God forbid that we rebel

“God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.” - Joshua 22v29

The people were spelling their commitment to the Lord when they made this statement of dedication. They seemed to be totally committed when they said, “God forbid that we rebel against the Lord, turn aside from following Him, build another altar!”

We know of course that they did not hold to this commitment for very long. Once that were established they quickly began to turn aside after the false gods of Canaan, they were not as committed as they first appeared. They did rebel, turn aside, and worship at other altars.

How do we stack up compared to them? As Christians the very thought of rebelling against the Lord should be totally abhorrent to us. We should never dream of turning aside or worshipping at “other altars.” But do we? Is there anything in our lives where we rebel against Him? Is there any hint of turning off the path of following Him? Are their “other altars” in our lives that draw our attention away for following Him?

Other altars are not always made of stone and wood. They can be intangibles such as popularity, materialism, or sensual lust. God forbid that we rebel against the Lord in being distracted by things like this and worship as these “altars.”