Mixing It Up

Judges 17:3-4 And his mother said, "'I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.' 4 So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image."

This is an unbelievable story that gets even more weird, but shows how we humans get our gods all mixed up.

The period in which this story happened was among the darkest in Israel's history. The people had allowed the religions of the land to infiltrate their lives and they didn't pay close attention to their relationship with Yahweh.

So here we have a son who stole money from his mom. When she finds out instead of punishing him like a good parent she tries to turn it into some kind of religious expression.

How could she think that she could dedicate something to the LORD (the capital L-O-R-D stands for the name of God: Yahweh) and then use it to make a carved image, which is something God specifically prohibited (Exodus 20:4) and was used to worship gods other than Yahweh?

Do we sometimes make the same mistake, though? You can't just say "I'm giving this money to the Lord" and then turn around and use it to buy something that creates sin or temptation in yourself or others. Neither can you dedicate your life to Jesus then pray to Buddha just to "cover your bases." Just be clear about it. Either you are serving God or you are not serving Him. Don't try to mix hot and cold water. That results in luke warm, something God will spew out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16).

God wants an exclusive relationship with you, and the only way to have it is through a one-on-one relationship with His Son Jesus.


Pastor Tom