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Cutting Down Asherah Poles


2 Kings 17:28-29

" So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD. But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived."

When I read Kings and Chronicles, I'm struck by the repeated stories of kings that were bad and had other gods, people that were bad had had other gods (who even sacrificed their children as burnt offerings) and then kings that were good and followed God like David did, oh, but some of those "good" kings still had other gods. And let's not forget the Asherah poles. Lots of Asherah poles that were being erected (bad) or being cut down (good).

The above makes me wonder, How much of what I've been taught about "how [I] should fear the Lord" defines who I am and how much is defined by the gods of my history, culture, and ethnicity (the "nation in the cities in which [I] lived"?

A few years ago I read Nino Ricci's Lives of the Saints. There are several instances of characters in the novel wanting to live humbly -- at least ostensibly -- so as not to garner the attention of the angry gods who like to bring down the lofty. As I read the novel, I recalled this taboo in my own upbringing -- I vividly recall stern warnings from my grandfather not to boast. I think the waters get muddied when the inherited idea sorta kinda lines up with scripture.

There have been times in my churched life when strong-minded Christians -- who were in many ways mature and respectable -- would spew forth home-spun, philosophies on everything from child-rearing to handling money. In the heat of the moment, their arguments seemed pretty solid. But upon further reflection and in hind-sight I wonder: How many of our home-spun, pet beliefs and behaviours are based on the gods who dwell in other cities and nations? I wonder, How deliberately do we fear the Lord? Do we maybe have some Asherah poles that need to be cut down?
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