Idolatry

Idolatry is "worship of idols". The God of the Bible hates it when people, instead of giving all the glory to His Son Jesus, give the glory to idols which have mouths but do not speak, which have eyes but do not see, which have ears but do not hear, they have noses which do not smell, they have hands but they handle not, they have feet but they do not walk, and neither can they speak with their throat. Those who make idols and trust in idols are like the idols (Psalm 115:5-8). The Lord says:

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments" - Exodus 20:4-5

According to the above verse, people who worship idols are the ones who hate the Lord. The Lord's Ten Commandments as mentioned in Exodus 20:2-17 have a specific flow:

  1. I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage
  2. Thou shalt not make any idols
  3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
  4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
  5. Honor your father and your mother
  6. Thou shalt not murder
  7. Thou shalt not commit adultery
  8. Thou shalt not steal
  9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor
  10. Thou shalt not covet

If we notice, every commandment addresses a specific issue:

  1. The identity of the God of Israel
  2. Idolatry
  3. Blaspheming
  4. Remembering the Sabbath day
  5. Honoring parents
  6. Murder
  7. Adultery
  8. Stealing
  9. Lying
  10. Coveting

The Old Testament which was originally written in Hebrew is not a translation, but rather a documentation, as the Israelites spoke Hebrew. The Old Testament read in other languages is a translation of the original Hebrew text. The Hebrew alphabets have several attributes. Firstly, the Hebrew alphabets are basically alphabets, they are also numbers, they carry a picture where every Hebrew alphabet depicts a particular picture, and also every alphabet is a musical note. In other words, the Hebrew alphabets have 4 different attributes to it.

א - Aleph/Alef is the letter A of the Hebrew alphabet. It is also the number 1, and it depicts a picture of the sacrificial ox which is a picture of Jesus. The word Abba (אבא) which means Father, begins with the letter א. With the first commandment, the Lord is saying, I AM your Heavenly Abba. The first commandment talks about the identity of the God of Israel, Yehovah - יהוה. In other words, the Lord - Yehovah - יהוה is saying, "I am not a god who sits on a flower, I am not a god who became a book, I am not a god who is seated under a tree, I AM The God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage".

Usually when we have a conversation with people who are not believers in Christ, they generally tend to say "well I believe that there is one God". But when asked whether the one god which they are talking about brought the Israelites out of Egypt, they would say NO. Then it is obvious that they are not talking about the Biblical God of Israel - Yehovah - יהוה, but they are actually talking about a different god. When we lose the identity of the God of Israel, the result is idolatry. Our Lord Jesus came to establish that very identity of the God of Israel to us, so that we may have a relationship with God as sons and daughters of God, where we can now address Him as our very own Abba Father. The Bible says:

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" - Galatians 4:4-6

Getting into idolatry is to negate the finished work of Christ on the cross, and to ignore the relationship which we have with God the Father because of Christ.

What about Christian idols like the crucifix? What about the Bronze Serpant which Moses had made, and the Ark of the Covenant? Isn't that idolatry?

The Bronze Serpant which the Lord had asked Moses to make, as seen in Numbers 21:4-9, is a picture of Jesus Christ, that shows how the Jewish Messiah would pay for our sins upon the cross. Whoever had been bitten by a snake, when they looked upon the Bronze Serpant which Moses had made, that person lived. This was actually the Old Testament Crucifix. In fact, our Lord Jesus even mentioned about the Bronze Serpant by saying:

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" - John 3:14-15

So without question, the Bronze Serpant was the Old Testament Crucifix. But when the people of Israel started to commit idolatry with the Bronze Serpant by burning incense, Hezekiah, the king of Judah broke it into pieces along with the rest of the idols:

"He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan" - 2 Kings 18:4

As for the Ark of the Covenant, it was kept in the Tabernacle within the Holy of Holies where only the high priest of Israel was allowed to enter once a year with the blood of the sacrificial lamb, which was a picture of our Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The general public did not have access to the Ark of the Covenant. Moreover the Ark of the Covenant is last mentioned in the Bible in 2 Kings 23 where the people kept the passover. This same event is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 35. Later the Ark is hidden away by the Lord during the Babylonion conquest. This way the people of Israel did not indulge in idolatry with the Ark of the Covenant.

People who are into idolatry would never quote Bible verses like Exodus 20:4-5 and 2 Kings 18:4, but would rather quote verses out of their context and try to justify idolatry by calling it venerate, or under a different name. Such people generally tend to say that they don't worship idols but rather are directing their prayers to an idol. What many people are not aware is that prayer is an act of worship that is to be directed to the Lord alone, and not to anything else.

ב - Beth/Beit is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it also represents the number 2, and also it is a picture of a house, or a tent. For example, the name Bethlehem means "house of bread". Jesus Christ the Bread of Life was born in Bethlehem. The Lord strategically places the commandment of idolatry as the second commandment thereby instructing people of His house, the Church, not to worship idols, but rather worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. Our Lord Jesus says:

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" - John 4:24

ג - Gimel is the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it also represents the number 3, and also it is a picture of a camel. Just like the camel which carries people, we carry the name of the Lord and His presence. Hence we should not take His name in vain. Jesus says:

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" - Matthew 5:14-16

ד - Dalet is the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it also represents the number 4, and also it is a picture of a door. Jesus said "I AM the Door" in John 10:9. Hence the door is a picture of Jesus who is also known as "Lord of the Sabbath" as mentioned in Matthew 12:8. By remembering Jesus Christ, and by keeping the sabbath on the seventh day, which is a Saturday, we as believers in Christ declare that the universe was not a result of evolution over millions of years, but rather the Lord created the heavens and the earth in 6 days and He rested on the 7th day. This way we proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ by keeping the Sabbath.

ה - Hei is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it also represents the number 5, and also it is a picture of Grace. As the 5th commandment comes with a promise,the Lord says:

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee" - Exodus 20:12

Today we are saved by Grace through Faith because of Jesus's finished work on the cross, and therefore we honor our parents because of His Grace. The Bible says:

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." - Ephesians 6:-4

ו - Vav is the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it also represents the number 6, and also it is a picture of a nail. Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross by the Romans. The Son of an earthly carpenter who uses nails as tools was nailed to the cross. People today take up tools, which are supposed to be used to build and protect, to take people's lives. The commandment of not murdering is the 6th commandment.

ז - Zayin is the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it also represents the number 7, and also it is a picture of a plow, or a weapon that is used to cut. Husband and wife come together by cutting a covenant with one another under a marriage. The act of adultery destroys a marriage like a lethal weapon. The Hebrew word for seed is "Zera" - זרע which begins with the letter ז. In other words the Lord wants a man and a woman to have children within the covenant of a marriage. The Lord said to the serpant:

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed (zera) and her seed (zera); it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his (refering to Jesus) heel" - Acts 17:11

The Bible says:

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it" - Ephesians 5:22-25

ח - Chet is the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it also represents the number 8, and also it is a picture of a fence, a boundary, or a wall that separates us from the others. Therefore we should not cross the the boundary to steal what belongs to others. The Bible says:

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19

ט - Tet is the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it also represents the number 9, and also it is a picture of a coiled snake. The serpant deceived the woman in the garden of Eden by lying, by bearing false witness against God Almighty, and thereby making the woman to doubt God's Word. When we base our lifestyle on God's Word, we are building our house (our family, our relationships, our faith, etc) upon Christ the Rock (Matthew 7:24-27, 1 Corinthians 10:4). The Bible says:

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" - Romans 10:17

י - Yod is the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it also represents the number 10, and also it is a picture of an arm. We as children of the Most High God ought to use our hands to glorify the Lord and not covet. The Bible says:

"The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God" - Deuteronomy 7:25

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" - Colossians 3:23-24

This way even the Ten Commandments has been strategically placed in an order so as to point to Christ. Adding, removing, or combining the list of commandments destroys the flow and the beauty of God's Word. Our Lord Jesus has fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17-18) and today we are under Grace where the law is fulfilled in us and not by us because we walk not after the flesh, but by the Spirit of the Lord:

"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." - Romans 8:3-4

Being washed by the Blood of Christ, saved by Grace through Faith, and indulging in idolatry does not vindicate a Christian walk that glorifies Christ. The first century Christians practiced the presence of God, and worshipped in Spirit and in Truth, as their body was the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16), where they were conscious that they are carrying the presence of the Living God. Hence, rather than directing their prayer and worship to an idol, they offered their prayers and worship through Jesus Christ our High Priest who is currently seated at the right hand of God the Father, and presents our prayers as a sweet smelling aroma to our Heavenly Abba - אבא (2 Psalm 141:2, 2 Corinthians 2:15).