I’m glad that my God is hungry for loving worship, not a bale of hay.
I read one of those verses this morning that jumps off the page when you see it.
“They exchanged their glorious God for an image of a bull, which eats grass” (Psalm 106:20)
I thought about all the times described in the Bible when Old Testament Israel fell into idol worship, beginning in the wilderness just after they were delivered from Egyptian bondage via the miracles of God.
It’s mind-blowing, actually, to see how quickly the Hebrews repeatedly dumped God in favor of the floozy, you-can-do-whatever-feels-good worship of manmade gods they encountered along their journey.
The passage above, of course, refers to the ridiculous, rebellious choice of Aaron and the Hebrew masses to desire and worship a golden calf hurriedly crafted while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the 10 commandments and other laws for living.
What Aaron did at the people’s urging was so stupid and sinful.
I’m still shocked that he fell into the peer pressure, ego-boosting trap set for him by Satan.
Aaron had seen firsthand the miraculous intervention of God and now he was leading worship cheers of the crowd for a chunk of gold shaped like a young bull?
Are you kidding me?
A bull that eats grass?
How is that divine?
Lest we become too comfortable pointing fingers at Aaron, it’s important that we examine ourselves.
Do we place too much importance on things that don’t thive on praise but instead require physical “food.”
OK, so we don’t worship animals that eat grass. But do we worship things that eat gas?
If you have a gas-eater that is taking time and money away from your worship of the glorious God, particularly on Sunday morning, then you’ve got some changes to make.
Perhaps your “bull” doesn’t eat gas, but it does eat cash in the form of a borderline obsession with new shoes or purses or costly, monthly grooming perks or anything else that you rely on to feel good about yourself or to impress others.
Listen, we all have to constantly check ourselves to see if our hearts’ loyalties are being drawn to gods that eat stuff.
Let’s worship only the God who hungers for worship, not “grass.”
As always, I love you
Martin
