Using Idols To Prevent Punishment For Using Idols

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? [Jeremiah 32.27]

Here above is something God says about Himself. He presents Himself as sovereign. The setting in which God said this was during the siege of  Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The reason Jerusalem was under siege was because God had handed her over to Nebuchadnezzar because of unfaithfulness and idolatry. God's people had begun to trust other gods for that which God said He alone would provide.

Something else said in the same context of the verse above will be well noted here:

They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it. [Jeremiah 32.34]

God's people did not necessarily replace God with idols, but simply added idols to their worship of Him! In other words, they included idol worship in the Temple worship, the very place they were to honor God alone! 

The relevance of these ancient Old Testament writings to us today is undeniable. The Church today has adopted and even incorporated the idols of the world into its worship of God. Here is an example: "We trust God for our healing through medicine." Could this popular statement reveal that we do not believe God is capable of healing us without medicine? We need to answer his question! All of the Old Testament and the faith teachings of Jesus beg us to answer this question!

So, back to what God says about Himself: we would do well to believe it and act upon it.

Think! If nothing is too hard for God, then why would we need anything else? Why would we seek anything else? Why? Because we are faithless and idolatrous! And, because we are faithless and idolatrous, there is only one acceptable response: repentance.

True repentance then, will reveal itself in our ridding ourselves of idols we have allowed in our personal lives and in our worship of God. To be clear, this means we will no longer trust idols (in part, or in whole) for that which God said He could and would do for us... ANYTHING! This means we will refuse to give God's glory to any other entity. This means we will separate ourselves from any attachment to these idols whatsoever in order that God alone is our everything.

So, because nothing is too hard for God, He can and will overcome any attempts to avoid His punishment (that is actually the context of the opening verse above). But the reason for that punishment is because God's people had not trusted Him singularly to take care of them!

I am just going to go ahead and say it here in the midst of COVID and all the debate about vaccination: If we turn to the idols of medicine to prevent punishment brought on by our idolatry of medicine (and other devices of man), then we will see those idols of medicine fail! It is pure madness to use idols to prevent punishment for using idols! 

We have some repentance work to do. If we do not, this is only going to get worse!

Father, I don't even know where to begin to rid myself of idolatry. Forgive me for adulterous trust in other entities besides, or along with, You. Forgive me for not hallowing Your name in my life by fleeing even every thought of dependence upon anything or anyone else besides You.