They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence (2 Kings 17:33 KJV)

When the king of Assyria conquered Israel, he took the Israelites out of their land to Babylon and brought inhabitants of other nations to dwell in Israel’s land, notably Samaria. These foreign nations came with their gods and filled Israel with these idols. The LORD sent lions against them and they requested that an Israelite priest should be brought back to teach them how to worship the LORD. This brought forth a terrible combination vividly described in the verse above:

“They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence”.

The were taught about the LORD. They feared Him. They probably worshipped Him with wonderful words like the Israelites did. However, they feared the LORD and continued serving their own gods. They had no relationship with the LORD. They feared Him because they were afraid of the punishments He could bring them on. 

This is a lesson and an admonition for our generation today. Saying I love the LORD is almost meaningless by itself. It is not enough to merely worship and praise God as if God is wooed by worship to do what we want. Wanting to change the world for God and win more souls is wonderful but not the most important. After you fear the LORD, make sure you serve Him first with your life. The one we obey, whether our own desires and thoughts or other things, is truly our Lord and our idol.

We should not merely fear the LORD, worship Him , give, etc. We should fear Him, love Him, worship Him etc. but also ensure we serve Him with our life by doing His will. Jesus said, calling Him Lord Lord does not count. It is doing His will, that is, keeping His Word, that matters.

MEDITATE

Please think about applying the verse and devotional above to us today, including your own life. How we do fear God today and continue worshipping our “own gods”?

APPLY THE WORD

Worship and service are closely related. That is why the word “idol” can be used in extension to refer to the thing in our lives that we serve or obey. Do not serve any other gods. Fear the LORD, and serve Him only.

PRAY

Ask the Father to help you walk the talk, to be faithful to our confession of Jesus as not only your Savior but your Lord. 

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