Category: Idolatry
Subject: Idolatry
Sermon: God’s National Wife (Hosea 1-3)
A discussion of Hosea 1-3, where the marriage of the prophet Hosea to his unfaithful wife Gomer gives us some understanding of God’s reaction to unfaithful Israel in judging the nation. But, with God’s mercy and grace, salvation comes to the faithful, ultimately through the Christ.
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Sermon: Dan – A History of Idolatry
(Judges 18) Our discussion of Judges 18 shows that the northern city of Dan was founded in idolatrous practices, and remained idolatrous throughout her history. The sins of Idolatry and Anarchy are discussed.
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Mining the Scriptures: Romans 1:21-25
Though all men have a knowledge of God, such that no one is excused from unbelief or corruption, many in every age have not given God sufficient praise or thanksgiving. It is a peculiar but easily established truth that men forget who God is, and seek to exalt themselves against him.
Paul expresses one way this is done — by the establishment of idolatry. It is a foolish pursuit, to take the almighty, preeminent and eternal Being in the universe, and seek to minimize Him. (Remake His image to be like men or animals).
God’s response? Allow it. Such a practice, rejecting God, has a deleterious consequence. When God is out of the picture, men are left to their own devices. It is seen in the corruption of worship, showing adoration for the “creature rather than the Creator” (25). It is also demonstrated here in uncleanness, which will be demonstrated further in later verses. “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their own bodies” (24).
The Ministry of the Prophet Hosea
The beginning of the book of Hosea sets the timeline. He received words from God, “in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1). This reign of the second Jeroboam is related in 2 Kings 14:23-29. Jeroboam reigned over a nation that was fully steeped in idolatry, which was soon to fall to the mighty nation of Assyria. The people were taken into captivity, and the northern nation was no more. The internal evidence seems to indicate that Hosea’s ministry of prophecy took place only a few decades before the end of the nation in 722 B.C.
It is important to note how God felt toward idolatry. The beginning of the 10 commandments given by God is, “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved—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…” (Exodus 20:3-5a). Idolatry was considered a great unfaithfulness, a spiritual adultery to God. And yet, for its entire existence, the northern kingdom of Israel consistently practiced the sin. Continue reading “The Ministry of the Prophet Hosea”
Sermon: Paul’s Message to the Gentiles
In this short lesson, Stan turns to Acts 14 and Acts 17 to express the truth that the Gentiles must repent by turning away from the worship of idols, and begin to serve the one true and living God.
The Patternists: Jeroboam’s Folly
In recent weeks, I have had several conversations with those who claim men are so reasonable, that any obvious demonstration of God’s power would convince them of His existence and their need to follow Him. Their view mirrors that of the rich man of Luke 16, who begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers so that they wouldn’t lose their souls as well. Abraham answered in part, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (31).
The truth is, most men are sufficiently self-willed to reject truths of every type, no matter how obvious they may be. We see it everyday in politics, medicine and daily life. (Note: We can be guilty of the same, and need to be careful ourselves).
The Patternists: Turning Your Heart from God
King Solomon serves as a cautionary tale to all Christians concerning the necessity of staying true to God’s will. Most are aware that Solomon began his reign as King of Israel in a commendable way, as a young man asking God for wisdom, that he might be a capable king. We are told, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore”; and “he was wiser than all men” (1 Kings 4:29,31).
Solomon built a temple to the Lord and placed the ark of the Lord in it. At the dedication of the temple, Solomon prayed, saying “Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You” (1 Kings 8:23).
Continue reading “The Patternists: Turning Your Heart from God”
Sermon: Abomination
A discussion of what men believe are abominations, and what is an abomination to Almighty God. (Hint: They are often very different!)
Sermon: Jehoiakim’s Knife
The evil king Jehoaikim, when warned of coming judgments, did not fear nor repent. His rebelliousness brought destruction upon him and Judah.
The Sad Reign of Hoshea
2 Kings 17 reveals Hoshea to be the final king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Israel had persisted in her idolatry and rebellion from the day she was established as a kingdom, as Jeroboam took the people away in rebellion against Solomon’s son Rehoboam.
Chapter 15 reveals that during the reign of Pekah, the Assyrians had come in, and raided the land, taking hostages back to Assyria. Only a short time later Shalmaneser, the king of Israel subjugated the nation, making a vassal of Hoshea, and imposing tribute money upon him (17:3). No longer was Israel a sovereign nation. When Hoshea tried to avoid paying the tribute, the conspiracy became known and the king of Assyria threw him into prison. (17:4). In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, with the king in prison, the Assyrians carried the people of Israel into captivity, and the nation ceased to exist.
This was the final end of generations of sin. While Hoshea’s reign was doomed to end in this way, (God’s judgment was inevitable), he was not faultless. He “did evil in the sight of the Lord” (17:2). Sin brings ruin, collectively and individually. It may be a slow descent into ruin, or a headlong rush, but the end is inevitable, as men rebel against the God of heaven. “For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God… until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.” (17:7, 23-24).
May we learn from the sad example of Israel, and seek always to maintain faithfulness to the Lord. May we choose the way of righteousness rather than the way of ruin.
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The Patternists: Great Harlotry
The Hebrew word translated harlotry in the Old Testament (NKJV) is zanah. It is translated whoredom in the KJV of the text. Actually, the entire phrase “has committed great harlotry” is the translation of that single word, as it is found in Hosea 1:2.
The word indicates wantonness. In effect, harlotry is to fornication as gluttony is to eating. Strong, in expressing this, adds to the definition “to commit adultery, usually of the female” words such as continually, great, and go a-whoring.
Sermon: The Establishment of False Religion
Judges chapters 17 and 18 record a man of Ephraim called Micah, who established his own religion by fashioning and idol, and hiring a Levite to be his priest. The record of Micah supplies some surprising parallels to the establishment of false religion in every age, including our own.
The Patternists: Defining “My” God
I came across a survey taken last December by the Pew Research Center. The title of the survey, “When Americans say they believe in God, what do they mean?”
The survey sampling revealed that 80% of people believe in God, and another 9% believe in some kind of higher power/spiritual force. That’s 9 in 10 Americans.
However, of the 80% that believe in God, only 56% percent of them believe in God as described in the Bible. More and more individuals feel free to describe God in their own terms rather than the terms He used to describe Himself!
Invitation: God was not well pleased
Invitation delivered by: Stan Cox
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-5,11, the apostle Paul refers to the Israelites as an admonition to us, for God was “not well pleased” with them. From this, Paul makes three applications in verses 12-14. 1) Pride is a problem; 2) God is faithful; 3) Flee idolatry.
Idolatry – Don’t Be a Proverb!
In Ezekiel 14, the prophet shared with the elders of Israel God’s displeasure at the idolatry practiced by the nation. “I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols” (4b-5).
God called upon them to “Repent, burn away form your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations” (vs. 6). If they would not, He warned, “I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the Lord” (vs. 8).
This prophecy has been fulfilled. The Jews who were unfaithful to God were judged by Him. The judgment they suffered is a proverb to us. We learn from their unfortunate example! “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
But, many of us refuse to learn the lesson. We erect our own idols (things to which we give primacy rather than God). We don’t consider the fact that we may be as guilty as the Israelites: “these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity” (Ezekiel 14:3). Always put God first in your life, and avoid being a sign and a proverb to future generations.
