Superstition

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Leviticus 16-18; Psalm 35

TO CHEW ON: "They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons after whom the have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations." Leviticus 17:7

Were these people knowingly sacrificing to demons? The word "demons" - "having the form of a goat or a satyr" has overtones of animism. The picture I get is of a people puzzled by and fearful of natural phenomenon. But instead of acknowledging God as the creator and sustainer of life, they are trying to appease some folk god (goat or satyr) thought to be in charge of these things.

However it came about, this false worship offended God at the deepest level. An end note in my Bible expands on this:

"The greatest sin in ancient Israel was idolatry (see Deuteronomy 32:17)...The essence of the Jewish monotheistic faith was contained in the verse, "Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!" - Deuteronomy 6:4 (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 153).

Though we ourselves may eschew any overt involvement with the demonic, I wonder if there remains a vestige of it even in the lingering hold superstitions have on us. Do we ever find ourselves thinking, after a day has got off to a bad start: There's bound to be more because bad things always come in threes? Or saying things like "Gesundheit" after a sneeze, or "Touch wood" after mentioning that things are going well? Or fearing Friday the 13th? Or avoiding black cats and walking under ladders? Or needing to wear certain lucky clothes and go through certain luck-generating routines before a sports event?

Any fear we feel, any changes in behaviour we make that are inspired by superstition show that at some level we're sacrificing — to what? Demons? God's prohibition to Israel through Moses's words in Leviticus ring across the centuries to us today: "They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons..."

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to recognize false worship in my life in whatever form it takes. Please free me from bondage to superstition or anything else that would make me a slave to anyone but You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 35

MORE: Do you believe in bad luck?

Well don't! As John Piper writes in article he wrote on a Friday that was also the 13th day of the month:

"In Christ there is no Bad Luck"

"Today is Friday the 13th! Bad luck day.

In case this or any other superstition frightens you or, worse, controls you, take the sword of the Spirit and kill it.

Here’s a few sword thrusts that I use.

There is no enchantment against Jacob, 
no divination against Israel; 
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, 
“What has God wrought!” (Numbers 23:23)

Does this apply to us Christians? Yes. Because “It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7).  That’s us. We are Jacob. We are Israel.

And because we are, "all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

So in Christ we cannot be cursed. There is no jinx or hex that can stick against those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. (Galatians 3:13)

Christ took on himself every curse that is against me. God is for me and no one can successfully be against me.

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1John 4:4)

© 2011 Desiring God

****************
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A legacy of dysfunction

Mandrake roots (Source: Wikipedia)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 30:1-24

TO CHEW ON: "Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, 'Give me children or else I die.'" Genesis 30:1


Jacob's harem was not a happy place. Rachel envied Leah's fruitfulness and blamed Jacob for her lack of conceiving. This provoked Jacob's anger. The rivalry between the sisters soon drew their maids into the competitive struggle and enlarged the circle of bigamy. In these women's eyes, even God chose sides, favoring one and then the other with sons. This all sunk to a new low when Rachel and Leah showed their superstitious side as they haggled over some supposedly aphrodisiac mandrake plants for a night with the man.

Some thoughts on this depressing installment of the story:

1. We see the wisdom of God's design of one man + one woman (Genesis 2:24) by the mess in homes where men had several wives (like this one and see also the story of Elkanah, Peninnah and Hannah - 1 Samuel 1:1-7).

2. Individual sinful tendencies and family strife are readily passed from one generation to the next. The tensions of Isaac & Rebekah's relationship are only magnified in Jacob's family.

Do we find such generational weaknesses in our homes too? Probably, to some extent at least. But do they have to carry on? How can we put a stop to such a  legacy of dysfunction? Here are some ideas. Can you think of more?

• Ask God to show us where we are duplicating the sins of our fathers. We may be blind to these and need to grow sensitive again. One way is to read and apply what God's word says about attitudes to avoid (Exodus 20:1-17; Galatians 5:17-21) and those to cultivate (1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Galatians 5:22-26). Another way to gain insight is to ask close friends and family members what they see in our relationships and homes.

• We need to beware that kids interpret  "normal" from what they see at home, and by God's grace set a different example than, perhaps, we saw in our own homes growing up. Emulate the good; reject the bad.

• Remember that with God there are new beginnings.

" … put off … the old man … and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness" - Ephesians 4:22-24.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" - 2 Corinthians 5:17

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me not to make excuses for sinful attitudes and tendencies which have been part of my family. With Your enabling, I'm never too old to change. Amen.

**********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.