"...The word of God is not chained" (2 Timothy 2:9).

"Bel bows down, Nebo stoops;
Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle.
Your carriages were heavily loaded,
A burden to the weary beast" (Isaiah 46:1).

Modern man admires ancient civilizations, the Summerians for their centralized communications and cities, and the Egyptians for their superb mathematics, architecture and magnificent structures such as the pyramids. We are still in awe and are stupified by the mechanics which allowed the ancient Brits to build Stonehenge; we are romanced by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. But man is mortal. We who are young should remember that nations rise and nations fall. Old men and women, in general, are more keen about life, for they are proportionally closer to the end of the span of life than the youth are.

Dynasties rise, some linger, and some fade out. The Mayans died out, but the Chinese are abundant. The Germans have had Three Reichs. The Greeks sell islands. John Lennon really digged the idea. Man has been in the game of progress for such a long time, looking to the seas, to the forests, the skies, the stars, the depths of the Universe. In so doing, man has worshiped many things in petions or praise of such things like good harvests and a newborn baby. Gold, silver, wood, mountains, the Sun, the star systems, even the planets have been worshipped. The earth has even been worshipped and is still worshiped by some groups today. Things which have been produced by the goldsmith, silversmith, and craftsmen are carried into homes and miniature shrines still today for the purpose of representing some deity or sacred place; things of man's making have been worshiped. Why not? There's God, and then there are gods. There is the Creator, and there's the creation. If it's all good, then why not call out to everything? To answer this, I will give another question: Does one compliment the casserole or the one who baked it?

It is clear that the dish of food has no feelings, or intelligence, it is not a living thing; it couldn't say 'thank you' even if you praised it for it's succulent taste or fragrance. And it also could not object to you eating it. So therefore it would not be unreasonable if you would praise the thoughtful host who made you the casserole.

To make this entry short, and perhaps to stretch this thought out for a few days, I will note that mankind has the capacity to look heavenward and praise the Lord. It is difficult to assume that all men in the past have known the God all creation by name, but it is well know that His name has been spread worldwide, starting in the beginning, spreading through Jerusalem, and entering many a jungle, forest, desert, and plateau. Bel and Nebo were deities of the Babylonians. But were they really powerful? No, they were dead, useless, pieces of dead weight which needlessly made the cattle weary as they were carried from place to place.

"I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images" (Isaiah 42:8).