And Your God is...?

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 17:22-28

TO CHEW ON: For as I walked around and observed your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: “To An Unknown God” Now what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you. Acts 17:23

As Paul waited in Athens for Timothy and Silas to join him, he walked around the city. On his walks he saw altars and statues (idols) to which the people prayed. He also saw an altar with a title that grabbed his attention: “To An Unknown God.”

"Paul Speaks at Athens" - Artist unknown

The next day he went to the public square where the people gathered to hear and discuss new ideas. He said to the people, “I see you have made an altar to ‘An Unknown God.’ Today I’m going to tell you about him.” Then he told them about Jesus.

"Paul Preaches in Athens" - Raphael

It’s natural for humans to worship. We all worship something. You probably don’t worship an idol at an altar. But if you answer the questions - what do I spend the most time dreaming about, hoping for, working on - you may be surprised at who or what is most important to you.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please show me if I am worshiping other things besides You. I want to worship You. Amen.

MORE: Our Idols


Match the statements, below, with who or what someone may be worshiping.

1. I just love clothes. ____
2. I’d do anything to make the team. ____
3. Nothing will keep me from getting to the top. ____
4. The most important thing is to have enough money. ____
5. I wonder what Jesus would think about this. ____

A. Monday   B. Jesus    C. Clothes

D. Sports    E. Success

ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Heart Idols

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 14:1-6


TO CHEW ON: “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? Ezekiel 14:3

The Israelites in exile soon discovered that Ezekiel heard from God. They came to him often to find out if God had something to say to them. One day when some of Israel’s leaders had come to Ezekiel in this way, God gave him private information about them.


“These men have idols in their hearts,” God told Ezekiel. “Tell them, ‘Don’t think I am going to give you messages from Me knowing all the while you are worshiping something else. You need to get rid of these idols before I will tell you anything.’”

In the past the people of Israel had worshiped actual idol statues. Here God showed that idols don’t have to be physical things at all. They could be anything people admired, or trusted in, or relied on more than God. Even though these people may not have been going to actual shrines and praying to figurines, the idols were there just the same in the attitude of their hearts.

Today we may not worship idol statues either. But is it possible that we have idols in our hearts? What could those idols be? Some are money, luck, the earth, superstitions, sports and movie personalities, our own good looks, talents and abilities. Can you think of more? __________________.

Do you have any of these idols in your heart? If you were one of the people coming to Ezekiel to hear from God, what message might God be giving Ezekiel about you?

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me the idols in my heart. Help me to get rid of them and worship only You. Amen.

MORE: Modern Idols- What is an idol?
- What is a heart idol?
- Choose one of the following and explain how it could become an idol.

money,    luck,    Mother Nature,    superstition,

sports and movie personalities,        yourself

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

A New Start

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 23:19-25

TO CHEW ON: "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses." 2 Kings 23:25

“Everybody come to the temple. King Josiah has called a special meeting.” Quickly word traveled from house to house. When everyone had gathered, Josiah opened the book that the priests had found. He read aloud all the laws God had given Moses. Then in front of all the people he promised God that he would keep these laws for the rest of his life.

After he had dismissed everyone, he got to work.


Wherever there was an idol, he told his servants to smash it. Wherever there was an Asherah pole, he commanded it be taken down. Wherever there were altars, he broke them. He took down statues that had been dedicated to the sun god and made sure every dish, goblet, utensil or piece of furniture that had been used to worship an idol was taken out of the temple.

Josiah burned the rubbish outside Jerusalem.
Illustration by Annie Vallotton from the Good News Bible
© American Bible Society 1976, 1992, used with permission.

He told the people to get rid of the idols in their homes. He even went to Samaria and destroyed everything to do with idol worship there. Finally the land was cleaned up. Then he called the people together again for a big Passover celebration.

No one before or after Josiah worked so hard at doing what God had said. Always before, the kings had done a half job. They rid the land of some idols and altars. But the ones they left soon lured the people back to idol worship again. Josiah’s thoroughness helped Judah to turn from their old ways and make a new start.

We can clean up our lives like Josiah cleaned up the land. We can name the things we’re sorry for in prayer. We can get rid of things like books, games, music and anything else that will tempt us to again wander away from God. We can be as thorough in our new start as Josiah was.

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me everything that comes between You and me. Help me to rid my life of it. Amen.


MORE: Your new startYou start a new day energetic and fresh from a night’s sleep. You start a new basketball tournament with no losses. You start a new school year with clean books, long pencils, maybe a new backpack and even new clothes. What changes might happen when you make a new start with God:

1. You feel clean inside
2. You sing
3. You feel peaceful
4. You get a different body
5. You feel joyful
6. You make a new set of friends

ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Prison Prayers

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 33:7-13

TO CHEW ON: "And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God." 2 Chronicles 33:13

“The Assyrians are coming!” A messenger blurted the news to King Manasseh.

Manasseh called his priests and told them to pray to the gods, check the omens, and make sacrifices. But not to the God of heaven. For Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son and Judah’s king, was not like his dad. Instead of worshiping God, he rebuilt hilltop shrines where people went to pray to statues of Chemosh and Baal.

Illustration by Annie Vallotton from the Good News Bible
© American Bible Society 1976, 1992, used with permission.

He sacrificed his own sons to idols, was deeply into witchcraft and even built idol altars in the temple. God had tried to talk to Manasseh and the people, but they refused to listen.


The sacrifices Manasseh made that day did no good. He was captured by the Assyrian generals, chained and taken to prison in Babylon. There, in a dungeon and all alone, he had time to think. He remembered the things his father Hezekiah had taught him. He knew what he had done was displeasing to God. Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe God would still take him back.

One day he cried out to God. He told God how foolish he had been. He begged God to save his life and set him free.



Soon after the prison keeper unlocked his cell and sent him home. Oh joy!! Now he knew that God was real and powerful. When he got back to Jerusalem, he demolished the idols, shrines and altars. He cleaned up the temple. He told the people that from now on, they were to worship only the Lord God of Israel.

Sometimes God uses hard things like sickness, accidents, tragedies and facing the consequences of our choices to bring us back to Him. How much better to serve God all along than to risk such problems. But then, better the problems that bring us back to God than being separated from Him forever and ever.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for using even troubles to bring us back to You. Amen.

MORE: God’s Invitation
Over and over in the Bible, God invites us to come back to Him if we have gone away. 1 John 1:9 is such an invitation. Can you fill in the missing words from this verse. Use the word bank, below, if necessary.

If we 1. ___ our sins, he is faithful and just and will 2. ____ us our 3. ____ and 4. ____ us from all unrighteousness.

Word bank:
sins   purify
confess   forgive

ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Temple Cleaning

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 29:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side and said, 'Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.'” 2 Chronicles 29:4,5

What are you most likely to do when your room gets messy?
- clean it up
- nothing

When Hezekiah, Uzziah’s great-grandson became Judah’s king, one of the first things he did was a clean-up job, even though the mess wasn’t in his room and it was a mess he hadn’t made. In the first month of his reign King Hezekiah called together the priests and Levites and told them to clean up the temple.



The reasons for cleaning it up were more than that Hezekiah was a neat-freak. After thirty two years of being ruled by evil kings (his father Ahaz and his grandfather Jotham), Hezekiah knew there was a connection between worshiping God and having His blessing. He wanted God’s blessing more than anything. And so he told the priests and Levites to take everything that didn’t belong in the temple out so that they could again worship God there.

We could compare what Hezekiah did in the temple with the house cleaning that sometimes needs to be done in our hearts. If you don’t feel close to God and you’d rather not talk to Him every day, maybe it’s because there’s a mess in your heart. And how would you clean up such a mess?

You could take a pretend walk with God through every ‘room’ in your heart. As you go through each room – the home room, the school room, the friends room, the TV room, the computer room – ask Him to show you if there is anything that needs cleaning up. If there is, ask Him what you need to do to clean it up.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to clean up the messes in my heart. Amen.



MORE: A Clean Room
What is the state of your bedroom right now? Does it need a cleaning? Here are some hints to help you get and keep a tidy room.


30-Minute bedroom clean-up
1. 10 minutes: Straighten your bed. Now put everything that is out of place on your bed.
2. 10 minutes: Set an oven timer for 10 minutes and see if you can beat the clock at putting everything away.
3. 10 minutes: Dust flat surfaces with a feather duster. Vacuum the floor (or get it ready for an adult to vacuum).

Keep it tidy
1. Keep a laundry hamper in your room and throw dirty laundry in it instead of on the floor.
2. Hang up all clothes once a day.
3. Return dirty dishes, pop cans and juice boxes to the kitchen every day.
4. Organize your shelves and desk so there is a place for each thing. Return everything to its spot once a day.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Copying the Wrong Cat

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 17:15-20

TO CHEW ON: "But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, 'Do not do as they do.' " 2 Kings 17:14,15

Israel was in big trouble. It was about thirty years and five kings after Jeroboam II. Shalmaneser king of Assyria had discovered that Israel’s present king Hoshea had secretly made a pact with Egypt. When Hoshea stopped paying the tax that Shalmaneser demanded, he arrested King Hoshea and took him to an Assyrian prison.

