Exodus 32:1-6 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So, Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So, all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
This last Sunday, Pastor Obie continued our church’s sermon series through the book of Exodus. Moses had received the Ten Commandments of God for His people but we find that God had been miraculously delivered the Israelite nation out of Egypt, yet not Egypt out of the Israelite nation and an epic failure resulted.
The first fundament question is: What is an idol? The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “idol” as: An image, form or representation consecrated as an object of worship; a pagan deity. Anything on which we set our affections; that to which we indulge an excessive and sinful attachment. An idol is anything which usurps the place of God in the hearts of his rational creatures. Anything that comes between God’s face and yours. Anything that takes the place of priority from God. In “Counterfeit Gods” by Tim Keller, he writes that An idol is anything that seeks to give you only what God can give you. An idol is anything so central and essential that if you lost it, your life would hardly feel worth living. An idol is anything that has such a controlling position in your heart that you could spend most of your time and money on it without a second thought. An idol can be family, children, a career, making money, sex, popularity, the approval of others, or even a successful ministry. An idol is anything that you look at and say: “If I had that, then I feel that my life has meaning and my life has value. Then, I will feel significant and secure.”
Humans are unceasing worshippers. They are going to worship something. If not God, then something or someone will take the place of priority in our hearts in our lives and become that idol. Idolatry is a root of evil. Father of the Reformation, Martin Luther argued that the fundament reason that there is lawlessness and sin is because of idolatry, stating that we never break the other Commandments without breaking the first one [You shall have no other gods before Me].
The making of the Golden Calf idol was an epic failure by the Israelites. How did they make such a monumental mess? There were three things that led to their failure. (1) a lack of patience. The devil uses delays and doubts to start dangerous downfalls. Moses was on the mountaintop a long time (delay) and the people didn’t know what happened to him (doubt), which defaults to the worst-case scenario and a recipe for disaster. In our modern times, each new generation is becoming the most impatient generation in human history because of habituation. With the development of new technology and culture, we are getting used to a new normal of “fast”. We have been ratcheted up in speed by fast food, fast ordering, fast delivery, fast Wi-Fi connections, DVR, entertainment on demand, information on about anything with instant access just a click away on the keyboard on your computer or keypad of your Cell phone. When we do not experience this new normal of “fast”, we become impatience and annoyed.
The other factor that negatively affects patience is doubt. He Israelites doubted if Moses was alive and returning, so they demanded an idol by provided. As foolish as this sounds, how many of us actually make situations worse by having doubts and letting our minds revert to the worst-case scenarios? How much peace do we lose because we let our minds run our thoughts with doubts? This combination of delays and doubts unchecked cause foolish, irrational and unwise decisions. It’s at these times that we need to exercise extra patience and faith based in trust, because this is how the kingdom of God works.
Matthew 13:31-33 Another parable He [Jesus] put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
God’s purposes may be slowly be reveal and actualized with buried or hidden details behind the scene, but his over-arching plan and finished product is big and better than anything we can do or imagine. Isaiah 55:8-9tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Bottomline: Don’t let doubt and delay ruin your day.
Let's continue Pastor Obie's message on idolatry in the next post.
OIn Christ, Brian
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