God Of Our Fathers

 

My devotion for today was 2 Chronicles Chapter 14.  I was struck by the three points which I have put in bold italic both in my following comments and in the following Scripture:

1.  The praise for Asa focused on Asa removing the idols.  Our idols today are not golden calves, but they may be false prophets or false doctrine.  We need to zealously remove the idols of false prophets and false doctrine whenever and wherever they may appear. 
2.  As is done here, God is sometimes referred to in the Bible as "God of their fathers" or "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob".  The description of God may be so related, because it is important that we do not form our own image of God.  Judges 21:25 condemns the situation:  "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."  In this day and age when we have so many nondenominational and independent churches, the danger is that such churches may be just doing what is right in their own eyes.  They may be forming their idols or their own images of God.  An idol is not just a golden calf, but an idol may be a false image or false doctrine of God.  From time to time, we need to be reminded of the "God of our fathers".  Although Scripture certainly is the best source to form our image of God, the Reformers such as Luther and Calvin based their image of God on Scripture, and they are also our spiritual fathers to whom we should refer as a secondary source in forming our image of God.  Each church should not have to reinvent the wheel in forming their image of God, but they should be able to "cross reference" as a secondary source the teachings of Luther, Calvin, and other Reformers who are our spiritual fathers in addition to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
3.  Notice the emphasis on seeking the LORD.  We also should seek the LORD, the God of our fathers.  We should be careful that we do not just seek the "God of our imaginations or our desires", but rather that we seek the God as revealed by Scripture first and then secondly compare that to the image of God presented by our spiritual fathers, the Reformers, to make sure our image of God is sound.

2 Chronicles 14: 1-7

Asa Succeeds Abijah in Judah
 1  So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days.

 2  Asa did good and right in the sight of the LORD his God,

 3  for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim,

 4  and commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment.

 5  He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him.

 6  He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and there was no one at war with him during those years, because the LORD had given him rest.

 7  For he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.