Wednesday: Twilight of the Idols
What was one of the great sins that the people committed that Jeremiah had to deal with constantly? (Jer. 10:1-15).
What’s interesting in these texts is not just the way in which the prophet shows how vain and useless and silly these idols are, but how he contrasts them to the living God. These things are powerless, useless, empty, and false; what a contrast to the Lord who made the heavens and earth! He will endure forever, while these idols will vanish forever.
Image © Bjorn Thorkelson from GoodSalt.com
So, whom should we be worshiping and dedicating our lives to: that which is weak, false, vain, and powerless, or to the Lord whose power and might is so great that He created and sustains the universe? The answer, of course, is obvious.
Yet however obvious the answer, the fact is, we are in danger of falling into idolatry as well. Though today we might not worship the same kind of idols that those in Jeremiah’s time did, our modern life is full of false gods. These modern idols can be anything that we love more than God; whatever we worship
(and worship doesn’t always mean singing and praying) becomes our god, and we are guilty of idolatry.
What are some of the things that we can be in danger of making into idols? What about things like digital devices, money, fame, even other people? Make a list of what these potential idols are, and then ask yourself: In the end, what real salvation do they offer?
Of course, we know intellectually that none of these things are worthy of worship. We know that in the end, nothing that this world offers us, nothing that we make into idols, can ultimately satisfy our souls and certainly not redeem them. We know all these things, and yet, unless we are careful, unless we keep before us Jesus and what He did for us and why He did it, we can so easily be swept up in a modern form of the idolatry similar to that which Jeremiah so passionately railed against.
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There are a lot of idols out there, and everyone has their personal ones. For me, I know that my phone and laptop can be an idol. I tend to put more time into those items than reading the word or praying more. It is a struggle but with a lot of prayer and commitment you can overcome this struggle. These items offer no type of salvation in Christ at the end of the day.
After hearing Noel's personal idols I can't help, but share that I use my cell-phone every day to send a scripture text to five persons,and also I'am daily praying for them, I also use my laptop every day to study the sabbath school lesson on net and the Believe his prophets United in prayer program, Deut cp 12 today, and christ object lesson cp 28 this week, just wanted to share some interstresting ways we can use our phones and laptops for witnessing and other spiritual poposes, may God's blessing be with you all.
in today's world people believe in money as a source of power, betting games property hence forgetting their creator. dear God help us believe on you.
God warns us against idolatry. He says He is a jealous God. He says,“Thou shall have no other gods before me”.
The things that God has blessed us with can become our idols. Our kids and assets can become our idols if we love them more than God who gave them to us. When it comes to our kids we compromise a lot. If the time of prayer comes, we wait until they finish watching their favourite soapie. So God comes second.
Think of soccer lovers who are diehards of various teams. When there teams lost, how do they react? You may see them feeling heart broken and abandon eating anything at home. Moreover creating enmity to their family members who are supporting another team. God be with us all the time & help us to use da resources we are given wisely bt not worshipping them.
Our God is awesome we have to put him first. We should be prayerful people in order to overcome all these trials. Spend most of our times reading the word of God. From the cellphone & laptops we are able to preach the word of God. Spend most of your time with God, then you will be able to overcome idolisim.
Modern idols are really everywhere. Even the concept of time could be considered to be a form of modern idol. Most people these days tend to attach so much value to their time, hence making their fellowship with God shorter. Both in the church and at home praying.
Personally, I am guilty of worshiping music. I let it play all day in the background no matter what I am doing. I have decided to change my playlist to the glory of God.
May God grant us the strength to walk rightheously, in Jesus name. Amen.
Jer 10:1-2
"...Thus saith the Lord - Learn not the way of the heathen..."
But what if we have learned?
Would any of us venture to say, "I have not learned the ways of the world"? There is an implication, I believe, that each of us have, to some extent, an un-learning process to involve ourselves in.
_________
"Many [people] have, as had Moses, very much to unlearn in order to learn the very lessons that they need to learn." (Christ Triumphant p.99)
"There is much for each to unlearn with respect to himself, as well as much to learn. Old habits and customs must be shaken off..."(4Testimonies p.485)
May our Lord Jesus Christ keep us from falling into idolatry. Amen!
"For the customs of the peoples are futile; For bone cuts a tree from the forest,The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. 5 They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried,Because they cannot go by themselves...."
The verse the lesson had today talks about a tree cut down and decorated. in today's world could this mean that Christmas trees we have in our homes?
thoughts??
Thank you for your question which is likely similar to what many of our readers have on their minds.
Firstly, it is quite clear that Jeremiah was not talking about Christmas trees, because they weren't invented until thousands of years later. If you will read the context, you'll see that the prophet is drawing a contrast between idols made of wood and covered with gold and the Creator of heaven and earth. He is drawing a contrast between man-created gods and the Creator God.
Now, could this be applicable to Christmas trees today? Let's look a the whole chapter to see if it fits:
Do modern people bow down to the tree to worship it? Do they trust the tree to save them, instead of trusting God to save them?
I don't know about you, but of all the people I know who like to have a decorated green tree in their homes this time of year, I know of not a single one who sees this as a substitute god for the Creator God. I don't even know of anyone who bows down to a Christmas tree to worship it. Do you?
On the other hand, *anything* on which we place more importance than God can become an idol to us. Things like:
* our fine homes
* our good jobs
* our social standing
* our position in the church
* our money etc. etc.
You see, we can unthinkingly trust our material possessions to "save us" in difficult times. We can trust our social standing or our church positions to "save" us from difficulties. However, God wants us to place our first trust in Him, so we do what He says and trust Him to bless us as He sees fit.
