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.

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?

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?

JUDGES 10 IDOLATRY STIRS GOD’S WRATH

October 6


JUDGES 10

6 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him. 7 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8 and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.10 And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” 11 And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore, I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” Judges 10:6-14


JUDGES 10 IDOLATRY STIRS GOD’S WRATH

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Whenever God calls you as his own, he requires faithfulness

To run to other gods instead of to the Lord is pure idolatry

Because God is love and sin is what he hates most

He expects his people to loathe and avoid sin as well

This is why he made a covenant law with his chosen ones

This is so that his people will remember only to praise him

If you continue to idolize and worship different gods

Do not expect to be constantly rescued if you mess up

Although God is patient, he doesn’t tolerate idolatry at all

He is a jealous God and he doesn’t want spiritual adulterers.


One of the most fascinating books of the bible that shows us God’s patience, love and provision is the book of Judges.  This book of the bible was anonymously written although sources say that it may have been the prophet Samuel who wrote it. In this time period. Israel has not had a king yet. According to Biblegateway.com “The main feature of this period was the emergence of individuals who delivered their fellow countrymen from their oppressors. The word “judge,” which suggests a preoccupation with legal affairs, is misleading, for besides judicial functions they exercised a saving, liberating activity that was conceived to be the result of a direct endowment from Yahweh.” In this book, we witness how God provided for the Israelites’ need for a savior from the nations that oppressed them, but we also see the patterns of idolatry and God forgiving them many times, but in this account, they feel God’s wrath.


REFLECTION

·       Why do you think humans tend to do things that are right in their own eyes?

PSALM 16 THE IDOLATERS’ SORROW INCREASES

October 5


PSALM  16

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run afteranother god shall multiply;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also, my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 

                                                                                      – Psalm 16:1-8


PSALM 16 THE IDOLATERS’ SORROW INCREASES

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When a man decides to make his own god, he creates more sorrow

He becomes obsessed to bow down to his idol as if there’s no tomorrow

He puts these counterfeit gods as the center of his life

He doesn’t realize that he is manipulated to believe all kinds of lies

He becomes blind to the truth as he continues to cater to these gods

He isn’t aware that his sorrow increases as he competes with the Lord

He begins to darken his spirit and misery becomes normal in his life

He is tossed by many different false beliefs and cannot be content.


In this psalm, David expresses his deep trust in the Lord God. He praises God as he acknowledges his nothingness if he is on his own and deprived of God on his side. It is David’s humble admittance of his dependence on God and how the Lord has provided for all the dark valleys he went through in his life being constantly chased by enemies left and right. He declares that he belongs to God in verse 5 and that whatever happens, God is in control of his life.  He blesses the Lord by seeking God’s counsel and truth and remembering such advice in his heart. His trust and faith in God in verse 8 is exemplary. He knows that he is leaning on a solid rock when he relies on God alone.

In verses 3-4, he points out the difference between those who worship God against the idolaters. For those who trust in God and serve him, they become exceptional. Because they believe that God is the source of all things and that they are able to give him all the glory, they exude their likeness with their Creator. On the other hand, the idolaters experience the opposite. Their sorrow, adversities and trials multiply as they navigate through life. They have no idea that their desire to become like God is making them create these counterfeits that consume them. It literally makes them without life, without truth, without the knowledge of the One true God who made them.


REFLECTION

  • Cite some stories in the bible that reiterates the fact that idolaters increase their sorrow.

ISAIAH 44 THE FOLLY OF IDOLS

October 3


ISAIAH 44

9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”  – Isaiah 44:9-11,18-20


ISAIAH 44 THE FOLLY OF IDOLS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Those who believe in God will not create idols for themselves

They know that there are no other gods that are better than him

The Lord God Almighty is the only Creator of all things on earth

He is the only God who made humans in his own likeness

He is the alpha and the omega and only in him is eternity

No other gods can give life or can give love unconditionally

It is folly to create idols that will compare to who God is

Those who decide to make them become blind and deceived.


