++++++++++
The Knowledge of Idolatry
The Mosaic Law was built and based upon the Ten Commandments. The foundation of the Law was built and established upon the first commandment. The first commandment addresses the topic of our relationship with God and reasonable service to Him. The first commandment God gave the children of Israel was to “have no other gods before Him.” Commandments are divine rules and boundaries which God gave men concerning what is, and what is not, appropriate behavior in His eyes.
The first commandment was designed to give us the knowledge we need concerning God’s “perfect will” for our lives. God commands that we have “NO OTHER GODS BEFORE HIM.” The promise of mercy was given to ALL who keep the first commandment. We know the breaking and disobeying of God’s commandments is called sin. The Bible says, “when sin is conceived it brings forth death.” (James, 1:15).
The first commandment was given to the Children of Israel as a reflection of the deep love God had for them. The foundation of the first commandment is not only built upon His love for people, but also His severity and judgment when people disobey His commandments. Every commandment flows out of the love and severity of God and comes with many promises for those who obey them.
Jesus said “all the Law and Prophets are founded upon the commandment to love.” When we fail to “keep” the first commandment to love, we will have a hard time obeying and “keeping” all the other commandments. (Matthew, 22:40). There is no commandment against love. When we walk in love, we are fulfilling the first commandment, thus effectuating and fulfilling the entire Law.
God is Love. Calvary was proof and a demonstration of His Love for all mankind. When God commands or tells us to do something, it is always for OUR benefit, not His. When men disobey God’s commandments, they leave themselves open to the severity of God. Judgment is a demonstration of God’s severity. Jehovah is a jealous God. When men create and worship idols, they are showing their disrespect and disdain for God. In essence they are saying: “Jehovah is not worthy of their worship.” They are also saying that what they have created IS worthy of their worship.
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 1 Corinthians, Chapter 10, Verse 14.
The word “idolatry” comes from the Hebrew word “traphiym” which means an “idol or image.” The Greek word for idolatry is “maskiyth.” Maskiyth means “a figure or image carved in stone, a wall, or any other object.” People who “create” their own gods and bow down to worship them do so because of their “desire” to worship something THEY have created.
God IS our Creator, and we are “created” in His image. Thus, we have a desire and aptitude in our natural DNA to create. God has imbedded within us the ability to “create” with the “knowledge” He has given us. Unfortunately, when that knowledge becomes perverted in the hearts and minds of men, they end up using that knowledge inappropriately and sinfully. They break the commandments of God and create things which are unnatural and unacceptable in the His eyes.
The Bible condemns and forbids the worship of idols. Anything men worship in place of God is an idol. God demands total obedience and devotion to Him. As born again Christians, the commandments of God are written upon our hearts. It is the sin nature in man which causes him to transgress the commandments of God and worship idols. We are breaking God’s commandments when we sin, thus leaving ourselves open for judgment which the law demands. Christians may not carve an idol of wood or stone with their hands, however, many do worship idols of gold, silver, flesh and mammon to name a few.
Idol worship is the transgression of the first commandment. If God is not our “first love,” we will find ourselves worshipping idols which we, or other men have created. Idol worship originates in the hearts of individuals who harbor impure motives and attitudes toward God. These idol worshippers do not wish to retain the knowledge of God in their minds. Absolute devotion to the true God is the ONLY way we will be able to keep ourselves from some form of idol worship.
Many set themselves up as idols in their own hearts. This form of idolatry is called “pride.” Self- worship is the worst and most dangerous form of idolatry. Men place their ego on the throne of their hearts because their love for self is greater than their love for anyone or anything else. “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs, 16:18). Lucifer was the “covering cherub” in Heaven until pride was found in him. Filled with delusion, Lucifer and his angels were cast out and fell from Heaven to Earth bound in chains of spiritual darkness.
Many Christians are unaware and have no idea they are worshipping idols. For Christians, an idol can or may be a job, a car, a sports team, money, pornography or another person, to name only a few.
Anything we put before God is an idol. People may not fall on their knees in adoration before their idols, but they worship those idols in their hearts. Jesus said, “Where your TREASURE is there your HEART we also be.” (Matthew, 6:2). If we treasure our relationship with the Lord, we will not love the World-- nor the things which are in the World.
Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down (completely demolish) all their high places. Numbers, Chapter 33, Verses 51-52.
