did more evil than anyone else before him, making metal idols and gods and thus provoking God's wrath, every male from Jeroboam was cut off, both slave and free, and the house of Jeroboam was completely burned, and dogs and birds ate the bodies of those who died in the city. It is unfortunate when someone refuses to walk in God's ways. God declares, "That is my name: I am the LORD! I will not give up my glory or my praise to other people or idols." (Exodus 42:8) Idolatry is defined as anything that gives glory to someone other than God. "Flee from idolatry," Paul warns the Corinthians, "for the Lord God is a consuming fire."

However, when we confess our sins and return to Him, He opens His arms and accepts us.

PURPOSE OF A MORTAL.

God is Love, and He is an infinite source of Love. We all worship God, who is Love. But God is much more than just love. He adores all that is good and holy and disdains all that is evil, defiled, and perverse. As we read about the purpose of our creation, we discover that God created us to worship Him as His worshippers. No human being can exist without worshipping something. Even those who are referred to as Aethiest will be adoring something other than deities in their lives.

As a result, our hearts yearn for something to fill the void left by our emptiness and inadequacy. "It is impossible to worship nothing: we humans are worshipping creatures, and if we do not worship the God who made us, we will inevitably worship someone or something else," says J.I. Packer. And it is for this reason that the first three commandments reaffirm that "God despises idolatry," or the worship of false gods.

IDOLATRY, ABOMINATION & CONSEQUENCES.

Divination, fortune-telling, sorcery, charming, witchcraft, channeling, and necromancy are all forms of idolatry. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) These are abominations in God's eyes. He also despises astrology, sun, moon, and star worship (Deut 17:3-4), and other pagan worship practices such as human sacrifice (Deut 18:10).

Saul was Israel's first king. Due to his disloyalty, God anointed David as his successor through Prophet Samuel. After Prophet Samuel died, the Philistines surrounded the Israelites with their army to fight them. Saul was terrified by their massive army and decided to consult God. When Saul went to pray, God did not answer him because of his disobedience, nor did God choose to speak to him through dreams or other Prophets. Because Prophet Samuel was no longer alive, the King decided to turn to spiritism.

God stated in (Lev 19:16-31): "Do not seek out mediums or spirits, as you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord, and I am your God." God specifically instructed the Israelites to expel those who engage in such practices. As a result, every Judge, Prophet, and King Saul exiled these people among the Israelites. Saul was in a state of confusion when he came across a woman who practices "medium." So he went to her in disguise to find out what would happen in the future. He asked her to perform a seance to bring Prophet, Samuel. This shows the depth of Saul's rebellion against God. Saul was completely in direct contravention and the dark.

Now, the woman was in the process of bringing the spirit of the dead Samuel when Prophet Samuel appeared. She screamed and discovered that the disguised man was Saul and that the Spirit was Prophet Samuel himself. The woman was shocked because she was a fraud who deceived people with simple tricks; she had no idea it was the spirit of the original Prophet Samuel. When Saul asked what she had seen, she replied, "An old man standing with the mantle." As a result, King Saul identified it as Prophet Samuel and fell. The prophet Samuel addressed Saul. "Why have you bothered me by bringing this up?" he asked, to which Saul replied that he was worried about the Philistines. He explained that God had said nothing to him about the next step. When Samuel heard all of this from Saul, he yelled at him, "Why then do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy?" Yes, the Lord became Saul's adversary as a result of his persistent defiance. Furthermore, Samuel informed Saul's fate, stating that by the next day, both Saul and his son Jonathan would be with Samuel, indicating their death. According to Samuel, both Saul and his son died the next day in the battle against the Philistines.

Jeremiah 44:3 explains that his people have been punished "because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they did not know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers." They stubbornly ignored his prophets who repeatedly warned them, "Oh, do not do this abomination that I despise!" God sent many Prophets to warn the Israelites to turn away from abominations, but they did not listen.

WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT & TRUTH

We have a very clear picture. God Himself instructed us on how to worship Him. According to (John 4:24), "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth." The Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit in this context. The Holy Spirit is the one who awakens in us a sense of God's beauty, splendor, and power. The Holy Spirit inspires us to celebrate, rejoice, and give thanks. The Holy Spirit is the one who opens our eyes to see and taste all that God is for us in Jesus.

Worship in truth as well. Jesus himself criticized religious leaders' worship, saying that while they honor God "with their lips," their "heart is far from" him (Matthew 15:7–9). True worship involves the heart, the affections, and the entirety of our being. Worship/love the Lord with all your strength, heart, and soul. Surrender completely and wholeheartedly in His presence, and He will take care of You.

God despises idolatry. Simple. And as God's chosen people, we are obligated to despise what God despises and to love what God loves. Again, idolatry does not only refer to the worship of false gods, sculptures, and so on, but the true meaning is devotion or attachment to something in physical form.

Idolatry or apotheosis is anything that can draw your attention away from God, anything that is more important than God, anything that we seek, but only God can provide. As we read about the Israelites and kings who denied the Almighty God and began worshipping and honoring idols, we will be looking more at the present day in this session.

MODERN-DAY ABOMINATIONS.

1. Food sacrificed to idols. " Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? (1Cor 10:19) Many questions have been posed to us about this subject. Should I not eat in the home of someone else, perhaps a relative of another faith? Should I abstain from eating at other religious festivals or public gatherings? So, let us investigate what the Bible says.

In the third year of Jehoiakim's reign as King of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to besiege Jerusalem. The King directed his officials to accompany him and train young men for service in the Babylonian court. The King assigned them a daily portion of the King's food and wine. Daniel and his friends were among these men. Daniel and his companions refused to eat the King's food.

Daniel was convinced that eating the King's food would defile him. But why did he believe that? There were some forbidden foods at the King's table, such as pig and horse, which were popular in Babylon. In Leviticus 11,17:10-14, God clearly stated to Moses and Aaron what they should and should not eat. As a result, both the pig and the horse are breaking the law. Daniel also refused the king's wine, although wine is never forbidden as unclean in the Law. It's possible that the wine was offered to Babylon's gods. Furthermore, Daniel recognizes that eating the king's food signifies accepting the king's friendship and patronage. Sharing food is committing to a relationship (Gen 31:54, Exod 24:11) Daniel does not object to the king's training or the use of a new name, but he objects to eating the king's food because it is a public declaration of dependence on the king. Daniel does not put his trust in Nebuchadnezzar, but only in the Lord.

As a result, Daniel resolves not to consume this food. This means that he "sets his heart" not to eat the food. Daniel comprehends the situation, determines what is right and wrong in his heart, and chooses to do the right thing. He and his friends only drank water and ate vegetables. "Food does not bring us closer to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do." Paul, the Apostle, writes to the Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 8:8) Many people believe that worshipping a false god is sinful, but eating food sacrificed to an idol is not. Although not all of these are considered sins, they are all sources of gratification for demons. In this world, there are many "so-called gods" and many "lords," but for us, there is only one God, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 1 Corinthians 8:5–6 Let us now turn our attention to the Last Supper of the Lord Jesus Christ. What did He say to His disciples in that place? Lord Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take and eat, this is my body." Then He took the cup, thanked them, and handed it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you." This is my covenant blood, poured out for many for the remission of sins.

So, in remembrance of His death for us, we participate in the covenant with Him by partaking in Christ's blood and the bread we break as joining in Christ's body. As a result, when we eat foods sacrificed to deities, we are offering them to demons (1Cor 10:20), not to God, and thus do not participate with demons. In verse 21, Paul says, "You cannot drink both the Lord's cup and the cup of demons; you cannot partake in both the Lord's table and the table of demons."

