JEREMIAH 10 THE WORLD IS A FACTORY OF IDOLS

October 16

JEREMIAH 10

Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them,
3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. 5 Their idolsare like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”6 There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might.7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you.8 They are both stupid and foolish;
 the instruction of idols is but wood!  – Jeremiah 10:1-8

JEREMIAH 10 THE WORLD IS A FACTORY OF IDOLS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

The world system is a kingdom of Satan which makes all kinds of idols

It wants to veer you away from acknowledging the one who made you

Its main concern is to distract you from knowing the purpose of your being

Instead, it wants you to create your own idea of yourself through doing

The customs and traditions handed down to you twists your calling

It keeps you enslaved to follow what were handed down to you unknowingly

Instead of worshipping God who created all things in heaven and on earth

Satan wants you to make and carve your own image to compete with God.

In these following verses, Jeremiah the prophet, voices out God’s warning over customs and traditions of man that is geared towards the manufacturing of idols. In verse two, the people of God are warned against following the ways of the nations. When nations are mentioned here, we can allude to the surrounding pagan countries that do not have a covenant with God. The nations as described here are dismayed at the signs of heaven. In other words, the world is against what God stands for. Because of their non-acknowledgement of God, they have to make their own gods from their own hands. In Genesis 11, we hear the narrative how the Babylonians were all in one language and one people. They began to think and were able to build the tower of Babel so that they could reach God. They used their skills to prove to themselves that they can build such a very high tower because of their abilities and efforts.  God was watching and said in verses 6-8:  6And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Man tends to rely on their works to build up their own abilities (their idolatry of their gifts) instead of worshipping and thanking God for it.

REFLECTION

·       How is the world a factory of idols as God warns his people in this prophecy?

DEUTERONOMY 4 FORBIDDEN TO MAKE IDOLS

October 15

DEUTERONOMY 4

15 “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. 21 Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. 22 For I must die in this land; I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of that good land. 23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. – Deuteronomy 4:15-24

DEUTERONOMY 4 FORBIDDEN TO MAKE IDOLS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Because God is Spirit, he didn’t present an image of himself

He didn’t want for any of us to make one for ourselves

All his covenant people were forbidden to carve images

No creature that God created should surpass his greatness

The Lord God is a jealous God and a consuming fire

If you turn against him and make an idol, you’ll have to face his wrath

He cannot condone any form of idols that will compete with him

It is a sin to replace the Almighty, the Creator of the earth and the heavens.

Why do you think God forbade humans to carve images? In this account, he explains the reason why it is prohibited for his people to make idols.  He is Spirit and he didn’t present himself to his people in a physical form. I think that it is a good reminder for us humans that we are not just physical but spiritual, mental and emotional beings. Many of us are not even aware of our spirits. We study how our mind works through psychology and try to understand our behaviors based on our experiences and thoughts. Even at times, some Christians fail to worship God in Spirit and in truth and we become religious and we practice and follow church traditions and rituals which can miss out the true way of worshipping God. We read the bible and fail to follow it so we don’t get transformed by the truth. It is very clear that the command not to make idols is a clear protection and boundary for all those who belong to him.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think God forbade the carving of images?

EPHESIANS 5 COVETOUSNESS IS IDOLATRY

October 14

EPHESIANS 5

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”– Ephesians 5:1-14

EPHESIANS 5 COVETOUSNESS IS IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When we obsess about something we desire so much

It can be a hindrance against prioritizing God first

We can be consumed by such obsessions for those wants

Then we end up addicted to it and it enslaves us

Because of the pleasure it gives, we bow down to it

It changes the trajectory of our worship from God to them.

In this account we hear from Paul about the concept of “walking in love.” When we hear this phrase, a lot of us don’t truly know what it means, so we have difficulties applying it in our lives. We just throw out the phrase, but have no idea how challenging it is to live a “love-focused” life for Christ in a very corrupted world system with a sinful nature bent that we got from our first parents. The world gives us a different meaning to “love” which is self-focused and very different from the true love that God has given us. The Apostle Paul explains that to walk in love is to keep ourselves pure from the corruption around us. As Christians, we cannot participate in anything that displeases God which includes engaging in unfruitful works of darkness. He mentions sexual immorality as one of the most impure ways we can engage in the ways of the world. Paul also exposes covetousness is idolatry in this account. When I read this verse, it took me a while to make sense of it and when I looked at the meaning of covetousness in the bible, it means an intense obsessive craving for possessions, status or money. So, it does make sense that these strong desires and wants become idols for those who chase such objects to replace God.

