6/23/11 2nd Commandment- The foolishness of idolatry

Eph 5:5 (NIV) For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

(Painting an Idol in India)

But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. ¹⁶ Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says,  “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.” ¹⁷ From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!” ¹⁸ They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?  Shall I bow down to a block of wood?” (Isaiah 44:15-20)
Thoughts: Isaiah points out several weaknesses in idolatry.  We fashion the God (instead of God fashioning us); From the same wood we burn we make a god; to bow down, giving our lives to a lifeless thing is ignorant.  Ephesians 5 points out that greed is a form of idolatry- that elevates our desire for lifeless things over the life-giving God.  While not all idolatry is greed, certainly greed is a form of idolatry.  But perhaps the major disadvantage to idolatry is it steers us away from the true God and therefore from His dwelling place. 

Prayer: Free me from the desire for happiness found in the things of this world.  Help my heart to long for you.