Worship One and serve another?

Isreal was taken captive by the Assyrians 722 BC, and priests of different religions were placed among them.  The people soon had many different gods, but the sons of Isreal spoke of thier God, and how HE had sent lions among the people because they did worship/fear the one true God.  So they were sent to teach the others, but something strange happened.  Now there is a huge nation who fear God but serve many other idols.  You can read the entire account in 2 Kings 17:7-40.

 32They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places. 33They feared the LORD and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile.

³⁸“The covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. ³⁹“But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” ⁴⁰However, they did not listen, but they did according to their earlier custom. ⁴¹So while these nations feared the LORD, they also served their idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

As I have been studying for my class (to start in October), I have been brought back to these verses over and over again.  In the Western culture that I live in, we may not have a shelf full of statues that we bow to every day, but we most definitely serve other gods.  Whether that be “people pleasing”, addictions, vehicles, posessions, style, how about our children? mmmm I know I have fell into that a few times, only to be called out to lay them down, and say Blessed be thy name LORD. 

Wondering what you all may think about these verses? Have we been carried away to our own type of exile…strongholds…?  Did you even know it was possible to fear God and serve other gods?  Has our lifestyle been handed down through generations, and we believe that it is all okay?  HE said there shall be NO other gods….I believe HE means it as well today as when HE said it the first time. 

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