I Chronicles 16:25-26 - Yahweh and the gods of the peoples

I Chronicles 16:25-26
25 25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.

Message: Yahweh and the gods of the peoples

Time: 1 Chronicles has a mystery writer and focuses on David's reign though doesn't repeat David's sin with Bathsheba. It was written in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah or 538-333 BC while the Jews were dispersed throughout Persia, some having returned from Israel. The book lists genealogies, priests, Levites, armies, temple officials, and other leaders of various ministries and devotes significant attention to proper worship of Yahweh and adherence to the regulations of the Law. It focuses on obedience that results in God’s blessing, the priority of the temple and priesthood, and the unconditional promises to the house of David.

What the Lord is Saying:

Contrary to other belief systems, Christianity (as well as Judaism and Islam) hold to a belief of one God. But, other religions one God is different from the biblical God. So it begs the question are there other gods? This verse in 1 Chronicles states that the Lord is to be feared above all gods for all the gods of the peoples are idols. It seems that there are other gods that people to try to worship. Idols are images such as wood or a statue that people worship. But these are not to be worshiped as God. It is true that people do recognize other gods but these gods are not real.

I Corinthians 8:4-6 states - Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

It seems clear that on one hand there is only one true God and the other gods mentioned in history are another sort of supernatural being, a pretender to the throne of the Almighty. There may be other gods mentioned but they are not the same as the one God. So if there is only one God and yet these other gods are mentioned then what are these other gods? They are demons. I Corinthians 10:20 - the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. So demons are worshiped under such names as Krishna, Baal, and even Allah. Thus Allah is not God. It may be touted as the same god just with a different name but it is in fact a different god. There is no god equal to the God of the Bible.

While the Bible does acknowledge other gods that man attempts to worship, these gods are not real because they are not the one true God. They are instead impostors and instead demons. The worship of idols is actually the worship of devils. The devil has set up these alternate forms of worship in order to distract people from the one true God. Again, our culture often doesn't view this. In the name of tolerance in our day and age, we therefore think that all of the gods of this world are equally valid and all end up in the same place. But, the God of the Bible is unique and set apart and therefore separate from all other claimed gods and in face those gods are not gods in the same sense because again there is only one God. It's really a sobering truth because I think I have a hard time seeing all of these people and there are millions, if not billions in history that worship these other gods. Even in the world of Catholicism that seems to add physical people and rise them to the level of an idol.

But there is only one creator. And that creator is to be worshiped. People everywhere are caught up in the supernatural. It is a hard line to stand at times because we struggle more and more stating that so many people have false beliefs.

Couched in these verses are the words For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised and the Lord made the heavens. These verses represent a Psalm of David found here in I Chronicles 16:8-36.

Promise: As Christians we serve the only true God and need never fear the enemy.

Prayer: God, you are it. You are the only God. I give thanks to You and I call upon Your name. Lord, I want to make known your deeds, your work to all. I sing to You and sing Praises to you. What you have done I sing. I glory in Your holy name. I see You and therefore am glad. I see you Lord. You are strong. I look to You continually. Lord, remove the blinders that are on so many people. So many have been trained to think a way that is not true. As I sat in church yesterday I thought of how many came come to church, go through confession and worship and yet never really look inward and see that the Christian is not simply worship but it is admitting a need for life change. We come to You Lord to get a right understanding of who we are. We need You. I need to change. I need daily to be different. Lord, there is such a danger today of people thinking they don't need change. But when we see Love as it is, we see that we are not true people of love. O God, you are the only God and I worship You. Help me be true to Your name as I live in this world.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.