This chapter discusses one of the most grievous sins: idolatry. When we have someone / something more important to us than God / Jesus, God equates that to cheating on a spouse (ie. the church [bride of Christ] cheating on Jesus her Husband).
” ‘…when you are scattered through the countries, then those of you who escape will remember me… how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the Lord…’ ” (v8-10 abr)
Idolatry is quite possibly the most hurtful thing we can do to God. Like cheating on a spouse or partner, or like rejecting a parent after they raised us, we have the ability to turn against God and say “Who you are and what you’ve done are not good enough for me.” I can’t imaging how painful that would be; God is “broken” every time He’s rejected, and He has been rejected innumerable times.
Let’s give God reason to rejoice instead of grieving. We can (re)turn to Him daily, acknowledging our sin, and keeping Him in the forefront of our minds. We can prioritize Him over everyone / everything else. When we do this, we aren’t hating others, in fact it’s the opposite: we’re now able to love them like Jesus because He is with us / in us. The more time we spend with God, the more Christlike we become, and the greater we bless those around us.
This topic reminds me of the ‘Prodigal Father’ parable (see Lk 15:11-32). An impactful part of that parable is the father allowing the son to reject him, but then joyfully embracing him when he returns. God does the same for us, joyfully welcoming us back even after we’ve foolishly cheated on Him. Let’s give God reason for joy.
Father God, our Patient and Steadfast Lord, You are overflowing with love for us. Please guide us to You constantly, for we are easily distracted and quick to wander away. Please help us (re)turn to You consistently, so we may be immersed in Your love. May we then radiate Your love to others, so they may also be encouraged to (re)turn to You. In the name of Jesus our King, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training