Unholy Worship
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And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15 KJV
Do not worship any god except me. Exodus 20:3 CEV
In Second Kings 17, the Israelites living in Samaria were taken captive and Assyrians moved into their towns. After some of the new residents were devoured by lions, the people asked the king to send someone to instruct them in what the God of the land required. The king ordered an exiled priest to go back and teach the people how to worship the Lord.
Rather than turning whole-heartedly to Jehovah God, however, the Assyrians simply added these new customs to their catalog of obligatory religious rituals. "They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought…Even while [they] were worshiping the LORD, they were serving their idols" (vs.. 33, 41). Like the man who wore a crucifix, a Star of David, a star and crescent, and a rabbit's foot around his neck, they didn't want to take a chance on making anybody mad.
But God does not accept unholy worship - worship from a divided heart. Just as He does not want to be one among a number of idols people bow down to, neither does He want to be just one among many objects, ideologies, or hobbies we give our devotion and adoration to. He is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14), which means that He zealously longs for hearts that are passionately devoted solely to Him. David was called a man after [in passionate pursuit of] God's own heart; although imperfect, David captured God's heart because God completely captured his.
All to You, Jesus, I surrender; all to You I freely give. All to You, my blessed Savior; I surrender all. Amen.
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