Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the Lord your God. (Lev. 19:4)
·
“Idols” is the Heb. eliyl see below.
·
“Molded
gods” is a similar term as necek which we noted earlier. Maccekah elohim refers to images made
by pouring something, and thus images that are made of molten minerals.
‘You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God. (Lev. 26:1)
·
Notice that all the “idol” terms in this verse
are set against what is a common confession in Leviticus: I am the LORD
your God. YAHWEH is the God of
Israel. There is no other God. Thus, He desires that there be no
representations of a god, of any sort.
That should have settled it for Israel.
Yet, they struggled in this throughout their history in the OT.
·
The term “idols” is the Heb. eliyl. It refers to something that is nought,
good for nothing, worthless.
·
“Carved image” is pecel which we have noted
earlier.
· “Sacred pillar” is the Heb. matstsebah. This term seems to refer to memorials as well as to objects of worship. Jacob erected several memorial stones, although on at lease one occasion he poured out a drink offering on the pillar (Gen. 35:14). There are a few other instances where the pillar served as a memorial to some event (Ex. 24:4; Isa. 19:19). Almost all the rest (19 of 32 uses) in the OT are either commands forbidding sacred pillars, equating them with the sin of using them in worship in Israel, or of righteous kings who destroyed them in Israel. You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates (Deut. 16:22). It’s not just the object; it’s the purpose of the object that matters.
· The “engraved stone” is the Heb. maskiyeth. It refers to a showpiece, a figure, something that originates in the imagination.
What is the point of idolatry? It is, of course, a part of a heart that denies
God, that wants to be one’s own god.
There is an emphasis on what can be seen (images, pillars, pieces
of wood, etc.) without faith. There is
an emphasis on how the worshiper sees god/God rather than God’s own revelation
of Himself. Idolatry involves a “system,”
a lifestyle. And yet, idolatry must
always fail in terms of satisfying the worshiper. Why?
Because the idol is empty, useless, and nothing. Worshipers will always be disappointed. Always!
A couple of the terms for idol were also used of trouble, pain
and confusion.
My wife recently read to me a couple of
paragraphs from a book entitled In Six Days. The book is written by scientists who can
clearly see the sham of evolution and the truth of Creation; they can see it in
the real world. The gist of what she
read was, that from the beginning (not Gen. 1:1; the beginning of evolution,
the time of Darwin and those who came after him) the point of exalting Darwin
was not his good science. Rather, it was
a desire to remove “God” from our lives. That is what idolatry is all about. In the case of evolution, there is no god but
man; and every man is a god unto himself.
It is guaranteed disappointment.
Those who follow it will be ashamed.
What for those who
seek and find and worship the true and living God?
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by
the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Rom 5:5)
Behold,
I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.
(Rom. 9:33)
What for those who believe
the gospel, putting their faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sin?
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to
salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
(Rom. 1:16)
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is
able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (2 Tim. 1:12)
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