Thread by @GPrater85015

#GeraldsDevotional
A Stake in the Ground – The Worst Kind of Slavery

The absolute worst type of slavery is when the victim thinks with all of their mind that they are free when in fact they are very much deeply enslaved. In the devotionals of the previous 2 days, we talked about the experiences of Daniel and his 3 friends when they were in

captivity with the Jews in Babylon. When they were first brought into captivity, the leadership of Babylon initiated dedicated efforts to assimilate them into their pagan culture (changing their names, trying to force them to eat their foods and making them adapt to the

Babylonian ways). Just as they had already been doing before being brought into captivity, many of the Jews adopted these Babylonian ways and assimilated. But Daniel and his friends did not. It is interesting to note that while on the surface, these 4 men appeared to be slaves to

Babylon, but in their minds and souls they were truly free and never bought into the lies of Satan and the pagan worship.

Now let’s go back to the Jews in general and what led them into captivity when they were still at home in Jerusalem. They publicly proclaimed that they were

God’s people and acknowledged Him openly. But in private (and sometimes also very openly) they worshiped other gods because they had been seduced (assimilated) by Satan. They were already slaves to Satan and the Babylonian way and they didn’t even realize it. Again, this is the

worst kind of slavery. But what they did in secret, God not only saw, He already knew beforehand.

Their slavery went back to when God brought them through the wilderness of Sinai to the promised land of Canaan. He told them to kill every inhabitant of that land before taking

possession of it because God knew that if they didn’t, they would assimilate and adopt those same pagan practices like child sacrifice and other abominations to God. He was trying to warn and to protect them but He already knew what they would do (just as He already knew what the

man and woman would do in Genesis 3). Still He had a plan and never gave up on them.

The key point in today’s message is that the Jews had already been slaves (far from being free) for a very long time. They just didn’t realize the depth of their slavery. Daniel and his three

friends, while in physical captivity, were held up in God’s word as an example for us all of what it looks like to actually be free.

In a continuing theme of this series, today still nothing has changed. There are still remnants of the pagan worship and shocking practices all

around us from sources that most Americans (even those who are not Christians) would find shocking.

Daily Scripture

The Lord’s Case against Israel
1 Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel! The Lord has brought charges against you, saying:
“There is no faithfulness, no

kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.
2 You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery.
There is violence everywhere— one murder after another.
3 That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away.
Even the wild animals, the birds of

the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing.

4 “Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame!
My complaint, you priests, is with you.
5 So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy

Israel, your mother.
6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.
Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests.
Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children. - Hosea 4:1-6

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