In response to the question, Lord Jesus went to the home of a prominent Pharisee to eat. Tax collectors and sinners sat down to eat with the Lord Jesus. When asked how He could eat with such people, Jesus simply replied, "How can He eat with such people?" "The sick, not the healthy, require the services of a doctor. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners." However, He is nowhere to be found eating at the location where the foods were offered to other gods. That is the distinction. It's just that we can't eat defiled foods or foods associated with idols, and that's the Law.

2. The Love of Money is Idolatry.

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matt 6:24) As previously stated, an idol can be anything we worship in place of God. Worship does not only refer to temples, buildings, carvings, and so on; it also refers to the act of loving and adoring something. On one fine day, as Lord Jesus Christ was preaching to the crowd, a man came running towards Him. He rushed up to Him, knelt before Him, and asked, "Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit God's Kingdom?" When Jesus heard this, he responded, "To inherit the heavenly kingdom, one must follow the Law given to Moses by God." This sounded easier for the man because he had been following every commandment since he was a child. The young man told Lord Jesus about how his parents raised him to obey all the laws. Jesus was taken aback as he listened to him, and He was filled with love for this young man. Now, Lord Jesus desired to assist this young man in entering His Kingdom. He went on to say, "Jesus felt love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." The young man was shaken by Lord Jesus' words. According to the Bible, "He went away sad because he had great wealth." The young man concluded that Jesus is asking too much of him. Instead of following God, he chose the world.

During Satan's temptation of Jesus, he displayed all the riches of the world in a flash right in front of the Lord Jesus. Satan displayed his power and splendor, urging Lord Jesus to choose those royalties by worshipping him. (satan) He undoubtedly added that all those he showed before Jesus were given to Satan and that Satan can give to anyone who bows to him.

What, how, did Jesus do? He simply said, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.' Jesus triumphed over the temptation by honoring and glorifying the Father. Money is a cunning temptation that traps us without our even realizing it. Without a doubt, wealth is necessary in this world to live a comfortable life. The problem arises when we fail to stand firm in our faith when we fail to ask God for help in all things when we fail to give thanks, and instead rely solely on our wealth. According to (Tim 3:1-2): "In the last days, terrible times will come." Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, and disobedient to their parents. Take a look at the life of Lot, Abraham's nephew. They were both successful while living in Canaan. As they lived together, their servants began to argue over who should have the little grass that was available for their flocks and herds. Lot chose the more fertile land and settled there to solve the problem. After a few days, the Lord was so enraged by the people who lived in greater sin that he decided to destroy the city. So two angels went to Lot's house, took his hand, and rushed him and his family out of the city. They told Lot not to turn back in response to the sounds or cries of the people. As the cities were destroyed, Lot's wife turned into a "Pillar of Salt." What can we glean from the story of Lot's wife? There was no doubt about Lot because he was a righteous man living among unholy and ungodly people. We saw that Lot's wealth grew and he prospered, and the wife's heart could have been stuck at the riches that were left back in their houses because it was just the four people (Lot, wife, and two daughters) running for their lives. She must have pondered the fertility of the land, which provided them with its bounty, and bemoaned the prospect of fleeing to an unknown future.

Third, her faith in God was waning as she faced an uncertain future. "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness," Jesus warned them, "for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Matthew 12:15) Life isn't about having a lot of stuff. Lot's wife lost her life because she refused to love God and obey His commands. But what should we do if we run out of money? And (my) God will meet all of your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Acts 4:19) God will reward our trust in him when we ask Him, He will provide for all of our wants and desires. "Ask me (God), and you will receive," he said. Yes! He will not add sorrow to the blessings that come from the Lord. "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols," says Eze 36:25. May God purify us of all impurities and make us Holy.

3. Sexual immorality, impurity are Idolatry.

" Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." (Col) 3:5

When we accept Christ as our Saviour, the old fleshy being dies and we are transformed into a new spiritual being. In numerous places, Paul tells us to consider ourselves dead to the old sin nature and alive to the new life in Christ.