I believe that the devil would love to see us apply this text to a simple thing like a Christmas tree to divert us from thinking about the real idols we harbor in our hearts. Let's not cooperate with him. 🙂
YOU HAVE MISSED THE POINT. The religion of the Christmas tree is older than where you date it. The Yule log and the concept of the reincarnation of the dead and gifts placed at that reincarnation tree is definitely extra biblical and predates Jeremiah as sure as Semiramis and Nimrod are older. Although it has become cultural to the Western world and America in particular to have this ritual as an innocuous family addendum to family and national culture, you will not find the practice in the Bible but you will find it and Santa Claus in the Romano European culture and in the Babylonian Pagan traditions just like the whole 25 December Nimrod saga. The origins of these things are Pagan, dating discrepancies aside. One does not want to ascribe evil to what has become a harmless tradition but it needs saying that to the extent that these things become definitive of God's people they become a danger to their souls. These things are cultural not Divine. They are schismatic if improperly managed. They are dispensable. They do not define God's people. What we just need to remember is that UNTIL we have done all that God has required, let us not make a big deal of what He has NOT enjoined upon us and therein lies the idolatry: EMPHASIS, ATTENTION, AND DEVOTION at the expense of clearly defined duty. A lot of our money is wasted on unimportant things at the expense of a languishing work. The reality is Adventists have become thin of foot and it shows in our discourses, our reasoning power and the things that we get all wrapped up about. Our idolatry is no different from what Israel of old had: ideology and ideas that define, guide and govern us. The lexus praxis is the religion.
Hi Noel. Forgive me, but I find that your comments about the Christmas tree somewhat incongruous. Do you know the history of your own name? It is the name given to someone who had the special duty of providing the Yule log to the lord of the manor at Christmas time. Now I am not suggesting that you change your name because you probably do not associate that meaning with your name. On the other hand I have a bit of an interest in the history of names and have to admit I had a bit of a smile when I saw your name and what you had written.
The point that I would like to make is that while we can make historical associations with current cultural practices, many of those associations are no longer relevant. And if we start pointing out those historical associations to the extent that we forget to tell the story of Jesus, then we have missed a golden opportunity. We have a story to tell about Jesus; that is our story and we should seize the moment to tell it when the world is likely to listen. The story of Nimrod and so on is not our story, it is not ours to tell.
Tell the world about Jesus; Now is the time.
Noel, correlation does not necessarily equal causation. Example it has been found all people were breathing before they died, does this mean breathing causes death? No of course not, correlation does not always equal causation. Likewise just because you find one ancient culture using oak, palm trees, or whatever tree for worship outside does not mean another culture in another land many hundreds or even thousands of years latter that uses evergreen trees inside is somehow connected. Customs can and often do independently arise within cultures. In the case of the Christmas tree we see this custom is different from other pagan tree customs and there is no valid historical evidence to connect it with them or say it has its' origins in pagan pre Christian customs. The yule log and mistletoe on the other hand can be historically linked to pre Christian pagan customs no question about that. We should be careful as there appears to have been far to much wild speculation and far too much fraud when it comes to the history and origin of Christmas and its' customs.
No it is not referring to a Christmas tree. This passage describes how idols were made in Jeremiah's day. A tree was cut, of the "workman" with an "axe" the word workman uses the Hebrew word "Charash" which means an engraver an artist the carves and hews wood into images. The word axe can refer to any tool use to hew or carve with. Clearly the passage is talking about how idols were made by cutting trees, and working them into graven images. The carved image would then be plated with gold and silver. The finished product would be an idol, the image of some god or goddess and have no resemblance to a tree when finished.
Many persons want to see and touch what they adore or revere .
Some people think that God is so far away that they look for symbols to represent him.
This symbol eventually replaces God and worship is transfered to it.
Let's be weary of these symbols.
Yesterday the power was out in our area (lightening struck 5 power stations) and the only work I could do was filing hard copies! Without power I couldn't do my job! So our operations manager went out and bought us an "invertor" which is connected to 4 car size batteries so next time the local electricity goes out we will be able to work for awhile until the batteries go flat.
In our Spiritual Life there may be certain things/practices that may seem to fill us with energy but they will not last like the batteries, we need to be connect to the only true power source - the love of Jehovah - He will give us true and lasting abundant joy and eternal life.
I felt compelled to address this topic as it is the issue that I am struggling with as a newborn Christian. My hardcopy bible is no longer my constant companion, but rather my phone or tablet. As I am exposed more to my community of SDA believers, I have come to rely on devices that I have always maintained are sources of "distraction" from the word of God. Am I always using these devices for spiritual upliftment? I have to be the first to say the answer is "no". And so, I can only pray that my reliance doesnt become a source of "idoltry". I pray for myself, my children and my brethren.
Yes, digital devices can take the place of God in our affection. We must not allow this to happen but use them for the glory of God. I do not own a cell phone, but have a laptop.
We can make an idol out anything. Believe it or not, we can do the same thing to God. Instead of worshiping Him, we can treat Him like a 'good luck' charm. I think the bible says about those 'they have a FORM of Godliness, but deny the power thereof'.
So easy to know about Him, but in our experience, never really know Him.
I agree Gerry. As it says in the Psalm, "...they did flatter Him with their mouth, and they lied unto Him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with Him... (Ps 78:36-37)
It can be very easy to flatter God - "so good, so wonderful, so kind, etc." - and of course it is all true, but I think God would much rather not hear it, if the heart of the speaker is not right with Him. I am hurt when I hear something like the Lord's prayer being recited as if it were a meaningless, hollow, form. (Some would even employ it as an "incantation".)
But again, I very much agree with you Gerry - it does not help anyone to have "a form of Godliness", when their lives deny the power thereof.