gods
Check out this list of wild and crazy names: Succoth-benoth, Nergal, Ashima, Nibhaz, Tartak, Adramelech and Anammelech. Not exactly at the top of list of names for newborns. If you start reading these too fast, you might find yourself lost in a tongue twister! These are gods of the heathens in the days when Israel was exiled to Assyria. People were sent to inhabit the empty land the Israelites had exited and encouraged to worship their own gods of their traditions.
Lions were sent by the Lord to attack these Jehovahless worshipers. As a result, the King of Assyria sent an Israelite priest back to the homeland to teach the people to worship “the God of Israel”. The idea, of course, was to appease Him.
2 Kings 17:33 states, “And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow the religious customs of the nations from which they came.”
When I read that verse, I was prompted by the Lord to ask a question: How do we do this today. You see, we worship the Lord, we have good theology, we sound good, look good, and serve good. But I suspect we still “follow the religious customs” from which we came. Now – I understand that if our customs are of a Christian nature, that’s very different than if our customs are from a godless source. But we must face this question honestly because a lot of what we call Christianity these days is nothing more than religious tradition or cultural skeletons with Christian skin.
The gods we worship, while still attempting to worship Jehovah God, can be many: Our Western version of church or faith, the silly expectations of certain dress or decorum, a music style, a program expectation, our version of Christian growth or spiritual disciplines. Much of what shapes our Christian lifestyles today are as much culturally or traditionally led as they are Spirit led. And if our preferences stand in the way of authentic Holy Spirit-led worship, they have become idols.
May it not be said of you, “And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow the religious customs of the nations from which they came.”
