Idolatry

Let God speak for himself…

Jeshurun ¹ grew fat and kicked;
    filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.
They abandoned the God who made them
    and rejected the Rock, their Savior.
They made him jealous with their foreign gods
    and angered him with their detestable idols.
They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God—
    gods they had not known,
    gods that recently appeared,
    gods your ancestors did not fear.
You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
    you forgot the God who gave you birth.
The Lord saw this and rejected them
    because he was angered by his sons and daughters.
“I will hide my face from them,” he said,
    “and see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,
    children who are unfaithful.
They made me jealous by what is no god
    and angered me with their worthless idols.

Deuteronomy 32:15-21

¹ Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel. It means The Upright One. Some commentaries say it was used to be sarcastic.

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us, there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

1 Corinthians 8:4-6

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

Psalm 16:4-5

What is the point?!

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Deuteronomy 5:8-10

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Colossians 3:5-10

Idolatry is a serious No Go!

Anything we put before God is idolatry. We can observe this truth in three ways.

1. The worship of creation over the creator.
2. Creating idols using naturally occurring resources. Cultural.
3. The refusal to get rid of our earthly nature and desires. Individual.

Let’s dive into idolatry… (No pun intended)

The worship of creation over the creator.

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Romans 1:25

For example, Horoscopes. It is concerning that some individuals rely on horoscopes to seek insight into their character and future events. Rather than turning to the one true Living God, who has declared the end from the beginning, they believe they can gain understanding simply by interpreting common knowledge about celestial alignments. It is important to recognize the limitations of relying on such practices and to seek guidance from the Lord Jesus, who can provide true insight and direction.

Horoscopes are an example of idolatry. As well as witchcraft, palm readings, psychics, & tarot cards, just to name a few.

The creation of an idol using earthly resources.

And exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal human beings, birds, animals, and reptiles.

Romans 1:23

Paul is expanding on the issue of culture. For example, Greek (Zeus), Roman (Jupiter), & Egyptian (Horus) gods. All of them were worshipped by the respected cultures, yet they were false deities. In other words, someone crafted these things from natural materials and sold them for others to worship and praise. Suddenly, an entire culture revolves around these false idols and mythologies.

All who make idols are nothing;
the things they treasure are worthless.
Those who would speak up for them are blind;
    they are ignorant, to their own shame.
Who shapes a god and casts an idol,
    which can profit nothing?
People who do that will be put to shame;
    such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
    they will be brought down to terror and shame.

Isaiah 44:9-11

The refusal to get rid of our earthly nature and desires.

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; invent ways of doing evil; disobey their parents; have no understanding, fidelity, love, or mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they continue to do these things and approve of those who practice them.

Romans 1:28-32

In the post, Circumcision, we were introduced to a prophetic idea of the Lord.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

Jeremiah 9:25-26

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:5

According to Paul, there is a clear connection between human nature and immoral behaviors such as sexual misconduct, impurity, lust, greed, and idolatry. Even though we are inclined to cling to these desires, Paul states it is idolatry.

It’s important to note that Paul addresses the church in his writing. This means that despite being saved through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we still require Jesus to transform our hearts (Circumcision) and increase our passion and effectiveness as Citizens of the Kingdom.