What Do You Follow?

Good Monday Morning! Brrrrrrr...it's only in the 40s here, and we folks in Florida just aren't used to cold weather!

Today I start in Chapter 8 of Jeremiah, and it begins with God referring back to what he said in the last part of Chapter 7 - the total destruction of the people of Judea and Jerusalem. He continues to point out specifics of their sins, and today it speaks of the sin of following after the stars of the skies.

8:1-3 "At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground. Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the Lord".

The Lord allowed desecration of their graves, which was common practice in warfare in those days. It was an insult to the conquered people, and sometimes it was done to uncover any thing of value that might have been buried with them.

He is very clear in these passages that the worship of anything other than himself, will suffer the consequences of that sin. He specifically points out the worship of the stars and moon - astrology.

There are many places in the Bible where he says we are not to follow or worship the stars; we are not to seek them for direction, but there are many - even people in the church- who talk about what "sign" they are. Even looking at a horoscope, which might seem innocent, is forbidden by God. It opens the door to getting into the habit of reading it, which then becomes a form of worship.

If you want direction in your life - seek God. He will lead you down the path that he has for you; a path that ends in eternal life with him in Heaven. He will be with you on that path, when there are obstacles of life in the way, and will get you through them. None of the stars in Heaven can do that - they are created objects, and have no life in them; they have no means of guiding one's life.
What do you follow? The Great Shepherd, Jesus, says, "My sheep follow me and they know my voice". Do you know His voice, and are you following him, or do you wander through life aimlessly, following any and everything but him?