Topical Bible: Idolatry: Objects of Sun, Moon, and Stars

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Idolatry, the worship of created objects rather than the Creator, is a recurring theme in the Bible, often condemned as a grave sin. Among the various forms of idolatry, the worship of celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars is explicitly addressed in Scripture. This practice was prevalent among ancient Near Eastern cultures and posed a significant temptation to the Israelites, who were called to worship Yahweh alone.

Biblical Condemnation

The Bible explicitly forbids the worship of the sun, moon, and stars. In Deuteronomy 4:19, Moses warns the Israelites: "And when you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven." This command underscores the distinction between the Creator and His creation, emphasizing that celestial bodies, though magnificent, are not to be objects of worship.

In Deuteronomy 17:2-5, the law prescribes severe punishment for those who engage in such idolatry: "If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—and if it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and confirmed that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, you must bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone that person to death."

Historical Context

The worship of celestial bodies was common among Israel's neighbors, including the Egyptians, Canaanites, and Babylonians. These cultures often deified the sun, moon, and stars, attributing to them powers over fertility, agriculture, and fate. The Israelites, living amidst these influences, were repeatedly tempted to adopt similar practices, leading to periods of syncretism and apostasy.

Prophetic Rebuke

The prophets of Israel frequently rebuked the nation for engaging in idolatry, including the worship of celestial bodies. In 2 Kings 23:5, during the reforms of King Josiah, we read: "Then he removed from the entrance to the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and carried their ashes to Bethel." This passage highlights the extent to which idolatry had infiltrated even the religious practices of Judah, necessitating radical reform.

Jeremiah also speaks against this form of idolatry, declaring in Jeremiah 8:2: "They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served and followed, which they have sought and worshiped. They will not be gathered or buried; they will be like dung lying on the ground." This vivid imagery underscores the futility and disgrace of worshiping created things.

Theological Implications

The worship of the sun, moon, and stars represents a fundamental misunderstanding of God's nature and His relationship to creation. By venerating the created order, idolaters invert the proper hierarchy, placing creation above the Creator. Romans 1:25 articulates this error: "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen."

The biblical prohibition against idolatry, including the worship of celestial bodies, serves as a reminder of God's unique sovereignty and the call to exclusive devotion to Him. The heavens, while declaring the glory of God (Psalm 19:1), are not to be objects of worship but rather testimonies to the majesty and power of the One who made them.

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Deuteronomy 4:19
And lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, should be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD your God has divided to all nations under the whole heaven.
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2 Kings 17:16
And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
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2 Kings 21:3,5
For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
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2 Chronicles 33:3,5
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
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Job 31:26-28
If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
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Jeremiah 7:17-20
See you not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
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Jeremiah 8:2
And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung on the face of the earth.
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Ezekiel 8:15,16
Then said he to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? turn you yet again, and you shall see greater abominations than these.
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Zephaniah 1:4,5
I will also stretch out my hand on Judah, and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;
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Acts 7:42
Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O you house of Israel, have you offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
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Library

The Various Developments of Idolatry: Worship of the Heavenly ...
... 9. The various developments of idolatry: worship of the heavenly bodies, the elements,
natural objects, fabulous creatures ... to the heaven and the sun and moon ...
/.../select works and letters or athanasius/section 9 the various developments.htm

All Association with Idols is to be Avoided.
... Admonition Instructing Men to Avoid the Abominable Sin of Idolatry. ... a Christian,
not to swear by the sun, or by ... deities falsely so called as the objects of an ...
/.../constitutions of the holy apostles/sec ii all association with idols.htm

Whether the Production of Light is Fittingly Assigned to the First ...
... It would have been to them a pretext for idolatry if he had ... as to the cause, forasmuch
as in the substance of the sun we have ... But Augustine objects to this (Gen ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the production of light.htm

Whether the Cause Assigned for the Production of the Lights is ...
... by Moses, in order to withdraw his people from idolatry. ... thy eyes to heaven, thou
see the sun and the ... in his works, and is most useful for perceiving objects. ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the cause assigned for.htm

Faustus Repels the Charge of Sun-Worship
... sacrifices; as we see in the word idolatry, which means ... trees and mountains, or even
to the sun and moon ... If they had thus rendered to these objects the worship ...
/.../faustus repels the charge of.htm

Gnostic Exposition of the Decalogue.
... For the motion of the sun from solstice to solstice is ... one of the kinds of fornication,
idolatry, [3471] in ... or to suppose that, of created objects, those that ...
/.../clement/the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xvi gnostic exposition of the.htm

The Second vision "On Earth"
... as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the ... Human beings are the objects
of their assaults ... that these may be; nor the awful form of idolatry hinted at ...
/.../bullinger/commentary on revelation/the second vision on earth.htm

On Idolatry
... to sin and of increasing the crime of idolatry; (1 Kings 12 ... to take the gods of foreign
nations as objects of worship ... any thing in the heavens, the sun, the moon ...
/.../arminius/the works of james arminius vol 1/disputation 23 on idolatry.htm

Plenteous Redemption
... guilty, we cease to be the objects of punishment ... I have done it," says Christ, the
sun of righteousness ... covered with sin, ignorance, mistake, idolatry, and crime ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 7 1861/plenteous redemption.htm

The Sibylline Oracles.
... to emerge from the waters, and became the originator of idolatry. ... hell itself, and
shall convict the unrighteous of guilt; sun, moon, and stars shall fail ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the sibylline oracles.htm