Something Old - Something New!

 

Those people my age and older remember the typewriter. When I got to high school we thought we were in heaven because we had an electric typewriter WITH a correction ribbon. I remember typing class. My competitive nature loved the challenge of typing as many words as I could in a minute without a mistake. But, it was amazing to know when I typed a paper and made a mistake at the end of a page, I didn't have to redo the entire page! Now I am pretty good at typing and can speed along with very few errors because of the "home keys!"

While this is a strange topic for a blog on scripture. I was reading more about Ahaz today and his replacing the "old" altar at the Temple with a "new" altar copied from his pagan neighbors. My original thought was comparing old vs new and that new is not always better.  But, in reality, NEW is more often better than the OLD, at least on the surface! In the case of Ahaz, the shiny new altar was a lure to draw him further away from God and deeper into worshipping false Gods. 

Example:

I remember my first motorcycle. I had a Honda CB350. That bike was so much fun. When I had a problem with it, I could fix it. I remember one of the spark plug threads was stripped. I used some JB weld and walla, it was as good as new. Now I own a 2019 Indian MC. I have had a couple of issues and had to take it to the dealer because it was all computer-related. I couldn't do anything to fix it. I prefer the simplicity of the OLD vs the complexity of the NEW. Sin is like that shiny new motorcycle. It looks so good, so perfect, flawless, with no downside. "Everybody is doing it" or "everybody has one" is a recipe for disaster.

In 2 Kings, Ahaz visited an Assyrian King. He saw their shiny new altar and just had to have it. He copied down all the details, sent it off to his priests, and they constructed this copy. This new altar replaced the old and then Ahaz began dismantling the rest of the traditions of the Temple.

"Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts. He also removed the great bronze basin called the Sea from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it on the stone pavement. In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day, as well as the king's outer entrance to the Temple of the Lord." (2 Kings 16:17,18) 

We are so quick to replace the old with the new. We have replaced the old church hymns with new worship songs, and we have replaced old church buildings with new modern church buildings. Technology is a huge part of our modern worship service. We use social media, online sermons, and remote bible studies. All of these things are new and shiny. But, we need to be cautious not to let this shiny new technology interfere with our purpose or interfere with the greatest commandments:

"Jesus replied, 'The most important commandment is this: Listen O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandments are greater than these.'" (Mark 12:29-31)

Just like with my old Honda CB350, simple is good. The Lord is not impressed with our new gadgets, new worship songs, and new buildings. As it has been since the beginning of time, God simply wants us, our hearts, our devotion, and our love. None of the shiny new stuff matters, even the MacBook computer being used to type this blog, if we don't completely turn our lives to him!