Reference: Idolatry
Easton
image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object. Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Ro 1:21-25: men forsook God, and sank into ignorance and moral corruption (Ro 1:28).
The forms of idolatry are, (1.) Fetishism, or the worship of trees, rivers, hills, stones, etc.
(2.) Nature worship, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, as the supposed powers of nature.
(3.) Hero worship, the worship of deceased ancestors, or of heroes.
In Scripture, idolatry is regarded as of heathen origin, and as being imported among the Hebrews through contact with heathen nations. The first allusion to idolatry is in the account of Rachel stealing her father's teraphim (Ge 31:19), which were the relics of the worship of other gods by Laban's progenitors "on the other side of the river in old time" (Jos 24:2). During their long residence in Egypt the Hebrews fell into idolatry, and it was long before they were delivered from it (Jos 24:14; Eze 20:7). Many a token of God's displeasure fell upon them because of this sin.
The idolatry learned in Egypt was probably rooted out from among the people during the forty years' wanderings; but when the Jews entered Palestine, they came into contact with the monuments and associations of the idolatry of the old Canaanitish races, and showed a constant tendency to depart from the living God and follow the idolatrous practices of those heathen nations. It was their great national sin, which was only effectually rebuked by the Babylonian exile. That exile finally purified the Jews of all idolatrous tendencies.
The first and second commandments are directed against idolatry of every form. Individuals and communities were equally amenable to the rigorous code. The individual offender was devoted to destruction (Ex 22:20). His nearest relatives were not only bound to denounce him and deliver him up to punishment (De 13:10-18), but their hands were to strike the first blow when, on the evidence of two witnesses at least, he was stoned (De 17:2-7). To attempt to seduce others to false worship was a crime of equal enormity (De 13:6-10). An idolatrous nation shared the same fate. No facts are more strongly declared in the Old Testament than that the extermination of the Canaanites was the punishment of their idolatry (Ex 34:15-16; De 7; 12:29-31; 20:17), and that the calamities of the Israelites were due to the same cause (Jer 2:17). "A city guilty of idolatry was looked upon as a cancer in the state; it was considered to be in rebellion, and treated according to the laws of war. Its inhabitants and all their cattle were put to death." Jehovah was the theocratic King of Israel, the civil Head of the commonwealth, and therefore to an Israelite idolatry was a state offence (1Sa 15:23), high treason. On taking possession of the land, the Jews were commanded to destroy all traces of every kind of the existing idolatry of the Canaanites (Ex 23:24,32; 34:13; De 7:5,25; 12:1-3).
In the New Testament the term idolatry is used to designate covetousness (Mt 6:24; Lu 16:13; Col 3:5; Eph 5:5).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen her father's images.
He that offereth unto any gods save unto the LORD only, let him die without redemption.
see thou worship not their gods neither serve them, neither do after the works of them, but overthrow them and break down the places of them.
And thou shalt make none covenant with them nor with their gods.
But overthrow their altars and break their pillars, and cut down their groves,
lest, if thou make any covenant with the inhabiters of the land, when they go a whoring after their gods and do sacrifice unto their gods, they call thee and thou eat of their sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and when their daughters go a whoring after their gods,
But thus ye shall deal with them: overthrow their altars, break down their pillars, cut down their groves and burn their images with fire.
The images of their gods thou shalt burn with fire, and see that thou covet not the silver or gold that is on them nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therewith. For it is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
These are the ordinances and laws which ye shall observe to do in the land which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, as long as ye live upon the earth. See that ye destroy all places where the nations which ye conquer serve their gods, upon high mountains and on high hills and under every green tree. read more. Overthrow their altars and break their pillars and burn their groves with fire and hew down the images of their gods, and bring the names of them to nought out of that place.
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thine own son or thy daughter or the wife that lieth in thy bosom or thy friend which is as thine own soul unto thee, entice thee secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve strange gods which thou hast not known nor yet thy fathers, of the gods of the people which are round about thee, whether they be nigh unto thee or far off from thee, from the one end of the land unto the other': read more. see thou consent not unto him nor hearken unto him. No, let not thine eye pity him nor have compassion on him, nor keep him secret, but cause him to be slain. Thine hand shall be first upon him to kill him; and then the hands of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die, because he hath gone about to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God which brought thee out of Egypt, the house of bondage.
And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die, because he hath gone about to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God which brought thee out of Egypt, the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear and fear and shall do no more, and such wickedness as this is, among them. read more. If thou shalt hear say of one of thy cities which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell in, that certain being the children of Belial are gone out from among you and have moved the inhabiters of their city, saying, 'Let us go and serve strange gods which ye have not known.' Then seek and make search and enquire diligently. If it be true, and the thing of a surety that such abomination is wrought among you: then thou shalt smite the dwellers of that city with the edge of the sword, and destroy it merciless and all that is therein, and even the very cattle thereof with the edge of the sword. And gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the streets thereof, and burn with fire: both the city and all the spoil thereof every whit unto the LORD thy God. And it shall be a heap forever and shall not be built again. And see that there cleave nought of the damned thing in thine hand, that the LORD may turn from his fierce wrath and show thee mercy and have compassion on thee and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers: when thou hast hearkened unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day so that thou do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
If there be found among you, in any of thy cities which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy so that they have gone and served strange gods and worshipped them, whether it be the sun or moon or anything contained in heaven which I forbade, read more. and it was told thee and thou hast heard of it: Then thou shalt enquire diligently. And if it be true and the thing of a surety that such abomination is wrought in Israel, then thou shalt bring forth that man or that woman which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates and shalt stone them with stones and they shall die. At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death, die: but at the mouth of one witness he shall not die. And the hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to kill him, and afterward the hands of all the people: so shalt thou put wickedness away from thee.
