Tearing down the altars of “false”…
I recently looked at what the bible shows us about how God operated when He came upon something “false”. Whether it was a false religion, a false god, a false prophet, or a false confession of faith God has at least one very serious way of dealing with all things false.
He tears them down.
In Deuteronomy 7:5 is an example of how God deals with idols:
(5) But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and hew down their Asherim [symbols of the goddess Asherah] and burn their graven images with fire.
Verses 6-7 offer a reason
(6) For you are a holy and set-apart people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a special people to Himself out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
(7) The Lord did not set His love upon you and choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the fewest of all people. AMP
It’s because He loved us that He set us apart. The message is that to protect us, He would remove anything from our sight that would tempt us to turn away from Him. Yes, He is a jealous God, but like a parent, His ultimate aim is to keep us from being hurt.
There is no shortage of the “build-them-up” messages. But there is not much of the other side of that message today. Not often do we hear that the Lord is also in the business of tearing down idols. In our minds, in our hearts, and in our midst He still orders that we tear down the idols that offer us a false sense of security.
There is a lot of preaching on the forgiveness of God. On any given day you can hear a sermon on the mercy of God. And who cannot give you an opinion of what they believe is the proof of the love of God? These are all awesome characteristics of God. I can testify to you about how these facets of God have been revealed in my life and in the lives of my friends and loved ones again and again. Without any one of these characteristics of God being shown, I would not be here!
I’ve watched as new generations have attempted to make God more accessible to those who have been turned off and turned away by the “forms of godliness” that are paraded in front of them like contestants in a beauty pageant. I applaud their intentions, but as usual the pendulum has swung too far to the other side. What is left is a one-sided view of who God is and how he operates. A half picture of Him that leaves those who are being introduced to Him with a warped expectation of
Who He is. When they are presented with evidence, even from the Bible, of the other aspects of His character, they find it hard to believe that a God who is merciful, loving and forgiving, could be one who carried out such vengeance, even to the point of sending His own Son to suffer, so brutally, to die for sins that He did not commit.
Like those contestants in that beauty pageant, we see a lot of lovely smiling faces, but it takes an undercover exposé to reveal the realities that occur behind the scenes of this display of beauty and lights.
How many of you know that God is in the business of uncovering that which is covered? He is in the business of exposing those tombs that are whitewashed and clean on the outside because they are full of dead mans bones! (Have you ever wondered what killed the dead men?) Isaiah 42:1 tells us that Jesus came to reveal truth.
(1) BEHOLD MY Servant, Whom I uphold, My elect in Whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice and right and reveal truth to the nations. AMP
How can we expect the world to have any desire to come to Christ, when we invite them with our teeth are bared in false grins? Let me assure you that they can tell you are hiding something. They have a sense of what fake love “feels” like. They have experienced enough of that to recognize it eventually, if not immediately. There’s only so long that you can eat, drink and be merry before the novelty wears off!
They deserve to know ALL about God. From the start. Not one side or another, to make Him seem acceptable enough for them to want to serve Him. They need to see Him for ALL that He is. Yes, His love, mercy and forgiveness, but also His righteousness judgments that He has promised to carry out in the sight of a wicked generation.
I found MANY examples of the times the Lord ordered the idols to be torn down. So many in fact, I wondered how it is that we almost never hear of this order from God. Is it still in place?
There is a counterfeit spirit of “love” that is permeating and oozing from the gatherings of Christians. It says that we are to encourage and build up each other. But, like every other counterfeit of the things of God, it only shows a part of the truth. It shows a love that builds up, but not a love that would tear down the idols that men have set up in their hearts. Remember the verses from Deuteronomy chapter 7? This counterfeit spirit does not want us to remember that we, as sons of God, are chastened by God when we get out of line. If we weren’t, the bible says that we are NOT His children.
Proverbs 3:12 tells us this:
For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. NASB
And for those who would tell you that that is an Old Testament concept. Here’s the New Testament quote from Hebrews 12:6:
FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." NASB
To see how serious this could be, lets look at what it means to “scourge”:
SCOURGE, n. skurj. [L. corriggia, from corrigo, to straighten.]
