“…And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be notend…” Isaiah 9:6,7
Why is it that idolatry is such a heinous sin in the eyes of God? And why did God, in speaking to and through Moses to the people of Israel begin speaking of the ten commandments by saying, “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have NO other gods before Me?” (Ex. 20:3,4)
The first and foremost reason for which the making of physical idols is forbidden, is that they represent a lie. We know from Jesus’ teachings that the “lie” is from Satan, as he is declared to be the “father of lies.” There is no lie in God, only truth. This is why Jesus would declare that he IS the truth. All that He was, was true, there being no “guile” in Him, no deception. He was what He said, and said what he was. The very declaration that He was, and is, the truth, is the basis for every consideration of God, not only with regard to salvation, and sins being dealt with, but with regard to living by the power of an indestructible life, that of Christ by the Spirit. In Isaiah 44:8, the Lord makes the matter very clear when He says: “Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any.”
There is another reason for which other “gods” are not to be worshipped, or embraced. Throughout the history of the world, there have been those who have thought themselves, even declaring themselves, to be “gods.” In the eyes of men, maybe they were. But there is an enormous, even fathomless and finite difference between the “gods,” having been created by the imaginations and conceptions of men, as opposed to the true and living God. The idol is that physical representation of a false thought concerning God. It is man’s attempt, by the limitations of his natural understanding and imagination, influenced by the twisted ideas coming from his sinful and selfish nature, to “create” an object to worship. Often this is in the form of a man, or woman, but all the time, with faults, and a sinful nature like that of those who have created it.
That which is perhaps the most serious, and offensive aspect of man’s conceived ideas of God, and calling himself to be a god, is the fact that there is no comparison between the two. Though man was created in the image of God, after the Fall, that image would fade, only to be restored as Christ would be formed in him by the Spirit. Before salvation, man bears a faint resemblance to God by his existence, that being soul, spirit, and body. We see another resemblance in that man had an intellect, emotions, and a will, similar to God. But the basic difference between the two is the matter of holiness, purity, absolute perfection. From the moment of the Fall of man, though there existed an incalculable difference between him as a creature, and God as the Creator, it would only be after the Fall that there was a total cleavage, or separation of the two. The holiness of God could not dwell with the unholiness, or sinfulness of man. Sin was a repulsion to Him, for it was the very antithesis of what He was and is. What then needed to occur for lost, and sinful man, who had fallen from his lofty, yet humble, position of sinlessness to depravity, to know the saving strength, power, and love of the Creator?
We discover the answer in the revelation of God in Christ, preserved for us in Scripture. It is there that we discover the incomparable God, as being “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince Of Peace.” God, in His holiness and mercy, reveals Himself as the only One who can save.
Dear Father, Make us to see. In Jesus’ name, Amen.