And Joshua said unto all the people, "Thus sayeth the LORD God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the water in old time even Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, and served strange gods.
And now, fear the LORD and serve him in pureness and truth: And put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the water, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
For rebelliousness is as the sin of witchcraft; and stubbornness is wickedness and idolatry. Because therefore thou hast cast away the word of the LORD, therefore hath the LORD cast away thee also, from being king."
Cometh not this unto thee, because thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, ever since he led thee by the way?
Then said I unto them, 'Cast away every man the abominations that he hath before him, and defile not yourselves with the Idols of Egypt, for I am the LORD your God.'
No man can serve two masters: For either he shall hate the one, and love the other; or else he shall lean to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
No servant can serve two masters, for either he shall hate the one and love the other, or else he shall lean to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God, and mammon."
inasmuch as when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful: but waxed full of vanities in their imaginations. And their foolish hearts were blinded. When they counted themselves wise, they became fools read more. and turned the glory of the immortal God, unto the similitude of the image: of mortal man, and of birds, and four footed beasts and of serpents. Wherefore God, likewise, gave them up unto their hearts' lusts, unto uncleanness to defile their own bodies between themselves: which turned his truth unto a lie, and worshipped and served the creatures more than the creator, which is blessed forever, Amen.
And as it seemed not good unto them to be a known of God, even so God delivered them up unto a lewd mind, that they should do those things which were not comely,
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, either unclean person, or covetous person, which is the worshipper of images, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, and of God.
Mortify therefore your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, unnatural lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is worshipping of idols:
Fausets
(See IDOL.)
Hastings
Hebrew religion is represented as beginning with Abraham, who forsook the idolatry, as well as the home, of his ancestors (Ge 12:1; Jos 24:2); but it was specially through the influence of Moses that Jehovah was recognized as Israel's God. The whole subsequent history up to the Exile is marked by frequent lapses into idolatry. We should therefore consider (1) the causes of Hebrew idolatry, (2) its nature, (3) the opposition it evoked, and (4) the teaching of NT. The subject is not free from difficulty, but in the light of modern Biblical study, the main outlines are clear.
1. Causes of Hebrew idolatry.
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Then the LORD said unto Abram, "Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred; and out of thy father's house, into a land which I will show thee.
Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen her father's images.
And he said, "Behold, I make an covenant before all this people; that I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the world, neither among any nation. And all the people, among which thou art, shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. Keep all that I command thee this day, and behold: I will cast out before thee the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. read more. Take heed to thyself, that thou make no covenant with the inhabiters of the land whither thou goest lest it be cause of ruin among you. But overthrow their altars and break their pillars, and cut down their groves, for thou shalt worship no strange god. For the LORD is called jealous, because he is a jealous God: lest, if thou make any covenant with the inhabiters of the land, when they go a whoring after their gods and do sacrifice unto their gods, they call thee and thou eat of their sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and when their daughters go a whoring after their gods, they make thy sons go a whoring after their gods also. Thou shalt make thee no gods of metal.
they make thy sons go a whoring after their gods also. Thou shalt make thee no gods of metal. The feast of sweet bread shalt thou keep, and seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed in the month of Abib: for in the month of Abib thou camest out of Egypt. read more. All that breaketh up the matrix shall be mine, and all that breaketh the matrix among thy cattle, if it be male: whether it be ox or sheep. But the first of the ass thou shalt buy out with a sheep, or if thou redeem him not: see thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou must needs redeem. And see that no man appear before me empty. "Six days thou shalt work, and the seventh thou shalt rest: both from earing and reaping. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks with the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the years' end. Thrice in a year shall all your men children appear before the Lord Jehovah, God of Israel: for I will cast out the nations before thee and will enlarge thy coasts, so that no man shall desire thy land, while thou goest up to appear before the face of the LORD thy God, thrice in the year. "Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread: neither shall ought of the sacrifice of the feast of Passover, be left unto the morning. The first of the first fruits of thy land, thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. And see that thou seethe not a kid in his mother's milk." And the LORD said unto Moses, "Write these words, for upon these words I have made a covenant with thee and with the children of Israel." And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights, and neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote in the tables the words of the covenant: even ten verses.
And Israel dwelt in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab,
For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you - lest the wrath of the LORD thy God wax hot upon thee and destroy thee from the earth.
For if thou shalt forget the LORD thy God and shalt walk after strange gods and serve them and worship them, I testify unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish.
