This week we talked about the danger of idolatry. There are far too many verses about putting our trust in God to mention. I do encourage you wholeheartedly to think about putting it on your to study list. I am going to springboard from two main verses for this post but do encourage you to dig deeper.
From Romans 1 :
“18 For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress andhinder the truth and make it inoperative. 19 For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them. 20 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification], 21 Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor andglorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and[c]godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves]. 23 And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and repreented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies a mong themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin], 25 Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it). 26 For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one, 27 And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own [d]bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.28 And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, 29 Until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers, 30 Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents. 31 [They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless andloveless [and] merciless. 32 Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.”
Proverbs 30:5 King James Version (KJV)
“5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”
Over and over and over again we see this truth in the Bible. God helps/protects/provides for/heals etc those who put their trust in Him. These are conditional promises and they hang our ability and willingness to believe what He has said and what He has promised.
Romans 4:19-25 King James Version (KJV)
“19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
Abraham gave glory to God by believing that God is faithful and would surely 100% deliver on His promise. He did not fully understand how it would be fulfilled, but he 100% believed it would be. He did not fall away, or get discouraged or derailed via unbelief. Pause and REALLY think about these two keys that set Abraham apart and positioned Him to see the fulfillment of what God had promised Him. Dear Ones, we have “very great and precious promises (2 Peter 1)” that will bring the fullness of the Kingdom of God into our present here and now lives if we can live and believe as Abraham did. Verse 23 and 24 tell us that these verses are given so that that we can know that this remains true for us today.
The central issue of idolatry is that the message it sends to others and to God is that we don’t really believe He is going to deliver on what He promised to do. Many people have more confidence in Amazon (I used to say Sears) than they do in God. They know that when they place their order, and pay the bill, their goods are going to show up. And if they don’t for any reason, they can go back to the company and the Customer Service Department will resolve the issue. This positions us to accuse the Father in our hearts, words and deeds of being a faithless, exacting, harsh taskmaster. This is the opposite of what He is worthy of. If we perceive Him as He really is, then praising Him and thanking Him continuously for His absolute faithfulness and goodness follow. Scripture tells us the “perfect love of God casts out all fear” (1 John 4:18). Psalm 91 spells out the benefits of peace, proctection, health etc that come from abiding in Him.
Matthew 6:31-33 King James Version (KJV)
“31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
The danger of an idol (you can call it by any name) of anything else that has taken God’s place in our hearts as our source of provision for what He has promised to provide for us, is that our hope and trust is in that thing instead of God. We may say with our mouths and pay lipservice to to God, but the real evidence lies in our actions and words. These reveal the truth of in whom we have put our trust. Futility and frustration are inevitable as these other things cannot deliver. Remember at the end of the day “human effort accomlishes nothing” and anything other than God will inevitably fall short and/or fail utterly. BUT what they can do is crowd God out.
Idols are not overly hard to spot. They tend to be the last things we think about at night or the first things we think about in the morning. If we are experiencing fear, doubt and unbelief, if we take the time to root out the source we will find a place in our hearts and minds where God is not sitting as Lord. The places where we spend our time, resources, money and thoughts on… are an easy way to spot our idols. Not all idols are positive. Some are very negative. It is very easy for us to put all of our hopes and happiness on people. Even the most righteous man/woman can be an idol in our hearts if we seek their counsel, their wisdom, their influence above God’s. Sometimes the people who we struggle with the most are really idols in disguise. If only he/she would…, then I would be fine. If our happiness is hanging on the actions, words or behaviors of another, we have seated them in a place of power and lordship over our lives. They have the ability to manipulate and control via their approval or displeasure. If God is truly Lord in all areas of our life, we are truly free to accept others, to not be harmed by their sin issues and shortfalls, and to be steadfast in our faith. Remember, we can only have one master.
Matthew 6:24 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be [a]against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon ([b]deceitful riches, money, possessions, or [c]whatever is trusted in).
Proverbs 29:25 English Standard Version (ESV)
“25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Galatians 1:10 English Standard Version (ESV)
“10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant[a] of Christ.”
