Civil Government: American Idol?
The great sin we all remember from the Old Testament stories is that of idolatry. With tiresome repetition we have read of the Israelites whoring after the idol gods of Baal, Asherah, Moloch and others. We read how they burned incense to them on every hill and under every green tree. They were sent prophets who warned them in the clearest of terms that they must turn away from those idols and worship and serve only the Lord (Yahweh). We read these prophetic shoutings and shake our heads in wonder at how blind and foolish these people were after all God had done for them. How could they possibly miss who was God and who was not? It was not after all, any of those other gods who had parted the Red Sea. None of them had produced manna from heaven or water from a rock. Yet, Israel persisted not only in offering incense but their children as well to these false deities. How could they think they were making any sense in replacing the Lord with these earthly gods?
The close meaning for Moloch, god of the Phoenicians and Ammonites, was shameful king. The name was fitting because of the sacrificial acts required for Moloch worship. In a fantastic ritual, parents would give control of their children to Moloch. That act was considered so heinous that God Himself pronounced destruction on Israel for their faithlessness and immorality. It is bad enough to destroy yourself, but doubly wrong to destroy your children. Understand that these idol gods were not simply religious figures with limited influence. Moloch and the other ancient gods were heeded as rulers over the civil realm as well. They were consulted for guidance for the courts, warfare, personal morals, standards for justice and all else in society. They were the face of society and government for the people of their times. Foreign kings prayed to them before determining battle plans, hence, the idol gods reigned above the earthly kings.
Idolatry is easily found in American life
We think ourselves more socially and civilly developed than those ancient people. We know about Jesus. We have truth on our side. We would never bow down to an idol or offer it our children. We do not trust in any idol to answer our prayers, provide for our daily bread, fight our battles, pay for our medicine, or take control of our children. That was them not us. OK – that, pay for our medicine, part can not be proven about the ancients but the rest…?
I fear we have long ago tumbled into the same sins our spiritual ancestors embraced. We have different names for our idols now but the sin remains the same. We know Jesus but they knew Yahweh, the same trinitarian God we worship. We all have fallen essentially into the same sins and are deserving of the same judgments. The Jewish people deserved famine, plagues, tumors, and eventually invasion and destruction for their idol worship. Why, I may ask, would we deserve less? We act like they acted, idolizing a higher power that does for us what Moloch did for them. We find our security in our idol government god very similar to the way they found security in their idol government gods. Are we really any better? They handed their children over to unbelieving priests where that foreign religion led to the child’s destruction. We, being supposedly wiser, hand our children over to the high priests of a humanistic religion, where their souls are stolen and their faith ruined, leading to the eternal death of those very children we said we loved.
American government has expanded beyond Biblical boundaries
It appears we also worship a shameful king. We have not been satisfied to contain the civil government within the constraints of Biblical boundaries. God’s law gives the civil government only very narrow duties and rights. As a nation we have expanded those duties and rights far beyond anything God allows. We have erected for ourselves an idol to which we may turn for those benefits God Himself was supposed to bestow. We find it nearly impossible to imagine life lived within a social context of Biblical allowances, morality, and faith. Rather, we expect daily, to raise holy hands in supplication to the more visible god of government to meet all our needs in its fading glory.
Christians must reject modern idols
I know the words I am writing today will, in many cases, feel like a lead weight to the hearts of many of our brethren. We are patriotic. We live in the greatest country on earth. We are the last superpower. Without us the ends of the earth would unravel. This was also true of Rome, and Greece, and Babylon. Remember with me that it was from those very kingdoms that God rescued humanity and brought them to freedom in Christ. That freedom was not just a freedom from eternal damnation. It was also a freedom that extended to life on planet earth. Christian liberty derives and expands from our faith to the nations, as Christ’s kingdom conquers the idols of every age. We could start our quest for liberty by taking back our children. We are living in an era of unbounded opportunity for the church if we will only turn back to our God and reject the idol(s) of our day.
For Christian Culture,
Don Schanzenbach 2-23-13
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Suspender Man™, Don Schanzenbach, has long been an outspoken advocate of recapturing culture for Christ. He holds a MA in applied Biblical studies and a doctorate in applied theological studies in the field of political philosophy and government from New Geneva Seminary. He has been thinking, writing and speaking on Christian culture for two decades.
Idolatry is more about statutes than it is about statues.
