My People Have Changed Their Glory

“Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.” Jeremiah 2:11

Idolatry was rampant in Old Testament times, and God used the faithfulness of the heathen toward their false gods as a stinging rebuke of His people for their lack of devotion to Him. The Ammonites worshipped Milcom, the Canaanites worshipped Baal, the Moabites worshipped Chemosh, the Philistines worshipped Dagon, and the Zidonians worshipped Ashtoreth. What God was saying to His people in the passage above is that no one ever heard of any of these nations forsaking their gods. These were idols carved out of wood and graven from stone. They were inanimate objects that were treated with great reverence by the people who worshipped them. The Ammonites never traded Milcom for Ashtoreth. The Philistines never forsook Dagon to follow Chemosh. How could these people be so faithful to false deities that really never existed and had no power to help the people who worshipped them, while the Israelites never seemed to be able to muster up complete devotion to the Creator of the universe, Who had chosen them and worked countless miracles on their behalf? How many Christians today cause God to feel the same way? How sad it is when the unsaved are more faithful to their worldly amusements and sinful habits than those who claim to be Christians are to reading God’s Word, seeking Him in prayer, and meeting together to worship Him!