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"And God spoke all these words, saying: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. "You shall have no other gods before Me. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." (Exodus 20:1-6 NKJV unless otherwise noted)

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king." (1 Samuel 15:23)

All of the above is taken from a new article on seekingthetruth.com web site (Click Here for the full article.). We encourage you to carefully read this article and learn how one may be involved in idolatry with or without bowing down to some statue or carved image.

One of the principles in life is, ‘what has happened before will happen again’. This could mean what evil our ancestors have done we are likely to do also; this could give and interesting twist to the meaning of "…visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations…".

Genesis 31:19 When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s.

Now Rachel was the mother of Joseph (Genesis 30:24). And Joseph was the father of Manasseh and Ephraim (Genesis 48) whom Jacob blessed: 15 He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 16 The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.".

It is the opinion of ‘seekingthethruth’, that the English speaking "Christian" nations are for the most part the descendants of Joseph. (See articles on seekingthetruth.com about where Israel is today). If this is true we will find the same proclivities of Rachel in her children, especially among the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh. We know that idolatry marked the tribes that rebelled against Rehoboam during Jeroboam’s time (1Kings 12:1-30).

When we repent we must also repent of the sins of our ancestors. We need to recognize our tendency of putting something before the Almighty YHVH (Daniel 9:16; Nehemiah 9:2).

Deuteronomy 4:25-31 "When you become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD your God so as to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going…"The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you. "There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. "When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. "For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

So we have been scattered among the nations. We are in the latter days and distress is upon us. Let us "…return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice."

Colossians 3:5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

One may not fall down and worship a carved image but because of the sins of our ancestors we have the tendency to worship what we think prospers us; we are greedy and stubborn. We must repent of our iniquity and that of our ancestors and seek our Creator with all our heart our soul and our might. Break the pattern set by those who greedily run after the way of Balaam, that future generations may be blessed. We have been blessed by the faithfulness of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Will you bless others?

May YHVH bless those who return to Him and diligently seek His face.

Proverbs 6: 16-19 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.

Every idol is a false way, opposed to the commandments of YHVH. Above is a list that is contrary to the love of our Maker. Seeking the humility of Yeshua is our only hope.

"Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible."

Faith and hope are often used interchangeably. We have faith in the promises of YHVH, given in His Word. Hope motivates us to carry on, to fight and endure. We have hope because we look forward to the total fulfillment of His promises.

1Timothy 4:10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

Colossians 1:27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1. Complete the Beatitude, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will …"
2. Which book records Moses’ final talk to the Israelites?
3. What is another name for the sea of Galilee?
4. How old was Jairus’s daughter?
5. How many times did Jehoash strike the arrows to the ground?
6. Whose wife became a pillar of salt?
7. Who said, "Eloi, Eloi lama, sabachthani"?

In our pursuit of humility:

"The path Jesus walked, which He opened up for us, the power through which He wrought our salvation and by which He saves us, is the humility that makes us the servant of all."

"How little this is preached. How seldom it is practiced. How faintly the lack of it is felt or confessed. I cannot say how few attain to some recognizable measure of likeness to Jesus in His humility. But fewer even think of making it a distinct object of continual desire or prayer. How little the world has seen it. How scarcely it is seen in the inner circle of the church." Andrew Murray

Do we see as our need and the need of the church to desire the humility of Yeshua that makes us a servant of all? Yeshua set the example, He laid down His life for us, am I willing to do the same for others? Do I desire it so much that I make it a distinct object of continual desire or prayer? Do we wonder why there is no power of God in our midst?

Take my Son

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.

He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'

There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'

But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'

Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!'

But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting.' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'

'$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?'

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.

They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'

A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'

'What about the paintings?'

'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.

The man who took the son gets everything!'

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT' S LOVE

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

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Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a family.

One little boy in the picture had a different color hair than the other family members. One child suggested that he was adopted and a little girl said, "I know all about adoptions because I was adopted." "What does it mean to be adopted?" asked another child. "It means," said the girl, "that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy."

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A four year old was at the pediatrician for a check up. As the doctor looked down her ears with an otoscope, he asked, "Do you think I'll find Big Bird in here?" The little girl stayed silent. Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked, "Do you think I'll find the Cookie Monster down there" Again, the little girl was silent. Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heart beat, he asked, "Do you think I'll hear Barney in there?" "Oh, no!" the little girl replied. "Jesus is in my heart. Barney's on my underpants."

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As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was. "We're behind 14 to nothing," he answered with a smile.

"Really," I said. "I have to say you don't look very discouraged."

"Discouraged?" the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up to bat yet."

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Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in a school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. "Guess what Mom," he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me: "I've been chosen to clap and cheer."

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A lesson in "heart" is my little 10 year old daughter, Sarah, who was born with a muscle missing in her foot and wears a brace all the time. She came home one beautiful spring day to tell me she had competed in "field day" - that's where they have lots of races and other competitive events. Because of her leg support, my mind raced as I tried to think of encouragement for my Sarah, things I could say to her about not letting this get her down, but before I could get a word out, she said "Daddy, I won two of the races!" I couldn't believe it! And then Sarah said, "I had an advantage." Ah. I knew it. I thought she must have been given a head start ... some kind of physical advantage. But again, before I could say anything, she said, "Daddy, I didn't get a head start... My advantage was I had to try harder!"

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An Eye Witness Account from New York City, on a cold day in December: A little boy about 10 years old was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.

A lady approached the boy and said, "My little fellow, why are you looking so earnestly in that window?" "I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was the boy's reply. The lady took him by the hand and went into the store and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with a towel. By this time the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, "No doubt, my little fellow, you feel more comfortable now?" As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and looking up in her face, with tears in his eyes, answered the question with these words: "Are you God's Wife?"

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"We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere. --- Tim McGraw

1. "be comforted." - Matthew 5:4

2. Deuteronomy - Deuteronomy 33

3. Lade of Gennesaret - Luke 5:1

4. Twelve - Luke 8:41-42

5. Three times - 2Kings 13:14-18

6. Lot’s - Genesis 19:23-26

7. Yeshua (Jesus) - Matthew 27:46