DEVOTION – DAY 210

1 Kings 12:26-28 “Beware Of False Religions”

 

I Kings 12:26-28 “Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their Lord, Rehoboam, king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam. After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people. “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

 

The above verses relate to a time in Israel’s history where the throne of David was in decline. David was succeeded by his son, Solomon. But because Solomon married many Canaanite women, the nation had gone into idolatry. God allowed the nation of Israel to be divided between the northern kingdom of Israel with 10 tribes, and the southern kingdom of Judah with 2 tribes. Its capital was Jerusalem. Jeroboam led the northern kingdom but he felt insecure. He did not want the people to return to worship in Jerusalem at the temple and ended up being disloyal to him and supported Rehoboam, who ruled the kingdom of Judah. So, Jeroboam made two golden calves and had them installed in the northern kingdom so that the people could worship in Israel without the need of going back to Judah, and to Jerusalem, in particular. To protect his position as king, he created his rival religion claiming it was from God.

 

This practice was an example of counterfeit religion. The calves were supposed to be symbols for the worship of God, but they were based on the pagan gods of the Arameans and Canaanites where calve images were symbols of fertility and strength. Jeroboam claimed that the golden calves represented God when in actual fact, they were pagan idols. Today, there are counterfeit religions that purport to be Christian but they may be unbiblical, cultish or worse. There are the so called “health and wealth gospel” churches who offer the teaching of God who loves and wants to bless His people but these churches downplay sin and the judgment of God because that is not what the people want to hear. Then, there is the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints or the Mormon Churches that claims that their founder had been given additional teachings from God and that is now enshrined in their Book of Mormons, Doctrines and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. They claim that God had given them additional teachings and understanding of the Bible which they follow. They also claim that God had delegated the priesthood keys to the Head of their church. These are just two examples of churches that worship a God of man’s creation. It looks and sounds like God but it is not the God of the Bible. We must not be deceived.

 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you are the only Almighty and True God. Please help us to be wise and guarded against falsehoods and counterfeit religions that purpose to mislead us. May we know your Word well enough to distinguish falsehoods. In the great name of the Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.

 

Questions

  1. How can you safeguard yourself from counterfeit and false religions? Discuss.
  2. Why do people get attracted to counterfeit religions? Discuss.
  3. What are the dangers of falling into counterfeit religions? Discuss.