Deuteronomy 9:12 "And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image."
Why is it important for God's people to remain diligent in worship? Why are we to be steadfast in our dedication and commitment unto the Lord? Notice the wording, "they are quickly turned aside out of the way." God has given us the way, the path, to experiencing righteousness, and peace, and joy in our lives. When we walk in His way, we walk in peace, joy, and love. The wise man, Solomon, wrote, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Proverbs 16:25) It is for our well being that we seek to walk in the directives of the Lord.The children of Israel had, in forty days, gone from placing confidence in the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to fashioning a calf of melted gold. After they made the golden calf, they began to dance and sing around the idol, saying, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." (Exodus 32:4) How could they so quickly have gone from the light of the glory of God to the darkness of a lifeless idol?
When you read the book of Judges, you see within the first few chapters that it only takes a generation to turn from serving the Lord to serving the idols of the world. We question the brevity of time it took to go from their serving the true God to serving idols. England produced many wonderful preachers who were dedicated men of God; yet, in a generation many of their churches where beautiful worship took place were turned into pubs. America has had many great men of God who were diligent in their worship and proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; yet, we can see in our own land a turning away. "They are quickly turned aside out of the way (because there is a way that seems right unto a man) and they have made them a molten image."
The directive given to us today is that we return back to the Lord. We must return back to the place where worship is indeed worship of God, not elevation of man. The question is asked, what can we do to change things in America? The answer remains the same as it was given to Israel, "And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; (3) That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee." (Deuteronomy 30:2-3)