Idols are active in our life. We may not think of things like entertainment, identity or family as being an idol, but they can become idolatrous in our life. Why is this important? As we move through this study, we’ll begin to see the insidious nature of idols in our life. We’ll take a look at the bad, or obvious idols, but also about the good things that can become idolatrous.
Definition:
An Idol is simply this: it is anything that gets in the way of our relationship with Jesus. If our relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship we can have, then we must protect it.
Origins of Idols:
An idol, in ancient times, was a representative of a god that was worshiped. In the ancient world, most societies believed in a pantheon of gods. Typically there was an impersonal head god (like Ra in Egypt) and a host of other gods with specific functions. In Egypt there were over 2,000 gods. Anat was a goddess of fertility. Ash (As) was a deity of the Lybian desert who provided Oasis. Babi was a god of male sexuality.
Remember that Israel was enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years. For Israel, this was all they knew. It wasn’t until their spiritual dynamic was destroyed when they were swept into the desert by Moses and taught about the true God. While in the desert they trained and learned who God is, only to eventually inhabit another land of polytheistic scoundrels, this time the Canaanites. Their polytheistic theology consisted of the main god El, who presided over a pantheon of different gods. The most prominent among them were Ba’al (the god of thunder, rain and crops) and Asheroth ( the goddess of fertility).
When the Israelites poured into the Promised Land and vowed to take it as their own, they failed. They couldn’t extract the people from the land and thus ended up living with them. They married into their clans. They adopted their rituals. They were corrupted by their idols and gods, which started a 700 year degradation of the Israeli people. To understand the terrible toll Idols took on Israel and what they mean for us, we need to go back to the book of Judges:
Israel and Idols:
Judges 2:6-9
6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
Joshua was appointed to succeed Moses and followed God diligently. He started a seven-year campaign to flush the Canaanites out of the Promised Land. He and Caleb took on the strong fortifications, the Giants, the unruly people who did not want to leave. They knew God was with them so went ahead with courage, knowing if God wanted the land cleared, then it would happen.
As you can see in verse 7, as Joshua served the Lord fully, the people also served the Lord. This is key to understanding the lure of Idols. During the time of Joshua, the peopled a spiritual leader who was able to keep them connected to God. There was evidence of this even after Joshua died, for those who survived him remembered what God did for them.
Judges 2:10-15
10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
Joshua’s generation dies and another generation grows up. But there is a difference here: this generation knows nothing of the Lord and what he as done for Israel. Something has happened in Israel in these years after Joshua has died. There has been a complete breakdown of faith. The Israelites, who have stormed the Promised Land, have no understanding of who God is. They crumble once there, not understanding the spiritual depth of their invasion, and are soon caught up in the gods and idols of the land. Because of this, God allows them to be subjugated. They are allowed to be oppressed by the very people they were supposed to conquer. If Israel tried to fight back, God would not allow then to win. Israel had to come to a place of distress in order to come back to God.
Judges 2:16-23
16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. 20 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
In these verses we see God’s plan for the Israelites. When they cry out to God, God will send them a Judge. The judge is a fellow Israelite who rises up, against the oppressors, and forces them out of Israel. Once gone, the Judge is able to get Israel back into alignment with God. But this is only for the amount of time the Judge is alive. Israel isn’t strong enough to continue. They fall into their old ways and become even more evil until the cycle is repeated.
The question becomes: did the Israelites eventually learn from this? Let’s see:
Judges 3:7-8 : 7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim,[a] to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years.
Judges 3:12: 12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel.
Judges 4:1-2: Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim.
Judges 6:1-2: The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.
Judges 10:1-7: After the time of Abimelek, a man of Issachar named Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 He led Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.
Jair
3 He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. 4 He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair.5 When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.
Jephthah
6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, 7 he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites,
Judges 13:1: Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
1 Samuel 8:1-5: When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
Israel continually drifts toward worship of other gods. This happens over a 350 year period during the time of the Judges. This happens because the Israelites lack a strong moral direction.
This direction leads to what God says is a wicked request. The Israelites eventually ask for a king so they can be like other nations. Instead of God’s “sin cycle”, Israel says they have a better idea. But are the kings a better solution to this heart problem Israel has?
