God Warns Against Turning To Idols

In 1 Kings 9, we will examine what the Lord God spoke unto Solomon, who was king over Israel, about idolatry and the evils of it. This is very important to him and to us now, for this is where God warns people against serving and also worshiping other gods. I mention this since many people in our day do this now and may not even realize it. People follow after TV and Movie Stars, Music Artists, and Sports Athletes, while also worshiping them in the way they give their time to searching for them on the internet, watching their shows, movies, listening to their music, and watching them play. People also spend a lot of their time on their phones and playing video games, which has also become an idol to them. You may think that this is not worship, but who you give your time to is the same thing Now, for you make to make sense of this, we will see what God said to Solomon. It says, 1“that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.” (1 Kings 9:2-5) So what does God want to see in us? He wants us to walk in our integrity and our willingness to obey His commandments. If we remember Him, then He is for us.

What happens when we disregard God and instead start doing our own things? This is when God’s presence is no longer with us. And in saying this, the Lord continued and said this also to Solomon, 1“but if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.” (1 Kings 9:6-9) If we turn from following God and keep not His commandments, what we are doing is following after other gods instead. This is when we are cast out of God’s sight, which is very sad. My friends, if you have left the Lord and are now following after other things that fulfill the lusts of your flesh, then you are worshiping these things in how you give your attention to them. You may not be praying to things you like, but you may raise your voice or shout because of how it is affecting you. You may say that you believe in Jesus, but your life speaks the opposite. So please examine yourself before God today. You may be in idolatry and very far from God and not even realize it. Please repent if you are not actively following what God says.

Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I am grateful to know You and to be Your child. Praise be to Your Name, oh Lord God of the heavens. Hallowed be your Name, dear Father. I worship You and You alone. I know that there are many distractions in life like TV, movies, sports, video games, phones, and other things, but they have no power over me, for You are my God and nothing else will come close. Surely, nothing else compares to You. I have been down the path of serving the lies of this world and have not found anything good in it. Every TV show and movie that I watched only took me away from serving You, reading the Bible, and praying. I always wondered where all my time went, when reality I gave it to these things instead of You. They were my gods and I didn’t even realize it until it was almost too late. Even the video games I played always made me feel like looking at porn afterward, which was awful. There was always such a dark cloud that was over me in these times, and now I know why. I was because You were not with me. Because I serving the lusts of my flesh, I could not have You also. So other gods in my life had to go. Even the amount of time I watch the NBA has been diminished. I no longer follow people, but You alone. Why would I want to follow anyone, when You have the answers that I have needed the entire time. You have always been there, but I was so stubborn in my own personal idolatry. What a mess I was in, and I am so grateful that You pulled me out of this. Now, I have no desire to watch anything on TV that doesn’t bring me to follow You. Everything that I can see on it is not useful and a big time waster. This is Satan’s big ploy to turn people away from You. So I cry out now for everyone that is on this dark path to wake up. Come to Jesus, who saves. You are Lord and have the power to save them from their sins, as You have saved me. I love You. Amen.

Let us read the Bible:
Note: Any Numbered References, found above, are listed below.

1 Kings 9
11 Kings 9 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,
2 That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
3 And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house?
9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.
10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the king’s house,
11 (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.
13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.
14 And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.
15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
17 And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether,
18 And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,
19 And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20 And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,
21 Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.
22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.
23 These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the house.
26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.
27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
28 And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
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