Only Fear the Lord ~ Brittany DeMoville

2 Kings 17

32 So they feared the LORD, AND made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. 33 They feared the LORD, AND served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

Israel had been carried away captive, and the king of Assyria had sent people from various nations to possess their emptied cities. God sent lions into Samaria to punish the people because “they feared not the LORD,” so the king of Assyria sent a priest to “teach them the manner of the God of the land.” (27) The priest settled in Beth-el and “taught them how they should fear the Lord.” (28)

The king of Assyria and the people of Samaria thought they could appease God by adding His name and rituals to their own pagan practices.  

32 So they feared the LORD, AND made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. 33 They feared the LORD, AND served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear NOT the LORD,…

God did not accept their “shared” worship. 

Samuel told the Israelites in I Samuel 12:24, “Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart…” 

God’s commandments and ways are not to be “tacked on” to a worldly lifestyle or philosophy so as to somehow appease or gain favor with Him. Christians cannot truly fear the Lord if they also fear the “gods” of money, relationships, popularity, materialism, etc. 

Just as God commanded the Israelites to fear Him and not any other gods, Christians should purge their lives of both internal and external influences that would seek to steal their worship, obedience, and reverence that belongs to Him alone. 

Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

The end of 2 Kings 17 states, “Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.”

Fearing the Lord should not take second place to any culture, tradition, family practice, or habit. A Christian’s decision to fear other gods will affect not only his own life, but also the lives of future generations. 

I don’t think that many Christians today are tempted to bow down and worship a statue, but I know that it is easy to fall into the sin of worshipping wealth, fame, or comfort. 

I am challenging myself to face each opportunity and decision with the question, 

“What does God say about this?” 

rather than, 

“How much money will I make/lose?” 

or, 

“What will other people say/think?”

or,

“How will this make me look/feel?”