Hosea 13

Does God really hate idolatry?


Exodus 20:3 tells us “you shall have no other gods before Me.”

Seems pretty clear, doesn’t it?

And today, at the beginning of 2013, it is easy for us to read that and think, “I don’t have to worry about that. I don’t worship idols.”

Usually, when we think about an idol, we get a picture of a specific object. It can be anything from a golden calf to a little statue on our desk or shelf. But it can also be other things that we don’t like to think about as idols.

Our jobs; the money we bring in; our boat; our cabin at the lake; our summer house in Colorado; and even our families. We can, in fact, become our own idols.

How so?

What, exactly, is an idol?

It is anything that takes priority over God. God is a God of love, but He is also holy. And He is just. He demands our loyalty to Him. So if we choose to disobey Him, (and that includes NOT obeying something He has asked us to do), because of someone or something else, we have made that an idol. If we trust in ourselves to fix our problems, or make our own way, we are making ourselves an idol. We are to depend on Him, and to trust Him for all of our needs.

“But I have a good job, making good money. Am I not supposed to take care of myself?”

How did you get the job?

“Well, I have a great set of skills that allowed me to get the job.”

Where did the skills come from?

I’ve made all of the arguments myself. And I keep going until I am forced to realize that without Him, I don’t have the strength or ability to even exist. EVERYTHING I have is from Him.

So how strongly does God feel about idols?

Read Hosea 13. Actually, there are hundreds of verses about idolatry. But if you read Hosea, pay special attention to verses 4-8.

“But I have been the LORD your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. So I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion I will devour them— a wild animal will tear them apart.

God, through Hosea, tells them He was the one who cared for them during their wanderings. There is a pattern that the children of Israel follow.

Alexander Tytler wrote about the circle:

“From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.”

And it’s easy to point our fingers at them and talk about how foolish they were. But we do the exact same thing.

God rescues us from our despair, and we thank Him briefly before putting him back on the shelf, and go our way. If He blesses us, we begin to trust our blessings, and not the One who gave them. We become complacent because He has given us abundance. And we begin to trust our blessings, which in turn become our idols.

It’s interesting the phrases Hosea gives. “Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open;...”

Black bears are docile by nature. They will normally shy away from people. But if you are wandering in the woods, and you happen across a mother bear with her cubs, you are in a dangerous situation. She will defend her cubs with her very life if necessary.  And she will likley rip you open.  God doesn't candy-coat how he feels about idolatry.

God is telling us that we are His children…his cubs if you will. He will destroy the idols that vie for our attention.

In 1 Samuel, chapter 5, the Philistines captured the ark after a battle with Israel. They took it back to their temple, and set it in front of Dagon (their “god”). The next morning, Dagon was face down in front of the ark. God will destroy idols. If we are holding on to them too tightly, we are likely to be injured in the process.  And we will stand accountable for our decision to make anything an idol.

Are there idols in your life? Is there anything that you put before, or value more than, God? Don’t be fooled by telling yourself that you are okay, or that God will look the other way. There are consequences to disobedience. And loving something more than Him will be dealt with by a Holy God.