Topical Bible: The Jews: National Character of Prone to Idolatry

◄ The Jews: National Character of Prone to Idolatry ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The history of the Jewish people, as chronicled in the Bible, reveals a recurring struggle with idolatry, despite their unique covenant relationship with Yahweh, the one true God. This tendency towards idol worship is a significant theme throughout the Old Testament, illustrating the tension between divine commandments and human frailty.

Biblical Instances of Idolatry

The inclination towards idolatry among the Israelites is evident from their earliest days as a nation. After their miraculous deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites quickly fell into idol worship. While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Law, the people constructed a golden calf, proclaiming, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" (Exodus 32:4). This incident highlights the immediate challenge of maintaining faithfulness to Yahweh amidst cultural and spiritual pressures.

Throughout the period of the Judges, the Israelites repeatedly turned to the gods of the surrounding nations. Judges 2:11-12 states, "And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them." This cycle of apostasy and repentance underscores the persistent allure of idolatry.

The monarchy period also saw significant episodes of idol worship. King Solomon, despite his wisdom, succumbed to idolatry under the influence of his foreign wives, as recorded in 1 Kings 11:4-6 : "For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been. Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD."

The divided kingdom further exacerbated the issue. The northern kingdom of Israel, under Jeroboam, institutionalized idol worship with the establishment of golden calves at Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:28-30). The southern kingdom of Judah also experienced periods of idolatry, notably under kings like Manasseh, who "rebuilt the high places" and "set up altars to Baal" (2 Kings 21:3).

Prophetic Condemnation

The prophets of Israel and Judah consistently condemned the nation's idolatry, calling the people to repentance and a return to covenant faithfulness. Isaiah lamented the futility of idol worship, declaring, "They have no knowledge, those who carry about their wooden idols and keep on praying to a god that cannot save" (Isaiah 45:20). Jeremiah echoed this sentiment, warning of the consequences of forsaking the LORD for idols: "My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols" (Jeremiah 2:11).

Ezekiel vividly portrayed the spiritual adultery of Israel, likening the nation's idolatry to unfaithfulness in marriage (Ezekiel 16:15-17). The prophets' messages served as both a rebuke and a call to return to the exclusive worship of Yahweh.

Cultural and Spiritual Influences

The propensity for idolatry among the Israelites can be attributed to several factors. The cultural influence of surrounding nations, with their tangible and visually appealing deities, presented a constant temptation. Additionally, the human desire for control and immediate gratification often led the Israelites to seek gods they could manipulate or see, rather than trusting in the unseen God of their ancestors.

The spiritual battle between faithfulness to Yahweh and the allure of idols reflects the broader human struggle with sin and the need for divine grace. Despite their repeated failures, the Jewish people remained the chosen vessel through which God would ultimately bring redemption to the world through Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 2:8
Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 57:5
Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Paul in Athens.
... in vain applied for relief to their national Gods, were ... Among the Jews themselves,
he dwelt in thick darkness ... having no knowledge of his real character, nor of ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture xx paul in athens.htm

The Education of the World.
... time than any other; and the national life of ... it is unquestionable that in Babylon
the Jews first attained ... the character long after the character would appear ...
/.../essays and reviews the education of the world/the education of the world.htm

Additional Evidences of Christianity, and Reflections on the Whole ...
... we cannot, without great injustice to the character of the ... more here, the preservation
of the Jews, as a ... 172] , which relate to their national conversion and ...
/.../the evidences of christianity/additional evidences of christianity and.htm

The Preface
... a dishonourable light, by giving them a character that even ... own or of other churches,
yea and national churches also ... but true) saying of the Jews, "That great ...
/.../howie/biographia scoticana scots worthies/the preface.htm

Acts XV
... There never was a national antipathy more intense than that ... saying to them, You must
live like the Jews. ... [338] This excellence of Peter's character was known ...
/.../mcgarvey/a commentary on acts of the apostles/acts xv.htm

The Sibylline Oracles.
... Jews, suffering from their late disasters, and prone to look ... to what we know of their
actual character. ... be said of the proselyte baptism practised by the Jews. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the sibylline oracles.htm

Period iii. The Dissolution of the Imperial State Church and the ...
... Lombards in Italy assumed a national character, coming largely ... foundations of the
Germanic national churches were ... forsaken the error of idolatry, and embraced ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period iii the dissolution of.htm

A Traveler's Note-Book
... His character, revealed in the "fierce light that beats ... The national god of the
Israelites, at the earliest ... The Jews had neither science nor logic; they had no ...
/.../merriam/the chief end of man/iii a travelers note-book.htm

John Bunyan on the Terms of Communion and Fellowship of Christians ...
... different tint, or dye, given to the character"was best ... whom he hath called, not
of the Jews only, but ... It is possible to commit idolatry even with God's own ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/john bunyan on the terms.htm

The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
... their numbers by their energy and tenacity of character: lying to ... to it on every
occasion of national danger.* The ... or to the period when the Jews, without any ...
/.../chapter iiithe hebrews and the.htm