The religious hobbyist Micah practiced his own self-devised hybrid of religion, amalgamating some orthodox truth with abundant noxious, pagan admixtures.

After 200 years of rejecting Davidic rule, Israel fell to Assyria, and its people were carried to Media. Judah lasted about 150 years longer.

We are admonished to internalize the book of Deuteronomy in preparation for our future leadership roles.

Jeroboam, pragmatic and fearful, established a more convenient idolatrous festival to prevent his people from keeping the real Feast of Tabernacles in Judah.

Even though Jacob's offspring have had a special relationship with God, their carnal nature led them to test God's patience, growing more corrupt than even Sodom.

To dramatize the perennial harlotry of Israel and the incredible love God exhibits toward His people, He commands Hosea to marry a harlot, Gomer.

The natural mind craves something physical to remind us of God, but the Second Commandment prohibits this. Any representation will fall short of the reality.

Because Abraham trusted God, his descendants have received unprecedented blessings. If the Israelites would have kept God's law, they would have served as a model.

Though she transgressed every commandment in multiple ways, the sin through which Israel's unfaithfulness is most frequently demonstrated is gross idolatry.

Israel consistently cycles through God's deliverance, apostasy through idolatry and immorality, God's chastening, national repentance, then deliverance again.

Abijah had three good years but was suddenly cut off because he didn't remove the idols. One act of faith is only something to build on, not a cause to rest.

King Jehoash (or Joash) of Judah, though he overcame much and did many good things, did not quite have the fortitude to rid the kingdom of its high places.

Jehu may have been called to save Israel, but he was impulsive and bloodthirsty. Though he destroyed Baalism, he did not restore true worship of God.

Uzziah was the third successive king of Judah who failed to remove the high places from the land. His downfall lay in not handling worldly greatness.

Major reinterpretations have significantly distorted the meaning of Passover and Unleavened Bread, blurring the distinction between the two events.

What would have to happen for us to wake up and, instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, actually turn back to God with the entirety of our being?

The temple Passover commanded by Hezekiah was a very unusual circumstance in which the king centralized worship to keep Baalism from defiling the Passover.

The Jews were looking for a military leader like Jehu, a hasty, callous, impetuous man with a temper, bent totally on eradicating the legacy of Jezebel.

Both Lot and Ezekiel were tormented by the abominations, sins, and defilement taking place within their culture, polluted with idolatry and paganism.

When John talks about idols, he is going far beyond things like statues, icons, and crucifixes, but instead anything people focus on first.

Asa left a few things undone, losing steam in his later years and playing it safe. Idolatry was so ingrained in the land that Asa grew weary in well-doing.

Most people consider the second commandment to deal with making or falling down before a pagan idol, but it covers all aspects of the way we worship.

God points out four kings of Judah who did not remove the high places. Many kings neither built nor destroyed high places, yet God points out four who failed.

Even though Manasseh was absolutely the worst king ever to lead Judah, Manasseh finally got the message that God only is God, and sincerely repented.

Modern Israel has a form of religion, but it is empty and unsatisfying because it refuses to obey God and substitutes the traditions of man in its place.

We must become leaders in our own families, protecting them from the curses that are already falling on our nation. We have the obligation to fear God.

The Spirit of Babylon is couched in brazen outlook of the goddess Inanna/Ishtar, the femme fatale who asserted her free will to overcome the influence of Eden.

Although Transcendentalism as a movement never had an abundance of adherents, Emerson's teachings did permeate the schools of philosophy of the Ivy League.

Hosea is an account of Israel's unfaithfulness to the covenant with God, and the redemptive work of God to rescue His unfaithful spouse from slavery.

Members of God's church usually come home from the Feast of Tabernacles with renewed strength. Yet, some fall away each year. Here's how to stay the course.

God does not endorse the American system any more than any other system not based on God's Laws. The Millennium will not resemble America.

Understanding Elohim teaches us about the nature of God and where our lives are headed. Elohim refers to a plural family unit in the process of expanding.

In our relationship with God, we must emphasize principle over pragmatism. If we are led into deception, it is because our carnal nature wanted it that way.

Idolatry constitutes the fountainhead from which all other sins flow, all of which amplify obsessive self-centeredness and self-indulgence.