Thursday, February 18
Idolatry destroys a unique, intimate relationship with God by replacing Him with something else (Exodus 20:4, 5; Isaiah 42:8). So, prophets refer to idolatry as spiritual “adultery” (Jeremiah 3:6-9, Ezekiel 16:15-19).
Read Isaiah 41:29. How does Isaiah characterize idols? How do you understand what he is saying there about them? Why is that so accurate a depiction of any idol, no matter what it is?
Ancient idolaters believed they worshiped powerful divine beings through images or symbols of them. Worship of an idol representing another god breaks the first commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3). But if an idol is intended to represent the true God, as the golden calf was (Exodus 32:4, 5), the Lord rejects it as a likeness of Himself, for nobody knows how to depict Him (Deuteronomy 4:15-19), and nothing can represent His incomparable glory and greatness. Thus, an idol itself functions as another god, and worshiping it breaks the first and second commandments.
God’s people don’t need idols, because they have His real Shekinah presence with them in His sanctuary. To worship an idol is to replace and, therefore, deny His real presence.
What kinds of idolatry do we face as a church today? Does idolatry appear in more subtle forms in the church today? If so, how?
“Many who bear the name of Christians are serving other gods besides the Lord. Our Creator demands our supreme devotion, our first allegiance. Anything which tends to abate our love for God, or to interfere with the service due Him, becomes thereby an idol.” Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 2, pp. 1011
We know from ancient writings that idolatry was attractive, because it was about materialism. Using modes of worship people could relate to, idolaters honored forces they believed could give them fertility and prosperity. It was self-help religion. Sound familiar?
Just before the Lord comes again, with His way prepared by the roadwork of a final Elijah message of reconciliation (Malachi 4), the choice will be the same as in the days of Isaiah: Will you worship the Creator, or will you worship something else (Revelation 13, 14), for in the end, we always worship something.
