Day 89

Deuteronomy 13:1–15:23; Luke 8:40–9:6; Psalm 71:1-24; Proverbs 12:5-7

IN DEUTERONOMY TODAY, Moses discussed the stark seriousness of idolatry:

Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur.

Let’s do that. Let’s suppose . . .

If we saw this happen, we would likely be compelled to hear more and perhaps even to follow a person with these gifts without necessarily considering where they might be leading. Moses’ counsel was to not be overwhelmed by the magic but to consider where the path was going —toward God or away:

If they then say, “Come, let us worship other gods” —gods you have not known before —do not listen to them.

He went on to say that if even a family member entices us toward idolatry, we should intentionally get them out of our lives. That’s a pretty big deal.

If this is such a serious thing, what exactly is idolatry?

The cultures of Moses’ time literally made images before which they bowed in worship, sacrificed, and performed all sorts of acts of devotion —remember the golden calf incident that we read about in Exodus 32. When enemies attacked or when famine came, the people of that day thought that the local gods were not pleased. The strongest god was always the victorious god. This sounds bizarre to us today, because most of us live in cultures that do not widely affirm such religious practices. But actual idol worship does still exist in the world.

Idolatry goes much deeper than making a statue and then sacrificing an animal to it, though. Idolatry is essentially the act of giving our hearts and hope to a person or thing, expecting that it will give us life in return. Put in those terms, it’s not so hard to find idolatry in our modern world. Idols can be anything —money, control, possessions, power, sex, or any of a long list of things we might turn to for life.

Moses’ counsel was specific to his time and the culture being created among the Israelites. Idolatry was huge, and it carried the death penalty for the children of Israel. Obviously, our systems of justice no longer execute people for idolatry. But why was it such a severe threat that it was considered a capital offense? Because it would become cancerous to the people and destroy them from the inside out; it would make them forget who they were, where they’d come from, and who their source of life really was.

Let’s examine our lives today. What are we giving our heart and hope to, in expectation that it will bring life and rescue? If things come to mind that are not God, they may be idols in our lives and will become cancerous to our souls. They will make us lose our identity and seduce us into darkness. That’s a pretty big deal indeed.

WORSHIP:

O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O LORD, from childhood. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you!