What other scriptures warn against idolatry similar to Ezekiel 16:17? Ezekiel 16:17—The Benchmark “You also took your fine jewelry of My gold and silver, which I had given you, and you made male idols with which you prostituted yourself.” Foundational Warnings in the Law • Exodus 20:3-5 — “You shall have no other gods before Me… you shall not make for yourself an idol… you shall not bow down to them or serve them.” • Leviticus 26:1 — “You shall not make idols for yourselves, nor set up a carved image or sacred pillar… for I am the LORD your God.” • Deuteronomy 4:15-19 — Moses cautions Israel not to corrupt themselves by crafting any figure, “the likeness of any male or female,” lest they are “drawn away” to worship created things. Prophets Sounding the Same Alarm • Isaiah 2:8 — “Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands.” • Isaiah 44:9-11 — Idol-makers are “worthless,” and their precious images “do not profit.” • Jeremiah 2:27-28 — People say to wood, “You are my father,” yet in trouble they cry to the LORD. • Jeremiah 10:3-5 — “A craftsman shapes it with a chisel… it cannot speak; it must be carried.” • Hosea 8:4-6 — Israel’s calf-idol is declared “useless,” and the prophet says, “It will be broken to pieces.” • Habakkuk 2:18-19 — “What value is an idol… a teacher of lies?” It “cannot breathe.” Psalms and Wisdom Literature • Psalm 115:4-8 — Idols are “silver and gold, the work of men’s hands… those who make them will be like them.” • Psalm 135:15-18 — Echoes Psalm 115, repeating the warning of becoming like what one worships. • Proverbs 14:12 (principle) — “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death,” applicable to man-made worship. New Testament Continuity • Acts 17:29 — “We should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s art and imagination.” • 1 Corinthians 10:14 — “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” • Galatians 5:19-21 — Idolatry listed among “works of the flesh” that bar inheriting the kingdom. • 1 Thessalonians 1:9 — The Thessalonians “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” • 1 John 5:21 — “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” • Revelation 9:20 — Even after plagues, many “did not repent of the works of their hands… nor of their idols.” Key Threads Tying the Passages Together • Idolatry is spiritual adultery—trading God’s gifts (“My gold and silver,” Ezekiel 16:17) for rival loves. • Whether carved, cast, or conceptual, idols always diminish the worshiper. • God consistently calls His people to exclusive devotion, promising judgment on idolaters and blessing on those who repent and return to Him. |
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