Temporary Satisfaction

Jeremiah 44 has one of the clearest declarations of why Israel had gone after other Gods.

17But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. 18But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine." 19And the women said, "When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?"

Serving other gods is a very practical thing. They thought they needed something and they went after the source that gave it to them.

We do that today as well. We go after the god of money in order to put food on the table. We serve the god of lust in order to find intimacy that we need.

But it's a little like drinking salt water when you are thirsty. It slacks the thirst temporarily while killing the body permanently.

Our problem is one of perspective. We think that all there is is what is around us in our daily struggle. In reality there is a much bigger reality out there. It would be like making sure we avoid a small bush on fire and ignore the entire forest ablaze around us.

A faithful relationship with Yahweh might have brought discipline and trial with it, but that temporary difficulty would result in an eternal wealth beyond imagination. We want to satisfy our immediate desires without taking into consideration a bigger need, to be clean from evil. Only God offers that through Jesus Christ, and as he makes us into his image, sometimes he allows difficulty.

But know this, God will always take care of his own. Belonging to him might mean temporary need, but eternal satisfaction. Something to think about.

Pastor Tom