In Exodus 20, Moses spoke to the Israelites about the danger and consequences of idol worship or idolatry. He was sharing God’s instructions to them from the Ten Commandments. The first statement from God, concerned his relationship with his people. He brought them out of Egypt and they were to serve no other gods but him. They were not to make any carved images of anything in the sea, on land, in the sky or under the earth. Many of the gods worshipped by the Egyptians, embodied images that were made from raw materials and represented the sun, the sea, illness or other elements. None of the gods were all powerful, all knowing or omnipotent. The worship of these other gods represented spiritual pollution. All other gods are deceptions created by the devil to draw people away from God.
Serving other gods, other than the true and living God can be traced back to the worship of satan. God’s instruction to his people to serve ‘no other god’ is for their own protection. “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me” (Exodus 20:5). Serving other gods will open people up to generational curses, that can affect their children for up to four generations. Turning their backs on God often meant, coming into covenants and contracts with the devil and creating demonic family altars. There are many people who notice particular patterns in their family history, such as illnesses and other dysfunctions that they cannot explain.
An ancient family altar or a covenant or contract with a foreign god (satan), could be at work in that family. Anyone who surrenders their lives to God and creates an altar of prayer, can overthrow demonic family altars. On the subject of idols, many people may not be as rhitialicstic as serving another god or willingly serve the devil, but material things and people can become an idol. An idol is an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship. It is also a person or thing, greatly admired, loved or revered. Many people can easily meet the criteria for the last definition, as they have idols such as musicians, actors and even pastors that they revere. The devil is crafty and subtle and as long as we give unto another person what belongs to God, he takes the glory for it. Many celebrities are sold out to the devil and even some ‘men/women of God’ are no longer in right standing.
Don’t put people on a pedestal. We are all human and Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it” (Jeremiah 17:9)? Even Jesus corrected a rich young ruler who called him good. “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God” (Luke 18:19). I am not promoting cynicism and I am not saying that we should not honour people. It is when our admiration borders on idolatry when it becomes a problem. Only God is all good and as long as we are on this earth, we are flesh and blood. As such, we are subject to failure and weakness. Our gaze should eternally be on God and our relationship and admiration of others, should lead us closer to God. We cannot become too overly focused on the creation and not the creator. “You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:14).
A.P.-Y.
Published by Anneta Pinto-Young
I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession. Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm. I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing. I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages. View all posts by Anneta Pinto-Young
Published November 13, 2023
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Republished with permission from Blogs.crossmap.com, featuring inspiring Bible verses about Dealing with Idols.
