Daily Devotion

August 4, 2006

Psalms 106:19-20 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.  (20) Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

In the very place where the children of Israel committed themselves to obey God without reservation, in that very place, when their brand new walk of faith was tested, they retuned to their old ways.

We are creatures of habit. Not only do we form habits in the physical, but also our minds create grooves and methods with which we subconsciously process the problems we face. Just like when driving to a new place we easily make a wrong turn by taking the habitual road, habit easily takes us down the old way of thinking, even after regeneration. The religion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was a world away from the children of Israel; their concept of God was corrupted by Egyptian idolatry and there was a long road ahead of them dedicated to training and rewiring.

We can look amused at the children of Israel who carved the golden calf (Exodus 32:4). We can easily think,  “After witnessing such mighty miracles from the Lord, how could they? They had with them the God of the universe who saved them with a mighty hand, how could they so easily return to a dead idol carved by the hands of man?” But let us not be so harsh on them, don’t we condemn our selves with such reasoning? If the books were to be opened right now, if the measure of faith in our life was to be evaluated, how much evidence would God find in our heart that after we have been so mightily saved in the miraculous resurrection of His Son, after having been delivered from the emptiness of the world, we still rely on the deaf, dumb and blind empty gods of man for our economic, educational, emotional, psychological and even spiritual welfare?

Let us now honestly gauge our faith; let us not grade it on the curve of man’s weakness, but let us measure it with the standard of the Words pronounced in Horeb, I am the Lord thy God,. . .. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:2-3).  Let us make sure that regardless of outward appearances, our heart relies of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!


Patrick Lumbroso
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