"Let's Make a (BAD) Deal" September 15 Readings: Isaiah 41-42, 1 Corinthians 15:35–58, Psalm 106:13–20, Proverbs 23:1–3

  

Reading the Bible in 2025

Each day this year, we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and a part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. 

NOTE: If you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings: Isaiah 41-42, 1 Corinthians 15:35–58, Psalm 106:13–20, Proverbs 23:1–3

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional: Let's Make a (BAD) Deal

At Horeb they made a calf

and worshiped the cast metal image.

20 They exchanged their glory

for the image of a grass-eating ox.Psalm 106:19-20

Horeb is the mountain of God, also known as Sinai, where God revealed to Israel his Law, which was to be their guide. The cornerstone of the Law was the first commandment, that Israel was to have no other gods before the one true God, Yahweh. They were to love him, serve him, and honor him alone as God, making no idols. 

While Moses was up on the mountain receiving the law, something different was happening down below. Almost as soon as he disappeared into the heights, into the presence of God, the people of Israel began to turn from him. They approached Aaron and demanded that he forge a god for them, a Golden Calf. 

Instead of dwelling in the glory of God, they made their own gods in the image of livestock that eat grass. You can hear the Psalmist's derision in this verse. 

On the one hand, there is the Creator God, the one who made and sustains the universe. He is sovereign over world affairs, empowers his people to do his work, and rewards those who serve him. He sent his Son to pay for our sins so that we might have eternal life. 

On the other hand, you have livestock. I like a good steak as much as the next guy, but I'm pretty sure that cows and oxen are not worthy of worship. 

It was the folly of Israel, evident in their first moments as a nation at the base of Horeb. It was a folly they continued throughout their existence as a nation during the years of the Old Testament. Time and again, they exchanged glory for livestock, the worship of the One True God for idols. 

Today, we do not do anything so crass as to build and worship idols, but we are still guilty of Israel's folly. We turn from the pure worship of God to serve the pleasures of this world. We serve sex, or entertainment, or fun. We exchange the glory of God for the oxen of arrogance and self-centeredness and of greed and materialism. These are all as empty, as silly, and as useless as the idol gods Israel worshiped. 

Father, forgive me for when I have exchanged your glory for livestock, for the empty and useless things of this world. 

 

Consider God's Word:

Which of these four passages spoke most clearly to you today? 

Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 

Is there something in your life that needs to change?

Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

Consider the utter folly of worshiping and devoting your life to anything or anyone but the Creator, Sustainer, and Savior of the World.
Is your life given fully to him or are you following the folly of Israel?