Day 11: That’s What You Do With An Idol
Have you ever noticed there’s a little post-script to the Ten Commandments? In Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments open with a prohibition against idols. Yet immediately following, God adds, “You shall not make for yourselves gods of silver or gold” (Exod. 20:23). It’s as if God is saying: I know I just said no idols, but maybe you’ve forgotten since five minutes ago? As it turns out, the redundancy was fitting. Moses leaves the camp and heads up Sinai. But when he returns in chapter 32, the people have made an idol! “Behold your God, O Israel!” they shout around the golden calf. Oops.
Read Exodus 32:15-24 to see how things unfold.
Israel’s idolatry is nearly comical. My own, not so much. I think of an idol as any sin that takes up residence in my life. What are those things that have become a routine part of your life that you know God has prohibited? Where are you dodging conviction like Aaron answering Moses: “The people gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” The response God requires to idols is total demolition. Moses melts down the calf, crushes the cooled gold into powder, and throws it into the water nearby. Any one of these methods would have been sufficient! But Moses isn’t finished yet. Lastly, he makes the Israelites drink the powdered gold mixed into the water. Do you realize what that accomplishes? The people’s bodies will, in the end, convert the remains of the idol into excrement! That is a thorough demolition of an idol. Today’s the day. Don’t just put idols in storage. Demolish them—Moses-style.
Questions to Consider:
Truthfully, what is an idol or two that I can name in my life? What measures can I take to obliterate them?
Prayer
By Rev. Aaron Burt