Psm. 106:19-21 ~ "They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image. (20) Thus they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass, (21) They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,"
   I was thinking, how could anyone worship something they made? Then I thought of television and computers and how often we are more attuned to them than God. Or even getting together to make something as a group and seeing it turn out really awesome, so you want everyone to see it. It is not hard to move one step further to worship. Worshiping a false god IS exchanging their glory, which is God, for a god, that exchange leads to wickedness. We cannot build our own god and expect it to be any better than our self. Once we build our own god, we are already deceived, so we continue in that deception as we worship something false.
   They forgot God their Savior. They had seen all the plagues in Egypt, they had all observed the Passover, they had all walked through the Red Sea, as if it were dry, and seen their enemies drown. They had all praised God for His deliverance, they had all seen water come out of a rock and food come from heaven, they had seen the wicked swallowed up by the earth and flame consume them. Yet, in a time of testing, they forgot God.
How could that be?
       1. They did not know God ~ only His works
       2. Neither did they fear God
       3. They were easily deceived
These three work together and are still a danger for any of us today. Because they only knew God's works and not Him, they did not understand His nature, His character, His heart for them. So they took Him lightly, accepted his goodness, of course, but not really trusting Him in giving that goodness. They could not believe that if all else failed, God would be true, faithful, for them, so they sought their own answer. This meant they trusted themselves more than God, forgetting that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. In not fearing God they could not understand His greatness, that He made us with an innate desire to honor or reverence Him. So they chose to make something they could understand, deceived into believing that any god would work.
    Lord, protect us from ourselves, our own tendency to want to know everything before we trust You. Our own desire to be in control. Show us Your heart for us, that we would see Your heart that is for us, Your character, which is pure, Your faithfulness to us even when we are faithless to You. Guard us from deception, from deceiving ourselves with what we want to hear, instead of hearing what You desire us to hear. While we greatly appreciate Your works toward us, may that not be our focus, may You be our center and our focus.
How often in a time of testing do I try to figure it all out on my own? Lord work in me, in us, a heart that turns to You, even in a time of testing.