Submitted by: Brother Paul Wells
Related Scriptures: Leviticus 6-8:36 & Jeremiah 7:21-8:3; 9:22,24
The first commandment YHVH gave to Moshe and the children of Israel was “You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. You are not to bow down to them or serve them.” Idolatry is simply putting our desires, our wants and needs above G-d. These desires start in the heart of man, our wants and needs, our pride, our career, our home, our car, our family, our friends, our entertainment personality and our life. Idolatry produce a whole host of problems, for instance it breeds disobediences and a compromising spirit. The Bible give a number of examples of the destructive and deceiving spirits of idolatry, the disobediences come first by not heeding warnings of the L-rd, when He commanded a number of times in the Torah and through His prophets the dangers of worshipping and obeying things other than G-d, it ensnares and drives a wedge between G-d and man this is the method and aim of the adversary. It creates an adulterous relationship. Then this compromising spirit enters in an example of this is the history of the Kings of Israel and Judah, when some of these Kings done what was right in the L-rd’s eyes but did not take down the high place that were being worshipped to these idols. This compromise is evident to today by the world saying everything is permitted, but for us followers of Yeshua its not, we can’t be those who partake commune as one unified community and have disunity and disobedience in everything else, we can’t mix new age church babble with the Word of G-d, we can’t be prideful in our material and worldly accomplishments and try to act as if were humble, or are we seeking approval from the world and its sinful way to be adored and also claiming to be Disciple of Christ. What Paul was saying we can’t have it both ways and are we really trying to make the L-rd jealous and ourselves unfit bride. Yeshua said, No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first.
How do we avoid and rid ourselves of idolatry?
1) We must love and worship G-d with all of our heart, all our being and all our resources. To obey His mizvot, commandments and rulings.
2) Repent when we have allowed our pride to take us away from G-d.
3) To know we are to be a single-hearted and spotless bride, we are to be set apart as a people of G-d.
4) To have the Holy Spirit direct and constantly remind us that idolatry is death and judgment and YHVH is life.
5) Pray ,learn and cling to the Word of G-d, so we may receive wisdom, knowledge and understanding to not make the same mistakes of our past of being idolatrous.
6) 1John 5. 19-2119 We know that we are from God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the Evil One.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment, so that we may know who is genuine; moreover, we are united with the One who is genuine, united with his Son Yeshua the Messiah. He is the genuine God and eternal life.
21 Children, guard yourselves against false gods!