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Tuesday, July 01, 2025

Ridding Ourselves Of Idols Will Not Happen Unless We Start

In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the LORD and repaired them. He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple. He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary. Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned the LORD and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him. They also shut the doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel. “That is why the LORD’s anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes. Because of this, our fathers have been killed in battle, and our sons and daughters and wives have been captured. But now I will make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.” [2 Chronicles 29.3-11] 

All of today's One Year Chronological Bible reading is full of amazing instruction for us today regarding the issue of idolatry and how to rid ourselves of it if we will see it.

As we understand Israel's faithlessness to God up to this point, we understand that that faithlessness was indeed gross idolatry. Israel's faithlessness to God was so widespread that it had even taken over the Temple. The sanctuary of the Temple, the centerpiece for Israel's worship of and devotion to God, was full of defiled things.

We must understand at this point that the problem of idolatry is not so much that the world embraces idols, but that God's people embrace them even taking them into the realm of their worship of God. This is seen in Hezekiah's day and is recorded in the Bible so that we might understand its relevance for our day.

Hezekiah demanded that the defiled things be removed from the Temple. In his demand, he explained not only what Israel's idolatry looked like then, but also inadvertently what our idolatry looks like todayOur ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned the LORD and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him. They effectively stopped worshiping God in the manner He required, filled the sanctuary of the Temple with idols to which they turned to, and, in so doing, turned their backs on God.

Hezekiah's demand for purification then is no different than Jesus' demand for purification today!

Jesus said this:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

This demand for purity is also seen (for those who will see it) in one of Christianity's most popular passages of Scripture:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” [John 3.16-21]

The words "one and only Son" confirm the singularity of Jesus as the way, truth and life, as seen from God's perspective and, thereby, demand the singularity of Jesus as the way, truth and life, as seen from man's perspective. "One and only Son" is, in itself, a demand for purity.

Furthermore, the context of John 3.16 goes on to confirm the default worthlessness of those whose backs are turned to Jesus and instead thus turned to idols: anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. This describes perfectly the condition detailed long before in 2 Kings:

They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the LORD’s command not to imitate them. [2 Kings 17.15]

It should be noted here that the beginning of worshiping worthless idols (rendering the worshiper worthless) did not begin with "Israel" per se, but began in the Garden of Eden when man made an idol of his own will over the will of God - he made an idol of himself. What started as simply one little idolatrous thought, "has God really said...?" from there, grew into pandemic idolatry that, ironically, maintains a "self-focus" embracing man-made idols for the provision of benefits God promised: wealth, protection, health, and knowledge. These idols are debt, insurance, medicine and technology.

But, as should be understood in what Jesus said in John 3, all who hold to their idol of self and the judgement upon that idolatry refuse to turn to the one and only Son, because to turn to Him requires purposefully turning away from and purging themselves of every idol as Hezekiah's story so amazingly and prophetically describes for those who will see it today. God, and therefore Jesus, does not permit plurality (syncretism) in whom we look to - thus "the one and only Son." Again:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

Regardless how they attempt to defend their actions, all who refuse to let go of their idols (man-made for man's benefit) love the plurality of their idolatrous darkness more than the singular light of God's plan - His Son - and the real faith required to walk in it. 

You must not have any other god but me. [Exodus 20.3]

What is said here is not a stretch upon the story of the Bible, but rather, a more in-depth look at what the Bible has been saying all along. The only stretch is the "Christian's" insistence upon holding to man-made, man-serving idols and demanding that God is okay with it. The overwhelming powerlessness of the Church today, compared to what Jesus said it should be, stands as a damning indictment that only shallow Bible teaching or outright false doctrine will defend.

They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! [2 Timothy 3.5]

The NKJV says it like this: ...having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 

As if God knew how intricately entwined idolatry would become in our day, Hezekiah's story clearly acknowledges the remedy for such idolatry takes time and effort.

They began the work in early spring, on the first day of the new year, and in eight days they had reached the entry room of the LORD’s Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the LORD itself, which took another eight days. So the entire task was completed in sixteen days. [2 Chronicles 29.17]

I do not believe the Bible is prescribing 16 days to get our idolatry clean-up done, but acknowledging that it is indeed a process that will take time. However, it will not happen unless and until we start...

Father, I don't know how Your Word could be any more compelling on the subject of idolatry. Open our eyes to see and prepare our hearts to comply. May our faith in Jesus as Your one and only Son be profoundly singular as the world witnesses our progressive rejection of idolatry. Grant us the grace to start the process and live our lives in the purity of trusting Christ alone as a confirmation of our undivided faith and as a powerful witness to the world (even though they will mock and decry our efforts). So be it.

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