An End to Idolatry
“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not remain alive, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD.’ When he prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will pierce him through.
And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for I was purchased as a servant in my youth. ’ If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest ?’ he will answer, ‘These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered (Matthew 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31)
Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones. And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it. This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
Idols, false prophets, stains on the land – If only the Israelites had followed God’s instructions in the first place, things could have been wonderful. Instead of worshiping the One True Living God, the One who had already delivered them from the most powerful army in the entire world and who had fed and watered them for forty years, the Israelites plunged into full-bore idolatry. God wanted the Promised Land to be cleansed; instead, they have made things even worse. What can possibly cleanse this land and these people?
“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.”
Only God can do the cleanup job necessary. God promises to ERASE the names of the idols from the land so that they will no longer be remembered. God is also promising to remove false prophets and the unclean spirits inspiring them from the land.
Why is such an act necessary? Demons are territorial and they refuse to give up their territory unless a stronger Force comes against them. Even if it appears that things are all right, the demons may still be lurking. Several years ago, a series of tragedies took place in a particular part of the town in which we were then living. When local Christians began praying over the situation, one of them suddenly got a vision of a large fetish tree swarming with little demons. In fact, such a fetish tree had stood at an intersection for several years until a local church bought the property and took down the tree. The tree may have been gone, but the demons were not.
“And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not remain alive, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD.’ When he prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will pierce him through.” Study the Mosaic Law and you will realize that parents are allowed to kill offspring who blaspheme or commit other unspeakable acts. Parents will fear God so much that if their son persists in false prophesy, they will kill him, lest they be struck down for failure to do so.
“And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for I was purchased as a servant in my youth. ’ If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest ?’ he will answer, ‘These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends.’”
Those false prophets fortunate enough to be spared by their parents will repent and cease donning strange outfits to make themselves appear more important or more frightening. To avoid death, the former false prophets will claim to be peasant farmers. The wounds mentioned are probably self-inflicted ones incurred during idol worship. When Elijah was confronting the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, the Baal worshipers cut themselves in desperation, hoping to summon Baal in the process. Now these men will have to lie about these wounds to save themselves. Here God is mocking the idol worshipers, since He has never demanded ritual wounding as a form of worship.
“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones. And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it. This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
This is a strange passage. The part about “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” came true when Jesus was taken captive and his disciples fled. But what of the threat to cut off two-thirds of the people from the land? It may be that two-thirds of the people will refuse to follow God and there will be a time of reckoning. Is God unjust or unmerciful? NO! The entire universe tilts on the axis off free will. God has not created people to be puppets. These people will make their own choices, choosing oblivion in the process. But God also promises to leave one-third and to purify them and call them His people. These people are the ones who have not rejected God.
APPLICATION: The Bible tells us that when Satan fell from heaven, one-third of the angels fell with him. These angels became territorial demons, taking up residence throughout the earth. If we refuse to acknowledge the presence or influence of the demonic, we are merely fooling ourselves. Dean Sherman from YWAM teaches that “There is more power in one drop of the Blood of Jesus than in all the forces of hell.” While that statement is absolutely true, nonetheless, demonic influences abound and we must take care that we do not allow evil to creep into our lives unnoticed. We do not have to live in fear because God has promised to lead us and guide us if we only ask Him. Let’s do that now.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, open our eyes to see anything in our lives that is not of You and to reject it. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment