In Psalms one hundred six the Psalmist said the people of Israel, “did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them, but were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works”, and in chapter one hundred six and verse thirty-six of Psalms the Psalmist shared how the people of Israel, “served their idols” where we read,
And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
The verse begins, “And they served their idols:” The Psalmist began with the words, “and they served” or “and they, the people of Israel, did labor, worshiped and worked for” “their idols” which means “their, the nations who were heathen's, false and idolatrous images”. (See Judges 2 and 3) The Psalmist said the people of Israel worshiped and performed labor for the false images of the heathen.
The verse continues, “which were a snare unto them.” The Psalmist added the words, “which were a snare” or “that existed as bait, a lure and a trap” “unto them” which means “to the people of Israel”. The Psalmist said the “idols” of the heathen nations existed as a lure and trap to the people of Israel.
When we consider the words in this verse, we discover how the Psalmist said the people of Israel not only forsook Jehovah God and His ways, but they also began to worship and labor for the idolatrous images of the heathen nations. This behavior violated the first and second commandments of God, “you shall have no other gods before me” and “you shall not make unto you any graven image” (See Exodus 20:3-5), and they were reminded of the same before they entered the promise land. (Exodus 34:15-16) Worshiping and serving false images and idols was a lure and trap for the people of Israel, and they would pay dearly for their disobedience to God. They may have thought they were “getting by” for a while, but eventually, when their crisis came, they discovered their loss for not serving Jehovah God alone. God knew these things, and He warned them. He knows our future as well, and He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so we may live eternally with Him. When we believe and trust in Him, forsaking all other gods, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and help us keep from straying and serving anything or anyone other than Him to insure for us a beautiful and blessed future.
Next time the Psalmist shares how the people of Israel, “sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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