Nougat 19

Dear siblings,

Have you ever read a familiar passage in a different Bible version and gained new insights? Perhaps it isn’t the version, but the timing (though it certainly felt as if the version changed my perspective). It could be one word that’s changed or triggers different perspectives.

Whatever it is, we should attend to the shifting thought. God could be inviting us to see ourselves, the world, or God in a new light. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat for example.

Daniel 3:4-5 ASV

[4] Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,

[5] that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up;

What Would You Do

I think reading this anew invited me to consider my response to the world around me. I’ve read this Nougat several times, preached from the wider text, yet I didn’t fully grasp the significance of that golden idol. Our Nougat says it was an idol crafted by the king and mandated for worship. From that perspective, we might have been preparing ourselves to guard against legislated idolatry. We may have scoffed at those who bowed down to save their lives. But in their shoes, what would we do?

What if we’re thrown a curve ball, and the idol is not connected to a visible human leader. Y’shua warned us against the prince of this world (see John 12:31; 14:30; and 2 Corinthians 4:4), whose aim is to kill, steal, and destroy (see John 10:8-10). What if he is the one subtly setting idols before us today? Then, that idol could be anything that takes our minds away from focusing on God.

What are the ‘mandated’ priorities in our lives these days? What have we been bowing down before for fear of losing our lives or livelihoods? It could be work, the Internet, social groups, a spouse, family member, or even a friend. I’m not blaming others for our time management. But I am inviting us to be thoughtful about what we follow or ‘worship’.

The other thing I noticed was the irony of the command. It came as a really genuine counterfeit. Revelation 20:10-15 speaks to the devil, death, and hell being cast into the lake of fire. If the devil is mandating our worship of a golden idol for fear of a fiery furnace; then it isn’t hard to see how easily we can be deceived. For we might believe that failure to worship costs us our salvation rather than strengthens our faith.

I urge us siblings, let us keep our guards up, lest we are sidetracked by that which glitters.

What are we doing?

—

May all we seek be found in Christ