ENEMY OF DIVINE BLESSINGS
Memorise: The LORD maketh poor, and
maketh rich: he bringth low, and lifeth up. 1st Samuel 2:7; Read: Hosea 5:3-9, Bible in one year:
Jeremiah 3:6-4:31, Acts 13:48-14:18
At the beginning of Ephraim’s history,
Ephraim was God’s favourite and a symbol of blessing. In Genesis 48:20, Jacob
pronounced these blessings of Ephraim:
“…
In thee shall Israel
bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim
before Manasseh.”
David also spoke about the blessings of
Ephraim in Psalm 108:8. Without any doubt, Ephraim was indeed a beneficiary of
divine blessings. But at some point in history, Ephraim became an object of
ridicule (Jeremiah 7:15). How did Ephraim come to this state? The answer is in
Hosea 4:17:
“Ephraim
is joined to idols: let him alone.”
What is idolatry? Idolatry is the act of
reverencing anything other than the Almighty God. It can take the form of
esteeming your culture, race, idea, achievement, etc over and above the
Almighty and His Word. Idolatry can also be an insatiable craving for the
material things of this world (1st John 2:15-17). When you esteem
your children, your cars or your educational qualifications so highly that you
make them “no go areas” for the One who gave them to you in the first place,
then you are guilt of idolatry. This was
the undoing of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:30-33).
Idolatry is one of the archenemies of
divine blessings. The Almighty God warned His people against idolatry in Exodus
20:3 saying:
“Thou
shalt have no other gods before me.”
When the children of Israel become
comfortable in the Promised Land, they joined themselves with the natives to
worship their gods. For this reason, they suffered series of servitude under
neighbouring kingdoms. At some point, they were even carried away into
captivity by the Assyrians and Babylonians. A nation that had hitherto enjoyed
divine blessings in the land flowing with milk and honey became slaves all over
again because of their sin of idolatry. This was exactly what turned Ephraim’s
divine blessings into a curse.
The word of the Lord is coming to you
today to beware of idolatry. Put God first in all you think, say or do, and you
will not be a victim of the sin of idolatry.
Prayer Point
Father, today, I put down every strange
altar I have consciously or unconsciously erected to compete with you in my
life, home, business or ministry, in Jesus Name.
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