Date Posted: 2/1/2012 11:07:24 PM
Posted By: Viona Membership Level: Silver Total Points: 879
Idolatry (Jeremiah 2:3-7;5:10) Idolatry is the worship of gods and goddesses made by human beings.Idols include false deities.Elijah fought against this evil in the Northern kingdom of Israel. In addition, King Josiah of Judah attempted to rid off this evil. However their achievement was short lived.The Israelites soon rebelled against their one true God;they worshipped false gods.Jeremiah saw idolatry as a double crime.The people of Judah not only abandoned their God but they also went ahead to worship and serve false deities (Jeremiah 2:5-12,5:19).They practised polytheism which was against Israel''s monotheistic faith (Exodus 20:2). Judah''s gods and goddesses were as many as her cities (Jeremiah 2:28,6:28). The people of Judah had broken their covenant with Yahweh.According to Jeremiah, the worship of Baal and other deities was a kind of corruption to Yahweism.In this confusion, the people of Judah still continued to worship deities. However, when in trouble, they turned to Yahweh to save them.Consequently, Jeremiah made a mockery to their sycretism.Jeremiah did not perceive idols as God.Instead, he saw that they were the work of human beings; curved from trees and decorated by artists (Jeremiah 2:11,10:3-4,25). In Jeremiah 16:20, the prophet asked,"Can man make for himself gods? They are worthless, false and lifeless as corpses and are useless creation of human beings."Jeremiah pointed out that idols were foreign of the true worship of Yahweh. By worshipping idols, the people of Yahweh were imitating foreigners. They were trading their true living God for powerless good-for-nothing objects. Jeremiah showed the futility of the worship of foreign deities.He said that the people had forsaken the fountain of living waters and hewn out for themselves; broken cisterns that cannot hold water.Idols were leaking water vessels and the people who worshipped them were deceiving themselves.According to Jeremiah, idol worshippers were senseless (Jeremiah 10:14-15).He called upon his country men and women to return to the holy God who deserves honour as there is none like him (Jeremiah 10:7).Jeremiah taught that idolatry is like adultery. The unfaithfulness of people of Judah to their God was linked to prostitution by an unfaithful wife.The people of Judah abandoned Yahweh their true husband and chased after many lovers - the foreign deities. Judah the unfaithful wife was depicted as a lustful partner.Idolatry was as such a sign of lack of trust in Yahweh. It was an act of rebellion against God and a bleach of the covenant relationship.Jeremiah said that Judah should have learnt a lesson from her sister''s (the Northern kingdoms) harlotry and returned to God whole-heartedly. Israel was punished because of their unfaithfulness. However, this did not prevent Judah from practising idolatry (Jeremiah 3:6-10).Judah''s guilt was more than that of her sister-Israel. This is because Judah had a chance to learn from Israel''s mistake and punishment. Even foreign nations whose worthless gods Judah worshipped were better off. The foreign nations would never agree to abandon their deities for Yahweh despite their gods being unreal (Jeremiah 2:11,10:2-3).Compared to their ancestors from Egypt, Judah''s apostasy was greater.Apostasy refers to the act of abandoning one''s original religious or political beliefs and principles. Israel''s ancestors repented and turn back to worship their God even though they did this repeatedly. However, Judah persisted in provoking God''s wrath as they continued to adore false gods.As a result of this idolatry, the people of Judah defiled themselves, their land, the temple and the holy city of Jerusalem. They gave burnt sacrifices and offerings to idols on every high hill and near every green tree.Idolatry was rampant in the cities of Judah and streets of Jerusalem. Not even the temple of God was spared (Jeremiah 3:13,7:5-26).Jeremiah challenged the people of Judah to repent and abandon the worship of deities. He predicted divine judgement on Judah due to stubbornness of the people. Jeremiah asserted that Yahweh is the only one true God to be worshipped; not idols (Jeremiah 10:6-13).
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