https://youtu.be/u-CR3lOhvd8

2 Sam 14:25-34

What is a Barley fieldSimply put- a distraction. Something that is becoming your focus and keeping you from hearing the voice of the Lord.A barley field is anything that you value above hearing and responding to the voice of the LordCalling you to anything- When God calls- we answer-Abasalom had every right to call on Joab, but Joab refused t o listen so Abasalom burned his field to get his attentionJeremiah dealt with this in Jer 25:3-11Not Listening- 3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened.Jeremiah 6:10  To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.Jeremiah 13:10  This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow[a] the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing.The First commandment was “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me”We read this stuff and we think of golden calves and asheroth poles. Serving a false savior or GodBut People serve many false Gods- A false God is anything that you 1. Love more than God 2. Trust more than God 3. Worship more than God 4. Give more attention than God 5. Desire more than God 6. Give allegiance more to than God Look at the idols of America:

1.Americanism- the identity and protection of our national identity. Not bad to be proud of your country- its bad to love your country more than Jesus and have your loyalty to it than HIM

2.Materialism- The amassing of stuff- needless trinkets and consumer purchases- Nothing wrong with having or liking nice stuff, but to what end? An expense that you don’t need?

Think about this- what new clothes have you bought specifically during this time to be able to show someone at work, school, or church if you’ve been on lockdown?

3.Money and wealth- The innate focus on how much you do or don’t have, worry about future purchases. Trust in the stock market, gas prices, real estate market, business trends etc- what about our national economy? What will we do?

Who do you trust? God can make deserts in the wilderness?

4.Family- The love of and protection of family or the love and support at the expense of the truth of the Gospel- deep desire for intimate love relationships

5.Sports. Professional and kids sports. The idea that a person who is good at a sport has some inherent spiritual value higher than a person in your life. Deep desire for kids to excel

6.Education- Learning is key- more knowledge- more influence- more power- more money

7.Fantasy- being stuck in a fantasy world in your mind fueled by social media and TV

8. Careers- What is my job, identity, to get materialism, money, family, education, and fantasies!

Those are just a few- I could go on and on- Those are IDOLS- Things that people LOVE above the LORDAll of them are barley fields- Something that needs to be burned down to get our attentionGod will do it. He’ll burn down anything he needs to get our attention-31 Then Joab arose and came to Absalom’s house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”Some people are saying that right now? Why Has God set my field on fire? What did I do wrong?

Why Does God burn barley fields?