SDA Sabbath School Lessons
June 22, 1996


#12 Misguided Devotion

Read for this week's study: Judges 17,18.

Memory text: Exod. 20:4, 5, KJV

Key thought:

God accepts worship that is offered according to His instructions, which leads to a proper understanding of Him. A blend of true and false worship may be appealing to human beings, but God does not accept it.
Royal Rules. If you wish to speak with the queen of England, you cannot simply knock on the door of Buckingham Palace and expect her to come to the door. She is a queen. You are a common stranger. Even if you are granted a meeting with her, you must approach her through a protocol established by the queen and her assistants. She makes the rules. You follow them.

Like the queen of England, the Lord is a monarch. Not only that, He is Deity, greater than any earthly monarch. He is the King of kings, who "is sovereign over the kingdom of mortals; he gives it to whom he will" (Dan. 4:17, NRSV). Therefore, human beings must approach Him on His terms. He makes the rules. Those who approach Him in worship on their own terms rather than His do not honor Him; they insult Him. That is what the ancient Israelites did when they used idols to worship the Lord; they insulted Him.

Outline: