Hello to all! India is a nation that has thousands of gods. Gods of stone, gods of trees, and statue gods that line the roadside of almost every kilometer of my travels. Their most popular gods are images and statues that show a blue skinned woman carrying a bow, a half man half monkey with a tail that wraps around his body, and a elephant god that is a human with a long trunk for a face and is always surrounded by pots of gold.
Images of these deities would be hanging from local drink stands, engraved on house doors, placed into tile and concrete, and made into giant statues.
The people of India would travel to their temples, offer some type of burnt offering where they would take a mixture of grains and coconuts and burn them in a furnace that would be in the Hindu temple. One day we were walking in the country side and came by a Hindu temple and became really tired from our traveling in the hot humid weather and were looking for a place to sit down when my teammate Lauren sat down on a huge rock. When suddenly our host guide snapped at her to get up from the rock, because it was a holy rock, and if Hindu's saw us squatting on their holy object it just might cause a riot. And in such a case we were definitely outnumbered, so we hurriedly began walking way.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for the LORD your God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20
What was really cool during our month of traveling through India is that we got to destroy some of these idols. Before we flew into India we were told by numerous sources to not directly take on or down idols that we would see in public. These warnings came from previous anecdotes that destroying Hindu images in a cavalier manner led to strife and riots. But after a couple of days our team was tired of seeing these idols that looked hideous. So we began tearing down the posters, cutting down the magical coconuts, destroying images of Satan, and telling the villagers that we came into contact with that these idols are worthless and that only Jesus Christ can save you and help you. Praise be to God that in doing this we never got into fights or skirmishes with the locals. And even though throughout the month we tour down scores of posters, coconuts, signs, and images, there were literally tens of thousands in the cities and villages that we could not tear down. So it was small victories, but victories nonetheless. And what's more it felt great tearing up these idolatrous images for our Father!!
Yet, what most challenged me this month from seeing blatant "old testament" idolatry face to face was that there began to dawn on me that there is "old testament" idolatry everywhere, even in America, even though it doesn't look the same as men and women bowing before a statue of gold. And yet, because our idolatry doesn't look like classical unfaithfulness, we blindly think we are living superior to our ancient ancestors. Idolatry, worldwide, is alive and well.
EZEKIEL 14 Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols. “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: l Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the LORD will answer him myself. And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword n and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
What struck me most lucidly is what goes into idolatry. Not just the "old testament" bowing down and murmuring prayers and things like that, but the everyday activities and attitudes that make ALL idolatries nearly identical.
–Time a person devotes to his/her idol
–Money a person devotes to upkeep or beautify their idol.
–How much happiness is derived for a person from their idol.
–How much praise a person gives an object or person in comparison to the one true God.
–Superstitious beliefs that certain "signs" are divinely advantageous
–Daily routines that if altered unhinge ones happiness and peace of mind
For example, one night we were driving back to our village at 11:00 at night and the stars and full moon over India were absolutely breathtaking. Then suddenly, I saw a falling star. And my cultural instincts told me that I should "make a wish" for something great or something fortuitious. And then I realized that making a wish to the stars is absolutely as pagan, and superstitious as these Indians making a passing remark to their tree god, or making some quick (two second) superstitious incantation for something that was an ill omen, or happenstance good luck. All of them relegate especial significance to a part of creation, instead of the Creator. And this point cannot be made any more sharply! Nowhere, in God's Bible, in his Torah, by his prophets, or by his Son, or by his disciples does it mention anything about true whole hearted believers praying because of a falling star, or making some routine motion due to something that happens throughout our day. On the contrary…
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. 1 Kings 21
ANY action or mindset that originates in a person to garner more "good luck", or ward off a "bad outcome" is most clearly idolatrous. I don't care who you are. The Bible tells us a sparrow does not fall to the ground outside of the will of our Father (Matthew 10). Thus, if everything is due to his divine will- relationships, job successes, flat tire, coworker fight, a simple good day, then we need to solely pray for deliverance and offer loud thanksgiving to YHWH and not get snared into casually going through pagan motions because everyone else in America and people on TV do it and it seems "fun". To be God's holy people means we don't do what everybody else is doing, even if it seems harmless, such as making a "fun" wish because of a falling star. I mean, what is a wish anyway…..
Other signs of idolatry are loving someone dear, more passionately than YHWH (Yehovah) himself. His son Yeshua said, "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:37-39" And Yeshua meant what he said brother and sisters! You love a family member more than Yeshua, then you are not worthy of him. I didn't say it, the Messiah says it and his word is good for all of eternity. Idolatry is putting anything of creation above your affections and devotion of our blessed Creator. It doesn't matter if its a tree, a statue, your TV, your blood relative in your own house, nothing must negate love for Yehovah. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 sums it all up very well.
Another thing I want to leave you with brethren is who is your happiness dependant upon……your central core happieness. Your spouse, a coworker, a group of "forever friends", a collection of movies and music?
For example when you are mad, angry or stressed out? Do you immediately wish you could put your Ipod in so that you can forget about all the —- that is going on around you, instead of getting on your knees and praying to our Father, who can really get you through all the crap thats falling around you?
Or is the best part of your day, when your favorite TV show comes on?
Or is your go to counselor for advice someone who knows little about the Bible and YHWH?
Long blog short, guard yourself against idolatry brothers, its forms, such as greed, are totally invisible, yet they lead to eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth as sure as today's sun has risen.
All glory to YHWH!!! (Yehovah)
Brother in Christ,
Matthew
P.S. I have no intention for this blog to sound incendiary or harsh, but living in a land of old school idolatry for a month revealed some clarion similarities to things that are done all over the world, whether it be in Italy, America, or India.
Walking through an orange orchard in the evening at one of the smallest villages we preached at. In one evening we sipped coconut milk from fresh coconuts, ate oranges right off the tree, were chased by wild bees as we ripped off a third of their hive and ate their honey and then afterwards gave a 2 hour gospel message.
My first group bible study in India. At Mike's and Allison's house in Hyderbad for 3 days because of a sick teammate. Came away soo encouraged from this couple. We studied about dicipleship from 9 till 11:30 with christian men from Hyderbad.
At one of the numerous small villages we stayed at during the month. These children were neighbors to the pastor whose house we stayed at.
