This replica altar is at Tell Dan in the northern part of Israel. It was put here by King Jeroboam. God made him king over the northern 10 tribes of Israel after the civil war split the country in two. Out of his insecurity and lack of trust in his God, he sets up two idols, golden calves, one in the south at Bethel and one in the north here at Dan.
He was making it “easier” on his people. All Israelite males were to go to Jerusalem three times a year to worship God. He was afraid his subjects might never come back or might not want him as king upon returning home. What’s interesting about his thinking is that God made him king because of his predecessor’s, King Solomon, idolatry.
I guess King Jeroboam skipped that lesson in history class. God was none to pleased when Solomon did it, when the Israelites did it the first time and He wasn’t too pleased now.
We are to learn from our mistakes (i.e. fail forward) not repeat them. Taking our drugs of choice didn’t satisfy us the first time we took them. They will not satisfy us any time afterwards either as they were never designed to do so in the first place. Only living God’s way was. Our drugs of choice are the easy way to handle life, but they are never the best or satisfying way.
You are Secure as a child of God. You’ve been given Christ’s nature and the Spirit’s power to travel the tougher road to freedom, which brings peace and joy along with it. Don’t settle for the cheap imitations or the easy road. Keep listening to and doing what Jesus says, no matter how tough, and you’ll stay close to Him where the good stuff in life is found.
“S”et Free Nowww