1. To whip; a lash consisting of a strap or cord; an instrument of punishment or discipline.
2. A punishment; vindictive affliction.
3. He or that which greatly afflicts, harasses or destroys; particularly, any continued evil or calamity. Attila was called the scourge of God, for the miseries he inflicted in his conquests. Slavery is a terrible scourge.
SCOURGE, v.t. skurj.
1. To whip severely; to lash.
2. To punish with severity; to chastise; to afflict for sins or faults, and with the purpose of correction.
3. To afflict greatly; to harass, torment or injure.
Hey, THIS word is used in the NEW Testament!
And while we are defining, we need to see what exactly qualifies as an idol? Here is a definition:
I'DOL:
1. An image, form or representation, usually of a man or other animal, consecrated as an object of worship; a pagan deity. Idols are usually statues or images, carved out of wood or stone, or formed of metals, particularly silver or gold.
2. An image.
3. A person loved and honored to adoration. The prince was the idol of the people.
4. Any thing on which we set our affections; that to which we indulge an excessive and sinful attachment.
An idol is any thing which usurps the place of God in the hearts of his rational creatures.
5. A representation.
In 1 John 5, we will find an often overlooked warning.
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
People like to imagine that an idol must be in the form of a statue. The thing that we need to be aware of in this definition is that an idol “usurps the place of God in the hearts of his rational creatures”. There are no ifs, ands, or buts in this explanation. ANYTHING that takes the place of God in the hearts of men is an idol. If we look at the history of man, we will see that worship of idols is not just dangerous, it is often deadly!
What happens in the case where this counterfeit spirit of “love” enters in is that “love” seeks to become an idol and whoever practices what is being taught as evidence of the ability to exhibit this counterfeit “love” becomes an idol. This happens when we begin to seek His hand and not His face, when we worship the creation of God rather than worshipping the Creator Himself.
Without thinking that there may be consequences to another, some warn you not to speak a truth that may be painful to the hearer. They often reason that speaking painful truths would not be the “loving” thing to do because of the pain that may be caused. But what about Godly Sorrow?
(2 Corinthians 7:9 AMP) Yet I am glad now, not because you were pained, but because you were pained into repentance [and so turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that in nothing you might suffer loss through us or harm for what we did.
Paul actually says “I am glad…because you were pained into repentance”! Who would say that Paul was being, unloving?
(2 Corinthians 7:10 AMP) For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death].
(2 Corinthians 7:11 AMP) For [you can look back now and] observe what this same godly sorrow has done for you and has produced in you: what eagerness and earnest care to explain and clear yourselves [of all complicity in the condoning of incest], what indignation [at the sin], what alarm, what yearning, what zeal [to do justice to all concerned], what readiness to mete out punishment [to the offender]! At every point you have proved yourselves cleared and guiltless in the matter.
This shows the result of one brother putting aside his desire to feel good about ignoring another brother’s sin “in Love”. Paul admits that he knew he was taking a risk, but chose to confront the sin of a brother in the Love of Christ.
It is certainly true that a soft word turns away wrath, but the other side of that coin is revealed in Proverbs 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are lavish and deceitful. AMP
A true friend will pain you into repentance!
So when it is the right time to speak those truths? The discerning of the Holy Spirit will tell you when. Understand that it is NOT always the right time. But we must be sensitive and ready when the time comes because, there also comes a time when the receiver has become so hardened by their sin that it may be too late for them to repent. We should try to intervene before that happens. If only someone else had met up with Esau that day:
For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. Hebrews 12:17
What Esau gave up was what could be called a temporal blessing. His birthright was traded for a meal. However, there are many people who, like Esau, venture out too far as they are hunting for whatever it might be that will satisfy them. The bible says Esau loved the hunt. There are still many who love the hunt, and many who like Esau, find that during the journey, they have become too weak to fight the temptation. In a spiritual sense they also have given up their birthright. That right that Jesus came to make possible. That right to become a son of God.
Why do we withhold the truth that might be enough to bring them back before they have gone too far? Why do we allow them to struggle on in their sin rather than confront that sin in the name of Jesus?
Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:3 that there is:
A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;
Ecclesiastes 3:7 goes on to say that there is:
A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
If we would take the time it takes to learn and to understand what the Spirit has to say to us about what time it is, how many of our brethren might be spared another day of torment? Aren’t they worth it?