The table below shows all of the kings of Israel before and after the split. Red denotes a bad king, green a mostly good king and yellow a mixed king.
PRE-SPLIT
SAUL
DAVID
SOLOMON
JUDAH
REHEBOAM
ABIJAM
ASA
JEHOSOPHAT
JEHORAM
AHAZIAH
ATALIAH
JOASH
AMAZIAH
UZZIAH
JOTHAM
AHAZ
HEZEKIAH
MANASSAH
AMON
JOSIAH
JEHOTHAZ
JEHOIKIM
JEHOICHIN
ZEDEKIAH
ISRAEL
JEROBOAM
NADAB
BAASHA
ELAH
ZIMRI
OMRI
AHAB
AHAZIAH
JORAM
JEHU
JEHOAHAZ
JOASH
JEROBOAM 2
ZECHARIAH
SHALLUM
MENAHEM
PEKAHIAH
PEKAH
HOSHEA
WHAT ISRAEL LACKED WAS THE CONSISTENT LEADERSHIP TO KEEP THEM CONNECTED WITH GOD. We need good, consistent leadership to help stay connected to God.
When we run after idols, it is a symptom of a wayward heart
Looking back at Israel, you may have noticed the cycle they were in:
Idols carried Israel away from God
God oppressed them
In time they cried out to God
God sends them a judge to bring them back into alignment
It is the same cycle that we fall into:
Idols carry us away from God (sin)
God oppresses us (consequences)
In time we see the error of our ways (repentance)
God sends a savior to bring us back into alignment (restoration)
We have to understand that we are as susceptible to be distracted from our relationship as the Israelites were. And we must understand this: We will always be carried away; it takes effort to come back.
Idol Worship
How do we identify idols? A good way to start identifying the idols we have is found in Colossians 3:5:
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Why does Paul call this idolatry? Although this list isn’t all-inclusive, it gives us a good starting point to identify some of the bad things that take us off the path.
Earthly nature: this is the battle of the flesh and spirit. The flesh wants things the spirit deplores. So a large part of our faith walk means to destroy those things that are in the way of our holiness.
Sexual Immorality: This can be any sexual sin. It can be adultery, sex out of marriage, rape, or any physical act that affects our holiness. But it isn’t only reserved for the body. Its what we allow into our mind and actions.
Impurity: This is anything that will affect our holiness. This is crass talk, anger, reaction, revenge, judgment - all those sins that fly above and under the radar.
Lust: Why is lust covered again? Because it is important. It gets into the minds of even the best of us, it tangles us and has the ability to rip us away from all holiness.
Evil Desires: When we wish the worst for others, when we tamper with people’s emotions for our gain, when we struggle against good and applaud what is wrong.
Greed: Greed is much more than a love for money. It is the total consumption of something. It is about taking so much of something that you gorge yourself on it.
Galatians 5:19-21 tells us why living like this is a bad idea:
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
These things Paul listed in Colossians 3:5 have an eternal impact. If we continue to practice idolatry in our life, we won’t inherit the kingdom of God. In other words, if we allow idols into our life and don’t recognize them and don’t fight to eliminate them, they have a way of taking over, of becoming all-encompassing, and destroying us from the inside both physically and spiritually.
These are examples of bad or obvious idols.
IDENTITY: How we view/present ourselves
INTELLECTUALISM: Consumption of human wisdom is paramount
AMBITION: Making your goals a reality
ACTIVITY: Filling your day with tasks
SEX: Creating a life built around pleasure
MATERIALISM: Creating a life built around acquisition
ENTERTAINMENT: Building a life around folly
COMFORT: Building a life around ease and safety
None of these things are inherently bad; but when a good thing becomes an ultimate thing, it is an idol.
The Root Cause
Each one of these potentially good idols has a root cause. When one of these becomes an idol, it is always a symptom of a deeper issue. The root cause is always found in some foundational sin:
IDENTITY: Pride
INTELLECTUALISM: Pride, Greed
AMBITION: Pride, Greed, Envy
ACTIVITY: Greed
SEX: Lust, Greed, Envy
MATERIALISM: Greed, Envy
ENTERTAINMENT: Greed
COMFORT: Greed, Sloth
When we begin to lift the veil on the root causes, we see that we have a commonality in the sin department. These are the sins we must work on in order to destroy them at a root level.
