The people dwelling in
darkness have seen a the great light,
and for those dwelling
in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned!”
Matthew 4:16
You do not come to Siem
Reap without seeing Angkor Wat city. Angkor Wat was a huge temple city. It is about 60 square miles and
there are multiple temples within its borders. Last Saturday, a week ago, our
team decided that we too would go and see these ancient ruins. The night before
we prayed, asking God to fortify our hearts and minds, and to be near us the
entire day. It was a little unsettling for me, knowing we were going to be
walking into a stronghold of the enemy. God,
how do I stand in “awe” of
these “majestic” ruins
knowing they are the very symbol of idolatry, your glory deferred?! God,
give me a sober mind to see thy truth!
We walked into the main temple, Angkor Wat.
Erected in the center of the entryway was a statue of Buddha about 8 feet tall
and clothed in pieces of bright orange silk with a gold crown on his head and
strips of bright blue and pink cloth wrapped around him. Before him was an
altar and on it was gold, but not pure gold; cheap ornaments that looked as
though they were constructed out of gold foil, and baskets of fruit and
beverages. Before the altar was a pot of sand with sticks of incense in it
where families would come and make prayers for their loved ones. I sat on some
steps across from Buddha. I sat and prayed. I sat and listened for the Lord. Keet
came and sat down next to me. She had worship music on her ipod and lent me an
ear. As we listened to the songs, God’s truth unfolded before us. . .
Their statue is clothed
in brightly colored silk.
My God is clothed in
actual rainbows!
And above the expanse over their heads there was the
likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire, and seated above the
likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from
what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the
appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the
appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was
brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on
the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Ezekiel
1:26-28
Their statue is created
by human hands.
My God is the Creator of
all things.
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell, me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements- surely
you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or
who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons
of God shouted for joy?
Job 38: 4-7.
Incense is offered to their statue as an offering in hopes of receiving good luck.
I am the fragrant offering of God, who always leads me out in triumph.
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16
Their statue can neither
see them, nor hear them, nor help them.
My God hears me when I call out to him, and he answers me.
silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a
sound in their throat. Those whomake them become like them, so do all who trust in them. . .
. I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I
live.
Their statue is confined
to man-made temples and shrines.
The whole universe is my God’s throne and the earth is his footstool.
Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is
my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the
place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things
came to be, declares the Lord.
Isaiah 66:1-2
Their statue is only as
big as their human hands could make him.
My God stretched out the
expanse of the universe and its waters in the palm of his hand.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and
marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
Isaiah 40:12.
Their sacrifices to
their statues are Sprite, mangoes, incense, and other material objects.
The sacrifice my God
delights in is a broken and contrite heart.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and
contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:17
Their temples are in
ruins, decaying, falling over.
That which is not of the One, True God will not last.
So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men
and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will
fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might
even be found opposing God!”
Acts 5:38-39
