There are some things I do not really need any help with. It does not look as though, at my age, I will become a bank robber. Nor, does it appear that any time soon I will be stealing automobiles from off the streets, or participating in any major corporate accounting scandals. I doubt that armed robbery, or assault with intent to commit bodily harm looms large in my future.
Sometimes getting older means that it is harder to violate some of the Ten Commandments. At least it is simpler to just think the thought, than to do the deed.
On the other hand, I seem to have no trouble violating one of the most basic of God's laws, i.e., reliance upon my household gods which I insist on carrying around with me. They are made by mans own hand and I keep on taking them with me wherever I go. So easy to do, so hard to avoid.
As Jacob was sneaking away and leaving his father-in-law, unbeknownst to him, his wife Rachel had taken from her father's tents the "household gods." Here is how the story is portrayed in the Bible at Genesis 31:19-30:
"When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods. Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. So he fled with all he had, and crossing the River, he headed for the hill country of Gilead. Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war. Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps? You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing. I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, `Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"
That last plaintive cry, "But why did you steal my gods?" would be comical if it were not so tragic. Even more intriguing is the deception of Rachel described in the subsequent verses:
"Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period." So he searched but could not find the household gods.
I suppose there is nothing as soothing as the knowledge that your household gods are small enough to be slipped into your camel's saddle so you can sit upon them and hide them from someone who wants them. Is that not a pretty sad and ignominious fate for a god? To be stolen and taken 7 days journey from your home base, to be hidden in someone's saddlebags, and then sat upon by the person wanting your protection and benefits. You would think these household gods would be feeling pretty insignificant and small – if they had feelings, or intelligence, or life. But, in truth they are merely created by the hands of men, inanimate objects with no power or ability to influence or change the affairs of mankind. They are useless and lifeless, but they bring comfort to those who hold them dear, while rejecting the One True God – the Creator God who cannot be stolen, carried around in saddlebags, or sat upon.
Gods made by the hands of men seem so paltry when compared with the God who created. How can you measure the God who created the Universe? How can you take a little figure carved and shaped from rock or wood and endow it with the ability to live, breathe, and create.
I really feel a bit sorry for Rachel. Risking the anger of her father and, perhaps even death, for what she was sitting on. And, don't you pity her father, Laban, also as he searches for the "household gods" which gave him comfort. Life can be pretty empty when all you have are the gods created by the hands of men.
But, it seems that Rachel and Laban are not the only ones who carry around "household gods" for protection, blessing, and comfort. I'm afraid I do too. And multiplied millions of other people as well. There are obviously people who still bow down to objects carved from wood, ivory, and stone. And, there are still those who build larger than life statues and cover them with gold, silver, and precious stones. Then, there are the rest of us who retreat from the living God of scripture and embrace something other than Him as we try to work out our spiritual life. If you purchase a new refrigerator, it does not matter whether the electrical cord is 1" away from being plugged into the wall outlet, or one mile – the truth is that the electric power will not flow unless, and until, the plug is inserted into the socket. I may not bow down to a carved image. I may not bend my knee before a gold covered Buddha. But, I may not be plugged into the living God either. Going through the rituals and motions of religion are not enough. Saying all the right buzz words at the right time don't get the job done either.
God, where are you when we need you? Well, it seems He is not really all that far away!
Isaiah 55:6-7 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
John 14:23-27 "Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.'"
Household gods belong in the trash heap. Trusting in objects made by the hands of man for deliverance and blessing is foolhardy. Only the living God of the Bible, the God who created, i.e., the personal God who intervened in the pages of man's history is the God who asks to become your one and only God. He does not dwell in houses made by hand, but He does want to live in you.
Sometimes getting older means that it is harder to violate some of the Ten Commandments. At least it is simpler to just think the thought, than to do the deed.
On the other hand, I seem to have no trouble violating one of the most basic of God's laws, i.e., reliance upon my household gods which I insist on carrying around with me. They are made by mans own hand and I keep on taking them with me wherever I go. So easy to do, so hard to avoid.
As Jacob was sneaking away and leaving his father-in-law, unbeknownst to him, his wife Rachel had taken from her father's tents the "household gods." Here is how the story is portrayed in the Bible at Genesis 31:19-30:
"When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods. Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. So he fled with all he had, and crossing the River, he headed for the hill country of Gilead. Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war. Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps? You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing. I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, `Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"
That last plaintive cry, "But why did you steal my gods?" would be comical if it were not so tragic. Even more intriguing is the deception of Rachel described in the subsequent verses:
"Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period." So he searched but could not find the household gods.
I suppose there is nothing as soothing as the knowledge that your household gods are small enough to be slipped into your camel's saddle so you can sit upon them and hide them from someone who wants them. Is that not a pretty sad and ignominious fate for a god? To be stolen and taken 7 days journey from your home base, to be hidden in someone's saddlebags, and then sat upon by the person wanting your protection and benefits. You would think these household gods would be feeling pretty insignificant and small – if they had feelings, or intelligence, or life. But, in truth they are merely created by the hands of men, inanimate objects with no power or ability to influence or change the affairs of mankind. They are useless and lifeless, but they bring comfort to those who hold them dear, while rejecting the One True God – the Creator God who cannot be stolen, carried around in saddlebags, or sat upon.
Gods made by the hands of men seem so paltry when compared with the God who created. How can you measure the God who created the Universe? How can you take a little figure carved and shaped from rock or wood and endow it with the ability to live, breathe, and create.
I really feel a bit sorry for Rachel. Risking the anger of her father and, perhaps even death, for what she was sitting on. And, don't you pity her father, Laban, also as he searches for the "household gods" which gave him comfort. Life can be pretty empty when all you have are the gods created by the hands of men.
But, it seems that Rachel and Laban are not the only ones who carry around "household gods" for protection, blessing, and comfort. I'm afraid I do too. And multiplied millions of other people as well. There are obviously people who still bow down to objects carved from wood, ivory, and stone. And, there are still those who build larger than life statues and cover them with gold, silver, and precious stones. Then, there are the rest of us who retreat from the living God of scripture and embrace something other than Him as we try to work out our spiritual life. If you purchase a new refrigerator, it does not matter whether the electrical cord is 1" away from being plugged into the wall outlet, or one mile – the truth is that the electric power will not flow unless, and until, the plug is inserted into the socket. I may not bow down to a carved image. I may not bend my knee before a gold covered Buddha. But, I may not be plugged into the living God either. Going through the rituals and motions of religion are not enough. Saying all the right buzz words at the right time don't get the job done either.
God, where are you when we need you? Well, it seems He is not really all that far away!
Isaiah 55:6-7 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
John 14:23-27 "Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.'"
Household gods belong in the trash heap. Trusting in objects made by the hands of man for deliverance and blessing is foolhardy. Only the living God of the Bible, the God who created, i.e., the personal God who intervened in the pages of man's history is the God who asks to become your one and only God. He does not dwell in houses made by hand, but He does want to live in you.
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