The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but do not speak; they have eyes but do not see; they have ears but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.
(Verses 15-18)
What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach: Behold, it's overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. Habakkuk 2:18-20
For most of us, it's obvious that ancient idol worship was somewhat ridiculous. I mean, we don't have little shrines set up to represent our gods, do we? I go into our local nail salon for pedicures occasionally and see a fat little Buddha surrounded by oranges and smoking with the morning's incense. But we don't do that, do we? While in Mexico City years ago, I watched a woman crawling on her bloody knees toward the steps of the Catedral de Guadelupe Hildalgo. She was weeping as she made her way, holding a crucifix in her hands. Yesterday I saw a homeless woman begging for the money that fuels her addiction to drugs, talking crazy as she stopped each person passing by. Really, to be honest with myself, I've had my own idols. They aren't made of wood or stone, but they've replaced my need for God in a moment or a season. Idols just as impotent and ridiculous as a stone monument to some made up deity. I've been lied to by the things I put in the place of my God.
I'm reasonably intelligent, so I don't go outside to find the nearest chunk of fine teak so that I can bring it home to form a thing I will then worship. I know it's just a carving I made up. It would be intellectual suicide for me to then bend down in homage to the image I'd just created. The thing is, I haven't been so darn smart when it comes to bowing down to things that aren't so obviously a lie. Anything more important to me than God is an idol to which I bow. Think about it. What stands in the way of our doing what God wants for us? What have we really made more important than He? It could be our mate, our kids, our job, our hopes and dreams. It could be drugs, alcohol, food, a lover, a friend, bitterness, depression, unforgiveness or cigarettes. Where do we go when we should be going to our God? What makes it all better for us? That's our idol.
I believe two things cause us to slide away from God into a pit where idols lie to us. Pain and prosperity. One takes us down into a place of hopelessness and cries out, "Fix this now!" The other tells us we are mighty and have no need of God. I'll take pain first. I know this to be a fact and can completely understand why someone deeply hurt will need to medicate--a diversion, even, from the onslaught that has left her beaten and desperate. Especially if she doesn't know God. I did...do...and still fell into the pit this way. Because God sometimes seems far away and impotent. And Satan's job is to take us from pain to more pain. Be assured, child of God, the enemy of our souls is there when we are knocked flat, laughing and rubbing his hands together. It's the perfect opportunity to reach out to us and offer a quick fix. But we know, one high leads to another...and then we are trapped. We become like our idol. Helpless, breathless, speechless...addicted. It was all a lie. Many have lost everything and still hold the hand of a lying, ruthless idol.
Prosperity. Solomon was the wisest man who'd lived up to his time. He was felled into idolatry and adultery because of his riches. They swallowed him up. Sublimated his need for God. Idle and in need of entertainment, he bought wives and concubines. Lust for them came with a price--lust also for their gods. People haven't changed since then. The wealthiest of us can't seem to find God beneath the piles of things that meet every possible need and desire. Maybe that's why Jesus said it's very hard for a rich person to become a Christian. They don't feel the need for God as they bow down to all that money can buy.
What's the answer to our need? I'll go with Habakkuk on this one. Be still and shut up. Still the voices in our heads that condemn God. Yes. Condemn God. The tape recorder we often listen to that says the real and awesome God, isn't looking out for our best interest. Isn't still on His throne actively involved, breathing and real, able to teach and guide. Both pain and prosperity are tools for the enemy to scream at us we need something other than the one true God. And we won't hear God from His throne if we can't quiet the lies that bring us finally to our faces in abject surrender to the fix the enemy has so heinously prepared for us. If you find yourself in the grip of an idol...if you recognize its hold on you...run. Run to the throne room--to the only hope you have--and lie there and wait. In the frenzy of your pain or in the drunken stupor of the wealth that has intoxicated you, you will discover the vacuum that has brought you to another god. The emptiness might be quite painful, it might take your breath away. But look at it. Don't try to fix it; don't pour Satan's elixir on it. Feel it. And give it away. In the silence you will know, beyond any doubt, you have believed a lie. But you will also find a breathing, talking, loving God who wants to move His tabernacle, His holy temple, into the empty places of your pain. This I know.
