The first of the Ten Commandments is, “You shall have no other gods before me” and the second is, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below” (Deuteronomy 5:7-8).
However, the people on earth at this time worshiped other gods–Baals. Molech was a cow god whose worship required child sacrifice. Asherah was a goddess known as the queen of heaven, the mother of the living and the wife of Baal. Her worship involved temple prostitution as did the goddess of Diana. At the center of worship was an asherah pole. These images were also used as household idols.
Ishtar (pronounced Easter) was the goddess of fertility, from which the images of bunnies and eggs represented a pagan celebration. After Jesus’ resurrection, the wife of Constantine Christianized the holiday.
King Hezekiah destroyed the images of the baals, but his son Manessa erected the altars of Baal and made an Asherah pole, as did his son Amon and King Ahab (2 Kings 2). Joshua and Josiah destroyed idols. Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).
THINK ABOUT IT
Today we may not have idolatry as described here, but the woman’s body, something God created, is exploited in the movies, magazines, Super Bowl Halftime and the way women dress. We even sacrifice the life of our babies for convenience or a woman’s rights. How do we get past the sensuality and perversion that is promoted in our world? Maybe we should start with how we think and dress. Paul said, “I want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1 Timothy 2:9-10).
God made man and woman to enjoy sex in a beautiful way and inside marriage, but man has misused it. What the world needs is God. He loves us more than we could ever imagine. Without God in our lives we would never be satisfied with power or money or sex (the big PMS). Without God in our lives, we experience emptiness, despair, loneliness, anger and anxiety. If you haven’t yet, I hope today you will choose to live for God. The world is a BIG distraction, and you cannot live for God by yourself. He is willing to help you because He loves you. Say His name and ask Him for new life, the life He has for you.
PRAY ABOUT IT
Holy Father, I pray for readers today, that they will choose you over emptiness and despair, that You, O Lord, will meet their greatest need, the need to know your amazing love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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