REFLECTION

·       Why do you think covetousness and idolatry are the themes of the law of the Lord?

DEUTERONOMY 7 IDOLS ARE DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION

October 13

DEUTERONOMY 7

17 “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ 18 you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. 21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. 22 The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under heaven. No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. 25 The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destructionlike it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction. – Deuteronomy 7:17-26

DEUTERONOMY 7 IDOLS ARE DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

The Lord God made you to bring him praise

He created all things in heaven and on earth

Sin made you believe that you can be equal with God

It twisted the gifts you received and turned it to idols

The idol’s purpose is to deny the presence of the Lord

It wants to replace the ranking of God in your life

Idols are devoted to destroying your whole being

It makes you fruitless, lifeless and focused on doing

In this account, we hear God reassuring his people not to be afraid of the enemies and nations that have conquered them. He reminds them of the things he has delivered them from such as their exodus from the Egyptians and the fate of Pharaoh who competed with God’s power and prohibited the Israelites to worship their God. In verse 20, God clearly told his people that hornets will be sent to destroy the enemies and they were reassured that they need not fear since God is in their midst. He also declares his character in this verse when he said that he is a great and awesome God. In verse 23, God reveals the plan of destruction for these idolatrous people. They will be destroyed in great confusion. Isn’t this a very interesting way to demolish an enemy? To confuse them. The devil is the god of confusion and what an irony that God uses this tool of the devil (to confuse) as an actual weapon against them and defeat them with the very thing they use to attack God’s people. Their idolatry led them to ruin.

REFLECTION

  • Give insight as to how idols can lead man to destruction or ruin.

HABAKKUK 2 WHAT PROFIT IS AN IDOL?

October 12

HABAKKUK 2

“What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, 

   a metal image, a teacher of lies?
   For its maker trusts in his own creation

   when he makes speechless idols!
19 Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake;

   to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach?

   Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,

   and there is no breath at all in it.

20 But the Lord is in his holy temple;
   let all the earth keep silence before him.” – Habakkuk 2:18-20

HABAKKUK 2 WHAT PROFIT IS AN IDOL?

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Why do we create something with our own hands?

Is it beneficial for another’s use or to please ourselves?

Do we make an object to use to serve another person?

Or do we praise ourselves at how good we created it?

What is the profit of an idol that we humans make?

Is it for the good of others or for our own sake?

Does the idol lead us to a life of gladness?

Or does it keep us going in circles and sadness?

Is an idol a way that will keep us connected?

Or does the idol hinder us and keep us isolated?

In this account, the Lord answers the prophet Habakkuk’s complaint about the Babylonians cruelty and injustices to God’s people and the Lord gave five woes against sins that the Chaldeans and Babylonians committed. Enduring.com enumerates these following warnings. The first woe mentioned in this chapter in verses 6-8 is against plundering and amassing wealth. The second woe in verses 9-11 is greed and building an empire through violence. The third woe in verses 12-14 is against exploiting others for brutal power. The fourth woe in verses 15-17 is against forcing neighbors into shameful intoxication and debauchery. The fifth woe in verses 18-20 is against trusting lifeless carved idols instead of trusting God.

Since my theme for this month is on idolatry, I will focus on the last warning against trusting idols. I love how the Lord’s response was very gentle and asked questions instead of a condemning tone. The Lord presented it in such a way that his people will reflect on the value or profit of the idols that they will make and bow down to. We witness God’s loving kindness at warning us to stop and think what benefit do we get in making and bowing down to these lifeless, speechless and blind created objects.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think we make idols or praise these things instead of giving the praise to God?

