DO WE HAVE IDOLS IN OUR LIVES?
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The Ark of God, Israel’s treasured possession, sits ensconced in the Philistine temple of Dagon. The Philistines, longtime enemies of Israel, have captured this prize of the Israelites in a recent battle. Upon returning to Ashdod, they place their offering of plunder before Dagon in his pagan temple.
When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! – 1 Samuel 5:3
God promised His holy presence to be with His chosen people. His cloud of divine power and presence would rest atop the ark, enthroned between the cherubim of gold, to assure the people. The Philistines know the ark is sacred to the Israelites… yet they assume this Jehovah God to be no more powerful than their many gods.
Dagon, a mere god of stone, is the object of worship for the Philistines. Inanimate stone… without life… without breath… has become god to these idolaters. The Philistines have misplaced their love. Carved and fashioned by human hands, Dagon can neither save nor be saved. He is powerless.
No false god can stand against the Almighty One. The Creator God reigns in absolute power over all He has created. Dagon is cast down before the One True God. The idol lies face down before the ark as if in worship before Jehovah.
They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. – 1 Samuel 5:3-4
When Dagon again falls before the ark, the Philistines realize this is no accident. This time Dagon’s head and hands are broken off, showing he has neither wisdom nor strength to save himself or his followers. The same God who rolled away the stone from the tomb of Jesus cast down this false god of stone in Dagon’s own temple.
I am the Lord your God… You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them. – Exodus 20:2-5
The first commandment God gives to Moses on Mount Sinai is to remember that He alone is the Lord Almighty. He alone is to be worshiped by His people. Their love is not to be misplaced. God commands His people to keep from worshiping idols. For He knows they will be tempted by the false gods and evil practices of neighboring pagan nations.
This first commandment is of paramount importance to all believers today. God is the only One deserving of our reverence, devotion and praise. For He is the Creator. We are to worship Him alone, not anything or anyone in His created world.
All these toys were never intended to possess my heart. My true good is in another world, and my only real treasure is Christ. – C.S. Lewis
Where is your loyalty? What takes first place in your heart? Has your love been misplaced?
God blesses us, His children, abundantly. All that we have and all that we are come from His gracious hand. Yet these blessings are never to capture our hearts… to lure us away from Him. They are given out of His deep love for us. God’s many blessings can come to take precedence over the Blesser Himself. His bountiful gifts can become more adored than the Giver.
Idolatry is not just an ancient worship of graven images. Idolatry is alive today. Idols abound in our world. Whatever replaces the God who created us as supreme in importance in our lives is an idol. Idols can be anything or anyone we value more highly than the God of our hearts.
We may not see the harm of idols because what we value highly is often good. Yet when that object of devotion takes first place in our lives, it becomes a love misplaced… a present-day idol. Idols can be… money and possessions, status and influence, education and career, recreation and pleasure, comfort and security.
Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. – Jonah 2:8
Idols cannot save… they are powerless to help. Their only power is to entice us away from God and His path. There is only One who saves, Jesus Christ. How can we know if we have idols in our lives? By looking at what fills our thoughts… what absorbs our time… what brings us joy.
Idols can creep subtly into our lives. How does this happen? When the pursuit of things to gratify our desires or our egos surpasses our devotion to God. When reliance upon people to satisfy our need for love and security eclipses our dependence upon God.
Perhaps you are placing your trust in idols, looking to them for what only God can give you. Yet He longs for your utmost devotion. For He is your heart’s true treasure. Let Him be the supreme object of your love. Let Him be where your true loyalty lies. In God alone, place your unrivaled faith.
† Eternal Takeaway – Idols draw our hearts away from devotion and dependence on God †
