Deuteronomy 16:21-22 – Be wholly devoted to God

God was central to the life of Israel. Worshipping and serving Him alone was paramount. Hence, in Deuteronomy 16:21-17:7, God demanded that they must not pivot to serve other gods. He would not allow them to mix their worship. The people of Israel were told not to associate worshipping pagan idols with worshipping Him.

In the last two verses of Deuteronomy 16, God dealt with the Asherah poles. What was an Asherah pole? It was a pole which could even be just a tree, that the pagans in Canaan would set up as a sacred monument to venerate the goddess Asherah. These poles had been objects that had often caused the Israelites to stray from God to pander after pagan deities. That alone was a good reason why God would not allow His people to have anything to do with Asherah poles. They must never set up such shrines like the pagans. Why? Because God hates it.

From these two verses is a call on us to put our faith and trust in God alone. We must not make the worship of God syncretistic by mixing different unchristian practices in our belief. To do so would make us unequally yoked with something unholy. Like the people of Israel, who were warned not to build Asherah poles, we must be careful not to adopt the practices of heretical teachings in our faith. They have the potential to cause us to make other things central in our lives instead of Christ. Never allow any aberrant teaching to influence us from being wholly devoted to the Lord. Let us set our hearts to honor Him alone for He alone deserves our wholehearted devotion. Don’t be sidestepped by seemingly good but false teachings!