Topical Bible: Idolatry: Consists in Sacrificing to Images

◄ Idolatry: Consists in Sacrificing to Images ►

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Topical Encyclopedia

Idolatry, in the biblical context, refers to the worship and veneration of images or physical objects as gods. This practice is explicitly condemned throughout Scripture, as it represents a direct violation of the first and second commandments given by God to the Israelites. The act of sacrificing to images is a central aspect of idolatry, where offerings are made to man-made representations instead of the one true God.

Biblical Prohibition and Condemnation

The Bible consistently warns against idolatry, emphasizing the futility and sinfulness of worshiping created things rather than the Creator. In Exodus 20:3-5 , God commands, "You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God."

The Israelites' history is marked by repeated lapses into idolatry, often involving sacrifices to images. In 2 Kings 17:16-17 , it is recorded, "They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying."

Consequences of Idolatry

The consequences of idolatry are severe, as it leads to spiritual adultery and estrangement from God. The prophets frequently warned Israel of the impending judgment due to their idolatrous practices. Jeremiah 19:4-5 states, "For they have forsaken Me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built high places to Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I never commanded or mentioned, nor did it ever enter My mind."

Idolatry in the New Testament

The New Testament continues to denounce idolatry, urging believers to flee from it. In 1 Corinthians 10:14-20 , Paul warns, "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf. Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar? What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons."

Spiritual Idolatry

Beyond physical images, idolatry can also manifest as spiritual idolatry, where anything that takes precedence over God in one's life becomes an idol. Colossians 3:5 instructs, "Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry."

Conclusion

The biblical narrative consistently portrays idolatry as a grave sin that leads to spiritual ruin. The call to worship God alone and reject all forms of idolatry is a central theme throughout Scripture, urging believers to maintain their devotion to the one true God.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 106:38
And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Acts 7:41
And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Impiety of Attributing a visible Form to God. --The Setting up of ...
... profess who are most desirous to clear themselves of idolatry. ... the source of the
whole evil consists in a ... by those who are praying or sacrificing, though they ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 11 impiety of attributing.htm

Though in Almost Every Age There have Indeed Been in the Heathen ...
... produced, allowed men to continue the idolatry of their ... Hence those divers ways of
sacrificing, and numberless ... of which the whole scheme consists: But this was ...
/.../vi proposition vi though in.htm

Jeremy Taylor -- Christ's Advent to Judgment
... yet in the beholding that face consists much of ... of His priestly office, of sacrificing
himself for us ... and indistinction from a common people for their idolatry. ...
/.../various/the worlds great sermons vol 2/jeremy taylor christs advent.htm

Exposition of the Moral Law.
... The grossest vice here prohibited is external idolatry. This commandment consists
of two parts. ... The latter forbids the worship of images on any religious ground ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 8 exposition of the.htm

Faustus Repels the Charge of Sun-Worship
... sacrifices; as we see in the word idolatry, which means ... which is a different thing
from sacrificing to God ... vestal virginity is great, yet it consists wholly in ...
/.../faustus repels the charge of.htm

Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
... effect of that true wisdom which consists in the ... believing in the Lord, by sacrificing
unto him ... 554] Israel, by falling into idolatry, manifestly disregarding ...
/.../the ordinance of covenanting/chapter viii covenanting according to.htm

City of God
... What Hermes Trismegistus Thought Concerning Idolatry, and from ... the Blessed Life,
Which Consists in Partaking ... a Spiritual Sense Without Sacrificing the Historic ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/

Period iv. The Age of the Consolidation of the Church: 200 to 324 ...
... this, and commanded temples without any images to be ... have been contaminated by the
abominable certificate of idolatry. ... man; not the Church which consists of a ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period iv the age of.htm

part ii
... We must remember that the Christian religion consists in loving our enemies: "For
if ... Therefore when, for instance, in church you look upon the images of God's ...
//christianbookshelf.org/calvin/my life in christ/part ii.htm

A Traveler's Note-Book
... essayed to define in what this law consists, he fell ... The images that rise to seduce,
the images that rise ... prophets laid the disaster to the idolatry or other ...
/.../merriam/the chief end of man/iii a travelers note-book.htm