It’s Time to Cast Away Idols
Go, tell Jeroboam, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart … but you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back–therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam.” ~1 Kings 14:7-10
In 1 Samuel, we read about the transition from judges to kings. Although it grieved him to do so, Samuel was instructed to heed Israel’s cry and anoint an earthly king to lead them. Unfortunately, Saul too quickly gave in to pride, which caused God to hand his kingdom over to David. God was with David throughout his lengthy reign, but his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband resulted in things not going well for his descendants.
God blessed Solomon’s reign and gave him peace with the surrounding nations which was unprecedented up until then, but his love for foreign women caused him to turn to idols. Because of this, after Solomon’s death, God divided the kingdom and gave the majority to Jeroboam, who had been Solomon’s servant. As we see in the above verses, Jeroboam too turned to idols, and God harshly judged him for not clinging to the God who had given him the prominence he enjoyed. (I’m giving you the quick run-down, assuming you are familiar with these stories, but if you are not, you will find them in 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.)
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, as I’ve been studying these accounts, I just finished reading Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick. When you read the Old Testament, it’s easy to read the stories as just that–stories. But I believe that everything in Scripture is included for a reason. Christians don’t build idols of wood or stone, but we often have idols just the same.
Merriam-Webster defines idol as “an object of extreme devotion.” Some things that come to mind off the bat that could fit this description are sports, your favorite TV show, your family. These things aren’t bad in themselves, but if they are more important to you than your relationship with God, they have become idols.
My heart goes out to parents of young children and those who work jobs that require long hours since it can be hard to figure out where to fit God into your crazy schedule. Although it’s possible to pray on the run, one cannot maintain a close walk with someone that they barely talk to. Busyness can be an idol too, but it’s not necessarily, and I understand that. We all have schedules to keep and deadlines to meet, and obviously, you can’t ignore young children while you take a two-hour prayer time. But I would encourage you to evaluate what you fill your free time with. If your only time to be alone is your 15-minute lunch break, do you spend it reading God’s Word or in some other way? When your baby naps, do you turn your heart to prayer until you follow suit? Every believer is called to seek the Lord. Everything else can wait until you have done that.
What is the deceitful sin behind all this? Covetousness.
Covetousness is very deceitful, because we read the 10 Commandments and we see about coveting your neighbors things, and think we don’t do these things, but yet we do covet.
Some who are authors are always trying to write another song or book.
Some who are singers are searching for the next big song so they can sell more product, so they can be at the top of the charts.
Some preachers want more exposure on Facebook in hopes that a larger church will invite them to minister.
The church members want bigger homes, bigger cars, more education for the children, more retirement.
Are these things wrong? Not necessarily. But many times the sin of covetousness is in the middle of it.
Luk 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
It’s good for people to want to be the best they can be in whatever field God has gifted them, but the purpose should be to bring more glory to God. If the focus is on receiving accolades, then you’re right that it’s become covetousness.