More Secrets

Last week I wrote about how we all have secrets that we’d like to forget – secrets that we should forget – secrets that we can forget.  This week I read some passages that brought the idea of secrets to the forefront again – but, when I read this particular passage – I had to laugh out loud!  “The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God, and those things were wrong!  The Israelites built high places in all their cities—from the smallest town to the largest city.”  (1 Kings 17:9 ERV)  

The idea that they thought they were doing things in secret from the Lord is just so funny to me.  I like the way The Voice translation puts that verse:  “The Israelites committed unrighteous acts and tried to hide them from the Eternal their God; but of course, the Lord witnessed them all. They constructed high places everywhere, small or large—from lookout towers to fortified cities.”

Their devotion was very divided – they continued living in their sin, yet paid homage to the Lord their God.  2 Kings 17:31-32 NLV says: “They feared the Lord also, and yet they chose from among themselves religious leaders of the high places. These leaders gave the gifts for them in the houses of the high places. So the people feared the Lord, but they worshiped their own gods also. They followed the way of the nations from which they had been taken away.”   They plainly knew that what they were doing was wrong, but plunged ahead anyway, ironically thinking what they were doing was a secret from God.

2 Kings 17:35-41 CEV:  “At the time when the Lord had made his solemn agreement with the people of Israel, he told them:  Do not worship any other gods! Do not bow down to them or offer them a sacrifice. Worship only me! I am the one who rescued you from Egypt with my mighty power. Bow down to me and offer sacrifices.  Never worship any other god, always obey my laws and teachings, and remember the solemn agreement between us.  I will say it again: Do not worship any god except me. I am the Lord your God, and I will rescue you from all your enemies.  But the people living in Israel ignored that command and kept on following their old customs. They did worship the Lord, but they also worshiped their own idols. Their descendants did the same thing.”  How many times does He have to give that command to make them understand the importance of it?  

As I sat there chuckling, thinking about how absurd that particular idea of secrecy was, it dawned on me that mankind today is really not so different from those ancient Israelites.  We may not have pagan shrines full of false gods that we go worship; however, we have to realize that too many times we have “idols” and “gods” in our lives that we put far too much importance on, to the detriment of our spiritual life.  The results can greatly impede our relationship with God.     

Our society has become so materialistic that it’s easy to allow things – maybe even people – to have too much importance in our lives.  Anything that we put at the top of our list over God can become an “idol” – or a “god” for us.  It’s entirely too easy and can happen before we even realize it.  That is why we have to strive to keep our spiritual life active by regularly spending time studying God’s word and prayer time.  When we do that – He will be faithful to speak to us through the written Word and through promptings of the Holy Spirit.  It helps to keep us in balance and we no longer have to concern ourselves about keeping secrets.

I remember hearing something a long time ago similar to this – if Jesus were to unexpectedly walk into your life at any particular moment – at home, work, recreation, etc., would you be proud of what He would see and hear?  Or, would you be embarrassed?  

We can have no secrets from God, so we must learn to live our lives accordingly.   

Written by Karran Martin – July 15, 2023

[All bold & underlining emphasis is mine]