In today's passage we find the Lord repeating some of the rules previously given. I think this may be because they need repeating, seeing how quickly and easily the people slid into idolatry while Moses was away.
In yesterday's passage the Lord spoke about the importance of not forming close personal alliances with any of the tribes of the promised land. Those tribes are idolaters and if the Israelites intermarry with them or form business relationships with them then the next thing you know the Israelites may get drawn into some of their pagan practices. The verses we'll be looking at are connected with the verses we studied on Friday because they have to do with the differences between the Israelites and everyone else on earth at that time.
The Lord begins by saying, "Do not make any idols." (Exodus 34:17) They've already made an idol so really what the Lord is saying is, "Do not make any idols again." He's not bringing up the recent past and berating them for having already sinned in this manner. He's saying something the Lord Jesus said to a woman who was caught committing adultery and who was sorry for her sin: "Go and sin no more." Jesus knew the woman was guilty. She knew He knew it and she made no effort to deny it or excuse it. But the Lord saw into her heart and saw that what she wanted was to turn away from this sin and live a better life. He didn't yell at her for what she'd already done. Instead He said, "Don't do it again."
Time and time again we'll find the Lord cautioning the people not to fall into idolatry. And what do we find the Israelites doing time and time again? Falling into idolatry. I don't think the Lord was wasting His breath any time He repeated this commandment, for it's quite likely the Israelites would have fallen into idolatry even more than they did if this commandment weren't kept at the forefront of their minds. He knew the temptation they would face as they moved into and took over the promised land. He knew they'd be surrounded by pagan tribes who practiced all sorts of idolatry and witchcraft. He could see into their hearts and He knew that a portion of the people felt drawn to the dark side, so to speak, and this is why He repeated this commandment so often. He told them not to commit idolatry because He knew how much and how often they would feel the allure of this particular sin.
As we learned earlier in Exodus, there are three major festivals (special holy days) which all Israelite men are expected to observe. These are not festivals the pagan Gentiles observe but are festivals the Israelites are to participate in as a way of honoring the Lord. The first one is the one which we commonly refer to as Passover. "Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt." (Exodus 34:18)
The Lord gave specific instructions in Exodus 12 for how the Passover is to be observed, but a primary feature of the Passover meal is that it does not contain yeast. In the Bible we often find yeast being used as a symbol for sin, so the observance of Passover not only commemorates the Lord rescuing the Israelites from Egypt but it also signifies the purity the people are to maintain. They are to abstain from idolatry and abstain from blending with and looking just like the unbelieving culture around them.
We too have to be on guard against such things. Idolatry takes many forms. I've never bowed down before the image of a false god but at times I've placed less importance on God than on other things in my life. I heard a question asked this week and I'm not sure now whether it was asked on one of my church's online services or whether I heard it on Dr. Charles Stanley's radio program, but whichever preacher it was, he asked what we're most thankful for. The right answer was that we should be more thankful for our salvation than for anything else. If our relationship with the Lord is not our most important relationship, and if the eternal security of our saved souls is not the most important blessing we have, then we have our priorities out of order. Whenever anyone or anything means more to us than the Lord and the salvation we have in Him, we are engaging in a form of idolatry.
The other thing from today's passage that we have to be on guard against is looking just like the culture around us. If we, the church, become indistinguishable from the world, our testimony loses its power. If the person at the desk beside us in school or on the assembly line next to us at work can't tell any difference between us and unbelievers, then we're falling short. We don't have to vocally proclaim our status as Christians everywhere we go. We just have to be like Christ. People will figure it out. They'll notice something is different about us. They'll see we have a deep peace and an abiding joy at the very core of our souls. They'll see we love our fellow man. They'll see we aren't afraid to swim against the stream when the stream is flowing in the direction of sin and rebellion. The way we live is our testimony for Christ. If unbelievers don't see Christ in us then we can hardly expect anything we say to have any effect on them.
I can't think of anything worse that anybody could say about me, when they see my obituary in the paper someday and read which church I belonged to, than, "Hmmm. I didn't know she was a Christian."
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