As a result, we must regard every member of our earthly body as having died to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. We died in Christ when He died on the cross. We were raised with Christ when He was raised from the dead. How crucial it is, then, to seek those things which are above, where Christ sits in heavenly places. We must focus our thoughts on the things above because we have died and our life is hidden with Christ in God.

Examine the life of King David. David was regarded as a man after God's own heart. The Lord Almighty approved of David and his ways. God protected him throughout his life's trials and tribulations, allowing David to inherit the Kingdom as He had promised. God lavishly blessed David after he ascended to the throne and began ruling over the people of the nation. After a few days, David found himself loitering on the palace's rooftop. While David was wandering upstairs, he noticed a woman taking a bath. David was captivated by her beauty and dispatched some soldiers to inquire about her. Bathsheba was Eliam's daughter, Uriah's wife, and the lady's name was Bathsheba.

Bathsheba was summoned to the palace by David, and she may have assumed that the King wanted to tell her something important, or that her husband was in the army, but little did she know that the king wanted her to be with her and wanted her. This is referred to in the Bible as evil desire. When David lustfully took another man's wife as his own, God's heart was broken. These desires caused David to forget God's Law, and he became a wicked man as a result. Beware of such lustful thoughts and desires before they bring God's wrath upon you. What happened next in David's life? Bathsheba gave birth to David's child. She delivered the message to David.

David was terrified when he found out she had been conceived; he wanted to keep it hidden from the people so he wouldn't lose respect. First, he summoned Uriah and demanded that he return home, but Uriah refused and remained at the King's palace door. When the first plot failed, David went deeper into thought to find a solution. That's when David's cruel plan came to fruition. What was the devil's plan? He sent a message to Joab, the commander in Uriah's hand, requesting that Uriah be killed. Isn't what David did to Uriah brutal and inhumane? Uriah is killed in combat after David arranges for him to be stationed on the front lines unprotected.

Uriah, an innocent and faithful servant, died pitifully as a result of his own Master's devious plan. David married Bathsheba after she had finished her mourning period. Sexual immorality, evil desires, and wicked plans are all forms of idolatry, which God despises.

The parable used by the prophet Nathan to rebuke David in (2Sam 11:27-12:15) makes it clear that the text condemns David's actions. In the parable, a rich man, rather than taking a lamb from his flock, takes a peasant's most prized possession, a ewe lamb, to prepare for a guest. David admits that the rich man is to blame (2Sam 12:5-6), and Nathan seals David's condemnation by telling him, "You are the man!" (2 Samuel 12:7) David has taken Uriah's wife in the same way that the rich man took the poor man's lamb. In both cases, the powerful take advantage of the powerless. "Avoid sexual immorality. All other sins committed by a person are committed outside the body, but anyone who sins sexually sins against their own body." (1 Corinthians 6:18) Our bodies are the temples in which the Most Holy God dwells. It is the place where God dwells in a relationship. "Be Holy, for I AM Holy," he says. A person has already committed adultery, according to Jesus, if they have a lustful look. As a result, if your hand or foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and discard it. You should begin life maimed or crippled than to be born with two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye is causing you to stumble, gouge it out and discard it. It is preferable to enter life with one eye than to enter life with two eyes and be thrown into the fires of hell. (Matthew 18:8–9)

Keep in mind that we serve the Most Holy and Jealous God. It is His command to us to serve only Him, in truth and spirit. "Whoever loves their father or mother more than I do is unworthy of me; likewise, whoever loves their son or daughter more than I am unworthy of me." 10:37 (Matthew) Nothing and no one can compare to His love for us on the cross. Everything and everyone on the planet is transient. It is only this God who will be with us until we are very old and have grey hairs. He is the one who will guide us until death, and then to His eternal Kingdom. Love everyone unconditionally, but only be attached to God.

But Christ's point was clear: we cannot be both slaves of God and slaves of riches. Do we care about God? Is He the center of our faith? Are we willing to do wh