They feared the Lord, yet, served their own gods - according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away... So, these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and we their children's children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day. 2 Kings 17:33-41
At a casual glance, this passage of scripture does not make sense at all. For how can a person fear the Lord and serve other gods? The question is, what kind of fear did these people have for God? Was it a dread for His wrath, or a reverential fear of Him, which results in worship and obedience? From the context of the entire passage, we find that their fear was the former. They were afraid of God because of His judgment, not because of His goodness, Majesty, and love. Those who know of the kindness of God often revere Him and desire to do only those things that will please and honour Him.
In our day, someone may say that there are no idols to worship, but as we look at the story of this passage, we will find out that their problem lay in what they brought from their past into Israel. Their past clung to their hearts and so they continued in the wrong of their fathers. Many have come to Christ and have not been weaned of their traditional views about life so that when what God says comes in the way of what they have imbibed by tradition, they are swift to jettison the word of God for their traditional values. Such were the Pharisees of old, they exalted their traditions above the word of God.
There is a chance that one has come to Christ only as an insurance policy against going to hell. When escaping from hell is the reason for coming to Christ, it will not be difficult for one to fear the Lord and continue in his own ways like the people in our passage. It is sad that there are so many people in the world like this today, they fear the Lord, but continue in their own ways that have become gods to them. So they fear the Lord, but serve their gods.
Toni
The Place of Power and Love
