Idols And The Sabbath

But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would scatter them among all the nations because they did not obey my regulations. They scorned my decrees by violating my Sabbath days and longing for the idols of their ancestors. [Ezekiel 20.23-24]

There is a lot going on in today's OYCB reading. Some leaders of Israel came to Ezekiel asking for a message from God. The passage above is a representative portion of all that was said. From it, we have the opportunity to learn something profound.

Let's start by backing up just a bit. 

Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, get rid of the vile images you are so obsessed with. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, for I am the LORD your God.’ [Ezekiel 20.7]

We should understand God's accusation of Israel being "obsessed" with idols. What does "obsessed" mean? Suffice it to say that the things people are obsessed with generally consume the majority of their mental, physical and emotional resources. In other words, a person's idols are found where their mental, physical and emotional resources are directed. 

So, what do people's mental, physical and emotional resources go to? Expensivity.com says the majority of people's money (which, sadly today speaks for mental, physical and emotional resources) goes to housing expenses. Not too distant in second place is transportation followed closely by personal insurance and pension plans.

The information above only further supports this author's unpopular opinion that debt, insurance, medicine and technology are modern-day idols. Why? Because their maintenance (the mental, physical and emotional resources required to maintain them) require most of people's conscious effort. The comfort and ease associated with debt, insurance, medicine and technology are closely akin to the comfort and ease Israel idolatrously lusted for in Egypt thus infuriating God. 

The irony of Israel's relationship with Egypt is that Israel was in bondage in Egypt, and yet, after their exodus, wanted to go back! And here is where we find ourselves, knowing we are in well-documented bondage to houses, cars, health and insurance (all found in this blog's repeated identification of debt, insurance, medicine and technology) and yet we still demand that we must have them!

It is at this point then that we can understand God's repeated directive about the Sabbath (as seen in the subject passage above). Why the focus on the Sabbath? Because the Sabbath represents rest. Idols provide no rest. More than ever, today's idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology mercilessly demand and digest resources with no regulation upon their consumption. In fact, man's longing for his idols keeps him bound to their tireless, rest-less demands. The Sabbath, in contrast speaks of rest and peace. Jesus defined it perfectly:

And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. [Mark 2.27]

What we are left with then is a two-fold action plan: get rid of idols and prove it by taking rest. It should not be mistakenly assumed that this task will be undertaken without ridicule and difficulty. The "world" will never "see it." But what is sadder still is that most "Christians" will never "see it." Here is another quote from Jesus:

You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. [Matthew 7.13-14]

Father, may Your truth prevail. May our eyes be opened to the bondage we are in and may we see our Sabbath rest in Christ - in faith - that we are called to. For all the things we hold dear, help us to see that if we embrace our own cross, most of these things are meaningless - not to mention that we couldn't carry them anyway if our hands are nailed to our cross!