The driving force behind all idolatry is the desire to bypass investing the time necessary into developping a thriving and abiding relationship with our God and submitting to Him as Lord of our whole life. Wanting His blessings and benefits without satisfying our part of the equation. The proverbial “magic pill” for all that ails you, the carrot hanging just our of our reach that never satisfies when we finally chomp down on it. It positions us to view other people as obstacles in our path or opportunities/resources to leverage for our benefit. Basically, we don’t get what we feel that we need/want and then act badly and then sadly, often justify our poor behaviour and attitude to insulate ourselves from all responsibility for the state we are in. But if you look back to the beginning of the cycle, it all starts when we try to bypass the lawful means of our needs being met. Life abundantly is THE destination for those who are willing to choose life and life abundantly through hearkening to and obeying the Word of the Lord. EVERY other path ends in hell, death and destruction.
To sum up plainly:
The fruit and blessings of the Kingdom are only assured in the areas where we have made Him LORD. We therefore should not be shocked or dismayed at the absence of His benefits when we have excluded Him from so many parts of our lives. We can easily be deceived by His mercy and goodness which falls on all of his creation.. BUT He has also promised that these will not last forever, while he is slow to wrath and patient in the hopes that all will repent and be saved, He is also perfectly just and has promised that each one WILL reap according to what He sows and is a slave to whoever they obey.
James 4:1-3 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
4 What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members? 2 You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures.
2 Peter 3:7-15 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
“7 But God has commanded the present heavens and earth to remain until the day of judgment. Then they will be set on fire, and ungodly people will be destroyed. 8 Dear friends, don’t forget that for the Lord one day is the same as a thousand years, and a thousand years is the same as one day. 9 The Lord isn’t slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost. 10 The day of the Lord’s return will surprise us like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a loud noise, and the heat will melt the whole universe.[a] Then the earth and everything on it will be seen for what they are.[b]11 Everything will be destroyed. So you should serve and honor God by the way you live. 12 You should look forward to the day when God judges everyone, and you should try to make it come soon.[c] On that day the heavens will be destroyed by fire, and everything else will melt in the heat. 13 But God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth, where justice will rule. We are really looking forward to that!”
Going back to the Romans verse at the very top…. Idolatry/putting our faith/hope/trust in something other than God IS the guaranteed place anyone who refuses to submit to God will land. It is either God in the throne room of our lives or something else. There is simply no inbetween options and no gray areas possible. We were made to be the home of the Holy Spirit and to live with Him filling us every day. When we evict Him, we leave a vacancy up and squatters are quick to jump in and take up residence. Jesus is the answer, the Word is the means by which He has chosen to reveal Himself to us. The Galatians verse I started with during our group is the one I will end with here. I have come to believe that the things listed in this verse are simply evidence that we have some squatters in our hearts. They are evidence that a worldly/fleshly substitute has snuck in and stolen our hearts and trust away from our God. How wonderful to know that as we read the Word, hearken to our God and submit to Him that we will see ” love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;” take up full time residence and that these other “squatters” will be fully driven out. Isn’t it amazing and encouraging to know that we can be restored to full measure, these “symptoms” of deficiency will surely fall away too.
Galatians 5:19-24 English Standard Version (ESV)
“19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[b] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
And just to clarify, I am not saying that people won’t ever be part of God’s solution, because they absolutely do and will play a role, and often a significant role. But who you seek FIRST, where your hope is set, really makes a kingdom of difference. Blessings.
Extra’s
For those interested in the 7 redemptive names I mentioned that God gave us through the wilderness journey and for those interested in the verses that talk about our need to put our trust in Him, see below.
from this blog:
https://onlyamustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/12/redemptive-names-of-god.html
The Seven Redemptive Names of God
In his redemptive relation to man, Jehovah has seven compound names which reveal Him as meeting every need of man from his lost state to the end. These compound names are:Jehovah-Jireh
“the Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:13,14).
i.e., will provide a sacrifice.Jehovah-Rapha
“the Lord that healeth” (Exodus 15:26).
That this refers to physical healing the context shows, but the deeper healing of soul malady is implied.Jehovah-Nissi
“the Lord our banner” (Exodus 17:8-15).
The name is interpreted by the context. The enemy was Amalek, a type of the flesh, and the conflict that day stands for the conflict of (Galatians 5:17) the war of the Spirit against the flesh. Victory was wholly due to divine help.Jehovah-Shalom
“the Lord our peace,” or “the Lord send peace” (Judges 6:24).
