Tuesday June 16, 2020

Today’s Reading: Exodus 32:1-6

 When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt-we don’t know what has happened to him!”

Exodus 32:1

Meditation: We are created with hearts that were designed to worship. There is no question of if we as humans worship, but rather what or who we worship. Not long after Moses leaves the Israelite camp to commune with God, the Israelites, God’s people, approach Aaron with the need for a god to worship. They ask Aaron to build them a god. They willingly offer gold jewelry, items of value, to its making. They set a space for it in their midst and celebrate its creation. While God was the One Who brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the Israelites were so eager to trust a god of their making to lead them to the Promised Land. They were trusting an object of their own hands to finish the work that God had begun.

This story may seem ridiculous on the part of the Israelites, but it is not too different from the way we act. Although God has already begun and finished the good work of salvation and deliverance through Jesus, we are tempted to choose the works of our hands to worship instead of Him. We invest our precious resources in making our own objects of worship. We celebrate ourselves after admiring our handiwork. We all by nature engage regularly in worship. But not all worship is directed to the One Who truly deserves worship.

Who or what are we worshipping? The clues can be found in how we use our gifts and talents, what we think about daily, how we invest our resources, and how we spend our time. Let’s not be tempted to believe that the things we do are greater than the things God has done, especially what He’s done for us. God has rescued us from sin and death! He’s delivered us! Let us worship Him.

Prayer: Almighty God, I worship You because there is no one else deserving of my exaltation and praise. No one else can do the things that You do. No one else has delivered me from my sin. Thank You, Lord, for Your great works. I pray that You would guide me moment by moment in worshipping You through my thoughts, words, and deeds. Help me to worship You today in all that I do. In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN.

Thru the Bible in a year (credit: Biblestudytools.com): Matthew 5:21-48; Exodus 30-32; Proverbs 14