Roughly 3,500 years ago, Moses received the tablets of the Law from God Himself. That wasn’t the beginning of religion, merely the beginning of the Jewish religion. The Egyptians, as well as many other people groups, had established religions long before that. Mostly, those were pagan religions, steeped in idolatry.
Just what is paganism? Paganism is worshiping nature. Ancient man, who didn’t understand the world around him, tried to explain things that were bigger than himself, by calling those things gods. We see these same types of gods appearing over and over again in these religions, all of which have a sun god, a moon god, a god of rain, a god of death, and countless others. The Mayan religion of Mesoamerica even had a hurricane god to account for the hurricanes they received.
These ancient cultures would develop images of those gods, often combining parts of animals with human bodies. These were either the interpretation of some priest/artist or a naturally occurring shape that people imagined looked like something. We can find what looks like human faces in all sorts of things, from tree bark to stones, to popcorn texture on ceilings. It appears that some of those idols were meteorites that fell from heaven, which people thought had a humanoid face in them. Others came about by putting precious metals in the fire and working that metal, seeing what resulted. We find this happening in the Bible, while Moses was on the mountaintop, speaking with God.
Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered to Aaron (Moses’ brother), and said to him, “come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” – Exodus 32:1-4
A couple of quick, but important things to note here. First, this was after Jehovah God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt. Those people had already seen the power of God in action, through the ten plagues that He brought against Egypt. Secondly, even though they were supposed to be God’s chosen people, they didn’t know God. For over 400 years, the people of Israel had been in Egypt, where they had seen more of Egyptian idolatry, than they had of worshipping God. To them, God was a distant being; and while He had set them free, they didn’t know who he was. As Moses hadn’t received the Law from God yet, they had no way of knowing how to properly worship Him.
It should not be surprising to us that the people of Israel turned to idolatry at that time, although it does tend to surprise us. But we are looking at their story through the light of history, knowing much more about what they were going through, than they did themselves. The Jewish religion, as we know it, had not yet been firmly established and every people group around them practiced some form of pagan idolatry, where they had deified the world around them.
This shows what the influence of the world can do to people who believe in God, but are not well-grounded in His Word. Granted, there was no Bible or even Old Testament for them to be grounded in yet, not even the Law, but still, the world, specifically the Egyptian culture, had influenced them towards idolatry, rather than worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:6 and others).
Where Does Idolatry Come From?
We really don’t know just how far back idolatry goes. There is some archeological evidence showing it going well back into Old Testament times. Jewish tradition traces it back to Enos, who was born in the second generation after Adam, but the Bible makes no mention of him or of his making any idols. The earliest mention of idols in the Bible is when God gave the 10 Commandments to Moses.
You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image – 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; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me. – Exodus 20:3-5
Obviously, idolatry existed at this time, or God wouldn’t have made mention of it in the 10 Commandments. It is quite possible that it existed in Egypt, although a study of Egyptian history and mythology shows that the Egyptians themselves didn’t worship those images and statues, but rather used them as a tool to help them channel their service to divine forces. The distinction is apparently important to those who understand Egyptian mythology, but is lost on me.
Nevertheless, the people of Israel took this commandment seriously. Even today, there are many Jews who will not have figurines of animals, photos of animals, artwork that depicts people or animals, or even family photos hanging in their homes, seeing that as a possible infraction of this commandment.
God created mankind with an in inherent desire to connect with Him. Some Christians refer to this as a God-shaped hole in our hearts, which only He can fill. Regardless of the language used to describe it, the idea is that we instinctively have a very real understanding that there is a God and we want to connect with Him. The problem comes when we don’t know who He is and instead try to find someone or something else to take His place, satisfying that desire. This is where idolatry comes from.
So, why didn’t those people seek God? After all, Abraham sought God and he didn’t know any more about God than anyone else did.
We can’t answer that question for sure, but when we look at the people around us, we can see that there are those who put more effort into seeking God than others. There are many people who want the benefits they think they can receive from God, without putting the effort into either obeying God or forming a relationship with Him. That same problem has probably existed throughout human history. For those people, making or buying an idol is easier than seeking God.
Yet this issue is important enough to God, that he devoted three verses in the 10 Commandments to dealing with it. God takes idolatry so seriously, that He declares that those who participate in it not only bring condemnation upon themselves, but also upon their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren.
One who doesn’t know God could easily conclude from this that God is self-centered; expecting everyone to worship Him and Him alone. Yet if we examine the 613 commandments that God gave Moses in the Old Testament (yes, there are more than 10), we find that not one of them is for God’s benefit. In fact, they are all for us. God has commanded us to do things and not do things that will help us to have a good life and avoid problems.
What Exactly is Idol Worship?
It is easy to see idolatry as worshiping some statue made to look like someone’s imagination of what a god looks like. This is the image that’s portrayed in the Bible. Even God Himself uses this image, mocking it through the prophets:
He (the craftsman)1 cuts down cedars for himself… 15 then it shall be for a man to burn, for he will take some of it and warm himself; yes, he kindles it and bakes bread, indeed he makes a god and worships it; he makes a carved image, and falls down to it. 16 He burns half of it in the fire; with this half he eats meat; he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” – Isaiah 44:14-17
Yes, God is capable of being sarcastic, when it serves His purpose. In this case, it helps show how foolish it is to worship something that man has made with his own hands. But is idolatry limited to only such statues?
