Judges 2:11-19 / Matthew 19:16-22
What we heard in the 1st reading is also what we will read about in almost every page of the Old Testament.
And just what is that? It is this recurring problem of the Israelites. They turn to idols and worshipped the idols and they did what displeased the Lord.
Two idols were mentioned in the 1st reading: Baal who was chief of the Canaanite pantheon and worshipped as the source of life and fertility, the mightiest hero, and the lord of war.
The other idol was Astarte who was worshipped as the beautiful goddess of fertility and sexual love.
That brief description would already give us an indication of why the Israelites fell into idolatry.
Because the worshipping of these idols was an expression of the cravings and desires of a human heart that longs for power, might, wealth, sex and the freedom from moral obligations.
And the problem was that the worshipping of these idols did fulfill these yearnings and cravings and desires.
Just like how the obsession with money and wealth can fulfill the yearnings and cravings and desires of the modern world.
Worshipping the one true God has its moral obligations and it also disciplines the wild and straying heart.
Yet in worshipping the one true God, we will have the peace and joy that no amount of money can buy. For all that we give up on earth, God will reward us. That can also be found in every page of the Bible.