ISAIAH 2 SINS OF PRIDE & IDOLATRY

October 11

ISAIAH 2

6 For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob,
  because they are full of things from the east
  and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
  and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures;
  their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands,
  o what their own fingers have made.9 So man is humbled,
  and each one is brought low—do not forgive them!
10 Enter into the rock and hide in the dust
   from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
    and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
    and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. – Isaiah 2:6-11

ISAIAH 2 SINS OF PRIDE & IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Anything that replaces the place of God in your heart

If you give more value to wealth and reputation

It will draw your worship away from your Creator

If you are consumed with the creation of your hands

It will make you proud and forget to praise the Lord

Remember that God hates the haughty and the proud

But he gives grace to the humble and the meek.

What sins provoke the anger and wrath of the Lord God?

In this account, the prophet Isaiah spells out the sins of pride and idolatry that deserves the wrath of the Lord. Verse 6 mentions fortune-telling, and being yoked with unbelievers. Verse 7 spells out idolatry of wealth and riches and a life of indulgence and hoarding valuable possessions. Verse 8 targets the idolatry of craftsmanship. They begin to adore what they have made with their own hands. They displayed all their works and began to bow down to it.  In verse 11 the prophet warns them of the idol of pride. The case against these unfaithful people in the time of Isaiah is no different from our time today.  These are all the sins that many of us easily fall from. In our world today, there is an explosion of information and guesswork about many various things such as predictions and interpretation of things that have not yet come, which is a form of divination and trying to presume they can foresee things on their own. Wealth and riches are prevalent in the world as it also generates status symbols that become the gateway to power. Reputation idols promote love for their own creation and achievements.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think God addressed these sins of idolatry through the prophet Isaiah?

JEREMIAH 11 GOD’S DECREE OF DISASTER OVER IDOLATRY

October 10

JEREMIAH 11

9 Again the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal.14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The Lord once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” – Jeremiah 11:9-17

JEREMIAH 11 GOD’S DECREE OF DISASTER OVER IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

If you claim to be a believer, you are under oath in a pledge

God made a covenant with his people to be their God

If you decide to turn your back on the Lord, you’re breaking that vow

Conspiring with other men and believing in other gods is witchcraft

It is a sin of rebellion and you will bring on God’s wrath upon you

You’ll receive a decree of disaster if you praise other idols.

In this account, the Lord converses with his prophet Jeremiah about what his people have done against him. They have conspired with one another to turn their backs on God and worship other gods. They became adulterous even though they know that God is a jealous God and do not condone idolatry. They have purposely broken their covenant promise to God that he will be the only God that they will worship. Instead, they went after Baal and other pagan gods.

So, the Lord declares the verdict he made against their unfaithfulness. In verse 11-12, he tells Jeremiah what he is about to do to his adulterous people. He cautions the prophet to tell them that if they cry out to him, he will not listen to them. He further tells Jeremiah about the aftermath of the increase of the various gods that they have worshipped and as a result, he will leave them to go and ask such gods to save them from the disaster that they are about to experience. He forbade the prophet Jeremiah from praying for such adulterous people.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think God was just to prohibit Jeremiah from praying for idolatrous people?

1 CORINTHIANS 10 FLEE FROM IDOLATRY

October 9

1 CORINTHIANS 10

6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christto the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.  – 1 Corinthians 10:6-14

1 CORINTHIANS 10 FLEE FROM IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Don’t participate or engage in any form of idolatry

It is an abomination to God and it stirs him to jealousy

Do you think you can compete with God Almighty?

He is the Maker of all things in heaven and on earth

Why would you even make something stir his wrath?

Are you not aware that he can destroy you?

Flee from idolatry and do not even think about it

It is the devil’s tactic to entice you to make one for yourself.

How does one flee from idolatry if you do not know the truth? That is an impossible act to do because only the truth makes you recognize idols. It is the norm in the world to follow what one wants. The absence of the knowledge of God will make any human do what its nature does. It pleases itself and focuses on its own pleasures. He doesn’t know the plan of God. He only knows what he wants and lives to fulfill such cravings and desires. Anyone who does not acknowledge God will not know his purpose for living. The world system dictates their wants and desires according to lusts while God’s kingdom focuses on living according to the law of love and his grace.