How to find your idols
In order to begin searching for the things that could be adversely affecting your relationship with God, you need to ask yourself a few questions:
Where do I spend my time?
Where do I spend my money?
Where do I get my joy from?
What’s typically on my mind?
Now, let’s look at Matthew 22: 31-40:
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Jesus’ command is to love God fully. To love Him with all your heart (physical strength), with all your soul (spirituality) and with all your mind (intellectually). Now look back up at the list. Where we spend our time, energy and focus is a good start to see what’s in the way. If our focus is elsewhere, it isn’t with God. Do we spend our energy on selfish needs? Do we spend our time thinking about things that will perish or things that will supply us with our desires? Those very things that we get tied to in this life and steal our time, energy and focus are the very things stealing our relationship out form under us.
Why it’s important to identify your idols
Luke 14: 25-27
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Jesus is using hyperbole here, but the concept is important to understand: If we can’t follow Christ fully, then we can’t be His disciple. If we can’t look at those things that take up time, energy and focus in our life and destroy them, for the sake of the relationship, then we can’t be Christ’s disciple.
Furthermore, if we If we can’t order all other things behind Christ, we can’t be His disciple. If it is impossible to put Christ as the center of our life and all other things subservient to it, even family, friends, brothers and sister, mothers and fathers - good things - the relationship cannot be fully -realized and the work that was begun in you cannot come to fruition. Learning to put Jesus first is painful, but it is the better way.
The Willing
Are you willing to put God first? Let’s ask a very serious question.
Is Jesus more important than…
Your house
Your pets
Your career/job
Your goals and dreams
Your future
Your health
Your intellect
Your family
Your life
Your freedom
Each one of these items should be looked at humbly and honestly. If you have hesitation on any of them, you need to look deeper. Identifying and abolishing our idols is crucial for deeper relationship. If you aren’t willing to give up all for Christ, then are you really following?
Willingness is the key; it is the motivation which, based on love and humility, brings us into relationship.
Isaiah 1:19: If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;
Obeying is part of willingness
Proverbs 3:5-6:Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight
Trusting is part of willingness
Revelation 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Effort is part of willingness
1 Peter 5:1-4: To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
Shepherding others, Eagerness to serve and being an example are all parts of willingness
Are you willing to follow Christ fully?
If so, then you must smash your idols
Christ is saying that there is a better way through Him
He has saved you hundreds of times in your life for this moment of clarity
To smash your idols means to assess something very important: are you lukewarm?
Lukewarmness is a symptom of fatigue. You’re juggling too man competing ideologies.
You know what is correct, you know what is demanded of you, yet you’re trying to find a middle- ground, a place where you can avoid committing completely to God while keeping the things you know are wrong in your life. This makes you tired. You want to find an in-between space where you can claim Christianity without committing to it. You are running away from Christ.
Revelation 3:15-20
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Christ is talking to the Church of Laodicea here. They were a church that was all in for God, but during their church-building, they got rich. They stepped away from what it meant to be a follower of Christ and believed they didn’t need Him anymore. But they continued to go to church. They continued to go through the motions. They didn’t have the deep convictions of a follower. They chose a middle ground.
Christ doesn’t like this. He says he is about to spit them out of his mouth. Why? Because they are neither hot nor cold. They have no conviction either way. What Christ is saying is this: make a choice. Make a choice for Him or for the world. Don’t sit in the middle ground because there is no conviction there. There is no value. This choice is given out of love. Verse 19 tells us this. He puts adversity in our life so we can learn to repent and return to Him. Christ is eager for relationship. It takes effort for us to get up, to answer that door and let him in.
Lukewarmness and Idols have a connection:They both are symptoms of not following Christ fully.
We need to remember our connection to God is the most important relationship in our life. God displays His love in the following verses and the importance of staying focused on Him, so that we can become everything He desires us to be.