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thine own son or thy daughter or the wife that lieth in thy bosom or thy friend which is as thine own soul unto thee, entice thee secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve strange gods which thou hast not known nor yet thy fathers, of the gods of the people which are round about thee, whether they be nigh unto thee or far off from thee, from the one end of the land unto the other': read more. see thou consent not unto him nor hearken unto him. No, let not thine eye pity him nor have compassion on him, nor keep him secret, but cause him to be slain. Thine hand shall be first upon him to kill him; and then the hands of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die, because he hath gone about to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God which brought thee out of Egypt, the house of bondage.
If there be found among you, in any of thy cities which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy so that they have gone and served strange gods and worshipped them, whether it be the sun or moon or anything contained in heaven which I forbade, read more. and it was told thee and thou hast heard of it: Then thou shalt enquire diligently. And if it be true and the thing of a surety that such abomination is wrought in Israel, then thou shalt bring forth that man or that woman which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates and shalt stone them with stones and they shall die. At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death, die: but at the mouth of one witness he shall not die. And the hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to kill him, and afterward the hands of all the people: so shalt thou put wickedness away from thee.
There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor whorekeeper of the sons of Israel.
And Joshua said unto all the people, "Thus sayeth the LORD God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the water in old time even Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, and served strange gods.
Nay, but what people Chemosh thy god driveth out, that land possess thou. But whatsoever nations the LORD our God expelleth, that land ought we to enjoy.
And the man Micah had a chapel of gods, and made an ephod and images, and filled the hand of one of his sons which became his priest.
And the maidens answered them, "Yea, behold, he goeth before you. Make haste now, for he came this day to the city, for the people must offer this day in the hill.
And thereto there was a stews of male children in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
And he made the stews of males depart the land, and put away all the idols that his fathers had made. And thereto he put down Maacah his mother from bearing rule, because she had made an idol in a grove. And Asa destroyed her idol and burnt it by the brook Kidron. read more. But he put not down the hill altars. Nevertheless, Asa's heart was whole with the LORD all his days.
And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father and bowed not therefrom. But did that was right in the eyes of the LORD. Only he did not put the hill altars out of the way: for the people offered and burnt their sacrifices yet in the hill altars.
But they left the commandments of the LORD their God and made them Images of metal, even two calves: and made groves and bowed themselves unto all the Host of heaven, and served Baal. And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters in fire, and used witchcraft and enchantments, and were sold to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, for to anger him.
And the king of Assyria brought from Babylon and from Cuthah, and from Avva and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim, and put them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. And they possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof. But at the beginning of their dwelling, they feared not the LORD. Wherefore the LORD sent lions upon them, which slew them. read more. Then men told the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations which thou hast translated and put in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land, and therefore he hath sent lions upon them, which slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land." Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Carry thither one of the priests which ye brought thence, and let him go and dwell there, and teach them the fashion how to serve the God of the country." And then one of the priests which they had carried thence, went and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. Howbeit, every nation made their own gods and put them in the houses of the Hill altars which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities where they dwelt. The men of Babylon made Succothbenoth; The men of Cuth made Nergal; They of Hamath made Ashima; The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; And the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire unto Adrammelech and Annamelech, the gods of Sepharvites. And they feared the LORD, yet they made them priests of the lowest of the people, for the Hill altars; which sacrificed for them in the houses of the Hill altars. And so they feared the LORD, and yet served their own gods after the manner of the people from whence they were brought. Unto this day they do after the old manner: they neither fear the LORD, neither do after their own ordinances and customs, and after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob whose name he called Israel, and made a covenant with them and charged them, saying, "Fear not any other gods, nor bow yourselves to them nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: But to the LORD which brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm: him fear and to him bow and to him do sacrifice. And the ordinances, customs, law and commandment which I wrote for you, see that ye be diligent to do for evermore, and fear not any other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you, see ye forget not, and that you fear none other gods: but the LORD your God ye shall fear, and he shall deliver you out of the hands of all your enemies." Howbeit, they heard not, but did after the old manner. And even so did these nations fear the LORD and serve their images thereto: and so did their children, and their children's children too. Even as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
He put away the hill altars, and brake the images and cut down the groves, and all to brake the brazen serpent that Moses made - for unto those days the children of Israel did burn sacrifice to it, and called it Nehushtan.
He put down the horses that the kings of Israel had given to the son at the entering of the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain which was the ruler of the suburbs, and burnt the chariots of the sun with fire.
and brake the images and cut down the groves and filled the places with the bones of men.
so that they brake down the altars of Baals even in his presence, and the Idols that were upon them he caused to be destroyed. And the groves, carved Images, and Images of metal he brake and made dust of them, and strawed it upon the graves of them that had offered to them.
And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the children of Elam, answered, and said unto Ezra, "We have trespassed against the LORD our God, in that we have taken strange wives of the people of the land. Now there is hope yet in Israel concerning this:
Did I ever greatly regard the rising of the sun? Or, had I the going down of the moon in great reputation? Hath my heart meddled privily with any deceit? Or, did I ever kiss mine own hand? read more. That were a wickedness worth to be punished, for then should I have denied the God that is above.
So shalt thou, O Damascus, be desolate: because thou hast forgotten God thy Saviour, and hast not called to remembrance the rock of thy strength. Wherefore thou hast also set a fair plant, and grafted a strange branch.
