A picture of a community

2 Kings 17 gives a picture of Israel that sounds a lot like the world today. As I read it, I thought- how little things change, really. The bold part of the scripture below, I thought was interestingly written:

15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.

Do you follow something of worth or something worthless? What you follow determines your worth.

Then some dudes came and overran Israel and took over Samaria. But they kept getting eaten by lions, so they went and retrieved one of the Israeli priests to teach them how to worship the God of the Place. But that didn't really work out. Why? Maybe because the only reason they wanted to worship this God is so they wouldn't get eaten by lions. Which isn't a terrible reason. Butter than not worshiping Him at all. But it was on a very surface level. And God ultimately wants to go deeper, to go right to your heart.

Lord help us to let go of worthless things and let your worth fill us from the center of our being.