Fullness
Deuteronomy 8:10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
Forgetfulness
Deuteronomy 8:11 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day.
Unlawful Desires
Psalm 106:13 They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel:
14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
Ingratitude and Murmuring
Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Psalm 106:24 Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:
25 But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.
Compromise
Psalm 106:34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them:
35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
Idolatry, Immorality and Bloodshed
Psalm 106:36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Psalms 106:37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
MEMORY VERSE: Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. —Hebrews 3:12
CENTRAL THOUGHT: The scriptures show the beginnings of idolatry, unbelief and evil in the heart. As it happened to the Old Testament church, we are warned that it can also happen to us.
WORD DEFINITIONS
Psalm 106:15 “Leanness”: A wasting disease; thinness.
24 “Despised”: abhor; cast away off; refuse.
25 “Murmured”: whisper; grumble; murmur rebelliously.
Romans 1:24 “Gave them up”: to hand over; to give or deliver over. To cease to restrain.
LESSON BACKGROUND
The first verse of our lesson is from the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy where God is reminding the Israelites of their rough journey through the wilderness and how He had cared for them there, leading them to a land of plenty. He warns them to remember that it is He who gave them power to be productive and acquire wealth. Sad to say, they did forget Him when they got into Canaan and acquired houses, lands, vineyards and gardens.
In the 106th Psalm, the writer seems to be writing in the middle of the Babylonian captivity, recounting the events that brought them there. Paul, writing to the Romans, gives the account of all of fallen mankind in a similar pattern. In the second chapter of Romans, he goes on to chide the Jews for condemning the Gentiles for their godlessness when they had essentially done the same thing.
So idolatry is a human problem. Not just with the Israelites. Not just with the heathen. Whomever the people or nation, if God is not first in all our lives, guiding us and restraining us from evil, choosing to follow the depraved, foolish desires of our own hearts will drive us into idolatry, and deep immorality and violence.
—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck
DISCUSSION:
- A Great Danger: What is the spiritual danger of worldly prosperity or fullness?
- A Good Deterrent: What is the importance of being thankful, praising, blessing and
glorifying God?
- A Downward Course: When we forget God, we fail to keep His _____________, __________, and ____________; we do not wait for His ____________.
- A Bad Influence: When Israel did not destroy the heathen nations completely but mingled among them instead, what was the outcome?
- Turning Truth into a Lie: Explain how people might do that.
COMMENTS AND APPLICATION
From our lesson today, we see that a thankful and contented heart does more than just lift us up. It’s what keeps us from deteriorating into unbelief of God’s love, care and intervention in our lives; it keeps us from being covetous and materialistic; it saves us from pining after the things in this world and from the corruption of its influence. Being grateful for God’s way and keeping mindful that His way is best saves us from becoming mingled with the lower standards of the world and its immorality.
It’s amazing how powerfully influencing the gods of this world are. People blindly follow ungodly leaders and icons, patterning their lives after what they put before them. If, for example, fashion dictates shameless vulgarity, then even “moral” people fall under that influence. If the fashion is ridiculous and ugly, people follow it, where if godly people suggest that modesty and simplicity is what should govern dress standards the feeling is, “Oh, my, I could never wear something so ugly!” What a double standard! What inconsistency! But that is how truth is changed into a lie by apostate religion. What people used to believe in and practice and love, they now call nonessential, fake, and legalistic. The ones who strive to please God are turned into “the bad guys,” and those who are careless and loose celebrate being “loved with an unconditional love.”
Beware of allowing an ungrateful, murmuring attitude to blind you into accepting the idols and polluted lifestyles of this world.
—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck
REFLECTIONS
People change the truth of God into a lie when they fail or cease to be totally honest with themselves and with God and to love and worship Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. One who really loves God is earnest about understanding, knowing, and doing His will and worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. To such a one, the Spirit of God responds with enlightenment and revelation of truth. But to one who is interested in following his or her own desires and pleasures, the devil is ever ready to suggest a scripture (truth), but give it a slant that God never intended.
I heard of a woman who had a desire to steal. The devil helped her to find just the right scripture passage: “… all things are yours” (1 Corinthians 3:21). Thus she changed the truth of God into a lie. Although this might be considered an extreme case, the enemy of truth is likewise deceiving multitudes of “religious” folk today by appealing to their minds with slanted or false interpretations of scripture. He even tried it with Jesus (see Matthew 4:6). But Jesus came back at the devil with “it is written again,” and set the matter straight.
To the one whose heart is inclined to follow the fads and fashions of this world, the devil suggests, “There’s nothing wrong with it, ‘for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7).” But the one whose heart is really fixed on doing the will of God replies, “Get thee from me Satan, for it is written again, ‘Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ’” (Colossians 2:8).
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name (character) of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). This is the sure way to avoid becoming snared in idolatry and the pollutions of this world. Take a good look at song #251 in the Evening Light Songs hymnal: “What Would Jesus Do?”
—Bro. Harlan Sorrell
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