Falling Idols

The next morning the same thing happened--Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the LORD. 

I Sam. 5:4

God’s enemies were cheering. They did it! They captured that magical Ark of the Lord. Now success was guaranteed. They could have Yahweh’s power on command. They set God’s Ark beside their idol, Dagon, and everyone went to bed happy. The next morning, old Dagon had toppled over and lay face down before God’s Ark. They stood him up, but the next morning there he was again. This time his head and his hands broke off. Terror struck the city. Who was this God that no other god could stand up against? They couldn’t get rid of the Ark fast enough. Even God’s enemies had learned: Yahweh topples idols.

He topples our idols too. He greatly prefers that His people acknowledge and get rid of idols on our own. But when we refuse, He has to do it for us: The affair gets exposed. The kids turn out horrible. The casino takes all your money and gives nothing back. The spouse you thought would complete you, betrays you. You’re left with a broken Dagon and no way to fix it. When Self has been the idol, the toppling can be particularly painful. Age steals beauty. Popularity dries up. Success succumbs to the plunging Dow, and your overpriced, designer hiding places go out of style. We can rename, replace, and refuse to admit them, but the Lord knows about those other gods and He won’t tolerate them. He loves us enough to topple our idols.

God will not share His glory with idols (Is. 48:11). 

He will topple them, but it’s much better if we do it first.

Is God Jealous?

“…for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD…is a jealous God.”  Exodus 34:14

One celebrity has famously stated that she could never worship a God who is jealous; therefore, the God of the Bible must be rejected or reinvented. The confusion comes because of our misunderstanding of the nature of jealousy. We instantly categorize the word “jealous” with other negative words, like greed, hatred, or envy. But consider it this way:

John paused at the door of his home, fumbling with his house key while juggling the bouquet of roses he’d brought to surprise his wife. He smiled as he pictured her squeal of delight. He’d worked two jobs for the past ten years to pay the bills while she pursued her degree and an internship she loved. He’d stayed home with the kids on his days off so she could enjoy time with her friends, but he didn’t mind at all. He adored her. The love of his life. What a treasure she was to him!

The door opened and he lurched into the silent hallway, trying not to drop the flowers. He wandered into the kitchen, wondering at the stillness, and saw a note on the table: “Dear John, I’m sorry, but I must pursue my own happiness. I’m in love with that prisoner I’ve been writing to, and I’ve left you to be with him when he is released. The kids are at my mom’s. You’re a nice man, you’ll find someone else. Thanks for everything.” He stared unseeing at the note, trying to understand. That prisoner? The convicted rapist? Con man? Married 4 times? What was she thinking? Now consider this—Did John have a righteous reason to be jealous? Outraged? Heartbroken? That’s the way our loving Creator feels when we love ourselves instead of Him.

Do your choices, desires, and affections provoke jealousy 

in the heavenly Father who adores you?

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Which God Is Yours?

“You shall have no other gods before me.”  Exodus 20:3

2:00 am. The house was quiet. Nothing moved except the figures on the screen before him. He needed this. It filled him, met his need like nothing else could. Regardless of how crazy the day or how cranky the wife, he knew where he could go to feel better. Here, before this flickering throne, he could be anyone he wanted to be. His online servants cavorted before him, performing for his pleasure and satisfaction. He was well-respected, a leader, considered a godly man by everyone. But this was where he found comfort, value, and identity. Only he and God knew his dark secret: this was where he really worshiped.

When the Lord commanded humanity to have no other gods before Him, he was not referring to placement, as in first, second, third. He meant that He wants to see nothing in our lives that meets our deep heart needs except Him alone. Whatever we run to in order to have those needs met is our functional god. But we defend our idols: “My wife isn’t meeting my needs, so porn is OK.” “My kids are my life, so God understands if I don’t trust Him with them.” “My reputation is everything, so lying on social media helps me keep it.” Idols don’t have to be sin habits. They can be God’s gifts that have become more important to us than He is. In order to identify our idols, we can ask ourselves this: WHAT DO I PURSUE, SACRIFICE FOR, AND RUN TO FOR COMFORT?

Whatever we cannot lay on the altar before God, IS our god. What idols reign in your life?

