Difference between idol worshippers and true worshippers

[gregoryfl]

Taken from the Midrash Tanhuma

"With idol-worshipers it is the habit to treat their gods according to the circumstances in which they find themselves, which they attribute to the actions of their gods. If their condition is favorable, they pay tribute to their god. "Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag, because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous," says the prophet (Habak. i.). If, on the other hand, adversities overtake them, they vent their anger on their gods. "And it shall come to pass," the prophet tells us, "that when they shall be hungry they shall fret themselves and curse their king and their god" (Isa. viii.).

Not so shall you do, my people, whose destiny is shaped out by the Creator of heaven and earth. Whatever befalls you, give thanks and praise unto your God. Are you in prosperity? do not forget the Giver; do not say in your heart, "My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth," but like David say, "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of my God." If adversity overtakes you, if sorrow and trouble overtake you in the midst of the smooth current of your affairs, take up David's words again and say, "I found trouble and sorrow, then I called upon the name of my God."

What I take from this, in a nutshell is, do not view Elohim according to our circumstances, but rather...view our circumstances according to our Elohim. This, to me, destroys the very thought of anything that does not ultimately stem out of the love of God. My own midrash of this is that it speaks powerfully of universal reconciliation.

Ronen

[Tom]

I agree that we shouldn't get hung up on our circumstances. I also think people need to have a good understanding of what evil is and its purpose, and they should also know it's a temporary condition. We shouldn't think God is mad at us or doesn't like us because we're going through hard times. We experience evil to humble us and cause us to rely on God to save us.

http://concordant.org/expohtml/TheProblemOfEvil/index.html

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: Real easy to know if idolatry is a problem. Just think of giving God everything, including your family, and it being just you and Him alone. Whatever you cringe at giving up, is pointing to a hidden idolatry. It's very hard to truly accept we came with nothing, we leave with nothing, but we have an opportunity to give it all up BEFORE we die and it is taken from us. My  :2c: Blessings....

[rosered]

:cloud9: Real easy to know if idolatry is a problem. Just think of giving God everything, including your family, and it being just you and Him alone. Whatever you cringe at giving up, is pointing to a hidden idolatry. It's very hard to truly accept we came with nothing, we leave with nothing, but we have an opportunity to give it all up BEFORE we die and it is taken from us. My  :2c: Blessings....

  Hi Card!!    sista , I agree   with your thoughts on    this
  I know the man of sin the son of perdition  must be exposed   first by the breath of Christ coming first  . coming with the clouds  all the  witnesses in heaven 
  and that is how I know   , its true  you are suffering loss    , so many things are taken out of your control  , it is like  Jobs  whirlwind    and being  caught up in turmoil

and everything you built upon is destroyed     and taken away   , there is no security     and great fear grips   your very being


You call out to God   in your own desperation  , not even knowing it is God   , because you  had  never known Him before now,  only heard of Him   

and worshipped what you did not know  ,'' calling it God ''   

The idolatry      was  formed first from our own   fruitless imaginations     , making our own,  very small   world and  ruling over it    as a god 

and everything in the world   was your   oyster   to open and find the pearls   and beauty    in it

But when the Lord comes in the dark   thick Cloud    a sure change is a coming and your storms of life are just  beginning
   
  Abram   experience this      fear of the Lord which is actually the beginning of Wisdom   and faith was  born 

The Lord is My Rock


...10He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

11He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. 12From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire....

Deuteronomy 4:11
You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.

1 Kings 8:12
Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;

Psalm 97:2
Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Isaiah 40:22
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

  the  GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES    first as dark as sackcloth     [IN HEBREWS 12]

[Tom]

I agree that we came into this world with nothing, and that's the way we're leaving even though a lot of folks act like they're going to be taking a lot with them. Some even get buried with some of their toys. I think we need very little in this life while we're here, just food, shelter, and love. I've purposefully tried to keep my possessions to a minimum for quite awhile which has caused some craziness with friends and family, but I think some folks actually become enslaved by their possessions. Things are not what life is all about. I think it's the experience and relationships that are important.

[gregoryfl]

I plan on getting buried with my lacrosse stick. I am really counting on a good game of lacrosse with all the saints. :)

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: My goal is even crazier than that. I'm trying to qualify on NOT being buried at all but rather changed in the twinkling of an eye..... :Pray: :dsunny:

[Tom]

I think I'm with you on that, sis. The funeral industry is just too high priced now, and I don't want a face full of dirt.

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: Amen to that.... :eek: :iagree: :winkgrin:

[Tom]

Actually, when I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep - not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: ROF.... :LH:

[jabcat]

 :laugh:

That's funny.  Reminds me of once when I was riding with a friend of mine who was driving.  He said "I think I can do this.  I saw it in a cartoon once".   :eek:

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: That's hilarious... :LH:

[eaglesway]

 :eek:

[Caffus]

Greg good post,yes this is how we can have peace the world cant understand. Because we know our God is Sovereign he is in control of every circumstance be it good or painful and because He is Sovereign and love and just and holy He will make all things beutiful in His time.  The free will doctrine gives us ignorant humans power and control and also power to satan...satan has no power over Gods will and neither do we.

[Searching_For_The_Truth]

Greg good post,yes this is how we can have peace the world cant understand. Because we know our God is Sovereign he is in control of every circumstance be it good or painful and because He is Sovereign and love and just and holy He will make all things beutiful in His time.  The free will doctrine gives us ignorant humans power and control and also power to satan...satan has no power over Gods will and neither do we.

Amen to that Caffus

[eaglesway]

Worshipping the net.

I love it  :laugh:

[eaglesway]

Midrash.

Lets chew it up a bit yea? :o)

God is saying, among other things- you worship the means by which you think you are securng your needs and desires as if those very things are being created by you as you consume them rather than provided by me along with the very breath you breath as you labor.

'Because they worshipped the creation over the creator their foolish minds were darkened and they became futile in their thinking....

[Lazarus Short]

You lost me at "Midrash."

[eaglesway]

In the OP, Ronen speaks of it, hence my reference to it... a couple definitions

n Judaism, the Midrash (/ˈmɪdrɑːʃ/; Hebrew: מדרש‎; plural midrashim) is the body of exegesis of Torah texts along with homiletic stories as taught by Chazal (Rabbinical Jewish sages of the post-Temple era) that provide an intrinsic analysis to passages in the Tanakh.

Midrash is an interpretive act, seeking the answers to religious questions (both practical and theological) by plumbing the meaning of the words of the Torah. (In the Bible, the root d-r-sh is used to mean inquiring into any matter, including occasionally to seek out God's word.)

Simply put, Midrash uses the grammatical-historical ('literal') approach to interpreting the Scriptures, but it also allows for allegorical ('figurative') interpretation as well. It takes the various texts of Scripture that deal with similar themes or topics, and those that have a common thread, and it interprets them in light of each other using allegory and typology, but this is used to illuminate clear doctrine rather than as a foundation for doctrine.