John 15
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
God refines us to be our best
3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Bearing fruit is only through God
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
We must remain connected
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
It’s God’s will that we bear fruit
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
Keep the commandments to remain in Christ’s love
11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
So joy may be complete
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Love each other
14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Those in close relationship understand what God desires
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
You were chosen
Definition:
An Idol is simply this: it is anything that gets in the way of our relationship with Jesus. If our relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship we can have, then we must protect it.
Origins of Idols:
An idol, in ancient times, was a representative of a god that was worshiped. In the ancient world, most societies believed in a pantheon of gods. Typically there was an impersonal head god (like Ra in Egypt) and a host of other gods with specific functions. In Egypt there were over 2,000 gods. Anat was a goddess of fertility. Ash (As) was a deity of the Lybian desert who provided Oasis. Babi was a god of male sexuality.
Remember that Israel was enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years. For Israel, this was all they knew. It wasn’t until their spiritual dynamic was destroyed when they were swept into the desert by Moses and taught about the true God. While in the desert they trained and learned who God is, only to eventually inhabit another land of polytheistic scoundrels, this time the Canaanites. Their polytheistic theology consisted of the main god El, who presided over a pantheon of different gods. The most prominent among them were Ba’al (the god of thunder, rain and crops) and Asheroth ( the goddess of fertility).
When the Israelites poured into the Promised Land and vowed to take it as their own, they failed. They couldn’t extract the people from the land and thus ended up living with them. They married into their clans. They adopted their rituals. They were corrupted by their idols and gods, which started a 700 year degradation of the Israeli people. To understand the terrible toll Idols took on Israel and what they mean for us, we need to go back to the book of Judges:
Israel and Idols:
Judges 2:6-9
6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
Joshua was appointed to succeed Moses and followed God diligently. He started a seven-year campaign to flush the Canaanites out of the Promised Land. He and Caleb took on the strong fortifications, the Giants, the unruly people who did not want to leave. They knew God was with them so went ahead with courage, knowing if God wanted the land cleared, then it would happen.
As you can see in verse 7, as Joshua served the Lord fully, the people also served the Lord. This is key to understanding the lure of Idols. During the time of Joshua, the peopled a spiritual leader who was able to keep them connected to God. There was evidence of this even after Joshua died, for those who survived him remembered what God did for them.
Judges 2:10-15
10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
Joshua’s generation dies and another generation grows up. But there is a difference here: this generation knows nothing of the Lord and what he as done for Israel. Something has happened in Israel in these years after Joshua has died. There has been a complete breakdown of faith. The Israelites, who have stormed the Promised Land, have no understanding of who God is. They crumble once there, not understanding the spiritual depth of their invasion, and are soon caught up in the gods and idols of the land. Because of this, God allows them to be subjugated. They are allowed to be oppressed by the very people they were supposed to conquer. If Israel tried to fight back, God would not allow then to win. Israel had to come to a place of distress in order to come back to God.
Judges 2:16-23
16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. 20 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
In these verses we see God’s plan for the Israelites. When they cry out to God, God will send them a Judge. The judge is a fellow Israelite who rises up, against the oppressors, and forces them out of Israel. Once gone, the Judge is able to get Israel back into alignment with God. But this is only for the amount of time the Judge is alive. Israel isn’t strong enough to continue. They fall into their old ways and become even more evil until the cycle is repeated.
The question becomes: did the Israelites eventually learn from this? Let’s see:
Judges 3:7-8 : 7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim,[a] to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years.
Judges 3:12: 12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel.
Judges 4:1-2: Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim.
Judges 6:1-2: The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.
Judges 10:1-7: After the time of Abimelek, a man of Issachar named Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 He led Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.
Jair
3 He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. 4 He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair.5 When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.
Jephthah
6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, 7 he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites,
Judges 13:1: Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
1 Samuel 8:1-5: When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
Israel continually drifts toward worship of other gods. This happens over a 350 year period during the time of the Judges. This happens because the Israelites lack a strong moral direction.
This direction leads to what God says is a wicked request. The Israelites eventually ask for a king so they can be like other nations. Instead of God’s “sin cycle”, Israel says they have a better idea. But are the kings a better solution to this heart problem Israel has?
The table below shows all of the kings of Israel before and after the split. Red denotes a bad king, green a mostly good king and yellow a mixed king.