Almost the whole ministry of Jehovah finds expression and illustration in that chapter. Jehovah hates and judges sin (Genesis 2:1-5). Jehovah loves and saves sinners (Genesis 2:7-18) but only through sacrifice (Genesis 2:19-21). See also: Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:14; Colossians 1:20.Jehovah-Ra-ah
“the Lord my shepherd” (Psalm 23.).
In Psalm 22, Jehovah makes peace by the blood of the cross; in Psalm 23, Jehovah is shepherding His own who are in the world.Jehovah-Tsidkenu
“the Lord our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6).
This name of Jehovah occurs in a prophecy concerning the future restoration and conversion of Israel. Then Israel will hail him as Jehovah-Tsidkenu—”the Lord our righteousness.”Jehovah-Shammah
“the Lord is present” (Ezekiel 48:35).
This name signifies Jehovah’s abiding presence with His people (Exodus 33:14,15; 1 Chronicles 16:27,33; Psalm 16:11, 97:5; Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5).
Taken from the 1917 Scofield Reference Bible Notes
A bunch more verses that stress that there is a significant our part if we are to expect God’s help and protection in our lives.
Psalm 5:11 King James Version (KJV) “11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”
Psalm 18:30 King James Version (KJV)
30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
Psalm 20:6-8 King James Version (KJV)
6 Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. 8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
Psalm 34:8 King James Version (KJV)
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
Psalm 112:6-8 King James Version (KJV)
6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
Psalm 115:2-11 English Standard Version (ESV)
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
9 O Israel,[a] trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
Psalm 118:7-11 King James Version (KJV)
7 The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. 10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
Psalm 52:1-8 King James Version (KJV)
52 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. 2 The tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. 3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. 4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. 5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. 6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: 7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. 8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
Psalm 146:2-6 King James Version (KJV)
2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. 5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: 6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:”
Deuteronomy ESV 4:15-22 “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.21 Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lordyour God is giving you for an inheritance. 22
Deuteronomy 32:20-24 English Standard Version (ESV)
20 And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom is no faithfulness.
21 They have made me jealous with what is no god;
they have provoked me to anger with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22 For a fire is kindled by my anger,
and it burns to the depths of Sheol,
devours the earth and its increase,
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 “‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
I will spend my arrows on them;
24 they shall be wasted with hunger,
and devoured by plague
and poisonous pestilence;
I will send the teeth of beasts against them,
with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.
1 Samuel 15:22-24 English Standard Version (ESV) 22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” 24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
1 Kings 15:11-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
11 And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. 12 He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.
2 Kings 17 ”
7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this.” 13 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”
14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings[a] and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
2 Kings 23:24 English Standard Version (ESV)
24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.
Psalm 106:30-40 English Standard Version (ESV)
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stayed.
31 And that was counted to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.
32 They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33 for they made his spirit bitter,[a]
and he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
as the Lord commanded them,
35 but they mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,
and played the whore in their deeds.
40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he abhorred his heritage;
Isaiah 2 ” 6For you have rejected your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things from the east
and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
9 So man is humbled,
and each one is brought low—
do not forgive them!
10 Enter into the rock
and hide in the dust
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;”
Isaiah 57 “Whom did you dread and fear,
so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
did not lay it to heart?
Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
and you do not fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them all off,
a breath will take them away.
But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
and shall inherit my holy mountain.
Healing and Discipleship 
Deuteronomy 32:37-39 English Standard Version (ESV)
“37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
39 “‘See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.”
My personal testimony on this subject goes back to when we first started having children. At the time, I struggled with a lot of fear. Like all parents, we had to make certain choices about how to approach maintaining his health and protecting him from sickness. As I was praying about this, I kept coming across verses that said things like the one above, “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge….let them be your protection!” Well, I did not want to trade God’s protection for man’s. Thankfully fear is largely diminished and well on its way to gone but I still find opportunities (often) to resist this snare. I try to put my trust in God wherever He has promised to provide.
1 Corinthians 10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Avoid Israel’s Mistakes
10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was [a]Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.
6 Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.” 8 Nor let us act immorally, as some of them [b]did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. 9 Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them [c]did, and were destroyed by the serpents. 10 Nor grumble, as some of them [d]did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. 16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the [e]bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Since there is one [f]bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one [g]bread. 18 Look at [h]the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? 19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
23 All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but that of his [i]neighbor. 25 Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake; 26 for the earth is the Lord’s, and [j]all it contains. 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; 29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?
31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved.