I am intrigued by the story in Numbers 21 and the Israelites' encounter with the venomous snakes. It was a punishment from God because of their unfaithfulness and then his mercy and grace when he gave them the snake on the stick to look to if they were bit by a snake. But then to think that they turned the snake on the stick into an idol which they believed was worthy of their worship. This trading of the dynamic and living God for a statue seems hard to comprehend as we read this today. But in reality there are so many ways in which we fall into the same trap. We generally don't have physical objects that we would burn incense to, but there are many idols that rule our lives and because of them we are unable to hear the voice of God.
It's especially frustrating when those of us who are God followers take something good that he has given us and turn it into something that we worship above him. And there are no limits to what we are capable of attributing false worth. We can become so enamored with a building, a style of music, a "spiritual" feeling, a gift of the spirit, a person, or practically anything else that our worship of God is diluted because we are worshiping something he has given us or allowed us to experience.
The only one worthy of our worship is Jesus Christ our Lord. And if he is the one we are worshiping we will continually be led into a renewed relationship, one that calls us forward into the next day as we acknowledge that though his is never-changing in character, he is doing something new in our relationship with him as he draws us deeper into his presence.
Have there been times we had to break down idols in our lives? Are there idols there presently that keep us from hearing the "new" voice of God?
How is my relationship new? How is it growing and expanding?
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