Then his army went through the countryside, rounding up the people. When they came to Samaria, the gates were locked. But Shalmaneser had all the time in the world. His army camped outside the city and waited for the people inside to surrender.


The Samaritans hung on for three years. But finally, desperate for food and water, they surrendered. In no time Shalmaneser had rounded up all those people too. He marched all his captives to Assyria. And that was the end of Israel.


Israel had had many chances to return to God. Many prophets had preached, warned and begged her kings and people to destroy their idols and worship God again. Again and again they chose to ignore those warnings. Finally God had had enough. The reason for Israel’s fall is spelled out in today’s reading.

What was the main thing to blame? (2 Kings 17:15):
1. bad crops and famine.
2. a weak army.
3. imitating the idol-worshiping nations around them.
4. a plague of sickness.


We aren’t that different today. Like the Israelites we love to imitate those we admire. It’s not imitation that’s bad, but whom we choose as our models. Let’s be careful to choose models of whom God would approve.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to choose my models wisely. Amen.


MORE: Pick Someone to Copy
You have been introduced to many Bible characters: Job, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Joseph, Esau, Moses, Joshua, Rachel, Ruth and others. If you were to choose one of them to imitate, who would it be? Why?

ANSWERS


Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

God Wants Us Back

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Hosea 14:1-9

TO CHEW ON: "Return, O Israel, to the Lord you God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: 'Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously that we may offer the fruit of our lips.'” Hosea 14:1,2

Hosea was another prophet to Israel at this time. God asked him to do more than just talk to the people. Even his life was an object lesson of what God was like.

“Go marry a woman who won’t be true to you,” God told him.

So Hosea married Gomer, a prostitute. They lived together and had children. But Gomer left Hosea and had affairs with other men.

This made Hosea sad. God told him, “Your wife is just like the Israelites. She left you just like they left me to worship idols.

The Israelites going to worship idols

I don’t want you to divorce her. Instead, you are to take her back.”

Hosea paid money and took his wife back into their home. Then God said to him, “Tell the Israelites that what you did is a picture of what I will do for them. Just like you took your wife back even though she had left you, I’ll take the Israelites back if they’ll come back to Me.”

That is still God’s message to us today. Even if we once loved Him but have turned away and are now doing our own thing, God will always take us back.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for loving us even when we go away from You. Thank You for always accepting us back Amen.

MORE: Coming Back to God
If you or someone you know has gone away from God, this verse from Hosea tells how to come back to Him. You might want to memorize it.

Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously that we may offer the fruit of our lips.” Hosea 14:2

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Prophets and Plagues

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joel 1:1-4 and 10-14

TO CHEW ON: The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. Joel 1:10

Which people do we go to, to find out what might happen in the future

weathermen   scientists   prophets

I’m sure you’d agree that in our time we may go to weathermen and scientists, but we don’t often go to prophets. Even in Bible times people sometimes made fun of what prophets predicted. Yet God chose to speak through these ordinary men who didn’t speak their own ideas but said what God told them to say.

Joel was such a prophet. He lived in Judah around the time Joash was crowned king. He had seen the way King Jehoram and Ahaziah and then Queen Athaliah had turned the people away from praying to God.

When Joash became king, Joel hoped that things would be different. And they were for a while. As long as Priest Jehoiada was alive Joash followed his advice and honored God. But after Jehoiada died, Joash stopped worshiping at the temple. He put up Asherah poles and soon the land was filled with idols again.

One day God gave Joel a message for the king and people of Judah. He told them to come back to Him because if they didn’t, bad things would happen to their crops and land.


1.What bad things did Joel predict? (Joel 1:1-4):

a] Plague of locusts
b] Flooded harvest
c] Mildew
d] Dried up harvest

2. What should the people do to show God that they were sorry for ignoring Him and worshiping idols? (Joel 1: 13,14)

a] Fast
b] Live in caves
c] Gather to pray
d] Cry out to God

Through Joel God told the people about an important connection. Their obedience or disobedience would decide whether God would bless and protect their land and crops – or not.

What do you think – are obedience and blessing still connected in our time?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to see and understand the consequences of the way I live my life. Amen

MORE: Locusts
Find out through books or the internet about Locusts:
1. Where do they live?
2. What do they eat?
3. How small or big are they?
4. How can a locust become a plague?
5. Are there still locust plagues today?