PRE-SPLIT
SAUL
DAVID
SOLOMON
JUDAH
REHEBOAM
ABIJAM
ASA
JEHOSOPHAT
JEHORAM
AHAZIAH
ATALIAH
JOASH
AMAZIAH
UZZIAH
JOTHAM
AHAZ
HEZEKIAH
MANASSAH
AMON
JOSIAH
JEHOTHAZ
JEHOIKIM
JEHOICHIN
ZEDEKIAH
ISRAEL
JEROBOAM
NADAB
BAASHA
ELAH
ZIMRI
OMRI
AHAB
AHAZIAH
JORAM
JEHU
JEHOAHAZ
JOASH
JEROBOAM 2
ZECHARIAH
SHALLUM
MENAHEM
PEKAHIAH
PEKAH
HOSHEA
WHAT ISRAEL LACKED WAS THE CONSISTENT LEADERSHIP TO KEEP THEM CONNECTED WITH GOD. We need good, consistent leadership to help stay connected to God.
When we run after idols, it is a symptom of a wayward heart
Looking back at Israel, you may have noticed the cycle they were in:
Idols carried Israel away from God
God oppressed them
In time they cried out to God
God sends them a judge to bring them back into alignment
It is the same cycle that we fall into:
Idols carry us away from God (sin)
God oppresses us (consequences)
In time we see the error of our ways (repentance)
God sends a savior to bring us back into alignment (restoration)
We have to understand that we are as susceptible to be distracted from our relationship as the Israelites were. And we must understand this: We will always be carried away; it takes effort to come back.
Idol Worship
How do we identify idols? A good way to start identifying the idols we have is found in Colossians 3:5:
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Why does Paul call this idolatry? Although this list isn’t all-inclusive, it gives us a good starting point to identify some of the bad things that take us off the path.
Earthly nature: this is the battle of the flesh and spirit. The flesh wants things the spirit deplores. So a large part of our faith walk means to destroy those things that are in the way of our holiness.
Sexual Immorality: This can be any sexual sin. It can be adultery, sex out of marriage, rape, or any physical act that affects our holiness. But it isn’t only reserved for the body. Its what we allow into our mind and actions.
Impurity: This is anything that will affect our holiness. This is crass talk, anger, reaction, revenge, judgment - all those sins that fly above and under the radar.
Lust: Why is lust covered again? Because it is important. It gets into the minds of even the best of us, it tangles us and has the ability to rip us away from all holiness.
Evil Desires: When we wish the worst for others, when we tamper with people’s emotions for our gain, when we struggle against good and applaud what is wrong.
Greed: Greed is much more than a love for money. It is the total consumption of something. It is about taking so much of something that you gorge yourself on it.
Galatians 5:19-21 tells us why living like this is a bad idea:
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
These things Paul listed in Colossians 3:5 have an eternal impact. If we continue to practice idolatry in our life, we won’t inherit the kingdom of God. In other words, if we allow idols into our life and don’t recognize them and don’t fight to eliminate them, they have a way of taking over, of becoming all-encompassing, and destroying us from the inside both physically and spiritually.
These are examples of bad or obvious idols.
IDENTITY: How we view/present ourselves
INTELLECTUALISM: Consumption of human wisdom is paramount
AMBITION: Making your goals a reality
ACTIVITY: Filling your day with tasks
SEX: Creating a life built around pleasure
MATERIALISM: Creating a life built around acquisition
ENTERTAINMENT: Building a life around folly
COMFORT: Building a life around ease and safety
None of these things are inherently bad; but when a good thing becomes an ultimate thing, it is an idol.
The Root Cause
Each one of these potentially good idols has a root cause. When one of these becomes an idol, it is always a symptom of a deeper issue. The root cause is always found in some foundational sin:
IDENTITY: Pride
INTELLECTUALISM: Pride, Greed
AMBITION: Pride, Greed, Envy
ACTIVITY: Greed
SEX: Lust, Greed, Envy
MATERIALISM: Greed, Envy
ENTERTAINMENT: Greed
COMFORT: Greed, Sloth
When we begin to lift the veil on the root causes, we see that we have a commonality in the sin department. These are the sins we must work on in order to destroy them at a root level.