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Idol Reflections

You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind…  Exodus 20:4

“I’ve gotta get home,” Bekah murmured. Her mother raised a brow as she backed out of the school parking lot. “What’s so urgent?” Bekah shrugged one shoulder and faced the passenger window. “I posted a few selfies with that hot new guy, Brad, then my phone died. I wanna see who liked it.” Her mother sighed. “Oh. I was hoping you were excited about drama practice at church tonight.” Bekah rolled her eyes at the window. “Puh-leeze, Mom. I’m not gonna be in that. They gave Jenna Ray the lead, and everybody knows I’m better than her.” She tossed her hair. “I deserve a bigger role. I will not be just an extra.”

Self-worship. We are supposed to outgrow it, like we outgrow taping rock star posters to our bedroom walls. Unfortunately, many don’t, and social media gives us plenty of platforms upon which to build our shrines. Even those of us who profess to follow Jesus can get turned around and start following ourselves. We subconsciously gauge our worth by the number of “likes” or comments on our posts. Duck-face selfies replace genuine smiles, and if we can’t Instagram it, why do it? American culture has seduced us into becoming our own gods, and this god is insatiable. We must feed, pamper, and console it continually, or it plunges us into depression. We may never bow to a wood and stone idol, but we bow every day to the one in the mirror. 

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Oh, Baal!

 

“If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21

When we hear the names of false gods like Baal, Asherah (2 Chron. 24:18), and Dagon (Judges 16:23), they seem so far removed from our world. In fact, we find it hard to understand why an entire nation would bow down to an ugly idol made of wood or stone. Baal was chief god of the pagan nations surrounding Israel. Other nations credited this hunk of stone and wood for their protection, abundance, sexuality, and procreation. But the Israelites had encountered the Lord God Himself. So why would they substitute the real God for monstrosities made of wood and stone?

Unfortunately, idol worship is quite active in our culture, too.  We just call it by different names. Worship of Baal involved sexual orgies, drug concoctions, self-harm, and infant sacrifices. Does that sound familiar? God’s people wanted to hang on to just enough of the Lord to make themselves feel safe. But they also wanted to party with the pagans. Elijah was reminding them that the Lord does not share his glory. He does not compromise with evil. But He also allows us freedom to choose. If we insist upon chasing the world’s values and idols, then we can also reap the consequences. But if we want the Lord as our God, we must pledge our lives to Him alone and renounce everything associated with Baal.  

                                      

Are you trying to serve two gods? What parts of your life are being dedicated to false gods like money, sex, pleasure, or control? God will not share you. If the world is god, follow it; but if the Lord is God, follow Him alone.

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Idols in the Sanctuary

 When Paul toured Ephesus, he noted that the Ephesians were very religious (Acts 17:22). They had shrines to everything; even one dedicated to The Unknown God. But Paul explained that they were missing the point.  He might say the same thing if he toured our churches today.

Idolatry does not necessarily confine itself to shrines outside the church. Due to an alarming rate of biblical illiteracy, as well as growing Western egocentrism, Christianity has done what the Ephesians did. It has added Jesus to a plethora of other gods, many of which are heavily glossed with spirituality and encased in selected Bible verses. But they are gods, nonetheless.

The most subtle and attractive of these gods can walk arm-in-arm with even those who would most loudly decry their presence. Yet, these impostors waltz right into the church services and out again every Sunday without challenge, often receiving a heaping dose of praise from the very pulpits that spawned them.

Personal well-being and self-worth are attractive gods that have wormed their way into American hearts without apology. We can easily embrace a God who promises health, safety, and comfort. But is it truly Yahweh we worship or is it our own satisfaction? Whose name is really on the gold-plated shrine: God's or ours? Do we really worship the Lord Himself or is it His comforting promises? Romans 1 describes in unflattering terms those who "worship the creature rather than the Creator."

Health and prosperity are twin gods as false as Romulus and Remus, yet they are worshiped to some extent by most evangelicals as though the blessings were Jehovah Himself. They are "claimed," "believed for", and enthusiastically defended, but when adversity or persecution hits with fury, we recoil in disbelief, feeling as though our god has betrayed us. And so it has.

