II Chronicles 15:3 “Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.”
Israel was in grievous peril because for a long time they had been “without” three things: “the true God”, “a teaching priest”, and the “law”. They had gods, but not “the true God”! They had priests, but they were not “teaching” the people. They had laws, but not the “law” of God. A false god is anything we dedicate and commit ourselves to that supplants or impedes our worship of “the true God”. To worship is to submit to, give allegiance to, give exceptional honor to, and be guided and control by the object of our allegiance. A false gods can be physical idols or the worship of people or the worship of self or the worship of wealth, or the worship of entertainment, etc. The people are “without the true God” when they turn from “the true God” to these false gods. In the Christian Church, Ministers are supposed to be “pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). When the “pastors and teachers” get caught up in the carnal things of this present world, they cease to preach and teach the Word of God and they no longer perform the Biblical duties of “pastors”; then the people become distracted, confused, and disinterested. In this context, the “law” refers to the First Five Books of the Bible, sometimes referred to as “the law of Moses” (Joshua 8:31). In our day, the Lord has provided the Sixty-Six Books of His Holy Word, which is to be diligently preached and taught to the Children of God. In our generation, this blessed Holy Word is being systematically cast aside and replaced by so called easy-reading versions, discounted as flawed, dismissed as out of date, and even hated and removed from public view. When Israel of old did these things; they began to have great “trouble” (II Chronicles 15:4), they had “no peace” (II Chronicles 15:5), and the nations were destroying each other “for God did vex them with all adversity” (II Chronicles 15:5). But, because our God is gracious, merciful, and longsuffering; when rebellious Israel “did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them” (II Chronicles 15:4)! As John J. Overholt wrote in his hymn, “O come, let us worship before our great Lord; Come, kneel down before Him in reverence and fear; With thanksgiving, praise, and in hearing His word; O worship with singing, the Master is here”!