(Verses 15-18)
What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach: Behold, it's overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. Habakkuk 2:18-20
For most of us, it's obvious that ancient idol worship was somewhat ridiculous. I mean, we don't have little shrines set up to represent our gods, do we? I go into our local nail salon for pedicures occasionally and see a fat little Buddha surrounded by oranges and smoking with the morning's incense. But we don't do that, do we? While in Mexico City years ago, I watched a woman crawling on her bloody knees toward the steps of the Catedral de Guadelupe Hildalgo. She was weeping as she made her way, holding a crucifix in her hands. Yesterday I saw a homeless woman begging for the money that fuels her addiction to drugs, talking crazy as she stopped each person passing by. Really, to be honest with myself, I've had my own idols. They aren't made of wood or stone, but they've replaced my need for God in a moment or a season. Idols just as impotent and ridiculous as a stone monument to some made up deity. I've been lied to by the things I put in the place of my God.
I'm reasonably intelligent, so I don't go outside to find the nearest chunk of fine teak so that I can bring it home to form a thing I will then worship. I know it's just a carving I made up. It would be intellectual suicide for me to then bend down in homage to the image I'd just created. The thing is, I haven't been so darn smart when it comes to bowing down to things that aren't so obviously a lie. Anything more important to me than God is an idol to which I bow. Think about it. What stands in the way of our doing what God wants for us? What have we really made more important than He? It could be our mate, our kids, our job, our hopes and dreams. It could be drugs, alcohol, food, a lover, a friend, bitterness, depression, unforgiveness or cigarettes. Where do we go when we should be going to our God? What makes it all better for us? That's our idol.
I believe two things cause us to slide away from God into a pit where idols lie to us. Pain and prosperity. One takes us down into a place of hopelessness and cries out, "Fix this now!" The other tells us we are mighty and have no need of God. I'll take pain first. I know this to be a fact and can completely understand why someone deeply hurt will need to medicate--a diversion, even, from the onslaught that has left her beaten and desperate. Especially if she doesn't know God. I did...do...and still fell into the pit this way. Because God sometimes seems far away and impotent. And Satan's job is to take us from pain to more pain. Be assured, child of God, the enemy of our souls is there when we are knocked flat, laughing and rubbing his hands together. It's the perfect opportunity to reach out to us and offer a quick fix. But we know, one high leads to another...and then we are trapped. We become like our idol. Helpless, breathless, speechless...addicted. It was all a lie. Many have lost everything and still hold the hand of a lying, ruthless idol.
Prosperity. Solomon was the wisest man who'd lived up to his time. He was felled into idolatry and adultery because of his riches. They swallowed him up. Sublimated his need for God. Idle and in need of entertainment, he bought wives and concubines. Lust for them came with a price--lust also for their gods. People haven't changed since then. The wealthiest of us can't seem to find God beneath the piles of things that meet every possible need and desire. Maybe that's why Jesus said it's very hard for a rich person to become a Christian. They don't feel the need for God as they bow down to all that money can buy.
What's the answer to our need? I'll go with Habakkuk on this one. Be still and shut up. Still the voices in our heads that condemn God. Yes. Condemn God. The tape recorder we often listen to that says the real and awesome God, isn't looking out for our best interest. Isn't still on His throne actively involved, breathing and real, able to teach and guide. Both pain and prosperity are tools for the enemy to scream at us we need something other than the one true God. And we won't hear God from His throne if we can't quiet the lies that bring us finally to our faces in abject surrender to the fix the enemy has so heinously prepared for us. If you find yourself in the grip of an idol...if you recognize its hold on you...run. Run to the throne room--to the only hope you have--and lie there and wait. In the frenzy of your pain or in the drunken stupor of the wealth that has intoxicated you, you will discover the vacuum that has brought you to another god. The emptiness might be quite painful, it might take your breath away. But look at it. Don't try to fix it; don't pour Satan's elixir on it. Feel it. And give it away. In the silence you will know, beyond any doubt, you have believed a lie. But you will also find a breathing, talking, loving God who wants to move His tabernacle, His holy temple, into the empty places of your pain. This I know.
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