SCRIPTURE: 2 Kings 16
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]
God does not need to be appeased, convinced, or cajoled to love us; he loves us, period!
And yet people forget this, they assume that God is angry, demanding blood and religious observance before He will accept us.
Yes, there were descriptions of blood sacrifices and religious observances in the Law of Moses, but they were not for God’s benefit but for the peoples.
God did not need to be convinced to love people, He needed to convince them that they needed to love Him.
The purpose of the sacrifices and religious observances were to get their attention, to show them God’s greatness and mercy and love; this is repeated again and again in the Law of Moses.
But for some reason, people think that God needs to be appeased.
Go to church, pray these prayers, give these offerings, make these sacrifices, and God will then be pleased and will give you what you want.
Many people turn this into a religious game, figuring out how far they have to go to make God bless or help them.
Ahaz was like this, going so far as to change the furniture in the temple and to sacrifice his son, hoping that this would satisfy God.
He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. [2 Kings 16:3]
But Ahaz was not interested in God’s love, he just wanted God’s gifts – protection, success, health, wealth.
He did not change his heart or his behaviour, he just used religion to manipulate God… but God was not pleased.
God loves us, and wants us to love Him back.
God doesn’t want to be appeased or convinced, He just wants to be loved.
He sacrificed His son to show us His love, we do not need to sacrifice ours to impress Him.
Sadly, Ahaz didn’t get this, and he missed out on the joy and blessing and freedom of living in God’s love.
Do you get this? Do I?
PRAYER:
Lord, help me to stop trying to earn Your love with my good deeds or religious practices. Help me to rest in the joy, the blessing, the freedom of Your love.
There is but one Lord God and He has told His people ‘I am the I am.’
Again and again throughout time, man has replaced God with his own gods. This has produced many regulations, superstitions (stuperstitions)and many man made practices, even to the point of sacrificing their own children to their man made gods. Just think of the golden calf Aaron made for the people Israel. Man replacing the true God with his own god.
God has given us the way to Life yet mankind again and again insists upon his own way to happiness because he is blinded or because he wants to impress others or desires to be in charge of his own destiny. Man pleasers rather than God pleasers. Man service rather than God service. Insistant upon their own way. They are not GodStrong but selfstrong.
Open my eyes Lord each day that I see Your Way. Lead me and guide me by Your Spirit. May I never be hard hearted, but be molded by Your will walking always in Your SonShine.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit ’till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me.