How to find your idols
In order to begin searching for the things that could be adversely affecting your relationship with God, you need to ask yourself a few questions:
Where do I spend my time?
Where do I spend my money?
Where do I get my joy from?
What’s typically on my mind?
Now, let’s look at Matthew 22: 31-40:
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Jesus’ command is to love God fully. To love Him with all your heart (physical strength), with all your soul (spirituality) and with all your mind (intellectually). Now look back up at the list. Where we spend our time, energy and focus is a good start to see what’s in the way. If our focus is elsewhere, it isn’t with God. Do we spend our energy on selfish needs? Do we spend our time thinking about things that will perish or things that will supply us with our desires? Those very things that we get tied to in this life and steal our time, energy and focus are the very things stealing our relationship out form under us.
Why it’s important to identify your idols
Luke 14: 25-27
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Jesus is using hyperbole here, but the concept is important to understand: If we can’t follow Christ fully, then we can’t be His disciple. If we can’t look at those things that take up time, energy and focus in our life and destroy them, for the sake of the relationship, then we can’t be Christ’s disciple.
Furthermore, if we If we can’t order all other things behind Christ, we can’t be His disciple. If it is impossible to put Christ as the center of our life and all other things subservient to it, even family, friends, brothers and sister, mothers and fathers - good things - the relationship cannot be fully -realized and the work that was begun in you cannot come to fruition. Learning to put Jesus first is painful, but it is the better way.
The Willing
Are you willing to put God first? Let’s ask a very serious question.
Is Jesus more important than…
Your house
Your pets
Your career/job
Your goals and dreams
Your future
Your health
Your intellect
Your family
Your life
Your freedom
Each one of these items should be looked at humbly and honestly. If you have hesitation on any of them, you need to look deeper. Identifying and abolishing our idols is crucial for deeper relationship. If you aren’t willing to give up all for Christ, then are you really following?
Willingness is the key; it is the motivation which, based on love and humility, brings us into relationship.
Isaiah 1:19: If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;
Obeying is part of willingness
Proverbs 3:5-6:Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight
Trusting is part of willingness
Revelation 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Effort is part of willingness
1 Peter 5:1-4: To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
Shepherding others, Eagerness to serve and being an example are all parts of willingness
Are you willing to follow Christ fully?
If so, then you must smash your idols
Christ is saying that there is a better way through Him
He has saved you hundreds of times in your life for this moment of clarity
To smash your idols means to assess something very important: are you lukewarm?
Lukewarmness is a symptom of fatigue. You’re juggling too man competing ideologies.
You know what is correct, you know what is demanded of you, yet you’re trying to find a middle- ground, a place where you can avoid committing completely to God while keeping the things you know are wrong in your life. This makes you tired. You want to find an in-between space where you can claim Christianity without committing to it. You are running away from Christ.
Revelation 3:15-20
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Christ is talking to the Church of Laodicea here. They were a church that was all in for God, but during their church-building, they got rich. They stepped away from what it meant to be a follower of Christ and believed they didn’t need Him anymore. But they continued to go to church. They continued to go through the motions. They didn’t have the deep convictions of a follower. They chose a middle ground.
Christ doesn’t like this. He says he is about to spit them out of his mouth. Why? Because they are neither hot nor cold. They have no conviction either way. What Christ is saying is this: make a choice. Make a choice for Him or for the world. Don’t sit in the middle ground because there is no conviction there. There is no value. This choice is given out of love. Verse 19 tells us this. He puts adversity in our life so we can learn to repent and return to Him. Christ is eager for relationship. It takes effort for us to get up, to answer that door and let him in.
Lukewarmness and Idols have a connection:They both are symptoms of not following Christ fully.
We need to remember our connection to God is the most important relationship in our life. God displays His love in the following verses and the importance of staying focused on Him, so that we can become everything He desires us to be.
John 15
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
God refines us to be our best
3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Bearing fruit is only through God
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
We must remain connected
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
It’s God’s will that we bear fruit
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
Keep the commandments to remain in Christ’s love
11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
So joy may be complete
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Love each other
14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Those in close relationship understand what God desires
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
You were chosen