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I’m reading through the Bible using a reading plan and I find myself at the moment in Deuteronomy. I’ve been following the journey of the Israelites from their escape from Egypt to the entrance to the Promised Land.
So in a nutshell, God rescues His people from slavery in Egypt and leads them to a land He promised to give them – a land flowing with milk and honey. I’ll say, I’d liken this journey to that of a parent dragging an obstinate toddler, kicking and screaming, throwing themselves on the ground continuously through the grocery store. But as frustrated as I get with the Israelites, I gotta say, I sadly identify!
This morning during my quiet time I read an interesting thought from Henry Blackaby. He said, “Thank God for not making us guess at what we need to do to please Him. Thank Him for His clear words that reveal His heart and His plan for His people.”
I don’t think about that regularly.
Think about it. For the Israelites and for us, God makes Himself known. I have thanked God for many things, but the fact that He is clear about how we can know Him and what His plans and purposes are is something I guess I’ve taken for granted. This morning I am deeply thankful for a God that cares to reveal Himself to us. He even goes further to invite us into a personal relationship with Him and adopt us as His own. Take a minute to think about that! Mind blown!
So what it comes down to is KNOWING God is not the obstacle, DESIRING to know Him is.
KNOWING God is not the obstacle, DESIRING to know Him is.
In the chapters I’m reading now in Deuteronomy, God is warning His people against idol worship. He gives strong warning of the.jpg)
PINIMAGEdangers and how He will punish idol worship because it will only bring destruction. You may be familiar with the story of how Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God (where he received the 10 commandments). While he was up there, the people became restless and convinced Aaron (Moses’s right hand man) to make them a golden calf to worship.
That seems like the craziest idea ever if you ask me! They collected up their jewelry and gold and fashioned a golden calf. Why would anyone think that’s a good idea and that there is power and good in that for them?
This story in the Old Testament is one of many where man erects an idol and worships it. You can read about all of God’s warnings against raising up idols to worship anyone but Himself: foreign gods, nature, animals, even in the case of King Nebuchadnezzar, man.
We will do it! We will fashion our idols. Maybe they aren’t made of gold but we do.
- Our career
- Our money
- Our relationships
- Our children
- Our pleasures
- Our possessions
Just to name a few.
Here’s an excerpt from GotQuestions.org regarding idol worship today:
When we hear the word idol, we often think of statues and objects reminiscent of those worshipped by pagans in ancient cultures. However, the idols of the 21st century often bear no resemblance to the artifacts used thousands of years ago. Today, many have replaced the “golden calf” with an insatiable drive for money or prestige or “success” in the eyes of the world. Some pursue the high regard of others as their ultimate goal. Some seek after comfort or a myriad of other passionate, yet empty, pursuits. Sadly, our societies often admire those serving such idols. In the end, however, it doesn’t matter what empty pleasure we chase after or what idol or which false god we bow down to; the result is the same—separation from the one true God.
Understanding contemporary idols can help us to understand why they prove to be such a powerful temptation. An idol can be anything we place ahead of God in our lives, anything that takes God’s place in our hearts, such as possessions, careers, relationships, hobbies, sports, entertainment, goals, greed, addictions to alcohol/drugs/gambling/pornography, etc. Some of the things we idolize are clearly sinful. But many of the things we idolize can be very good, such as relationships or careers. Yet Scripture tells us that, whatever we do, we are to “do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31) and that we are to serve God only (Deuteronomy 6:13; Luke 16:13). Unfortunately, God is often shoved out of the way as we zealously pursue our idols. Worse yet, the significant amount of time we often spend in these idolatrous pursuits leaves us with little or no time to spend with the Lord.
We sometimes also turn to idols seeking solace from the hardships of life and the turmoil present in our world. Addictive behaviors such as drug or alcohol use, or even something like excessive reading or television viewing, may be used as a means of temporarily “escaping” a difficult situation or the rigors of daily life. The psalmist, however, tells us that those who place their trust in this behavior will, essentially, become spiritually useless (Psalm 115:8). We need to place our trust in the Lord “who will keep [us] from all harm” (Psalm 121:7) and who has promised to supply all of our needs when we trust in Him. We also need to remember the words of Paul, who teaches us not to be anxious about anything, but rather to pray about everything so the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, can guard our hearts and our minds (Philippians 4:6–7).
HERES WHAT I LOVE about how God makes Himself known to us. He continually steers us clear from the dangers of idol worship.
God is very careful to instruct us to never make an idol or likeness of Him or anything for that matter:
Exodus 20:4-5 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water underthe earth. 5“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God,
Deuteronomy 4:15-20 15“So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, 16so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, 18the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth.19“And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20“But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as today.
In Essence He is saying, I am not like your idols. Worship me in truth. Forsake idol worship. Don’t even make an image of me to worship. Just worship me and walk with me.
As I read in Deuteronomy 27 the instructions God gave to Moses about the altar that was to be built to Him were that the stones must be uncut, natural stones. In that time men made elaborate stone altars and idols to worship false gods. The passage inferred that the stones were not to be “polluted by man”. The worship of God should be wholly about who God is. And the focus should be on Him alone.
5“Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on them. 6“You shall build the altar of the LORD your God of uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the LORD your God; 7and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there, and rejoice before the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 27:5-6
God didn’t want an elaborate decorative altar to be built.
In fact, God didn’t want or need a dwelling place either, such as a temple as other false gods had. King David wanted a place/a tabernacle for the Lord and God allowed it but He decreed that Solomon would build it. In 1 Kings 8:27-30, Solomon explains how this tabernacle would be much different from the temples of worship to false gods. God can’t be contained in a building.
27“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! 28“Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today; 29that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place. 30“Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive. 1 Kings 8:27-30
Why did I go to all the trouble to explain that God doesn’t want us to fashion idols of Him to worship? or to build an elaborate altar to Him?
Why am I pointing out that we can’t create a tabernacle large enough to contain Him?
Because the alternative to walking with and serving God is idol worship.
The alternative to walking with and serving God is idol worship.
Throughout Scripture we see God directing us away from what we are prone to do…worship anything other than Him to fix our eyes on Him alone. In Jeremiah 2:11-13 God expresses the danger of idol worship.
11“Has a nation changed gods
When they were not gods?
But My people have changed their glory
For that which does not profit.
12“Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the LORD.
13“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.
If God is a God who tells us Who He is and shows us the way to live, then His warnings to us should be paramount.
Forsake your idols and follow.
In closing, I challenge you to ask yourself what idols you may have erected in your life. Better yet, ask Him. I know I am prone to wander. But God is long-suffering. He is merciful. He is slow to get angry and willing to forgive. We can confess it and give Him first place once again.
“Dear Lord, please forgive me for placing ____________ before you. I acknowledge that You alone are worthy of all praise. I acknowledge that worshipping ______________ will leave me empty. Please help me to keep my eyes fixed on you alone. In Jesus name I ask it. Amen.”
Let’s tear down our idols and let’s worship Him in spirit and in truth.
