8.8.26 – Forsaking My Idolatrous Ways

 Throughout the Torah and Prophets, God constantly warns His people about idolatry—avodah zarah, strange worship (Ex. 20:3–5; Deut. 4:15–19; all throughout this week's Torah portion of Re'eh; Isa. 47:10; 1 John 5:21; Col. 3:5; 1 Cor. 5:11; 10:14; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 21:8; 22:15; etc.). Notice, I used mostly post-resurrection verses... hmmm. Maybe there is more to idolatry than just bowing down to statues made by human hands... hmmm.

I would encourage you to go back and look at all those verses prayerfully :-)

"For you trusted in your wickedness (ra); you said, 'No one sees me.' Your wisdom (chochmah) and your knowledge (da'at) lead you away (shuv), and you said in your heart, 'I am, and there is none else.'"
(Isa. 47:10)

You may have noticed that within the Hebrew word for "leads you away" or "turns you away" is the word shuv—meaning "turning back." We know it best in the word "repent"—to turn back to God. This is the paramount cry of Scripture: "Return to Me." It is God's plea for us to come back to His grace and lovingkindness. But the man who believes he is hidden from the Lord is the man who turns away (shuv). He does not miss His goodness because of ignorance; he misses it because of idolatry. It is his unfaithfulness that he wishes to hide. Ugh. I have got too many of those t-shirts of self-righteousness!

What is bizarre is that this man falls because of his wisdom (chochmah) and his knowledge (da'at). Huh? What kind of wisdom and knowledge leads a man away from the Lord? Certainly it cannot be God's wisdom or His knowledge. The kind of wisdom and knowledge that leads away from the Most High must be the mistaken, rebellious knowledge associated with false gods. This wisdom and knowledge is a parody of the real thing. It appears as insight and understanding, but it is in fact deception and destruction. It leads to death, not life.

"There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
(Prov. 14:12)

Idolatry, strangely enough, is the fundamental sin of the Bible. No, it is not bowing down to little wooden statues or offering sacrifices before stone faces. Idolatry is unfaithfulness to the Lord's claim on our lives. In other words, it is a moral act, not an intellectual error. I commit the sin of idolatry not when I mistakenly worship a false god (a mental error), but when I deliberately remove my commitment of fidelity to the One who loves me and made me. Because of the finished work of our coming Messiah and my covenant commitment to Him, He places a claim of ownership on me (1 Cor. 6:19–20; 7:23). This is the impact of the first of the "Big Ten." I belong to Him. It is my lust for another way of life, for another offer of apparent liberty, that permits me to leave the covenant relationship I have sworn with Him (Ex. 19:3; 24:3, 7–8). This is why idolatry is described in terms of sexual infidelity. It is spiritual adultery.

What is the false wisdom and the rebellious knowledge that leads me away from my King? It is the appeal of the serpent: "Just determine for yourself what is good for you and what is bad for you" (Gen. 3:1–7). Idolatry is me deciding what is good for me. Only the Lord, through the Scriptures, can determine what is good. When I enter into the moral equation, I introduce my own desires on par with the desires of my King and Master. My knowledge of good and evil is precisely that—my knowledge. As such, it denies my oath of fidelity to live by His determination of the good. It is spiritual sexual sin, and it led to Israel's divorce (Jer. 3:8).

The only question I need to ask myself on this preparation day is: "When it comes to idolatry, who is making the decisions in my life?"

Now that I am twenty-nine with many years of experience, and the more FBS (Flat Bottom Syndrome) trips I make, the more I recognize that my wisdom and knowledge are severely lacking! I think I will decide His way, not mine. How about you?

Shabbat Shalom,
Alan

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