Digging in Deeper: Exodus 34:12-14

“Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you. Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles. Because the Lord is jealous for his reputation, you are never to bow down to another god. He is a jealous God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the most important things that successful companies put in place when they are being formed are a set of core values. These are the things that define them as uniquely them. They set them apart from every other company that offers the same services or sells the same products. Smart companies understand that these values have to be guarded. If they let the success or failure another company experiences lead them to drift from those values, they will cease to be who they are. God created Israel uniquely and to be different from all the nations around them. Let’s talk about how He helped them maintain their identity.

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Morning Musing: Zephaniah 1:4-5

“I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the residents of Jerusalem. I will cut off every vestige of Baal from this place, the names of the pagan priests along with the priests; those who bow in worship on the rooftops to the stars in the sky; those who bow and pledge loyalty to the Lord but also pledge loyalty to Milcom.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I have some good friends, a married couple, who live in a divided house. What I mean is that one of them cheers for one college team, and the other cheers for their arch rival. Oh, they get along just fine. But when the two teams play each other things are just a little more interesting than usual. The thing about these divided-house situations, though, is that while each partner may tolerate living with fans of their rivals, they don’t usually start actually cheering for them. Instead, they tend to double down on their commitment to their own team…sometimes just to get under the skin of each other. Trying to cheer for each at the same time would just be weird. God agrees…sort of.

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