At the same time shall the LORD of Hosts have an altar in the midst of the land of Egypt, with this title thereby: "Unto the LORD."
they lurk among the graves, and lie in the dens all night. They eat swine flesh, and unclean broth is in their vessels.
But as for you, ye are they that have forsaken the LORD, and forgotten my holy hill. Ye have set up an altar to Fortune, and given rich drink offerings unto the planets.
The children gather sticks, the fathers kindle the fire, the mothers knead the dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. They pour out drink offerings unto strange gods, to provoke me unto wrath.
They have also builded an altar at Tophet, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom: that they might burn their sons and daughters - which I never commanded them, neither came it ever in my thought.
Last of all, when we women did sacrifice and offered unto the Queen of heaven, did we make her cakes and pour unto her drink offerings, to do her service, without our husbands' wills?"
So I went in, and saw: and behold, there were all manner of images of worms and beasts, all Idols and abominations of the house of Israel painted every which one round about the wall.
And with that he brought me to the door of the port of the LORD's house, toward the north. And behold, there sat women mourning for Tammuz.
And so he brought me into the inward court of the LORD's house. And behold, at the port of the LORD's house, betwixt the fore entry and the altar, there were five and twenty men that turned their backs on the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, and these worshiped the sun.
They make sacrifices upon the high mountains, and burn their incense upon the hills, yea among the oaks, groves and bushes, for there are good shadows. Therefore your daughters are become harlots, and your spouses have broken their wedlock.
They tread upon poor men's heads, in the dust of the earth, and crook the ways of the meek. The son and the father go to the harlot, to dishonour my holy name,
Paul stood in the midst of Mars Street and said, "Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld the manner how ye worship your gods, I found an altar wherein was written, Unto the unknown God. Whom ye then ignorantly worship, him show I unto you: read more. God, that made the world, and all that are in it, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, he dwelleth not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed of any thing. Seeing he himself giveth life and breath to all men everywhere, and hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth; and hath assigned before: how long time, and also the ends of their inhabitation. That they should seek God, if they might feel and find him: though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live, move, and have our being, as certain of your own poets said. For we are also his generation. Forasmuch then as we are the generation of God, we ought not to think that the godhead is like unto gold, silver, or stone, graven by craft and imagination of man. And the time of this ignorance God regarded not: but now he biddeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world according to righteousness, by that man, whom he hath appointed, and hath offered faith to all men, after that he had raised him from death."
For the wrath of God appeareth from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men which withhold the truth in unrighteousness. Seeing what may be known of God, that same is manifest among them: For God did show it unto them. read more. So that his invisible things, that is to say, his eternal power and godhead, are understood and seen by the works from the creation of the world. So that they are without excuse, inasmuch as when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful: but waxed full of vanities in their imaginations. And their foolish hearts were blinded. When they counted themselves wise, they became fools and turned the glory of the immortal God, unto the similitude of the image: of mortal man, and of birds, and four footed beasts and of serpents. Wherefore God, likewise, gave them up unto their hearts' lusts, unto uncleanness to defile their own bodies between themselves: which turned his truth unto a lie, and worshipped and served the creatures more than the creator, which is blessed forever, Amen. For this cause, God gave them up unto shameful lusts. For even their women did change the natural use unto the unnatural. And likewise also the men left the natural use of the woman, and burnt in their lusts, one on another, among themselves. And man with man wrought filthiness: and received in themselves the reward of their error, as it was according. And as it seemed not good unto them to be a known of God, even so God delivered them up unto a lewd mind, that they should do those things which were not comely, being full of all unrighteous doing: of fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, evil-conditioned whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, doers of wrong, proud, boasters, bringers-up of evil things, disobedient to fathers and mothers, without understanding, covenant-breakers, unloving, truce-breakers, and merciless. Which men, though they knew the righteousness of God, how that they which such things commit are worthy of death: yet not only do the same, but also have pleasure in them that do them.
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, lawing, zeal, wrath, strife, sedition, sects,
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, either unclean person, or covetous person, which is the worshipper of images, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, and of God.
whose end is damnation, whose God is their belly and whose glory is to their shame, which are worldly minded.
Morish
The worship of idols
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And he received them of their hands and fashioned it with a graver and made it a calf of molten metal. And they said, "This is thy God, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt." And when Aaron saw that, he made an altar before it, and made a proclamation saying, "Tomorrow shall be holy day unto the LORD."
And let them no more offer their offerings unto devils, after whom they go an whoring. And this shall be an ordinance forever unto you throughout your generations.'
And he defiled Tophet also, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, because no man should offer his son or his daughter in fire to Moloch.
Yea, they offered their sons and their daughters unto devils,
Moreover, he goeth out to hew down Cedar trees: He bringeth home Elms and Oaks, and other timber of the wood. Or else the Fir trees which he planted himself, and such as the rain hath swelled, which wood serveth for men to burn. Of this he taketh and warmeth himself withal: he maketh a fire of it to bake bread. And afterward maketh a god thereof, to honour it: and an Idol to kneel before it. read more. One piece he burneth in the fire; with another he roasteth flesh, that he may eat roast his belly full; with the third he warmeth himself, and sayeth, "Aha, I am well warmed, I have been at the fire." And of the residue he maketh him a god, and an Idol for himself. He kneeleth before it, he worshippeth it, he prayeth unto it, and sayeth, "Deliver me, for thou art my god!"
