Unknown Idols

잘 모르는 우상들

신명기(Deu) 13장

5. 그런 선지자나 꿈 꾸는 자는 죽이라 이는 그가 너희에게 너희를 애굽 땅에서 인도하여 내시며 종 되었던 집에서 속량하신 너희의 하나님 여호와를 배반하게 하려 하며 너희의 하나님 여호와께서 네게 행하라 명령하신 도에서 너를 꾀어내려고 말하였음이라 너는 이같이 하여 너희 중에서 악을 제할지니라

5. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

6. 네 어머니의 아들 곧 네 형제나 네 자녀나 네 품의 아내나 너와 생명을 함께 하는 친구가 가만히 너를 꾀어 이르기를 너와 네 조상들이 알지 못하던 다른 신들

6. If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known,

7. 곧 네 사방을 둘러싸고 있는 민족 혹 네게서 가깝든지 네게서 멀든지 땅 이 끝에서 저 끝까지에 있는 민족의 신들을 우리가 가서 섬기자 할지라도

7. gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other),

8. 너는 그를 따르지 말며 듣지 말며 긍휼히 여기지 말며 애석히 여기지 말며 덮어 숨기지 말고

8. do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them.

13. 너희 가운데서 어떤 불량배가 일어나서 그 성읍 주민을 유혹하여 이르기를 너희가 알지 못하던 다른 신들을 우리가 가서 섬기자 한다 하거든

13. that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known),

14. 너는 자세히 묻고 살펴 보아서 이런 가증한 일이 너희 가운데에 있다는 것이 확실한 사실로 드러나면

14. then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,

These days, so-called prophets (modern fortune tellers) or dreamers, who insist that they have the power of seeing futures and of making our lives like a paradise or that they can shild our troubles, are affecting ignorant people's lives, leading them to go astray, without knowing where they are going. They get to the point of worshiping gods or idols whom they never know, and about this, even apostle Paul commented on, saying that people in Athens worship a god whose name is not known.

I feel like we humans have sinful desires in nature of worshiping anything or pursing something else, such as material or sexual things which are seemingly looking good, as well as spiritual holy things, because most of the crimes we commit come from these instincts. Even though we know that they lead our lives to the destruction or to death, many are magnetically being enticed to their temptations and deceit.

I am not saying about only spiritual idols. I mean, these days, I feel like people around me are all into gods about which they don't know, which could be named as financial and material investment, gambling, lotteries, luxurious stuffs, or even by grooming our appearances or by piling up knowledge or informations, we are to make ourselves idols. Plus, with a new brand name AI idols have shown up and it looks so powerful that many people worry or expect that it would swallow up everything, including so-called gods and God Him as well.

Then, what should I do to deal with these idols? As verse 14 suggest, I will have to inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly and it has been proved detestable things, I must destroy them completely from my heart and mind.

Of course, I can't destroy them by the power of my hands and that ooks insane as well. Rather, I will try to obey and keep the commands and the Words of God that He gives me today as a daily bread more and more eagerly and do what is right in His eyes because I believe that it is the only light and the lamp that my God has given for me to go through this perverse and crooked kind of darkness of instinct, worshiping idols.