The Attraction of Idolatry (part 1)

Introduction.  According to Smith’s Bible Dictionary, “idolatry”:

• “strictly speaking denotes the worship of deity in a visible form, whether the images to which homage is paid are symbolical representations of the true God or of the false divinities which have been made the objects of worship in his stead.”

To us modern people, normally this term brings to mind Hindus in India or a “backwards” tribe in a third-world country bowing in front of statues of their gods.  But as we will see in this two-part study, idolatry is significantly more inclusive than that and a lot closer to us than we may first realize.
 
Our study will look at idolatry in three time periods: Old Testament (OT), New Testament (NT), and today.

OT Teaching Against Idol Worship. In the Old Testament, God clearly revealed His will on this subject. The very first of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai plainly says:

• “2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Ex. 20:2-4)

A later in the Book of Exodus, He likewise plainly warns the Israelites about the idolatrous inhabitants of the land of Canaan they would be entering:

• “11 Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12 Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.” (Ex. 34:11-14)

It is interesting to observe that God uses the sexual imagery of “playing the harlot” (some translations have “to go a whoring” or “prostitute themselves”). The underlying Hebrew term generally means to commit adultery. Its use shows the closeness and deeply emotional relationship He desires with His people as a husband would with his wife.
 
Israel’s Chronic Problem with Idolatry. Unfortunately, the nation of Israel had persistent and recuring challenges with these commands, starting long before Mt. Sinai.  Before his name was changed to Israel, Jacob’s wife Rachel was involved in idolatry (Gen. 31:19) as evidently were other members of his household (Gen. 35:2). While Jacob’s descendants were in Egypt before Moses led them to freedom, they served false gods, likely those of the Egyptians (Josh. 24:14-15). Even while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Law, they persuaded Moses’ brother Aaron to “…make us gods that shall go before us; for 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.” (Ex. 32:1-6) After fashioning a golden calf, Aaron proclaimed “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt! … Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” As the chapter goes on to relate, that incident resulted in a great sin among the Israelites with 3000 being executed.
 
After the wilderness wanderings under Moses and the conquest of the land under Joshua:

• “10… another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel. 11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals; 12 and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.” (Judges 2:10-13)

Thus began multiple cycles of idolatry, external conquest/oppression, repentance, and deliverance by various judges until the land was unified under King Saul.  But the idolatry didn’t stop there.  Saul was succeeded on the throne by David and then by his son Solomon.

• “And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.” 1 Kings 4:29-30

Despite this wisdom, even Solomon fell victim to rebellious idolatry against God:

• 1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and  Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. … 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. … 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.” 1 Kings 11:1-8

Shortly after Solomon’s son Rehoboam ascended to the throne the kingdom was divided with the northern 10 tribes going into unending idolatry until they were taken captive and scattered by the Assyrians around 740 B.C. The southern kingdom did little better with cycles of wicked, idolatrous kings and righteous ones until they too were taking into Babylonian exile around 586 B.C.
 
We tend to look back, shake our heads, and ask how this could be?  With the direct manifestation of God's power at Mt. Sinai, punishments in the wilderness, oppression and salvation by judges, and miracles performed by various prophets sent to warn the nation, we wonder why God’s chosen people had such a chronic problem with idolatry.  Let’s take a closer look and see what lessons we can learn for today.
 
Types of Idol Worship in the OT. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Canaanite_religion, up to 50 gods were popular in the land of Canaan. Many of these are mentioned by name in the OT, to include Moleck of the Ammonites (Lev 18:21, Lev 20:1-6) and Dagon of the Philistines (Judges 16:23, Isa 5:2-7) along with Chemosh of the Moabites and Milcom of the Ammonites (descendants of Abraham’s nephew Lot) (1 Kings 11:7).
 
But for popularity among the Israelites, it was hard to beat Baal (1 Kings 16:31-33, 18:17-40) and Astarte (also known as Ashtoreth or the Queen of Heaven per Jer 7:18; 44:17-19,25).  
 
Why attractive to the Israelites? Scholars cite several factors for the popularity of Baal and Astarte.  These include:

• Convenience – worshippers didn’t have to go all the way to Jerusalem to worship the true God.  They could worship Baal/Astarte “under every green tree and every high hill” (1 Kings 14:23; Jer. 3:6)
• Intermarriage with non-Israelites, despite the warnings of Ex.34:15-16
• Peer pressure to be like the nations around them (like 1 Sam. 8:4-8)

 
But for sheer attractive power, it is hard to dispute the lure of the lust of the flesh. According to some sources, Baal was “… the god of fertility …. the Lord of Rain and Dew, … indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan” while “Astarte [Ashtoreth] was … the goddess of sexual love (eros) and fertility”.  Evidently, unrestrained sexual freedom in the form of fornication was one of their forms of worship. Such was in stark contrast to sexual restrictions imposed by God (Lev. 18, especially verses 3, 24-25). It is interesting to note that the byproducts of such freedom in the form of unwanted children were conveniently dispensed with by being murdered as human sacrifices (Lev. 18:21; Lev. 20:2-3; Jer. 32:35).
 
Types of Idol Worship in the NT. Fast forward to New Testament times between 30 and 100 A.D. You might think with the passage of time and the relative sophistication of the Greek and Roman cultures that “primitive” idolatry would have receded.  But no, they had their own pantheon of gods, many of which are mentioned in the NT (e.g., Zeus/Jupiter Acts 14:12; Hermes/Mercury Acts 14:12; Artemis/Diana – Acts 19:24; and others Acts 17:16-31)
 
NT Teaching Against Idol Worship.  Just like in the Old Testament, God continues to speak clearly against idolatry.

• “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown [it] to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible [attributes] are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify [Him] as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. …  Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. … For this reason God gave them up to vile passions …” (Rom 1:18-32)

Note carefully how this passage continues the Biblical trend of linking idolatry with “lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, … served the creature … gave them up to vile passions” and proceeding to describe gay and lesbian sexual acts where they “burned in their lust for one another”.
 
This teaching is not exclusive to the book of Romans. See also:

• Acts 14:11-15 “Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” … But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, … Men, why are you doing these things? We preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,”
• 1 Cor. 6:9-11 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,…”
• Rev. 21: 8 "idolaters...shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone...”

As in Romans 1, it is interesting how 1 Cor. 6 places idolaters in an immediate context of fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, and sodomites.
 
Why attractive to Christian Gentiles? I say Christian Gentiles because of warnings like 1 Cor. 10:14 “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” and 1 John 5:21 ”… keep yourselves from idols” coupled with warnings about eating things sacrificed to idols (Acts 15:29; 1 Cor. 8:1-13; 1 Cor. 10:19-33; Rom. 14:13-15). And once again, idol worship among Christians is mentioned along with fornication (Rev. 2:14, 20).  Some reasons offered for these warnings include:

• Popular culture (food offered in sacrifice to idols was often sold in the local meet market, not to mention Roman gods being somewhat the preferred religion of the empire)
• The “relatability” of the Roman gods, being just like regular people (envious, lustful, scheming, capricious, etc.) in contrast to the “restrictive” God of the Christians

Interlude. Let’s stop here for the time being. In part 2, we’ll build on what we’ve seen about idolatry in OT and NT times to learn what kinds of applications we can make in our modern, “enlightened” era.