Convenient

 Jeroboam was an Israelite noble who became an enemy and rival to first, Solomon the king, and then to Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Eventually he led a rebellion that saw 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel join him in and formed what became known as the northern kingdom. 

Not long after this an idea came to him that was supported by his counselors. At certain appointed times God had commanded His people to come to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices and worship Him. Jeroboam feared that if his people traveled to Jerusalem, which was now the southern kingdom, he would lose both them and his kingdom. So, he made two golden calves and set them up in the town of Peniel. He said to the people, "It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem, O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt." 

For a number of different reasons and motives, Jeroboam sought to remake God into someone who fit with his desires. The two calves would be symbolic of him. He wasn't abandoning the name of Jehovah, he was just coming up with an image of Him that was less demanding, and....more convenient. This god went by the same name, incorporating much of the same rituals. Jeroboam thought it was a good idea. God, the One and True God, called it sin and said in I Kings 14:16 that Jeroboam's sin caused the nation itself to sin against God.

They say history repeats itself. So do our sins. A question gnaws at my heart and spirit; to what degree have we in the church sought to transform Almighty God into what fits our image of Him? How have we tried to make Him a more convenient God? A God of convenience?

It cannot be lost on us that in seeking to lessen the distance of travel, Jeroboam and the people vastly increased the spiritual distance between themselves and the God whose name they knew but forgot in their daily lives. A falling away from Him will always be the result of our seeking to make Him into someone and something more acceptable to our flesh. That happened 3500 years ago in Israel. It is happening right now in His church. We have made our own versions of the two calves. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in our ideas concerning His Word and and of the Person of Jesus Christ.

More than a decade ago I wrote on the subject of creating a convenient God for ourselves. At that time I focused on our motives for doing so to be centered on having a God who cooperated with our desires, goals, and agendas. A God who served us. That motive still exists, but our reasons have taken on a much deeper darkness these days. Though the reasons and motives of that time were still sin, there were boundaries that weren't crossed. That has ceased to be true today. Behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes that were once unthinkable in the church are now being championed by modern day Jeroboam's, and all of it is cloaked under the lie of it being God's tolerant, unconditional love. A God who is convenient to the desires of the flesh has always been an idea that came from the mind of Satan. The following of this god led the people of Israel to destruction. The true and living God doesn't tolerate a competitor. 

The sin of the northern kingdom eventually infected the southern kingdom. God sent numerous prophets and messengers to both, seeking to call them back to Himself. To turn from their sin and rebellion, from whatever their current "calves" were, and come to Him in broken repentance, that He might make them whole again. He is doing that same thing in the church right now. Both the northern and southern kingdoms ignored His call of life, and both were destroyed, carried off into captivity as a result of indulging their sinful desires. Much of the professing church is following the same path. May He raise up a new generation of prophets and messengers who will call His church back to Himself. May we turn from the counterfeit entity we've created, to God as He really is. God in all His glory, majesty, and splendor. There is still time, but I believe that time is running out.

Blessings,
Pastor O