Exodus 32 — Thoughts

How Common Is Idolatry?

Most of us would have to travel pretty far to see an actual idol. I’m talking about a physical object that someone sets up so they can worship it.

But idolatry is constantly happening all around us.

Whenever we put our trust in something other than God to save us, we turn that thing into an idol. In our society, this looks like money, status, relationships, our personal identity — There are many things we look to for salvation.

Because idolatry is so common, we can be tempted to think it’s not a serious issue. Can something we do almost every day really deserve the kind of backlash we see in this chapter?

The trouble with idols isn’t that they are powerless to help us (which they are). It’s that we can’t turn toward an idol without first turning away from God.

God is the God of life, so turning away from Him can only mean turning toward death, and we see that played out dramatically in this chapter.

Thankfully, Jesus takes that death away from us when we trust Him. Only He has the power to save us — and He does.

(Originally written October 19, 2010)