What does "their altars and Asherah poles" reveal about Israel's spiritual condition? Setting of the Verse • 2 Kings 17:10: “They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.” • The Northern Kingdom is deep into apostasy, having imported pagan worship and rejected the covenant commands of Deuteronomy 12:2–4 and 16:21. What Were Altars and Asherah Poles? • Altars – stone or earthen platforms for sacrifices (Exodus 20:24–25). In pagan practice they became sites for appeasing false gods. • Asherah poles – carved wooden symbols honoring the Canaanite fertility goddess Asherah (Deuteronomy 16:21). God had forbidden even planting a tree beside His altar; Israel planted whole forests of them. Spiritual Diagnosis • Open rebellion: The people replaced the exclusive worship of the LORD with syncretism—“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). • Spiritual adultery: Hosea 4:12–13: “They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills… therefore your daughters prostitute themselves.” Idolatry is marital unfaithfulness to Yahweh. • Hard-heartedness: Repeated prophetic warnings (e.g., Amos 5:26–27) were ignored; outward prosperity dulled their conscience (Hosea 10:1). • Cultural conformity: Instead of driving out Canaanite practices (Judges 2:1–3), Israel absorbed them. • Self-made religion: Altars and poles on “every high hill” show do-it-your-own-way worship, not the centralized, God-appointed altar in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 12:5–6). God’s Assessment in Broader Scripture • 1 Kings 18:19 – Elijah gathers “the four hundred prophets of Asherah” for judgment, proving Yahweh alone is God. • 2 Kings 18:4 – Hezekiah “broke into pieces the bronze serpent” and “cut down the Asherah,” illustrating true reform demands destruction of idolatry. • Jeremiah 2:20 – “On every high hill and under every green tree you lay down like a prostitute.” God equates idol worship with moral depravity. Consequences of Persisting in Idolatry • National exile: 2 Kings 17:18 – “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His presence.” • Personal hardening: Psalm 115:8 – “Those who make them will be like them.” Idols deform the worshiper. • Generational ruin: Exodus 20:5 – “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.” Lessons for Believers Today • Tear down modern “altars and Asherah poles”—anything enthroned above God (Colossians 3:5). • Guard the heart; idolatry begins internally long before external symbols appear (Proverbs 4:23). • Worship on God’s terms, not ours (John 4:24). • Genuine reform replaces idols with wholehearted devotion, as seen in Josiah’s purge (2 Kings 23:4–7). |
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