Answers


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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Jehu's Unfinished Job

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 10:18-29

TO CHEW ON: “So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit – the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.” 2 Kings 10:28,29

Jehu lost no time getting to work on job the prophet had given him. When Ahab’s son King Joram was recovering from a war injury in Jezreel, Jehu rode there in his chariot and did away with Joram. Next he had Queen Jezebel killed. Finally, he destroyed the worship of the idol Baal.


He did this by tricking all the Baal prophets. He told the people to call them together for a big, big sacrifice. “Ahab served Baal a little,” Jehu said. “I will serve him much. Any Baal prophet who doesn’t show up will be killed.”

When all the prophets had gathered in Baal’s temple, Jehu posted guards outside. “Don’t let anyone escape,” he said. Then he made the sacrifice. And right after that he gave the signal to the guards to destroy every Baal prophet in the temple.

After that was done, Jehu tore down the Baal altar and the temple. In this way he stopped Baal worship in Israel.

But he didn’t go far enough. What did he still allow that was not pleasing to God? (2 Kings 10:28,29) __________


Has God showed you something that needs to change in your life? Maybe, for example, you’ve stolen something in the past. You know that God hates stealing. You decide never to steal anything again. Still you haven't make it right with the person you stole from or returned or paid for the thing you stole. So you haven't finished the clean-up. Don’t be like Jehu and go only partway in obeying God. Instead, finish the job.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to finish doing what You ask. Amen.


MORE: Unfinished Projects
Do you have unfinished projects sitting around your room or house?

What are they?

Why didn’t you finish them?

Pick out one unfinished project and determine to finish it. Work on it today.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

A Plan of His Own

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 12:25-33

TO CHEW ON: "The king made two golden calves. He said to the people, 'It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' " 1 Kings 12:28

Jeroboam went to live in Schechem and ruled Israel from there. The prophet had told him he would be a successful king if he obeyed God. Even so, Jeroboam began to be afraid. His people would go back to Jerusalem to worship. What if traveling back to Jerusalem would make them want Rehoboam as their king again?

So Jeroboam made a plan to keep that from happening. Instead of encouraging the people to worship God in the temple in Jerusalem he set up calf idols nearby – one in Dan and another in Bethel. He told the people, "Here are the gods who brought you out of Egypt." Then he chose people who weren’t in the Levi tribe to be the priests. They offered sacrifices to the golden calves.


Jeroboam also invented new festivals. At festival time, the people now went to Dan or Bethel instead of Jerusalem. In no time the people who had chosen Jeroboam as their king had forgotten all about God and were up to their necks in idol worship.

Everything went along fine until Jeroboam’s son got sick. Jeroboam feared he would die. He got his wife to disguise herself and go to the prophet Ahijah – the one who, years earlier, had predicted he would be king.

By now Ahijah was an old man. But God still talked to him. Before Jeroboam’s wife arrived, God told Ahijah who was coming and what to say to her. When Jeroboam’s wife got there Ahijah greeted her by name. Then he gave her a message for Jeroboam, “God raised you up to be king,” he said. “But you haven’t followed His ways. Now know that as soon as your wife steps into your home, your son will die. And God will raise up another king in Israel to take the place of you and your family.”


How differently the story could have turned out if only Jeroboam had trusted God and done things His way, instead of worrying and making plans of his own.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to trust You and follows Your ways, instead of making up my own way to do things. Amen.

SUPERSIZE IT: Straight paths
Are you ever tempted to do things your way instead of trusting that God’s way is best. Here is a verse to remind you to trust in God for everything. Write or print it out and put it up where you will see it often. It would be a good verse to memorize.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5,6



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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Ebenezer

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 7:2-13

TO CHEW ON: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far has the Lord helped us.'” 1 Samuel 7:12

God’s predictions for Eli’s family soon came true. The next time the Israelites were losing against the Philistines, someone suggested they bring the ark to the battlefield to help them win. So Eli's his sons brought the ark. But the Philistines beat them anyway. On top of that they killed Eli's sons and took the ark back home with them.

The Philistines didn’t keep it long though. Because wherever they took it, sickness broke out. They soon sent it back to Israel where it was stored in a little town. But even then the Philistines didn’t stop hassling the Israelites. They were as cruel and bossy as ever.

This went on for twenty years. By now Samuel was a grown man. The people began coming to him for advice. “What can we do to defeat these Philistines?” they asked.

1. Here are some things Samuel could have told him. What did he say? (1 Samuel 7:3)
A. Conscript more soldiers and build a bigger army.
B. Do sword practice three hours a day.
C. Get rid of all the idols and serve only God.

After the people took Samuel’s advice, he called them to gather in the town of Mizpah to fast and pray. While everyone was there word got around that the Philistines were coming to attack the town right now! The people were terrified.




