“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by iniquity! Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! You will be filled with shame instead of glory. You too must drink and expose your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover your glory. For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of animals will terrify you, because of your bloodshed against men and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all. But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.”
Those who refuse to serve the One True Living God are bound for disaster. “Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain? “ Psalm 2:1-5 says, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One: “Let us break Their chains and cast away Their cords.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord taunts them. Then He rebukes them in His anger, and terrifies them in His fury…”
When people think they are deceiving or mocking God, they are only fooling themselves. How do you deny the Creator of the universe? All creation bears witness to His glory. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! You will be filled with shame instead of glory.” In parts of the ancient Middle East, it was customary for kings to hold drinking parties at which people were compelled to drink themselves into oblivion. In the story of Esther, one of the notable things about King Ahasuerus’ banquet was that drinking was NOT compulsory, a fact so surprising that the writer took note of it. (Esther 1:8)
“For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of animals will terrify you, because of your bloodshed against men and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.” Again, God is addressing the Babylonians, here referred to as the Chaldeans. Evidently, the Babylonians cut a wide swath through Lebanon, and God is now promising retribution for this wholesale slaughter.
“What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all. But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.”
Finally, God is mocking Satan and his demons, who try to convince the unwary that they are God when they are not. Even if men create idols that purport to represent Bel or any other pagan deity, those idosl are worthless.
APPLICATION: Throughout the world, there are many idols, some of them enormous and some covered with gold, precious jewels, etc. Is God impressed with these things? Are you kidding? There is a story told by a pioneer missionary to northeastern Ghana. The people of a village wanted to repent, but there was one idol that they could not destroy, no matter how hard they tried. One day in dry season, the people were gathered together with the missionary outside a huge round room near the idol. The missionary was preaching against the idol. Suddenly in the west, they saw black storm clouds gathering with bolts of lightning flashing out of the clouds. In that part of the world, storms move in from the northeast, nor from the west, and this was not the time of year for a storm anyway. All the people rushed into the huge round room to take shelter. As the storm broke overhead, lightning struck the center pole of the roof, traveled down the center pole and out the door without hurting anyone. The lightning streaked straight to the idol, striking it and vaporizing it. At one blow, God graphically demonstrated His power over the demon controlling that idol, causing everyone in the village to repent and follow Jesus Christ!
If God can exert such power over an idol in an obscure African village, what might He do to the idols in our lives? “But I don’t worship idols!” you cry indignantly. Oh? What is most important to you? What do you talk about the most whenever you have time? Is it your favorite athletic team? Your family? Your hobbies? Your work? The political party you favor? Jesus told his disciples that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Whatever absorbs your time, your energy, and your enthusiasm can readily become an idol.
Why does God hate idols? Idols take a place that rightfully belongs to God alone. Here is God’s final statement on the matter: “But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.”
Let us examine our hearts to make sure that nothing else is occupying the place God should have. May God be in our hearts, just as He is in His holy temple!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Show us those things that we have unwittingly made into idols and help us to clear them out, so that You have first place in our lives and hearts. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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