Idolatry

In short

Worshiping other gods.

Why it is important

OK, so, as an idea, I would hope it is obvious why it’s bad to practice idolatry.

What I want to talk about today is the THEME of idolatry in the Bible – how it shows up in the Bible. And why THAT is important is because it is the downfall of Israel in the days of the kings.

Different ways the Bible describes idolatry

1. Idols – ironically this might be the LEAST common way it is described in the Bible, but it certainly is there (142 times in the ESV by my count)
2. “Other god(s)” – like the first commandment (Ex 20:3) – or just “gods.” 227 times in the ESV, but there are at least 4 times when “gods” is not used in this sense (Jn 10:34-35; Ps 82:6; 1Co 8:5).
3. The high places – this is common in 1 & 2 Kings and Chronicles – about 51 verses of 100 or so in the Bible. Implied is that there were shrines to other gods in these places. Again, there is rare occasion where the phrase is meant in a benign way, though.
4. Adultery and prostitution – this is the hardest to make a list of, but I would argue it is the most meaningful. The point is that serving other gods is like cheating on a marriage with God. That the word “covenant” is used of both the Old Law and a marriage is quite intentional. This analogy is used often in the books of the prophets, which were aimed largely at the kings and people of that time.

Examples of high places as idolatry

A tour through 1 & 2 Kings.

• 1Ki 11:1-8 – Solomon goes downhill in a rocket sled and worships foreign gods (v. 7)
• 1Ki 12:31 (but read 25-33) – Next, Jeroboam is the first king of the secession and right away he makes golden calves for the traitor-nation
• Jeroboam’s nation does this all of their days, it seems, as it is not even worth a mention again until the end of their civilization in 2Ki 17:6-12
• 1Ki 14:23 – Judah also seems to think this is a great idea
• 1Ki 15:14 – Asa was a great king! BUT… he did not REMOVE the high places.
• The same judgment is made of these other kings of Judah: Jehoshaphat (1Ki 22:43), Jehoash (2Ki 12:3), Amaziah (2Ki 14:4), Azariah (2Ki 15:4), Jotham (2Ki 15:35)
• 2Ki 16:4 – Ahaz brings Judah back to idolatry
• 2Ki 18:4 – A twist! Hezekiah actually removes high places! (Yes!)
• 2Ki 21:3 – Hezekiah dies and his son rebuilds all the high places (Boo!)
• 2Ki 23:1-20 – Josiah (my favorite king). This dude unleashes WAR against the high places. He goes EVERYWHERE to tear these things down, even beyond Judah! Unfortunately, it’s too late for Judah to be saved at this point.

Theology and doctrine

It is rather easy to look down on these kings and say, “Come on! How hard was it to NOT build idols?! Really?”

Perhaps these stories are meant to make us feel better about ourselves. But… no. I think the purpose here is to show how rare it is for someone to break the mold of sin and rarer still for someone to stamp it out of existence.

It shows that Israel needed a savior.