As I mentioned yesterday, Deuteronomy 32 is the Song of Moses, where the Lord, through Moses, told the people of their past mistakes and foretold the future ones. I'll focus on Deuteronomy 32:37-38, which states:
"...where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter!"
Imagine for a moment that you're a typical run-of-the-mill idol worshiper. You constantly do what the priests of your religion tell you to do--sacrifices, rituals, offerings, etc. At some point, you have to assume some kind of payback--wealth, love, more hair, etc. Think about it--why are you worshiping that idol if not for protection from something. Moses alludes to that in these verses when the Lord kindly offers to allow the idols to care for the people of Israel. It's pretty easy for us to scoff today, but can anyone seriously worship a god that he manufactured with his own hand?
As illogical as it sounds, this described what the people of Israel had done and will do in the Promised Land. As hard as it may be for us to understand idol worship, it's still alive and well in the world today. We worship the idol of self, the idol of wealth, the idol of doing what we want when we want, and most importantly, the idol that we're answerable to no one other than ourselves. The words God spoke through Moses are just as meaningful today and should make us stop, think and continually dedicate ourselves to doing what the Lord wants of us.
Scott
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