God's Judgement on Idol Worship in the HOUSE OF GOD is coming...now you must choose

When a covenant people rescued from a spiritual Egypt, those named  by HIS name turn their back on the True and Living God for an idol they put themselves in a very precarious position.  It happened in the desert near Mt Sinai.   Exodus 32:1-35

Moses goes up the mountain to hear from God.  To receive the great law.  He is away for some time.  His people, those who were rescued and had seen great miracles begin to get nervous.  They begin to create from their own mind a "god" (the golden calf) on whom they could project the credit and place their hope in it.  They said, this is the "god" that brought them out of Egypt. Exodus 32:1-6

If you were there and had questioned any one of them about the True and Living God of Abraham Issac and Jacob they would have denies turning their backs on HIM.  They would have offered lip service about what a good God HE is. 

The reality is however, their hearts were divided.    Exodus 32:7-10

The judgement on this chasing after false God's was swift and deadly.  There came a place of decision.  The crowd was told to decide.  Follow the true God or follow the golden calf.   Only the Levite priests had the courage to walk to "God's" side.  The rest stayed unmoved or indecisive.  Shaken by the decision they had to make.  The popular, the peer pressure was to stay with the crowd.  Exodus 32:25-29

After the question, the earth opened up and swallowed about 3000 of those apparently closest to the golden calf idol. There were over 3 million people present.

Yet that example was enough.  Exodus 32:30-35  The people abandoned (for a time) the idol worship. 

It's a story we all learned well in Sunday School.  The Ten Commandment movie has dramatic scenes of this event.  Yet we see this once again in our day. 

  2 Tim 4:3-4  “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

Those who are rescued covenant people in our day have allowed an Idol to take the place in worship of the true and living God.  They have drawn near in their hearts to this idol.  They confess faith in Jesus yet they act and make decisions as if Jesus never lived and died for sins they still commit.

Here is the word of the Lord:  "IF you stay too close to the idol you have placed above me I will send a consuming delusion upon you that will destroy all you have worked for.  Your work, your ministry, your whole life will be made totally shipwreck unless you repent from your idol worship and come away."

At Sinai it's apparent in the reading that those who were the spiritual leaders had to stay closest to the golden calf.  They couldn't afford to change their minds.  They would lose face.  They would look unstable.  Yet it is those very spiritual leaders who were the consumed when judgement came. 

Choose this day whom you will serve, come to the Lord's side.  If it be mammon, serve him----  If it be God...serve Him all the days of your lives.