I have read the Old Testament of the Bible a number of times. It is the story of the nation of Israel and their relationship with God--a relationship marred by Israel's sin; that main sin being idolatry. And it was this sin that lead to God sending the nation out of the land of Israel into exile under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
Recently I was reflecting on the seriousness of idolatry and why it incurs God's wrath. To really understand it I had rehearse in my mind the history of God's works in the history of the Israelites. During the time of Moses, the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt under the cruel bondage of Pharoah. They were subjected to forced, bitter labor. But God remembered his covenant with Abraham to bless his offspring. Through mighty miracles of judgment upon Egypt, he delivered them from their ruthless slavery through Moses. He brought his people out with abundance and showed them many amazing acts of kindness and love. He made a covenant with them to be their God and to bless them abundantly. He revealed His gracious, righteous nature through the law that he delivered to Moses to have the people observe. In observing God's statutes, they would be rehearsing the goodness oftheir God and celebrating His covenant of love with them.
However, they soon fell into idolatry that started while Moses was on the mountain receiving instruction from God. They made for themself a golden calf to be their god and go before them:
Exodus 32:1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."
What made this so grevious to the LORD is that it was figuratively a slap in the face of His kindness and love. He could have left them to perish in Egypt yet He set His love upon them. However, in making an idol, they were rejecting Him as their God after all the mercy He had shown them and the gracious promises He had made them.
The process of adopting an idol is to reject the unmerited kindness and love of God. It is like saying, "Yeah, I know all you've done for me and how you've revealed your good nature, but I don't care for all of that. I don't really believe you are that good so I am making my own god they way I like it."
The act of idolatry is not that overt in our era, but it is nevertheless widespread and rampant. God has given us a testimony of His good will toward us through Jesus. We have the gospel proclaimed to us that inspite of our sin, Christ came from heaven to bear our guilt, dying on the cross. And that God raised him from the dead as Lord and Savior with the promise of eternal life for all who receive Him in faith.
Yet in the same way Israel rejected the revelation of God's good will toward them, so it is in our day. Many do not consider the gospel worthy of their time or attention. Sure they have heard of Jesus' death and resurrection but they refuse to see it as any use to them. Instead, they fabricate a god of their own liking in their mind and believe in that one. That god may be the non-existent one. It may be nature. It may be oneself. Or it may be another religion. But the essence is the same--a rejection of the good will and promises offered by God through Christ for all who will believe.
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