Family is also a god that marches boldly alongside the Real One. We proudly champion this god as though surely the Lord would make an exception to the First Commandment in this case. The homeschooling movement danced perilously close to this shrine without realizing the danger. As attractive as it seems to make a spouse or precious children our whole world, we can easily slide those relationships into first place. We justify the substitution with scarcely a nod at Matthew 10:37 in which Jesus clearly says that if we love anything more than Him we are not worthy of Him.

Idolatry is not always foreign to the church. Its most tantalizing shrines are to those ideals that sound spiritual but are well-disguised substitutes for God Himself. Self loves to cloak itself in religious finery, and if we are not on guard, will replace the Triune Person who alone claims the right to be God.

Baal Is Alive and Well

“Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left..."

But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” (Rom. 11:2-3)

Not much has changed since Elijah had that conversation with God. All around us, those who claim to follow Christ are caving to Baal's social pressure and opinion. They may have traded a stone idol for one made of grey matter, but it is Baal all over again. He masquerades as the god of intellect, tolerance, or self-determination. 

Even the concept of love has been hijacked by the Baal worshipers and redefined as passive acceptance of anything someone chooses to do. Agreement with the biblical definition of sin is labeled as "Judging" and dismissed. The Bible is analyzed, discussed, and surveyed as literature... anything but followed-- even by those who profess to believe it. The serpent's challenge still echoes in 21st century America: "Has God really said...?"

God had a nation of millions in Elijah's day, but only 7000 had not bowed the knee to Baal. What if God took a headcount today?

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Too HOT or Not?

You hear about it all the time.
At least one time in your past, you've probably done it yourself.
We don't like to think of it this way. We have such creative ways of explaining our own choices that sound much better than those of
"other people."
But it's the same thing.

How many times have you bent the knee to old Nebuchadnezzar's golden idol?

Come back here!
You have and you know it.

The familiar story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego found in Daniel 3 is great for keeping 3rd graders enthralled in Sunday School. But too often, we leave it there. We make the expected point about trusting in God and then close the book.

But let's talk about all those other people who DID bow to the golden idol. We tend to dismiss them and focus on the 3 brave guys who refused. They are worthy of attention, but how many times can you say you have stood alone in a sea of popular opinion?

Let's take the whole antiquated golden statue out of the picture. Culture differences tend to make us skip the whole point, but we need the point. We live the point:

• The man who played with the numbers to avoid the IRS.
• The millions of pre-teen girls dressed like street whores.
• The teenage youth leader who gives into sex with the quarterback to save her popularity.
• The preacher who begins to believe his own positive press.

They are the masses we ignore in the story.
They are the ones bowing down.

There had to be others in that vast crowd who didn't believe in the idol either. There were many other captive Israelites in Babylon. Where were they? They knew the God of Israel. They knew his commands, his standards, and his power. That's why they were captives in the first place. They had tossed those out the window. So...where were they?

They were where we have each been at some point in our lives. Excusing ourselves.

They looked around. Everyone else was doing it. It looked harmless enough. Just a bent knee for a few seconds, then it was over. Shouldn't make that much difference. Who will notice? No one will care.

Besides, that fire is HOT!

God's choices are usually hot. Righteousness is HOT. Selflessness is HOT. Standing alone in a crowd of idol worshipers is too HOT. Swimming against the tide is unpopular and unpleasant. Most of the time, complete obedience to God is just too HOT.

God's expectation of us is found in verse 27. "They were willing to die rather than disobey God." That's the key. We're usually not.

Salvation took death to achieve for us. And it takes death to perfect in us. Our death. But most of us are not willing to die to ourselves and live for God. The fire is just too HOT.

Could that be why our world is in the shape it's in?

Could that be why our nation, once "under God," is now under attack? Because to stand alone and defy culture is just too HOT.

The outcome of the Bible story is the change of an entire nation's allegiance within the space of one day. The idol came down and holiness came in because 3 young guys didn't let the quaking in their sandals stop them from obeying God.

How might your world change if you decided that no fire is too HOT to keep you from obeying the voice of God?

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