Thursday
“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving — in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, ‘It’s no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.’ “As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced — they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah. - Jeremiah 2:23-28
I have to admit that this passage is a little strange and it is full of provocative images. At first reading, it sounds like God is dealing with primitive people who are stuck in some ancient idol worship. However, it is actually a profound statement about our sinful nature and the human tendency to run from God, and it is highly relevant for us today.
First of all, the ‘Baals’ were the false gods of the pagan nations surrounding Israel. In other words, God’s people were tempted by and attracted to the false gods of the surrounding culture (sound familiar?).
The part about the “swift she-camel” and the “wild donkey” are images intended to communicate that God’s people are running out of control. Have you ever seen an animal “in heat” during the mating season? Most of us living in the suburbs have not, unless it was on the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet. The people of the Old Testament would have immediately understood the imagery used here. God is comparing them (and us) to animals out of control with desire when we chase after the false God’s of our culture! The Bible tells us that the sin in hearts is a kind of fatal attraction. The human heart cannot live without some object to which it can attach its ultimate devotion.
The Bible calls this “idolatry” and it is at the very root of sin. Idolatry is the most talked about problem in the entire Bible. The apostle Paul even connects the dynamics of human greed and lust with idolatry. Colossians 3:5 – “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Ephesians 5:5 – “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.” Yet most of us do not think of ourselves as idol worshippers, if we use the term at all it is probably only in reference to the TV show American Idol. As modern people we usually think of an idol as an animal or human figure made of stone or wood or gold. We see it as an object for religious devotion or magical power for pre-modern people who might bow down before it or offer sacrifices up to it. But, idols are not just on ancient pagan altars, they are in our contemporary, educated hearts and minds as well.
John Calvin once wrote, “The human heart is a perpetual factory of idols…every one of us, from our mother’s womb, is an expert in inventing idols.”
An idol is not simply a statue of wood, stone, or metal; it is anything we love and pursue in place of God, and can also be referred to as a ‘false god’ or a ‘functional god.’ In biblical terms, an idol is something other than God that we set our hearts on, that motivates us, that masters or rules us, or that we serve.
Notice how God pleads with His people not to run after these false idols. He says, “Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry”. God knows that our pursuit of any gods but Him will ultimately ruin us. At the end of this passage from Jeremiah, God even warns us that these idols will not be able to help us when the crisis comes. Now look at how the people responded to God’s pleading, they said, “It’s no use! We love foreign gods and we must go after them.”
This sounds very much like the kinds of conversations parents have with young children. We warn them about the dangers of crossing the street, or touching the stove, or talking to strangers. We plead with them and try to explain to them what will happen if they don’t heed our instruction. But, there is just something inside of us (kids and adults) that causes us to learn the hard way. Read the following words from 1 John as a loving reminder and rebuke from your Father.
Jeff Frazier
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1 comment:
I am asking myself what things/characteristics/goals I am "running after until my feet are bare and my throat is dry"... This analogy reminds me of the tyranny of our American culture, and how tired and frustrated we working parents often get (especially working mothers). Certainly, we suburbanites do that with SO many things (run after them)- it is very rare indeed for an American these days to NOT be busy with so many endeavors at once - we have become multi-seekers (that we like to laud as "multi-tasking" productivity). But, how do I stop it? How do I let some of those things go? How do I become more mono-focused, on GOD, living in HIS GLORY, and keeping an AWE for him as central? My boss keeps telling me to read about how to set priorities, because it's the key to success in the business world. I'm thinking he's got a point there, in the Kingdom World as a well!
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