Jeremiah tells of both sides of a loving God. But one side that even Christians avoid talking about.
Jeremiah 1:10 is God’s commission to Jeremiah:
See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.”
The world will read this and say that God does not love His people. That is sadly also fast becoming the prevailing attitude among Christians. They believe that it’s not fair for God or anyone “To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down”. But not only does Jeremiah 1:10 says He will do these very things, it also appoints his prophet, Jeremiah, to carry it out! With God’s words. Verse 1:9 tells us that God put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth:
Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
Jeremiah did what he needed to in order that he might bear words of warning for God’s people. These are NOT the words of Jeremiah. But through Jeremiah, this is word of the Lord, placed in the mouth of His servant Jeremiah. These words were placed there not only “to build and to plant”. They were also sent to “To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down”!
This is not an isolated occurrence in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word translated “To root out” appears 21 times. The word translated “to pull down” appears 73 times. The word translated “to destroy” appears 178 times. And the word translated “to throw down” appears 64 times in the Old Testament.
Lamentations 2:5 spoken out of a heart of mourning over the captivity of God’s people says that it seemed that:
The Lord was like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel, He has swallowed up all her palaces; He has destroyed her strongholds, And has increased mourning and lamentation In the daughter of Judah.
It perhaps it seemed that way because His judgment was so devastating. It felt like an enemy was coming against the Children of Israel, when in fact it was their loving God. He destroyed Jerusalem, but not without sending a word of warning.
The Lord makes it clear in Jeremiah 45:4 that He will break down, what He has built and that what He has planted He will pluck up. And that is what he did to His people, again and again, until they would eventually turn back to Him from the worship of idols.
Jeremiah 45:4
“Thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land
If you are a person who has accepted All of God and that All of His judgments are sovereign, I understand that you are in a hard place. That alone will make you to mourn like Jeremiah did over God’s wandering people. But always remember this. Your tears are not unnoticed. You can cling to the fact that His love will get you through the hard places that you find yourself in. Even when it’s hard because you know it’s time to lovingly confront a Christian brother or sister about their sin, God will be there.
My major advice to you is that if you are not feeling God’s love calling to that person from your heart before you go, don’t go. Pray for God to give you His love for His people. If you go without the love of God, the shrapnel can be deadly and two may be lost in the attempt to save one. Your own sin can cause you to have an attitude that would cause you to be in attack mode, when that was not your intention at all. It will give the enemy a place to gain a foothold in order to cause separation rather than peace.
Before you try to correct a brother, you must be sure your heart is broken before God over your own sin as well. This is time for you to get before God and ask Him to reveal anything in you that is not from Him. But don’t let this be what keeps you from carrying out your assignment. The enemy would rather have you turn away from the assignment than lose both of you to repentance. This is not an act for those who just give God lip service.
Joel 2:13 reminds us that our hearts must be broken before God.
So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
You must not be bound in the commandments of men.
And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips but remove their hearts and minds far from Me, and their fear and reverence for Me are a commandment of men that is learned by repetition [without any thought as to the meaning], Isaiah 29:13 AMP
Some may tell you to ignore the sins of your brother because they can’t believe that love would cause you to confront sin. Ask God before you take that advice.
Galatians 6:1 tells us:
BRETHREN, IF any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also. AMP
James 3:13-18 offers us a short check list of things to look at in ourselves when we KNOW that God has called us to correct His people.
(13) Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
(14) But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
(15) This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
(16) For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
(17) But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
(18) And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. NASB
Seeds of correction, sown in peace should cause the idols to be torn down when they are sown by those whose aim is to restore a brother to peace with God. It may not look like it at first. But when those seeds are prepared by God before they are planted the Lord will see that they produce a harvest.
Love also will NOT ask you to devour your brother out of a sense of self-righteousness:
But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! Galatians 5:15
Don’t be taken in by this counterfeit “love’.
God is a righteous Judge, yes, a God Who is indignant every day. Psalms 7:11 AMP
I pray that many are healed and restored to their rightful place in the Kingdom of God.
Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity (idols and idolatry); and restore me to vigorous life and health in Your ways. Psalms 119:37 AMP
In His service,
Walkininthespirit
5-15-06