In this account, the prophet Isaiah builds a case against those who fashion or create idols. In verse 9 he seems to mock the ability of such idol makers to truly see the harm that they are doing to themselves when he said “they neither see nor know that they will be put to shame.” In other words, they become blind to foresee the aftermath of creating these gods made of materials that they think will profit them. In verse 11, it talks about craftsmen who are only human. In other words, these created things will not even stand up against a God who made everything out of nothing and only with his breath and word. Artists, craftsmen, designers and builders take days, months, years or decades of work before they make their masterpieces. God created all things within 6 days just by saying “let there be…” Who can compete with that? I used to be a painter and photographer. Most visual artists try their best to capture images, thoughts or feelings which come from their own minds and senses. Then someone else loves their work and buys them. I have that feeling of pride and accomplishment that someone appreciates what I’ve done. After 400 paintings I sold in two-decades of work, I forgot that God only used such an emotional outlet for the traumas I’ve gone through as a beginning of my healing journey. Then I began to take pride in the fact that even if I was still alive, I was able to sell those paintings. It then got to my head and thought it was what I was made for. God showed me I can’t hold on to such idolatry or I’ll be destroyed.


REFLECTION

·       Share some instances when the folly of idolatry you witnessed made Isaiah’s point here.

JONAH 2 IDOLATRY LEADS TO LOSS OF HOPE

October 2


JONAH 2

4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’
5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head.6 To the roots of the mountains I went down,

to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God. 7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.
8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

                                                                                      – Jonah 2:4-9


JONAH 2 IDOLATRY LEADS TO LOSS OF HOPE

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When God created you, it was for his own glory

He was exalting himself when he made you in his image

Having the same make as God is the reason for your being

Without acknowledging him, you are likely to make an idol

When you bow down to something other than the Lord

You will be defeated and will lose hope of his steadfast love

When man sinned, he twisted the image that God made in humans

Mankind now craves to know more about what he can never fathom.


The story of Jonah is well known even amongst children. But many people remember only the story of Jonah being inside the belly of a whale. This Old Testament account is a premonition of the resurrection of Jesus in three days. Jonah was in the whale’s belly for three days too. It is also an account of disobedience of this prophet who was asked to go to Nineveh to pronounce repentance to its people. Instead of following his calling, he turned to the opposite direction because he was saving himself from giving a wrong prophecy in case God changed his mind to destroy that sinful city. This story is more about idolatry and pride. One cannot be idolatrous if one is humble. Idolatry is a result of pride. Pride focuses on what you think you have accomplished or possess. It is a form of thinking highly of oneself. As one thinks that way, the person will convince himself that they are better than others or have illusions that they are someone bigger than who they really are. It focuses on the abilities or gifts but not the source of those gifts that they have received. So, he has actually created an idol of himself, competing with God.

In this account, Jonah was spitted out of the whale’s belly and learned his lesson on his pride and idolatry. He wanted to save himself from being judged as a false prophet if God changed his mind when the Ninevites repent. God gave Jonah three days to let him experience the loss of hope of God’s steadfast love when he continued to exercise arrogance, pride and idolatry.


REFLECTION

  • Cite some insights as to how idolatry can make one lose sight of God’s steadfast love.

HEBREWS 12 IN YOUR STRUGGLES AGAINST SIN

September 29


HEBREWS 12

4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:4-11


HEBREWS 12 IN YOUR STRUGGLES AGAINST SIN

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When you are faced with struggles against sinning

Do not despair for the Lord God corrects and disciplines

He will not allow you to suffer to the point of death

He will show you a way out and you will not be defeated

While he corrects you, you may feel much pain

But take heart, because it is for your own good

The Lord will not allow you to get waylaid

Instead, he wants you to endure what is painful.


In this account, we are focusing on suffering from struggles against sin and not for suffering for righteousness. What is the difference between the two kinds of pain? One pain is about keeping your path towards righteousness while the other is about dying to your desires. It is painful to say no to our sinful nature because we still live in our bodies in this corrupt world. So, the struggle for the believers is to find the strength to say no to these lustful desires, cravings and lures from the world we live in. Until the Lord Jesus comes again and until the fulfilment of the new heaven and new earth has come into fruition, we will always have these inner battles inside of each believer. Those who aren’t Christians won’t have a problem following their cravings and lusts because they haven’t pledged allegiance to the Lord. The believer on the other hand struggles with how to deny their flesh and follow the right path. The writer of Hebrews discusses the importance of discipline in order for a Christian to stay victorious over those temptations and enticements from the world. We are called to have a life of discipline. According to Gotquestions.org, the bible defines discipline as the loving process of training, instruction, correction and testing that guides a person towards spiritual maturity and holiness. It is not just to be better in the world, but to grow in the faith so that we can be holy because that is what God requires of his people.


REFLECTION

·       Share a kind of spiritual discipline that a Christian should practically apply regularly.