Jonah 2:8
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
The term lying vanities refers to idols; false gods. Those that observe or put their trust in those gods that are no gods forsake the mercy that God has stored up for them should they merely seek it.
The term lying vanities is telling.
The false gods are themselves both lies and vanities.
They are lies in that they are not true.
They do not exist. They are fabrications of the imaginations of men, bound to deny the true and living God. And they are the fruit of those seeds planted by Satan, who is bent on keeping men from coming to God.
They are lies in that what they teach men is not true.
The hope they offer is a false hope.
The doctrines they teach them are all wrong.
Their message concerning eternity is a false one.
They are vanities in that they are empty
They cannot meet the needs of men
They cannot fulfill their promises to men
They cannot satisfy the longings of man
These idols, I always try to remember, may not be formally worshipped. That is, after all, one of the tricks of Satan. He deceived us into thinking that worship must be formal in order to be worship. Just look at the formality of dead religion. Many are deceived, believing they do not worship lying vanities, when in reality their lives are given to the care (the word observe in Jonah means to guard protect or attend to) some worldly vanity. Everything on earth is a vanity in that it will one day be eaten up and destroyed by the processes of time. Anything on earth can become a vain idol when we give ourselves to its care.
Mercy is found in God alone. God help me to attend to my walk with You above all in this world.
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
The term lying vanities refers to idols; false gods. Those that observe or put their trust in those gods that are no gods forsake the mercy that God has stored up for them should they merely seek it.
The term lying vanities is telling.
The false gods are themselves both lies and vanities.
They are lies in that they are not true.
They do not exist. They are fabrications of the imaginations of men, bound to deny the true and living God. And they are the fruit of those seeds planted by Satan, who is bent on keeping men from coming to God.
They are lies in that what they teach men is not true.
The hope they offer is a false hope.
The doctrines they teach them are all wrong.
Their message concerning eternity is a false one.
They are vanities in that they are empty
They cannot meet the needs of men
They cannot fulfill their promises to men
They cannot satisfy the longings of man
These idols, I always try to remember, may not be formally worshipped. That is, after all, one of the tricks of Satan. He deceived us into thinking that worship must be formal in order to be worship. Just look at the formality of dead religion. Many are deceived, believing they do not worship lying vanities, when in reality their lives are given to the care (the word observe in Jonah means to guard protect or attend to) some worldly vanity. Everything on earth is a vanity in that it will one day be eaten up and destroyed by the processes of time. Anything on earth can become a vain idol when we give ourselves to its care.
Mercy is found in God alone. God help me to attend to my walk with You above all in this world.
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