Don,
“They were consulted for guidance for the courts, warfare, personal morals, standards for justice … “.
They weren’t just consulted, they were to be obeyed (laws), just like we do today.
Why do you think the current Admiralty/Maritime/Roman Civil law courts in America all bear the symbol of the goddess Justitia ?
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/justicegoddess.htm
This nation has abandoned His Law as well as the place to go for The Justice of The God Of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel), The Great I Am that became flesh and dwelt among us as commanded (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6: 4-5.).
P.S. First you stated: ” … the Israelites whoring after the idol gods of Baal … ” and then later: “The Jewish people deserved … “.
The terms “Jew” and “Israel” are not synonymous.
If you haven’t read Ted’s book on this subject, please do. We all need to study His Word, proving all things, which includes correctly identifying who is Israel and who’s not.
Well said, Don; the idolatry you describe of, effectively, bowing down to government and assigning the civil rulers responsibility for everything, is rampant. No longer do all-too many people understand that we have a duty to work hard and utilize the gifts and fulfill the calling given us by Yahweh, and trust in Him for all things that we have need of; now, people turn to civil government and DEMAND that it solve all of their problems and give them, as you said, those things that we are to trust God to provide us with. I was once blind to this fact, but it is sad reality; even within the very heart of the church, civil government is held to have a responsibility (along with the necessary degree of authority) to do things that the Bible simply does not grant it leave to do. Rather than look to God and seek His Kingdom by submitting ourselves in Christ to obey His Law, we turn with outstretched hands to the government, trusting in its anti-God rules, regulations, and interferences to bring us peace and happiness. We see ourselves as wise in no longer bowing to wooden and stone statues, but we have, in reality, become every bit as sinful and foolish as the ancients in elevating the civil government to such a place of primacy in our lives. Let us pray for a strong turning back to God and a wide-spread rejection of such idolatry, lest we fall under the like severe judgment as Israel.
Idols, there so pervasive it’s almost astounding when one first learns to see through a biblical standard. We sacrifice the truth on so many levels it’s really saddening.
TV/Sports/Cars/Politics
Licenses/Documents of authority/People – from judges to other ‘leaders’ in society.
A biblical based foundational stance/statement will draw fire from people who oppose that truth, who’ve supplanted Gods standards with their own form or righteousness.
Public leaders say we can’t display the Ten commandments while it’s ‘appropriate’ behavior to display magazines with scantly clad and even naked pictures at the check out stand of convenience & grocery store daily.
We are told we can’t bring bibles to school or pray to Jesus at a football game yet it’s acceptable to support another religion, from satanism to any number of BAAL tenants, erotica to abortion because that is free speech.
One of the ONLY reasons why the ‘WAR on TERROR’ was allowed to commence and countries were invaded is due to the vast public worshiping the STATE or it’s SYMBOLS with some kind of “JUST WAR” strength at our side. We are indeed coming closer to a NAZI_LIKE mentality of multicultural degradation from reality.
The Constitution, and most of our tolerance is wickedness and an abomination causing desolation.
The state’s also intruding upon holy ground demanding worship while the people so blinded to even think there’s a real debate.
We bow to the consensus that a ‘MARRIAGE license’ is required to get married FROM THE STATE and the state alone, and even MOST preachers who realize the truth still won’t MARRY you unless you get one – and the ever-present (self proclaimed ubiquitous) state is the SOLE eternal party present at each union or dissolution – NOT the ONLY TRUE Eternal God but men who are attempting to act with that capacity.
Under CIVIL authorities self proclaimed powers – there is NO ONE above the law (Their law) and god (Them) forbid anyone claim and stand up for Creator Jesus as the Head.
Harmony or at least an outward appearance to conformity to the states mandates is required, and if not, any number of things could happen to you if you fail to kneel – from a psychiatric evaluation to imprisonment to even murder, theft of property to fines.
That is the only way it can happen to maintain their “harmony,” especially a multicultural one – state worship is “universally” ””’Virtuous””’ to those who are cast under that JEZEBEL spirit of usurpation.
This POLITICAL god was allowed to be conceived, birthed and raised on our debased blind Moloch infested hearts and like all gods, it demands obedience and sacrifice which has slowly festered from a deviation from truth, acceptance of a little leaven toward and ever increasing apostate life (1 Sam & 2 Kings get into this & REV warns of the antichrist in it.)