Ye take your pleasure under the oaks, and under all green trees. And ye offer children in the valleys, and dens of stone.
namely, that they have broken their wedlock, and stained their hands with blood: yea even with their idols have they committed adultery, and offered them their own children to be devoured, whom they have born unto me.
For when they had slain their children for their idols, they came the same day into my Sanctuary to defile it. Lo, this have they done in my house.
So that his invisible things, that is to say, his eternal power and godhead, are understood and seen by the works from the creation of the world. So that they are without excuse, inasmuch as when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful: but waxed full of vanities in their imaginations. And their foolish hearts were blinded. read more. When they counted themselves wise, they became fools and turned the glory of the immortal God, unto the similitude of the image: of mortal man, and of birds, and four footed beasts and of serpents.
Nay, but I say, that these things which the gentiles offer, they offer to devils, and not to God. And I would not that ye should have fellowship with the devils.
Mortify therefore your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, unnatural lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is worshipping of idols:
Little children, beware of images. Amen. {Here ends the First General Epistle of John}
Smith
Idolatry,
strictly speaking denotes the worship of deity in a visible form, whether the images to which homage is paid are symbolical representations of the true God or of the false divinities which have been made the objects of worship in his stead. I. History of idolatry among the Jews. --The first undoubted allusion to idolatry or idolatrous customs in the Bible is in the account of Rachel's stealing her father's teraphim.
During their long residence in Egypt the Israelites defiled themselves with the idols of the land, and it was long before the taint was removed.
In the wilderness they clamored for some visible shape in which they might worship the God who had brought them out of Egypt.
... until Aaron made the calf, the embodiment of Apis and emblem of the productive power of nature. During the lives of Joshua and the elders who outlived him they kept true to their allegiance; but the generation following who knew not Jehovah nor the works he had done for Israel, swerved from the plain path of their fathers and were caught in the toils of the foreigner.
... From this time forth their history becomes little more than a chronicle of the inevitable sequence of offence and punishment.
By turns each conquering nation strove to establish the worship of its national God. In later times the practice of secret idolatry was carried to greater lengths. Images were set up on the corn-floors, in the wine-vats, and behind the doors of private houses,
and to check this tendency the statute in
De 27:15
was originally promulgated. Under Samuel's administration idolatry was publicly renounced,
but in the reign of Solomon all this was forgotten, even Solomon's own heart being turned after other gods.
Rehoboam perpetuated the worst features of Solomon's idolatry.
erected golden calves at Beth-el and at Dan, and by this crafty state' policy severed forever the kingdoms of Judah and Israel.
The successors of Jeroboam followed in his steps, till Ahab. The conquest of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser was for them the last scene Of the drama of abominations which had been enacted uninterruptedly for upwards of 250 years. Under Hezekiah a great reform was inaugurated, that was not confined to Judah and Benjamin, but spread throughout Ephraim and Manasseh.
and to all external appearances idolatry was extirpated. But the reform extended little below the surface.
With the death of Josiah ended the last effort to revive among the people a purer ritual. If not a purer faith. The lamp of David, which had long shed but a struggling ray, flickered for a while and then went out in the darkness of Babylonian Captivity. Though the conquests of Alexander caused Greek influence to be felt, yet after the captivity better condition of things prevailed, and the Jews never again fell into idolatry. The erection of synagogues had been assigned as a reason for the comparative purity of the Jewish worship after the captivity, while another cause has been discovered in the hatred for images acquired by the Jews in their intercourse with the Persians. II. Objects of idolatry.--The sun and moon were early selected as outward symbols of all-pervading power, and the worship of the heavenly bodies was not only the most ancient but the most prevalent system of idolatry. Taking its rise in the plains of Chaldea, it spread through Egypt, Greece, Scythia, and even Mexico and Ceylon. Comp.
De 4:19; 17:3; Job 31:20-28
In the later times of the monarchy, the planets or the zodiacal signs received, next to the sun and moon, their share of popular adoration.
Beast-worship, as exemplified in the calves of Jeroboam, has already been alluded to of pure hero-worship among the Semitic races we find no trace. The singular reverence with which trees have been honored is not without example in the history of the Hebrew. The terebinth (oak) at Mamre, beneath which Abraham built an altar,
and the memorial grove planted by him at Beersheba,
were intimately connected with patriarchal worship. Mountains and high places were chosen spots for offering sacrifice and incense to idols,
and the retirement of gardens and the thick shade of woods offered great attractions to their worshippers.
The host of heaven was worshipped on the house-top.
2Ki 23:12; Jer 19:3; 32:29; Zep 1:5
(The modern objects of idolatry are less gross than the ancient, but are none the less idols. Whatever of wealth or honor or pleasure is loved and sought before God and righteousness becomes an object of idolatry. --ED.) III. Punishment of idolatry. --Idolatry to an Israelite was a state offence,
a political crime of the greatest character, high treason against the majesty of his king. The first and second commandments are directed against idolatry of every form. Individuals and communities were equally amenable to the rigorous code. The individual offender was devoted to destruction,
his nearest relatives were not only bound to denounce him and deliver him up to punishment,
De 13:2-10
but their hands were to strike the first blow, when, on the evidence of two witnesses at least, he was stoned.