2. What did Samuel do then? (1 Samuel 7:7-9)
A. Got the ark.
B. Sacrificed a burnt offering
C. Broke up the prayer meeting and sent the people to war.

3. What happened next? (1 Samuel 7:10-11).
A. Nothing.
B. The Philistines defeated the Israelites again.
C. Thunder threw the Philistines into a panic. The Israelites easily chased and killed them.


4. Why did the Israelites defeat the Philistines this time when they hadn’t so many times before? (1 Samuel 7:12) ___________

5. How did Samuel make sure the people would remember this? (1 Samuel 7:12) _____

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to trust You for help more than any other person or thing. Amen.

SUPERSIZE IT: Your own Ebenezer stone
The stone Samuel set up reminded the people it was God who helped them defeat the Philistines.


You could make your own Ebenezer stone.
1. Find a smooth stone about the size of a baseball.
2. Think of a time God helped you with something.
3. With felt marker write that thing and the date, on the stone.
4. Put your Ebenezer stone in a place where it can remind you that God helped you in the past – and can do it again.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Gold Frappuccino

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 32:7,8, 15-26

TO CHEW ON: "They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt'.... And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made." Exodus 32:8, 35

While the people were worshiping and celebrating around the idol, God told Moses, “It’s time for you to go down. The people are doing something bad.”

So Moses went down the mountain, carrying the tablets of stone on which God had written. But even God’s warning hadn’t prepared him for the sight that met his eyes when he got back to camp. There, in the middle of everything, was the gold calf idol. Around it the people were dancing, singing and celebrating.

Moses stormed into camp. He threw down the stone pieces he was carrying and they shattered.

"Moses Breaks the Tablets of Stone" from Treasures of the Bible (Moses)

Then he tore the calf idol off its stand and heaved it into a fire. When it had melted, he ground it up to fine powder, mixed the powder with water and forced the people to drink it (YUCK!)

Then he called for Aaron. “What happened?”

“Uh... the people told me to make them a god,” Aaron said. “So I collected their jewelry, put it in the fire, and out came this calf.”

Moses scolded Aaron for letting the people get out of control. Later, God sent a plague (sickness) that destroyed many of the rebellious Israelites.

God had commanded the people to worship only Him. They had disobeyed Him by making an idol and worshiping it. Now they had to suffer the consequences of disobedience.

Sin still has consequences. Sometimes consequences are natural – like getting suspended from school for stealing. Sometimes God Himself causes them – like the sickness from which these people died.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me remember that each thing I do (each action) has a consequence. Amen.

MORE: I told you so!

Consequences word search

Below the word search are five statements about consequences. Find each bold word in the word search.

Created with Puzzlemaker on DiscoveryEducation.com

1. You don't clean your room so you can't find your ipod.
2. You tell secrets you promised to keep so your friends don't trust you.
3. You keep up with your homework so you make good marks even on surprise tests.
4. You always defend your friends so your friends are loyal to you.
5. You don't read your Bible much so you're not sure how God feels about most things.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Gold God

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 32:1-6

TO CHEW ON: "He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' ” Exodus 32:4

Moses was on Mount Sinai for a long time. When he didn’t come back, and didn’t come back, the Israelites camping at the bottom of the mountain wondered what was taking so long. Maybe God had destroyed Moses in the fire that rested on the top of the mountain. Maybe a wild animal had killed him. Who could help them if Moses never came back? They remembered Egypt. There the people had prayed to statues or idols.

The people went to Aaron. “Make us a god idol!” they demanded.

“Give me your jewelry,” he said. Then Aaron melted the gold he collected and cast it into the shape of a calf.

“This is our god,” the people shouted to each other. “This is the god who brought us out of Egypt.” They offered sacrifices to the idol and then they began to party.

Israel celebrating around the calf idol - Artist unknown

Which statement, below, tells why this happened?
- The people were impatient.
- It’s easier to believe in a God you can see than one who is invisible.
- The people were really trusting in Moses, not God. When Moses didn’t come back, they thought they were on their own.

Did you choose them all? Like the Israelites we too can get impatient when we think God isn’t working quickly enough. We can find it hard to believe in a God who is invisible. We can put our trust in people instead of God. Ask God to show you if you are trusting anyone or anything else besides Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to trust in You totally and completely. Amen.


MORE: Modern Idols
In some places people still worship idols as God. We may not do that in our culture. But could we still be in danger of putting things in the place of God? Circle the things that may be modern idols. Can you name more?

- Money

- Being the most popular, best athlete, smartest in the class

- Having the latest and best stuff and fashions

- Wanting to be famous like a movie or rock star

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's.