An unbeliever will find no sense in worshiping one true God because the world system does not propagate this belief. It believes in power, self-promotion, ambition, wealth and reputation. These are forms of idols that are not like the idols of the Old Testament where they make images from trees, silver and gold, but they are not any different from making humans be consumed by being enslaved to them.

In these following verses, Paul reminds the Corinthian believers to flee from idolatry because any form of idol will stir God’s jealousy and eventually his wrath.

REFLECTION

  • What is the prerequisite for a believer before he can flee from idolatry stated in James 4:7?

EXODUS 20 GOD’S LAWS AGAINST IDOLATRY

October 8

EXODUS 20

And God spoke all these words, saying,2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.3 “You shall have no other gods beforeme.4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousandsof those who love me and keep my commandments.7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. – Exodus 20:1-8

EXODUS 20 GOD’S LAWS AGAINST IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When the Lord God chose you to be part of his covenant people

He made a stipulation against any form of worship to any other idols

He values so much their faithfulness towards him so he gave them laws

The most important of these commands is not to worship other gods

The Lord also prohibits any form of work during his Sabbath day of rest

A believer shows his loyalty to God by keeping these following commands.

Why did God give laws to his covenant people regarding idolatry? It is very clear to me that God wanted them to stay faithful and know their place in their relationship with him. He unconditionally loves his people, but he also knows our propensities for sin so he is conditional in terms of keeping within the safe bounds of righteousness. In other words, laws were made to keep us faithful to God instead of wandering around and being misled to the ways of the world. Remember what the first sin was? It was disobedience to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. The enticement of the serpent was that if they ate from it, they would know as much as God knows. They were tempted to want to get more than what they were already given. Their relationship with God was tarnished by that desire to know more as much as God knows. It was a lust to have equality with God. This was the origin of the sin of idolatry. Their focus of worship shifted from God to “I.” Because of the aftermath of sin, God gave his people laws so that they can stay in the safety of God’s protection from the ploys of the evil one. The two specific laws that God gave them against idolatry is to make sure that they do not make idols to bow down to, knowing that their inclination is to serve the “self.” The other is to rest from work and worship God on the Sabbath day and also to refrain from using God’s name in vain.

REFLECTION

·       What are some ways that idolatry shows up that goes against these two commandments?

ROMANS 1 NOT ACKNOWLEDGING GOD IS IDOLATRY

October 7

ROMANS 1

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. – Romans 1:22-28

ROMANS 1 NOT ACKNOWLEDGING GOD IS IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When God chose you as one of his prized possessions

You will inevitably recognize his power and omnipotence

As he elected you, you will be given wisdom to know him

Your view of life will no longer be a craving for sin

It will be a life of pursuing his truth and giving him praise

But those who don’t acknowledge him will make images

Not admitting God’s presence and power is idolatrous

Unbelief leads to blindness and acts of unrighteousness.

In this letter of Paul to the Romans, he points out the importance of believing that God is the Lord Almighty and there is no other God that humans need to bow down to. He gave the examples of those who boast about being wise. In God’s eyes, those proud and arrogant people are fools. In verse 23, Paul says that the result of such foolishness led them to make images that they worshipped. These images usually looked like creatures that God made such as humans, birds, animals and creeping things. In verse 24, they experience God’s wrath, not in a very obvious manner, but in their hearts and minds, they began to follow their cravings and lusts and impure thoughts which led them to dishonor their own bodies. In verse 26, they began to see things in a twisted manner. They began to have perversions, where they committed shameless acts of homosexuality and a mind that is corrupt. It does not recognize what is right. It does what it pleases and what is against the image of God. In other words, they misused the original purpose of their bodies and their whole existence. They were made to be praising God but instead, they praised creatures created by God such as humans and other living things. They didn’t acknowledge the Creator but the creatures. Not recognizing or acknowledging God is a form of idolatry that all believers need to ponder on.

REFLECTION

  • What other forms of not acknowledging God can you think of?