De 17:2-5
To attempt to seduce others to false worship was a crime of equal enormity.
De 13:6-10
IV. Attractions of idolatry. --Many have wondered why the Israelites were so easily led away from the true God, into the worship of idols. (1) Visible, outward signs, with shows, pageants, parades, have an attraction to the natural heart, which often fail to perceive the unseen spiritual realities. (2) But the greatest attraction seems to have been in licentious revelries and obscene orgies with which the worship of the Oriental idols was observed. This worship, appealing to every sensual passion, joined with the attractions of wealth and fashion and luxury, naturally was a great temptation to a simple, restrained, agricultural people, whose worship and law demands the greatest purity of heart and of life.--ED.)
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Then the LORD appeared unto Abram and said, "Unto thy seed will I give this land." And he built an altar there unto the LORD which appeared to him.
Then Abram took down his tent, and went and dwelled in the oak grove of Mamre, which is in Hebron; and built there an altar to the LORD.
And Abraham planted a wood in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God:
Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen her father's images.
He that offereth unto any gods save unto the LORD only, let him die without redemption.
And when the people saw that it was long or Moses came down out of the mountain, they gathered themselves together and came unto Aaron and said unto him, "Up, and make us a god to go before us: for of this Moses, the fellow that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become."
Yea, and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars and whatsoever is contained in heaven, shouldest be deceived and shouldest bow thyself unto them and serve the things which the LORD thy God hath distributed unto all nations that are under all quarters of heaven.
and that sign or wonder which he hath said come to pass - and then say, 'Let us go after strange gods which thou hast not known, and let us serve them': hearken not unto the words of that prophet or dreamer of dreams. For the LORD thy God tempteth you, to wete whether ye love the LORD your God with all your hearts and with all your souls. read more. For ye must walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and hearken unto his voice and serve him and cleave unto him. And that prophet or dreamer of dreams shall die for it, because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God which brought you out of the land of Egypt and delivered you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in: and so thou shalt put evil away from thee. If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thine own son or thy daughter or the wife that lieth in thy bosom or thy friend which is as thine own soul unto thee, entice thee secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve strange gods which thou hast not known nor yet thy fathers,
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thine own son or thy daughter or the wife that lieth in thy bosom or thy friend which is as thine own soul unto thee, entice thee secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve strange gods which thou hast not known nor yet thy fathers, of the gods of the people which are round about thee, whether they be nigh unto thee or far off from thee, from the one end of the land unto the other':
of the gods of the people which are round about thee, whether they be nigh unto thee or far off from thee, from the one end of the land unto the other': see thou consent not unto him nor hearken unto him. No, let not thine eye pity him nor have compassion on him, nor keep him secret, but cause him to be slain.
see thou consent not unto him nor hearken unto him. No, let not thine eye pity him nor have compassion on him, nor keep him secret, but cause him to be slain. Thine hand shall be first upon him to kill him; and then the hands of all the people.
Thine hand shall be first upon him to kill him; and then the hands of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die, because he hath gone about to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God which brought thee out of Egypt, the house of bondage.
And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die, because he hath gone about to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God which brought thee out of Egypt, the house of bondage.
If there be found among you, in any of thy cities which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy so that they have gone and served strange gods and worshipped them, whether it be the sun or moon or anything contained in heaven which I forbade,
so that they have gone and served strange gods and worshipped them, whether it be the sun or moon or anything contained in heaven which I forbade, and it was told thee and thou hast heard of it: Then thou shalt enquire diligently. And if it be true and the thing of a surety that such abomination is wrought in Israel, read more. then thou shalt bring forth that man or that woman which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates and shalt stone them with stones and they shall die.
Cursed be he that maketh any carved image or image of metal - an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman - and putteth it in a secret place.' And all the people shall answer and say, 'Amen.'
And now, fear the LORD and serve him in pureness and truth: And put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the water, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
And the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "I brought you out of Egypt and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers. And I said that I would never break my covenant with you,
and forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed strange gods, even of the gods of the nations that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and angered the LORD.
Wherefore the LORD waxed angry with Israel, and delivered them unto the hands of raveners to spoil them and sold them into the hands of their enemies round about them, so that they had no power any longer to stand before their enemies.
And Samuel spake unto all Israel, saying, "If ye be come again unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods from among you, and Ashtaroth, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD and serve him alone; and so shall he rid you out of the hands of the Philistines." And then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only. read more. Then said Samuel, "Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, that I may pray for you unto the LORD." And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD and fasted the same day, and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the causes of the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
For rebelliousness is as the sin of witchcraft; and stubbornness is wickedness and idolatry. Because therefore thou hast cast away the word of the LORD, therefore hath the LORD cast away thee also, from being king."
After that, Solomon built an altar for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites in the hill that standeth before Jerusalem, and unto Moloch the abomination of the children of Ammon.
And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, one Hadad, an Edomite and of the king's lineage of Edom.
