Over the last few weeks, we've been looking into why the Israelites turned to idols and how we are similar in the way that we turn to the world and the ways of the world to get what we want. Much of Israel's idolatry was as a result of political alliances with other nations. In the turbulent Middle East (it was even more turbulent then than it is now, if you can believe it), they were looking for assurances that they would not be overwhelmed by their enemies, while at the same time securing economic prosperity through beneficial trade partnerships.
Many secular historians will look at these actions and say they were necessary or even shrewd, but the prophets had a different perspective: they would not trust God enough to be faithful to him alone, so they committed spiritual adultery by seeking out the help of other nations and other gods.
In James 4:1-10, he sees the same problem emerging in the church. "Don't you know," he writes, "that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?" This week we looked about how we can reject these "back-up plans" that dishonor God and trust God as we submit completely to him.
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