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What is Idolatry?

 

The Ten Commandments starts with a strong warning…

Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “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 under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:1-6)

Technically speaking, idolatry refers to the worship or excessive admiration of an idol or an object as if it were a god or possessed divine powers. It involves attributing supernatural or divine qualities to something or someone that is not inherently divine. In biblical times, people believed that idols represented specific gods or spirits and would worship them. Idolatry is considered a grave sin.

The Israelites failed God in many ways, but their greatest failure was the sin of idolatry.  The phrase "play or played the harlot" appears 40 times in the Old Testament.  In three of these cases, it is specifically speaking of a particular woman who entered into prostitution.  In the other 37 cases it is referring to Israel's sin of idolatry.  Whenever it is mentioned there is a strong almost visceral prohibition against it.

God had a high and holy calling for Israel. He had chosen them to be a special possession of His and a kingdom of priests:

‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ (Exodus 19:5-6a)

Unfortunately, when Israel mixed with those who worshipped foreign gods they would invariably turn to these other gods and "play the harlot".  This is a cosmic story of unrequited love.  Idolatry is wrong in many ways, but none more important than when God's people spurn His love and turn to other gods (which are not Gods at all).  Incidentally we often do the same thing as the Israelites…

However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? (Galatians 4:8-9)

To illustrate the severity and the deeper meaning behind idolatry God gives us the Book of Hosea.  This story shows the moral and spiritual failure when we love and serve gods rather than the true and living God.  In this story, Hosea the prophet is told to marry a prostitute, Gomer. He loves her and cares for her, giving her three children.  But unfortunately, she eventually returns to her prostitution, wanting the finer things her lovers provide.  Her prostitution brings Hosea great heartache.  It also brings Gomer great calamity, and she ends up in slavery.  Because of Hosea's love for Gomer, he eventually buys her back out of the slave-market of sin (Hosea 3:1-5).   This is an astonishing picture of God's unconditional love.  It also foreshadows our own redemption in Christ. He sheds His own blood as the purchase price for our redemption (Rev 5:9).

In the Western World we don't often encounter idols such as they did in biblical times.  But idolatry can have a much broader meaning than simply worshiping strange gods. It can also refer to the excessive devotion towards material possessions, fame, power, or even people. In this sense, idolatry implies placing something or someone above God and granting them an exaggerated importance or influence in one's life.  I think this is what the Apostle John meant at the end of 1 John, "Little children, guard yourselves from idols." (1 Jn 5:21) (Although he also could be referring to actual idols as well.)

The Apostle Paul also warns against idolatry.  He shows us that whenever we are controlled by evil desires, we have idols in our lives.

Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. (Col 3:5-7)

Even though we may never make an idol or worship a strange god, that doesn't mean we are immune from idolatry.  Whatever takes God's place in our life as our supreme goal becomes our idol.  The human heart is made to worship, and if we fail to worship God, we will worship almost anything.

So what is your supreme goal?

  • The love of family
  • Financial security
  • Your status or reputation
  • _____________ (fill in the blanks)

Be careful!  If your supreme goal in life leaves God out, you may be pursuing an idol.  How about…

  • To love God and to serve Him?
  • To keep Christ first in life?
  • To honor Him above all?

37      And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

          38      “This is the great and foremost commandment.

          39      “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ (Mt 22:37-39)

 All scripture used in this post was taken from The New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)

 


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