“And you were dead in…..sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world…carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” – Ephesians 2:1-3
Scripture reading: Exodus 32: 1-35
The narrative of the golden calf in Exodus 32 is a sad one. Shortly, after receiving the Ten Commandments, the Israelites break the 2nd commandment in an Egyptian way. They knew that Yahweh had brought them out of Egypt. In that sense, they were not explicitly breaking the first commandment. Their great problem was that they sought to worship Yahweh THROUGH the means of the golden calf. This was forbidden.
What they gave into, is the desire of the flesh. The nations around them had idols. Egypt certainly had idols, and the flesh wants to see with the eyes what is worshipped. That same mentality of discontentment, creeps into our hearts. We are often not satisfied with the means God provides for us to worship him. We have to fight the temptation to improve what God provides. This is especially the case when it comes to worship. Tomorrow you will, Lord willing, sit under the word with the ordinary means of grace to worship the Lord. Trust that God provides us all that we need. Eph. 2:3 calls us “…by nature children of wrath.” Let us not live “by nature”, but rather by “super-nature” redeemed in Jesus Christ.
Suggestions for prayer
Ask God to remove any idols from your hearts. Thank God for giving us the means of grace (i.e. the preaching of the Word and sacraments).
Rev. Steve Swets graduated from Mid-America Reformed Seminary in 2007. He is presently serving at Redeemer United Reformed Church in St. John, IN. He previously served United Reformed Churches in Abbotsford, B.C. and Hamilton, ON. In this third charge, Rev. Swets returned to his hometown of St. John, IN. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
