Deuteronomy 11:16: “Take heed to yourselves that your heart be not deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them.”

“No man can serve two masters for he will either hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other, no man can serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24.

“As soon as a person separates himself from HaShem, immediately he is worshipping idols (God forbid).  There is nothing in the middle.” – Rabbi Yisroel Ben Elieazer.

“Gulp!!” –  Chaim Bentorah

This morning I thought of this really nifty quote by Rabbi Yisroel Ben Elieazer, but I could not remember the verse he was commenting on nor even his name. In fact I could not even remember where I ran across the quote.  But it had touched my spirit and I woke up thinking about this quote and I was wondering if God was not trying to tell me something.  Then this morning the first resource I pick up and the first page I turn to,  there it was.  Of course this was all just mere coincidence. And of course just coincidence that later that day I receive a text from a friend who comments on this very thing I was struggling with. But on the off chance that maybe it was a God incident, I decided to devote my study to this issue of other gods.

Ok, let me tell you what is going on.  As I continue my journey to the heart of God, I have been researching the word ’anau which is translated as humble.  When we think of humble we think of making ourselves  insignificant.  This is true but the word implies much more.  The word is spelled Ayin, Nun and Vav which expresses a deep spiritual examination, a meditation such that one loses all sense of self and only considers God.

Rabbi Elieazer was only expanding on a comment in the Midrash Rabbah with regard this verse in Deuteronomy which explained that the Hebraic grammatical structure of this sentence leaves no room for any middle ground. When you turn aside from God you are automatically worshipping some idol.  Like it or not just the mere fact we are human means we are always worshipping and serving someone or something.  Jesus said pretty much the same thing in Matthew 6:24.  There is no middle ground. Either you serve and love God or you are into idolatry.

Then to top off my day, I downloaded a testimony of a woman who ran five abortion clinics doing up to 250 abortions a month from each clinic. Yeah, like do the math. She said she thought she was a Christian, she even kept a Bible in her top drawer and assured her patients that she was a Christian. When a Christian did confront her of her need for Jesus, only then did she realize how deceived she had been.  Deuteronomy 11:16  “Take heed to yourselves that your heart be not deceived.”   I really fell into a funk and I pulled my bus over and prayed, “God if this woman could consider herself a believer while committing such satanic abominations, how much more has my heart deceived me.

The word deceived is pateh which means a babbler and also means to seduce.  The word is spelled Pei, Taw and Hei.  The Pei would express that this means to be seduced by many words.  The Pei, Taw and Hei shows that this deception comes from talking too much, depending upon something or someone other than God and self deception. Pateh has a numerical value of  485.  The words for forsake and leave also have a numerical value of 485. This deception causes you to leave or forsake someone or something.  Also noteworthy is that this is in a Piel form.  This deception is so subtle that you do not even realize you have left God. The word for turn away is ratem which means to withdraw.  In its Semitic origin it is a word used for a broom or something used to sweep away dust or dirt.  This deception is such that you are swept away from God and you do not even realize you are worshipping other gods.  The word elohim for gods means something or someone that you depend upon, that you look to for support. I had some evangelical minister say that we are little gods.  Not to sling mud at a brother but if what he is saying is true then we are worshipping, depending and looking to ourselves for support. I think I would rather leave this God stuff up to God.

History is littered with the dry sunbaked bones of Christians who have stepped out in faith and landed flat on their face.  I know I recently made that step of faith, made the sacrifice, was willing to give it all for God and stepped out on faith, only to end up in total failure.  I have often asked God why he did not bless my step of faith. I believe Deuteronomy gives me my answer.  I look back and find that I was quietly deceived.  I had convinced myself I was doing it for God but self was very much involved.  I was sharing with a friend today, the one who texted me and told her of all my great aspirations of serving God and she said, “But don’t you think you doing a wonderful work for God just driving your disability bus and sharing the love of God with those around you?” After thinking about it and praying on it I realized my great aspirations and plans to serve God was really worshipping the god of self-recognition, honor and pride to be seen as someone who was moving in the power of God.  But I was not serving God, I was serving myself and my needs and desires for recognition and acceptance. My friend was telling me that if I was just a bus driver for the rest of my life, I would still be her friend.  If she accepts me as just a bus driver, how much more acceptance do I have from God?  After reading Rabbi Elieazer’s quote and this passage in Deuteronomy I could only conclude, I was serving another god, that god was one of the worst gods to serve, next the enemy himself, that god was me.

As I journey to the heart of God, I have moments, like I am sure we all have, when I believe I have touched the heart of God.  It is those moments when consequences to me personally mean nothing.  It is those moments where I am not serving any other god.  It is those moments when I hear and am certain of God’s voice. May they become more than  moments but hours, days, weeks, months and years.