And Jeroboam thought in his heart, "Now might the kingdom return to the house of David again. For if this people shall go up and do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall their hearts turn again unto their lord Rehoboam king of Judah. And so shall they kill me and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah." read more. Whereupon the king took counsel and made two calves of gold and said unto the people, "Ye shall not need to go any more to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt!" And he put the one in Bethel and the other in Dan. And that doing was a cause of sin. And the people went before the one as far as Dan. And he made houses of hill altars, and made, of the lowest of the people, priests which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam made a feast the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like unto the feast that was in Judah, and offered on the altar. And so did he in Bethel, to offer unto the calves that he had made. And he put in Bethel the priests of the hill altars, which he had made. And he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel, the fifteenth day of the eighth month, which he had imagined of his own heart: and made a solemn feast unto the children of Israel, and went up to the altar to burn sacrifice.
And Judah wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD and angered him above all that their fathers did, with their sin which they sinned. For they also made them hill altars and images and groves on every high hill and under every green tree.
For they also made them hill altars and images and groves on every high hill and under every green tree. And thereto there was a stews of male children in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
And he offered and burnt the fat in the hill altars and on the hills and under every green tree.
And he put down the Chemarims which the kings of Judah had set to burn offerings in the hill altars in the cities of Judah round about Jerusalem and also them that burnt sacrifices unto Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
And the altars that were on the top of the parlour of Ahaz which the king of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king brake down, and ran thence and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
And when they had finished all this, then all Israel that were found in cities of Judah went out and brake the Images and cut down the groves, and all to break the hill altars and the other altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had made an end of them. And afterward all the children of Israel returned every man to his possession in their own cities.
whose sides thanked me not, because he was warmed with the wool of my sheep? Did I ever lift up my hand to hurt the fatherless; yea, in the gates where I saw myself to be in authority? read more. Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder, and mine arm holes be broken from the joints. For I have ever feared the vengeance and punishment of God, and knew very well that I was not able to bear his burden. "Have I put my trust in gold? Or, have I said to the finest gold of all, 'Thou art my confidence?' Have I rejoiced because my substance was great, and because my hand gat so much? Did I ever greatly regard the rising of the sun? Or, had I the going down of the moon in great reputation? Hath my heart meddled privily with any deceit? Or, did I ever kiss mine own hand? That were a wickedness worth to be punished, for then should I have denied the God that is above.
For they shall be ashamed of the gods that you longed for. And you shall be put to shame for the idols and grove gardens that ye have chosen.
Therefore thus sayeth the LORD, "Forsomuch as this people, when they be in trouble, do honor me with their mouth, and with their lips, whereas their heart nevertheless is far from me; and the fear which they owe unto me, that turn they to men's laws and doctrines;
Behind the doors and posts, hast thou set up thy remembrance: When thou hast uncovered thyself to another than me, when thou wentest down and made thy bed wider, when thou didst carve the certain of yonder Idols, and lovedest their couches, where thou sawest them.
and say thus unto them: 'Hear the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and ye citizens of Jerusalem! Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring such a plague upon this place, that the ears of all that hear it, shall glow.
For the Chaldeans shall come, and win this city, and set fire upon it, and burn it: with the gorgeous houses in whose parlors they have made sacrifice unto Baal, and poured drink offerings unto strange gods, to provoke me unto wrath.
Then said I unto them, 'Cast away every man the abominations that he hath before him, and defile not yourselves with the Idols of Egypt, for I am the LORD your God.'
They make sacrifices upon the high mountains, and burn their incense upon the hills, yea among the oaks, groves and bushes, for there are good shadows. Therefore your daughters are become harlots, and your spouses have broken their wedlock.
Do not thou triumph, O Israel; make no boasting more than the Heathen. For thou hast committed adultery against thy God: strange rewards hast thou loved, more than all the corn floors. Therefore shall they no more enjoy the corn floors and winepresses, and their sweet wine shall fail them.
yea, and such as upon their house-tops worship and bow themselves unto the host of heaven: which swear by the LORD, and by their Milcom also:
Watsons
IDOLATRY, from ?????????????, composed of ?????, image, and ?????????, to serve, the worship and adoration of false gods; or the giving those honours to creatures, or the works of man's hands, which are only due to God. Several have written of the origin and causes of idolatry; among the rest, Vossius, Selden, Godwyn, Tenison, and Faber; but it is still a doubt who was the first author of it. It is generally allowed, however, that it had not its beginning till after the deluge; and many are of opinion, that Belus, who is supposed to be the same with Nimrod, was the first man that was deified. But whether they had not paid divine honours to the heavenly bodies before that time, cannot be determined; our acquaintance with those remote times being extremely slender. The first mention we find made of idolatry is where Rachel is said to have taken the idols of her father; for though the meaning of the Hebrew word ?????, be disputed, yet it is pretty evident they were idols. Laban calls them his gods, and Jacob calls them strange gods, and looks on them as abominations. The original idolatry by image worship is by many attributed to the age of Eber, B.C. 2247, about a hundred and one years after the deluge, according to the Hebrew chronology; four hundred and one years according to the Samaritan; and five hundred and thirty-one years according to the Septuagint; though most of the fathers place it no higher than that of Serug; which seems to be the more probable opinion, considering that for the first hundred and thirty-four years of Eber's life all mankind dwelt in a body together; during which time it is not reasonable to suppose that idolatry broke in upon them; then some time must be allowed after the dispersion of the several nations, which were but small at the beginning, to increase and settle themselves; so that if idolatry was introduced in Eber's time, it must have been toward the end of his life, and could not well have prevailed so universally, and with that obstinacy which some authors have imagined. Terah, the father of Abraham, who lived at Ur, in Chaldea, about B.C. 2000, was unquestionably an idolater; for he is expressly said in Scripture to have served other gods. The authors of the Universal History think, that the origin and progress of idolatry are plainly pointed out to us in the account which Moses gives of Laban's and Jacob's parting, Ge 31:44, &c. From the custom once introduced of erecting monuments in memory of any solemn covenants, the transition was easy into the notion, that some deity took its residence in them, in order to punish the first aggressors; and this might be soon improved by an ignorant and degenerate world, till not only birds, beasts, stocks, and stones, but sun, moon, and stars, were called into the same office; though used, perhaps, at first, by the designing part of mankind, as scare-crows, to overawe the ignorant.