No. Idolatry can include anything that we worship, placing it in the place reserved for God Himself. While it may not seem that some of the things we worship as idols are truly idols, if they occupy a place in our hearts of being more important to us than God is, they are idols. That can include money, a job, sports, a spouse, our children, a car, or anything else that we allow to become too important to us. We can even become our own idol, when we are so hung up on ourselves, that we are the most important thing in our own lives.
Are those things important? Yes, of course they are and we should consider them important. That’s not a problem. The problem comes in when we allow them to be more important to us than God is. How can we know when we’ve reached that point? When we make our choices to satisfy those things, rather than to satisfy God.
A woman who doesn’t go to church, because her unsaved husband doesn’t want her to is practicing idolatry. A man who volunteers to work on Sunday or goes golfing with his buddies has put those things in God’s place, making idols out of them.
Modern society even encourages idolatry, calling actors, actresses, singers and sports celebrities “idols.” These people used to be called “stars,” but that name has been replaced. Don’t think that’s an accident; it was done intentionally, with malicious forethought, as an attempt to replace God in people’s lives. We are told by the media to look up to them and try to emulate them, rather than looking to God and trying to emulate Him.
There is nothing else that takes God’s place, which will give us the blessings that He does. No person; no object; and no amount of money can take care of us like He does. Yet people allow things to take His place in their lives all the time, thinking that it doesn’t matter and that nothing bad will happen to them because of it.
There are even examples of idolatry within Christianity. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, He taught them to pray to Father God and no one else. What we know as the Lord’s Prayer is directed to God the Father. It’s not even directed to Jesus Christ.
In this manner therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. – Matthew 6:9-13
Yet, even with these words from Jesus Himself, which all Christians know, there are entire denominations which teach their members to pray to Mary and to various Saints, as if they can do something for us or act as mediators between us and God. But they can’t. That too is a form of idolatry. They are incapable of fulfilling those roles as the only mediator that exists between God and mankind is His Son, Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5).
Any form of idolatry is attributing work that God has done to something or someone else. To say that it is our money or our work that has made us wealthy, without acknowledging God’s work in our lives, is to take credit that belongs to Him. To say that a doctor healed us of cancer, without giving God credit for the healing, is to ignore the part that God played in our healing. Yes, the doctor had a part too, cutting out the cancerous tissue and prescribing certain drugs; but honest doctors will tell you that there are parts of the healing process which are beyond their ability.
The Cost of Idolatry
The Bible contains many admonitions against idolatry, especially in the Old Testament, showing juts how important this subject is to God. Prophetically, God equates idolatry with adultery, to the point where He directed the prophet Hosea to marry a harlot named Gomer, turning their marriage into a living parable, as an example for the Israelites. Time and time again, Gomer left her husband for strange lovers. Yet each and every time, Hosea bought her back.
This is very much akin to what the nation of Israel did through the time of the Judges and the Kings. The people followed a cycle, which repeated itself over and over again. They would serve God for a while, then turn away, some into idolatry and others just ignoring God. After a time, this would result in God allowing enemies to rise up against His people, using those enemies to cause them to turn back to Him. While that tactic worked a number of times, it eventually failed.
After the time of King Solomon, the nation of Israel was divided into a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom. The southern kingdom was named Judah, as it was centered around the tribe of Judah. We also find it referred to as Judea.
The king of the northern kingdom was afraid that he would lose his people, when they traveled to Jerusalem to worship God. This was required by Old Testament Law for three of the annual festivals. To keep them from going to those festivals, he had two golden calves made, one of which he put in Bethel and the other in Dan, telling the people:
“It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” – 1 Kings 12:28
That was literally the beginning of the end for the northern kingdom. Of the 18 kings who followed Jeroboam, only one followed God; the rest were caught up in idolatry. In 722 BC, the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians, while the southern kingdom continued. They too eventually fell, as their kings led the people into idolatry.
The Jews of today are the descendants of that southern kingdom; but we have no clear idea of what has happened to the descendants of the northern kingdom, although several scholars have proposed various possibilities. All we know is that the Assyrians moved many of the people out of the area, breaking them up and scattering them across their empire. Others were brought in to replace them, from other parts of the empire. The Samaritans who were there in the time of Jesus, were a mixture of the Israelis and the people who had been moved in.
If one were to ask what harm idolatry can do, this would be a perfect example. An entire nation has been lost to the world, due to their idolatry. The Jews of today are descendants of the southern kingdom; not the northern one.
This is not to say that any nation which practices idolatry will be treated the same. However, the punishment laid out in the Bible for idolatry is often death. Prophets especially were to be put to death, if they led the people of God astray into idolatry. Even if God does not allow us to die for this sin, we will be cut off from Him and therefore from all his blessings.