Turning from Idols

Idols Then and Now

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An idol is anything we love, trust or serve more than God. In Exodus 32 the idol was a gold calf. Today idols usually look very different.

What idols are like. “Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see” (Psalm 115:4-5).

We become like them. “Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them” (Psalm 115:8). If we love something empty, our hearts grow empty too.

A bad trade. Psalm 106 says the people “changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass” (Psalm 106:20). They traded the living God for a statue of a cow. The God who split the sea was swapped for something that could not even move.

They forgot. “They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt” (Psalm 106:21). Idols grow when we forget what God has done for us. Remembering His goodness is one of the best ways to keep our hearts close to Him.

Turning back in their hearts. Stephen said, “in their hearts they turned back to Egypt” (Acts 7:39). The calf began in their hearts before it was made of gold. They were impatient and afraid, and they wanted something they could see.

A warning for us. Paul told Christians, “do not become idolaters as were some of them” (1 Corinthians 10:7). He knew it could happen to anyone.

Hidden idols. Paul even said that covetousness, wanting more and more things, “is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Idols can be things like money, games, screens or being popular.

Good things too. Even good things, like sports, friends or grades, can become idols if we love them more than God.

Two masters. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). Our hearts can only have one first place.

A way out. “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Keep away. John ended his letter with a simple command: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).

What we learn. Idols promise a lot and give nothing. Only God can save us, love us and lead us.

What to do. This week, ask God to show you anything you love more than Him. Then ask Him to help you put Him first.

Idolatry is the Bible's name for the human habit of putting something created in the place of the Creator.

The pattern in Exodus 32. The people wanted a god they could see and control, credited their rescue to it and celebrated before it. Every idol follows a version of that pattern.

Psalm 115. The psalm mocks idols as lifeless: mouths that cannot speak, eyes that cannot see. Its sharpest line is about the worshiper: “Those who make them are like them” (Psalm 115:8). We become like what we worship.

Psalm 106. Israel's later worship remembered the calf honestly: “They made a calf in Horeb… Thus they changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass” (Psalm 106:19-20).

Romans 1. Paul uses the same language for all humanity: people “changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image” (Romans 1:23). Exodus 32 is a small picture of the whole human story.

Acts 7. Stephen's speech traces the calf to the heart: “in their hearts they turned back to Egypt” (Acts 7:39). Outward idols grow from inward desires.

1 Corinthians 10. Paul warns the church with Exodus 32:6 (10:7) and then gives a promise: God provides “the way of escape” in every temptation (10:13).

Covetousness. Colossians 3:5 calls covetousness “idolatry.” The tenth commandment and the first are connected: disordered desire puts something in God's place.

Idols of the heart. Ezekiel 14:3 speaks of people who “set up their idols in their hearts.” Today those idols are often money, approval, comfort, control and success.

Good things made ultimate. Most idols are good gifts given the wrong place. The problem is not the gift but the throne we give it.

Divided loyalty. Jesus' words, “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24), echo Moses' call in Exodus 32:26. Neutrality toward God is not possible.

Not by willpower alone. Idols are not removed only by trying harder. They are replaced by a greater love. Delight in Christ pushes rivals off the throne. The people at Sinai needed a better view of God, not only a stronger will.

The last word. 1 John closes with one short command: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). God has loved us in Christ, so we give our whole hearts to Him.

Application. List three good things in your life. For each, write how you can enjoy it as a gift without letting it take God's place.

Jesus Prays for Us

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When the people sinned, Moses prayed for them. He even offered to be blotted out in their place. But Moses could not take their sin away. Jesus can.

Standing in the gap. Psalm 106 says God would have destroyed the people, “Had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, To turn away His wrath” (Psalm 106:23). A breach is a hole in a wall. Moses stood in the hole.

Praying for Aaron. Moses later remembered, “The Lord was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him; so I prayed for Aaron also” (Deuteronomy 9:20). Moses prayed even for the one who made the calf. He did not give up on his brother.

Moses' offer. Moses said, “If You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book” (Exodus 32:32). He loved the people that much. He was willing to lose everything for them.

Why it could not work. God said, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book” (Exodus 32:33). Moses was a sinner too. He could not pay for someone else.

Paul's love. The apostle Paul felt the same way about his people: “I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren” (Romans 9:3).

A Savior promised. Isaiah said the Savior would be the one who “bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). To make intercession means to pray for someone.

On the cross. While Jesus was dying, He prayed for the people who crucified Him: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).

He took our sin. Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). Moses could only offer. Jesus actually did it. He took the punishment that we deserved.

Our Advocate. “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). An advocate speaks up for you.

Always praying. Jesus rose from the dead, and now “He always lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25). He never stops praying for His people, and He never gets tired the way Moses did.

Names written. Jesus told His disciples, “Rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Because of Jesus, our names are safe with God.

What we learn. Moses was a good leader who prayed. Jesus is the perfect Savior who prays for us and takes our sin away.

What to do. Pray for someone this week the way Moses did. And thank Jesus that He is praying for you right now.

Who can stand between a holy God and sinful people? Moses tried, and the rest of the Bible shows us the full answer.

Moses in the breach. Psalm 106:23 uses the image of a soldier standing in a broken section of a city wall. Moses' prayer held back judgment.

Praying for the guilty. Deuteronomy 9:20 records that Moses prayed for Aaron, who had made the calf. True intercession includes those who have failed badly.

An impossible offer. In 32:32, Moses offers his own place in God's book. In 32:33 God refuses: guilt cannot be transferred to another sinner.

The same love in Paul. Romans 9:3 shows Paul wishing he could be “accursed from Christ” for Israel. Like Moses, he could wish it but not accomplish it.

The Servant who intercedes. Isaiah 53:12 combines what Moses could not: the Servant “bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.” Bearing sin and interceding belong together in Him.

Intercession from the cross. Luke 23:34 records Jesus praying for His executioners. The sinless one prays for sinners while bearing their sin.

Substitution. 1 Peter 2:24 says Christ “bore our sins in His own body.” What God refused from Moses, He accepted from His Son, because Jesus had no sin of His own (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Advocate and sacrifice. 1 John 2:1-2 calls Jesus our “Advocate with the Father” and says He Himself is the sacrifice for “our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” He pleads our case on the basis of His own sacrifice, so His prayer for us can never fail.

Ongoing intercession. Hebrews 7:25 says Christ “always lives to make intercession.” Moses' intercession lasted forty days; Christ's never ends.

Secure names. Luke 10:20 and Revelation 21:27 speak of names written in heaven and in “the Lamb's Book of Life.” Many Christians see this as the book Moses spoke of in Exodus 32:32, and it shows the security Christ gives.

Moses as a pointer. Moses is not a failed savior but a faithful signpost. His love and his limits both point to Christ. At the end of Exodus 32 the people still face a plague (32:34-35), and in the next chapters God gives His answer.

Our part. Believers are called to pray for others, even the guilty, following both Moses and Christ (1 Timothy 2:1).

Application. Read Exodus 32:30-33 and Hebrews 7:23-25. Write down three ways Jesus is a better mediator than Moses.

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Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.