Sanchoniathon, who wrote his "Phenician Antiquities" apparently with a view to apologize for idolatry, traces its origin to the descendants of Cain, the elder branch, who began with the worship of the sun, and afterward added a variety of other methods of idolatrous worship: proceeding to deify the several parts of nature, and men after their death; and even to consecrate the plants shooting out of the earth, which the first men judged to be gods, and worshipped as those that sustained the lives of themselves and of their posterity. The Chaldean priests, in process of time, being by their situation early addicted to celestial observations, instead of conceiving as they ought to have done concerning the omnipotence of the Creator and Mover of the heavenly bodies, fell into the impious error of esteeming them as gods, and the immediate governors of the world, in subordination, however, to the Deity, who was invisible except by his works, and the effects of his power. Concluding that God created the stars and great luminaries for the government of the world, partakers with himself and as his ministers, they thought it but just and natural that they should be honoured and extolled, and that it was the will of God they should be magnified and worshipped. Accordingly, they erected temples, or sacella, to the stars, in which they sacrificed and bowed down before them, esteeming them as a kind of mediators between God and man. Impostors afterward arose, who gave out, that they had received express orders from God himself concerning the manner in which particular heavenly bodies should be represented, and the nature and ceremonies of the worship which was to be paid them. When they proceeded to worship wood, stone, or metal, formed and fashioned by their own hands, they were led to apprehend, that these images had been, in some way or other, animated or informed with a supernatural power by supernatural means; though Dr. Prideaux imagines, that, being at a loss to know how to address themselves to the planets when they were below the horizon, and invisible, they recurred to the use of images. But it will be sufficient to suppose, that they were persuaded that each star or planet was actuated by an intelligence; and that the virtues of the heavenly body were infused into the image that represented it. It is certain, that the sentient nature and divinity of the sun, moon, and stars, was strenuously asserted by the philosophers, particularly by Pythagoras and his followers, and by the Stoics, as well as believed by the common people, and was, indeed, the very foundation of the Pagan idolatry. The heavenly bodies were the first deities of all the idolatrous nations, were esteemed eternal, sovereign, and supreme; and distinguished by the title of the natural gods. Thus we find that the primary gods of the Heathens in general were Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Apollo, Mercury, Venus, and Diana; by which we can understand no other than the sun and moon, and the five greatest luminaries next to these. Plutarch expressly censures the Epicureans for asserting that the sun and moon, whom all men worshipped, are void of intelligence.
Sanchoniathon represents the most ancient nations, particularly the Phenicians and Egyptians, as acknowledging only the natural gods, the sun, moon, planets, and elements; and Plato declares it as his opinion, that the first Grecians likewise held these only to be gods, as many of the barbarians did in his time. Beside these natural gods, the Heathens believed that there were certain spirits who held a middle rank between the gods and men on earth, and carried on all intercourse between them; conveying the addresses of men to the gods, and the divine benefits to men. These spirits were called demons. From the imaginary office ascribed to them, they became the grand objects of the religious hopes and fears of the Pagans, of immediate dependence and divine worship. In the most learned nations, they did not so properly share, as engross, the public devotion. To these alone sacrifices were offered, while the celestial gods were worshipped only with a pure mind, or with hymns and praises. As to the nature of these demons, it has been generally believed, that they were spirits of a higher origin than the human race; and, in support of this opinion, it has been alleged, that the supreme deity of the Pagans is called the greatest demon; that the demons are described as beings placed between the gods and men; and that demons are expressly distinguished from heroes, who were the departed souls of men. Some, however, have combated this opinion, and maintained, on the contrary, that by demons, such as were the more immediate objects of the established worship among the ancient nations, particularly the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, we are to understand beings of an earthly origin, or such departed human souls as were believed to become demons.
Although the Hindoo inhabitants of the East Indies deny the charge of idolatry, using the same description of arguments as are so inconclusively urged by superstitious Europeans in defence of image worship, it is still evident that the mass of the Hindoos are addicted to gross idolatry. The gods of Rome were even less numerous, certainly less whimsical and monstrous, than tho
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Now therefore, come on, let us make a bond, I and thou together, and let it be a witness between thee and me."