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We gloss over idol passages because when we think of idols we think of bowing down to a statue in our home.
Of icons.
Idolatry Defined
An idol isn’t just a little statue in our home, or whatever, an idol is anything in our life that we worship, that we exalt that we rely on outside of God.
We make idols out of whatever we find the most joy and satisfaction in.
We start to worship that thing.
Whatever controls the heart controls our lives.
Success and making money, beauty, possessions, family, politics, reputation…
Idolatry was a very very serious issue in the OT…the first commandment God gave was “no other Gods before me” and the second had to do with images.
You could say that the rest of the commandments are all about idolatry.
That if you keep the first commandment, no other gods before me, you will keep the rest of the commandments.
Things that are good…making something that is a good thing an ultimate thing.
So he uses the same wood for good things and bad things.
The wood isn’t bad, the way the wood is used is bad.
So he uses the same wood for good things and bad things.
The wood isn’t bad, the way the wood is used is bad.
So he uses the same wood for good things and bad things.
The wood isn’t bad, the way the wood is used is bad.
Diagnostic Questions to Define Idols
If you want to identify an idol in your life ask yourself what things if they were taken away from me would cause me to not want to live?
You take away this possession, this person, and I die.
Where are you finding your identity?
What do you worry about the most
What is your greatest fear
What makes you the most angry
That leads you to your idols
Calvin said our hearts are idol making factories.
Video games can be idols.
PACMAN AND FORTNIGHT
Fornight.
Talking to son about it…we had ATARI.
What’s an ATARI?
Horrible graphics.
Got bored.
Went outside and played.
Not the way graphics are now.
Highly engaging.
Play with their friends
Not the ones in the room with them—the ones in Japan.
Hear them talking over the speaker.
Who’s kid is that?
Negotiate to get off the computer.
Negotiations break down.
Long process to turn off the game.
This is an idol.
Not one you bow down to but pretty close.
It has physical properties.
Amazing how effective it is to just yank the cord.
And it is effective but it isn’t.
It doesn’t deal with the heart.
Makes him mad.
Hardens the heart.
Effective in changing behavior immediately and getting him to do what I want him to do.
And sometimes that is the merciful thing and necessary thing to do.
I want him to see that there are other things.
That this can become an idol.
I’ve dealt with the surface problem but not the deeper problem.
I’ve dealt with the branches but not with the root.
I’ve dealt with the idol, but not the idol behind the idol.
Jehosophat and a King Addressing Idols
Jehosophat was the king of Judah, we looked at his story the past two Sundays.
And one of the main ways the historians would judge a king was how they dealt with the idols of the people…we tend to stop reading when we see idols mentioned in Scripture but those passages are crucial…how a king addressed the idols of the people were the whole ball game for how a king was graded in the OT…whether he removed the idols, made up new idols…and idols are a big aspect of our lives today…
BEFORE AND AFTER SUMMARY STATEMENTS
3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him.
He did not consult the Baals 4 but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel.
--at the start of his reign, he was such a great king that he was characterized as following the ways of David, that’s the highest compliment a king can receive, followed the ways of Ronald Reagan…didn’t consult Baal…outward blatant idolatry…northern and southern kingdoms…northern had no good kings, southern had just a few….wasn’t
like the obviously evil people in the northern kingdom of Israel.
The king reigning during that time in the north was ahab….worshiped
baals wife jezebel worshiped the wife…
But that was at the start of his reign…throughout his reign recorded in the next few chapters, he made some mistakes, but also had this amazing victory that we unpacked last week.
So how would he be judged….we
have these bookend statements about the king…
AFTER (ALL IN? BE LIKE HIM?)
So here is the verdict on Jehosophat…
31 So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah.
He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years.
His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shi-lhi.
32 He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
He was ALL IN.
Be like Jehosophat.
Pray like Jehosophat.
Have courage like Jehsophat.
Trust the Lord like Jehosophat.
Tear down the idols like Jehsophat.
The end.
Do that.
Everyone can go home.
Oh yean…In Jesus’ name amen.
Not quite…
You have to read further.
33 The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.
Oh snap.
Asa Issue
If you were astute you would already know from verse 32 that something was off when the historian said he followed in the ways of his father Asa.
Before he said he followed in ways of David.
Now he has been severely downgraded to having followed in ways of Asa who was good but really messed things up towards the end of his life.
So Jehosophat was good…did good…loved the Lord…is in Heaven for sure…but
Verse 33…the high places were not removed.
What are high places?
High Places Defined From Heart Perspective
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