Between 2003 and 2017, I have seen (or heard) lions in several places across northern Tanzania. Each time you see or hear one is truly unforgettable. They are fierce, fast, and powerful creatures. Each time, I have been grateful to have had the safety of an automobile to offer protection. 

In three trips to Israel, I have not seen or heard a lion. That’s because you can’t find one in the wild there today. But, after Assyria carries off Israel into captivity, they settled people from other nations into Samaria and the other cities of the northern kingdom. These newly-settled citizens did not fear the Lord, so He sent lions among them to kill some of them (2 Kings 17:25). They appeal to the king of Assyria to help them “know the custom of the god of the land” (26). The king of Assyria’s solution was to send a priest from among the exiled Israelites back into the land who lived in Bethel and taught the new inhabitants “how they should fear the Lord” (28). Sound like a feel good story of mass conversion, right? Well, not exactly.

The people, like the Athenians later in history (Acts 17:16-23), just added Jehovah to their list of gods. “They feared the Lord and served their own gods” (33). They had no history with and no grounding in the Law of Moses , so they continually violated His will and commandments (34-40).  “So while these nations feared the Lord, they also served their idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day” (41).

Mixed up religion is not just a problem of ancient times. It is alive and well today. What do people serve alongside Jehovah? The teaching and commandments of men, patriotism, tradition, money, culture, and more. They take elements of each and the end result is a watered-down, unacceptable substitute for true religion governed and guided by a reverent, informed knowledge of God’s Word. Syncretism is “the amalgamation (act of combining or uniting) or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.” Some world religions are syncretistic in nature. But, true religion–biblically defined–does not allow for anything mixed with it. In fact, the Bible defines true religion as “pure and undefiled” (Jas. 1:27). Worship is according to truth (John 4:24), and God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). 

God does not allow for watered down substitutes and self-customized religion. The only way to avoid that is to know what His Word says, and then do it (Jas. 1:21-25). Otherwise, our efforts are made in vain (Mat. 15:9). Mixed up religion condemns. The sage observation of Jeremiah ought to serve as our beacon of light: “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps” (10:23).