Webster defines “idolatry” as the “worship of a picture or object as god.” Pictures and images can also become idols. When the Children of Israel entered the “Promised Land,” they were told to destroy all the idols and the high places and drive out ALL the inhabitants of the land. We know they did not comply with ALL the commandments of God because they neglected to drive all the inhabitants out of their “Promised Land.” In prophetic teaching, land speaks of the “spirit.” The inhabitants which they failed to drive out of the land became a “thorn in their side” which continues to plague them to this day. When and if we fail to drive out ALL the idols in our lives, they will also become thorns in our side. They will frustrate and hinder our relationship with God because our idols will be the focus of our worship.
The “inhabitants of the Promised Land” were so vile and depraved they had polluted, defiled and profaned the land with their perverted lifestyles. Their sexual and spiritual perversion had no boundaries. (Leviticus, 18:21-25). I read a story a few years ago about a group of archeologists in the late nineteenth century who were digging in sites which was then known as the land of Canaan. The pictures and images which they found engraved on the walls and floors of the ancient temples were so vile and perverted they covered them back up with dirt. They regretted they had dug them up.
As Christians, we have crossed the Jordan River (spiritually speaking), when we became saved, and have entered into the Promised Land (the Kingdom of God). When and if we fail to rid our hearts and minds of the images and idols we may have worshipped in the past, we can be sure these things will become thorns in our side.
Pictures and images can be an important part in our study of God’s Word and in our relationship with Christ. It has been said “A picture is worth a thousand words.” We can also say “The Word of God is worth a thousand pictures.” Pictures and images can work for us or against us, depending on what images we are meditating on. For instance, if we see a picture of Christ hanging on the cross, we would think of the sacrifice He made to free us from the bondage of sin. After becoming born again we continually carry that image within our hearts. On the other hand, if someone sees a picture of a “pot of gold” they might “picture” in their minds all the “things” they could buy if they could get their hands on some gold. They may continually carry in their hearts the desire for riches so they can buy “all the idols” they can afford.
When we read the story of David and Goliath, we can imagine and see a picture in our minds of a small lad facing a great giant. The small lad slays the giant with a stone from a slingshot, walks up to him, and cuts off his head with the giant’s own sword. Every word we read comes together to paint a picture or image of the truth. Those images give us the faith to believe in the delivering power of God. Good images will help to produce good fruit in our lives.
Many Christians are addicted to pornography, food, sports, drugs, alcohol and other worldly pleasures. Someone took a secret survey of men in a Pentecostal Church and found out that seventy percent of the men in the Church were hooked on pornography. The men desired to look at and meditate on images which are sexually deviant and immoral. It is not our place to condemn these men, however, we can judge their actions as being unacceptable in the eyes of God. I just want to point out that many Christians worship and meditate on images they should not be worshipping.
When people are worshipping images and idols,” they are substituting their “reasonable service” to God for things which are sinful, unlawful and unreasonable to Him. Thankfully, Christ has POWER to free people from their addictions and idol worship if they repent of their sins.
Our minds are portals where we receive and assimilate knowledge and information. We always make decisions BASED on the knowledge and information which we receive and retain.
The mind has been called the “fortress of the soul.” If the knowledge we have is perverted and/or contorted, we will lack true understanding. The decisions we make will be based on false or perverted data. If our perception of the Word of God is not correct, our understanding will be unfruitful. Sooner or later somewhere down the line, we will miss God if our understanding is amiss. However, studying, assimilating and rightly dividing the Word of Truth will change us into the image of Christ and will make us fruitful in every area of our lives.
It is imperative that we cleanse and clear our hearts and minds of everything which “exalts itself against the knowledge of God.” The false images and idols which many Christians find themselves worshipping will always bring heartache and confusion into their lives. Only Jehovah, the true God, can free us from ourselves and our inclinations to worship things which are not spiritually profitable or uplifting. We are commanded to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. This is the first commandment. If we are not obeying the first commandment to love, we will have a problem following and obeying the other commandments. We will find ourselves looking for other gods to replace our “first love.”
MORTIFY THERFORE YOUR MEMBERS WHICH ARE ON THE EARTH; FORNICATION, UNCLEANESS, INORDANATE AFFECTION, EVIL CONCUPISENCE, AND COVETOUSNESS WHICH IS IDOLATRY. Colossians, Chapter 3, Verse 5.