7 "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.
8 "Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord."
In the 10 Commandments, we are charged with having no other gods before the one true God. The children of Israel were warned against worshipping "graven images." So, we have to consider what we are erecting in our lives that take the place of God - is it a physical possession, or ambition that is not anointed by God? Have we allowed the strongholds of pride and pursuit of riches to replace the Lordship of Christ? If an idol takes the place of God, I believe Scripture teaches that we are to take the necessary steps for its destruction.
In 1st Corinthians 10, Paul outlines some of the shortcomings of the children of Israel; he describes
their behavior in this manner:
5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."
He goes on to caution against sexual immorality, tempting Christ, and complaining.
An archaeological discovery in Israel is consistent with a Scripture about King Hezekiah and his destruction of the places where pagan gods were worshipped. According to a report published at the ChristianHeadlines.com website:
Ganor said, "That is probably evidence of the religious reform attributed to King Hezekiah, whereby religious worship was centralized in Jerusalem and the cultic high places that were built outside the capital were destroyed..."
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In 1st Corinthians 10, Paul outlines some of the shortcomings of the children of Israel; he describes
their behavior in this manner:
5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."
He goes on to caution against sexual immorality, tempting Christ, and complaining.
An archaeological discovery in Israel is consistent with a Scripture about King Hezekiah and his destruction of the places where pagan gods were worshipped. According to a report published at the ChristianHeadlines.com website:
CBN News reports that excavations in the Tel Lachish National Park in central Israel revealed a “gate-shrine,” dated to the period of the First Temple, about the eighth century B.C.The story quotes excavation director Sa'ar Ganor, who said: "The size of the gate is consistent with the historical and archaeological knowledge we possess, whereby Lachish was a major city and the most important one after Jerusalem..."
The article quotes 2nd Kings 18:4, which says that Hezekiah "removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles." According to the Scriptures, this occurred at the city gates, and indeed, there was evidence found of the destruction of pagan artifacts near the city “gate-shrine.” This included horns on the pagan altar which had been “intentionally truncated.”
Ganor said, "That is probably evidence of the religious reform attributed to King Hezekiah, whereby religious worship was centralized in Jerusalem and the cultic high places that were built outside the capital were destroyed..."
The ChristianHeadlines.com story also said:
The CBN News story stated:
Also, we can be inspired by the story of Hezekiah - we read in 2nd Kings 18: "He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan."
The headline at ChristianHeadlines.com says: "Israel: New Discovery Confirms King Hezekiah Really Did Destroy Idols." So, what are the "idols" in our lives - what do we worship above the Lord? Just as Hezekiah took the steps to destroy those false gods that the people of Israel had placed before the one true God, we can identify and eradicate those physical, as well as mental and spiritual idols that come between us and Him. We can be challenged to commit to the Lord every area, every ideal, every possession that stands between us and wholehearted obedience to Him.
Archaeologists also found a type of latrine in the temple, apparently also meant to desecrate the pagan place of worship. Tests showed that the latrine had not been used, and was purely symbolic.2nd Kings 10:27 referred to the sacred stone of Baal and temple of Baal being used for a latrine.
The CBN News story stated:
Israeli officials were excited about the discovery. Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Ze'ev Elkin said the discovery is an example of how excavations "show us time and time again how biblical tales that are known to us become historical and archaeological stories."And, that's the first takeaway I'd like to mention - it can reaffirm our faith when we hear of discoveries, whether they be archaeological or scientific, that reinforce the authenticity of the Bible. These discoveries can not only inspire us, but can be a strong testimony to the world about the hand of God and the truth of the Scriptures.
Also, we can be inspired by the story of Hezekiah - we read in 2nd Kings 18: "He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan."
The headline at ChristianHeadlines.com says: "Israel: New Discovery Confirms King Hezekiah Really Did Destroy Idols." So, what are the "idols" in our lives - what do we worship above the Lord? Just as Hezekiah took the steps to destroy those false gods that the people of Israel had placed before the one true God, we can identify and eradicate those physical, as well as mental and spiritual idols that come between us and Him. We can be challenged to commit to the Lord every area, every ideal, every possession that stands between us and wholehearted obedience to Him.
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