Readings for today: 2 Kings 16-17, 2 Chronicles 28
Monotheism is the belief in one god and it’s an open question among biblical scholars as to when Israel came to this conclusion. Certainly, the Bible acknowledges Abraham and Sarah’s belief in the pagan gods before meeting the one true and living God. It’s highly probable the Patriarchs believed in many gods even as they enjoyed a special relationship with one particular God, though they didn’t even know His name. We don’t know much at all about the religious faith of the people of Israel when they were slaves in Egypt but we do know they needed to be re-introduced to the God of their fathers at Mt. Sinai. By this time, God had revealed His name to Moses and made it clear in the Ten Commandments that He was to be worshipped before all other gods. But did that mean those gods didn’t exist? Did that mean Yahweh was the supreme God among all others? Again, the record is mixed. Clearly, the people of Israel often became confused and “went after other gods” worshipping them instead of or alongside Yahweh. This is the reason the northern kingdom of Israel was finally destroyed according to author of 2 Kings. By the time we get to the New Testament, it is clear from Jesus and the Apostle Paul that the other gods are either demonic in origin or simply fantasies of our own creation. There is only one God. His name is Yahweh. He alone is to be worshipped and adored.
Why does this matter? Read the end of the seventeenth chapter of the book of 2 Kings. The northern kingdom of Israel was unfaithful from the moment God set them apart. From the moment He tore them from the hands of David’s descendants and set Jeroboam on the throne, they engaged in idolatry. They set up their own religious system. They refused to worship God on His terms and this led them down the road of polytheism. They worshipped all sorts of gods other than Yahweh and broke the first commandment repeatedly. Their refusal to submit to the terms of the covenant God had made put them in danger and they eventually were destroyed and scattered by the Assyrian Empire. The same thing will happen to the southern kingdom of Judah as well though their idolatry is not quite as pervasive. They will eventually be conquered by the Babylonian Empire and carried off into exile. One may have all kinds of opinions about the socio-political reasons both kingdoms fell but the judgment of the Bible is clear. They fell because of idolatry.
It’s easy to think we would never make such a mistake. It’s easy to assume we are immune from such temptations. I doubt any of us worship pagan gods. We probably don’t set up idols in our homes. We don’t go to “high places” to make sacrifices. But that doesn’t mean our worship is pure. Listen again to what happened after Israel was scattered. “But the people of each nation were still making their own gods in the cities where they lived and putting them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made…They feared the Lord, but they also made from their ranks priests for the high places, who were working for them at the shrines of the high places. They feared the Lord, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the practice of the nations from which they had been deported. They are still observing the former practices to this day. None of them fear the Lord or observe the statutes and ordinances, the law and commandments that the Lord had commanded the descendants of Jacob, whom he had given the name Israel.” (2 Kings 17:29, 32-34 CSB) Did you catch the common refrain? “They feared the Lord but…” They feared the Lord but set up pagan priests. They feared the Lord but worshipped other gods. They feared the Lord but didn’t observe His statutes, ordinances, laws, or commands. Any of that starting to feel familiar? Starting to hit home? We fear the Lord but set up priests who serve at the altars of success or wealth or power or position. We fear the Lord but worship gods like money or lifestyle or some form of social/cultural/ethnic identity. We fear the Lord on Sunday morning but don’t give His laws and commands a second thought Monday through Saturday. It begs the question…are we really monotheists ourselves?
Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 13-15