Set
Free by Turning Away from Idolatry: A Study of Idolatry
The Fate of Idolaters & Their Idols
The idols of Babylon, Bel and
Nebo,a
are being hauled away on ox carts! But look! The beasts are stumbling! The cart
is turning over! The gods are falling out onto the ground! Is that the best
that they can do? If they cannot even save themselves from such a fall, how can
they save their worshipers from Cyrus?
3“Listen
to me, all Israel who are left; I have created you and cared for you since you
were born. 4I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even
when your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will
carry you along and be your Savior.
5“With
what in all of heaven and earth do I compare? Whom can you find who equals me? 6Will
you compare me with an idol made lavishly with silver and with gold? They hire
a goldsmith to take your wealth and make a god from it! Then they fall down and
worship it! 7They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they
set it down, it stays there, for it cannot move! And when someone prays to it,
there is no answer, for it cannot get him out of his trouble.
8“Don’t forget this, O guilty ones. 9And don’t forget the many times I clearly told you what was going to happen in the future. For I am God—I only—and there is no other like me 10who can tell you what is going to happen. All I say will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. 11I will call that swift bird of prey from the east—that man Cyrus from far away. And he will come and do my bidding. I have said I would do it and I will. 12Listen to me, you are stubborn, evil men! 13For I am offering you my deliverance, not in the distant future, but right now! I am ready to save you, and I will restore Jerusalem and Israel, who is my glory.[1] (Isaiah46:1–13)
Set Free by Turning Away from Idolatry: A Study of Idolatry, 46:1–13
(46:1–13) Introduction: Idolatry, Worshipping
Something Other Than the Lord, Is A Horrifying Evil. It is bound to be
repugnant in the sight of the Lord, the only living and true God, the Creator
of the universe with its hundreds of billions of stars and galaxies. Think
about it. There are over 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone, and there are
also over 200 hundred billion galaxies? The numbers are staggering, beyond our
comprehension or imagination. The vastness of our universe just explodes the
human mind! The Lord Himself dwells in glory that mere men cannot possibly
fathom. Considering His radiant glory and magnificence, the Lord must be
totally repelled when anyone worships something or someone other than Him, the
only living and true God. Considering God’s creation and the wonderful
salvation He has provided for the human race, it is inconceivable how anyone
could deny God.
Idolatry is the subject of the
present Scripture. Isaiah had already predicted that Babylon would be the
agent of the judgment God had pronounced upon Israel. In the present Scripture,
Isaiah predicts that the Lord would also eventually judge Babylon because of
its cruelty and wickedness. And the false gods and idols worshipped by the
citizens of Babylon would be powerless to stop God’s judgment. Despite the
people’s crying out to their gods for deliverance, the great empire would fall.
The idols in which the people trusted would be helpless, unable to save them.
This is the subject of the present Scripture: Set Free by Turning Away from Idolatry: A Study of Idolatry, Isaiah
46:1–13.
1. The Fate
of Idolaters and Their Idols (vv. 46:1–2).
2. The
contrasting fate of genuine believers (vv. 3–4).
3. The
powerlessness of false gods to save their worshippers (vv. 5–7).
4. The strong appeal of God to idolaters (all false worshippers) (vv. 8–13).
Dead
Idols and the Living God
The idols of Babylon, Bel and Nebo,a are being hauled away on ox carts! But look! The beasts are stumbling! The cart is turning over! The gods are falling out onto the ground! Is that the best that they can do? If they cannot even save themselves from such a fall, how can they save their worshipers from Cyrus?[2]
The Fate of Idolaters and Their Idols is Described in A Sad,
Tragic Picture of War.
Babylon was to be defeated in war, with all the bloody carnage of slain and wounded soldiers, the cruel slaughter and rape of citizens, and the destruction of property. As a result of Babylon’s defeat, the truth about the people’s gods would be exposed: they were false and powerless to help their worshippers. They were supposed to bring deliverance and give victory over Babylon’s enemies. But instead, they were just like the citizens of Babylon, stooping in utter defeat and bowing down before the conquering enemy (v. 1).
The Fate
of Idolaters & Their Idols
Bel, meaning
lord, was another name for Marduk,
the chief god of Babylon. Bel was the same false god the Canaanites worshipped
as Baal. The other chief god of
Babylon, Nebo, was thought to be
Bel’s son. He was worshipped as the god of fate, wisdom, writing, learning, and
astronomy.
The Babylonians were a very
religious people and totally devoted to their so-called gods. This is clearly
seen in the frequency with which the Babylonians combined the names of their
gods with the names of the children. For example, Nebo (or Nebu) is part of the
names Nebuchadnezzar, Nebopolassar, and Nebonidus, while Bel is part of the
name Belshazzar. Naming their children after their gods shows just how much the
people placed their trust in them.
Obviously, when the Babylonians
faced the hardships and misfortunes of life, they turned to their so-called
gods in prayer and worship, seeking their help. In particular, at times of
desperation such as war or personal assault, the people would cry out to their
gods to save them. But the Babylonians were to learn a much-needed lesson:
their gods were false and therefore could not help them, could not meet their
needs. These false gods could not carry the people through their fiery trial.
Instead, the idols themselves would be carried away by their victorious enemy.
Rather than rescuing the Babylonians from their burden, their so-called gods
would suffer a humiliating defeat and become a burden to the weary animals that
would carry them away as plunder of war (v. 2).
The graphic picture being
painted of both idols and idolaters is that of utter defeat, of being either
destroyed or led into captivity. False gods are not able to help or save those
who worship them. Worshippers of a false god are doomed to defeat and death
without the help of the Lord, the only living and true God. And when their
lives are over, worshippers of false gods will feel the hand of God’s judgment.
They will not inherit the kingdom of God. This is the undeniable pronouncement
of God’s Holy Word:
V “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Co.
6:9–10).
V “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do
such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Ga.
5:19–21).
V “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or
covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but
rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean
person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for
because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of
disobedience” (Ep.
5:3–6).
V “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Re. 21:8).[3]
Chart:
Major Idols Mentioned in the Bible
|
Major
Idols Mentioned in the Bible |
|||
|
Name
|
Where They Were
Worshiped |
What They Stood For
|
What The Worship
Included |
|
Bel (Marduk) |
Babylon |
Weather, war, the sun god |
Prostitution,
child sacrifice |
|
Nebo (son of Marduk) |
Babylon |
Learning, astronomy,
science |
Prostitution
|
|
Ashtoreth (Asherah) |
Canaan |
Goddess of love,
childbirth, and fertility |
Child
sacrifice
|
|
Chemosh |
Moab |
National god |
Child
sacrifice |
|
Molech |
Ammon |
National god |
Child
sacrifice |
|
Baal |
Canaan |
Rain, and harvest,
symbolized strength, and fertility |
Prostitution
|
|
Dagon |
Philistia |
Harvest, grain, success in
farming |
Child
sacrifice[4] |
Child sacrifice or abortion appears to be one of the national gods of the United States. Winston Churchill said, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Considering what happened to the idol-worshippers of history as a lesson to learn, all one can say is, “we are doomed!”
a 46:1
Bel and Nebo. Names of Marduk
and Nabu, the two principal gods in the Babylonian pantheon.
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
a 46:1 Bel and Nebo. Names of Marduk and Nabu, the two principal gods in the Babylonian pantheon.
[2] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
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