Friday, October 5, 2007
"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; 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, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments" (Exodus 20:4-5).
IDEA: Idolatry was attractive because it was “normal.”
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize the pull to do things because “everybody does it.”
Do you find it difficult to identify with the questions and temptations of the people in the Bible? Why?
The characters in Hebrews 11 who are presented as men and women of faith had to struggle against idolatry.
I. Idolatry was a major problem for the people of God in both the Old and New Testaments.
Genesis 1 was written against background of idols who (according to the pagans) were in charge of different areas of life. Moses states that God is above all gods in that He alone created the heavens and the earth.
At the end of the first century, John warns his readers, “Dear children, keep yourself from idols” (1 John 5:21).
In between, the people constantly turned to idols that they felt had godlike powers. Why would they do that?
Idolatry guaranteed access to the presence of a god.
Idolatry was selfish: it benefited the worshiper and it benefited the deity.
Idolatry was easy: the gods made no moral demands on the worshipers.
Idolatry was convenient: idol centers were everywhere.
II. Idolatry was normal.
Everyone in the ancient world worshiped idols.
The wealthy superpowers practiced idolatry. Assyria and Babylon were devoted to it. In the city of Babylon, statues to Marduk as well as to other gods were everywhere. The great temple to Marduk was prominent.
Idolatry seemed to work. It made perfect sense to everyone.
The Hebrews were looked at as strange because when they were at their best, they did not worship idols.
It’s hard to be out of step with everyone everywhere.
III. We may not worship idols, but we feel the pressure to cave in to the system that assumes values that we can’t share.