American Idols

What do you think about when you hear the word “idolatry”? A little golden statue encased in a make-shift shrine with primitive people bowing down to it like something from The Temple of Doom? These sorts of idols seem almost silly to our culture. It seems so distant when God commands His people to avoid making idols and warns the Hebrews about falling into the idolatry of the surrounding peoples. Sadly, the book of Judges shows the utter failure as Israel slipped deeply into that very idolatry. We may think of idolatry as bowing to a little wooden or golden images, but the problem lies much deeper. Actually, the Bible show us that idolatry happens whenever we put something other than God in the place of God—pursuing created things as ultimate things— believing our happiness, identity, and purpose is in them. Judges helps us understand idolatry as the core problem in our humanity and the fountain that produces all of our sin. And, it reminds us that idols never keep their promises because they are gods that are not real or true.