Slices
Prepare
‘Idols are things we put our trust in. They are not God, but we treat them like they are. We hold them with a sacred reverence that should only be given to God.’* Do you have any idols?
*S Claiborne and M Martin, Beating Guns: Hope for People Who are Weary of Violence, Brazos Press, 2019
Bible passage
The day of the Lord
6 You, Lord, have abandoned your people,
the descendants of Jacob.
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practise divination like the Philistines
and embrace pagan customs.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;
there is no end to their treasures.
Their land is full of horses;
there is no end to the chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their fingers have made.
9 So people will be brought low
and everyone humbled –
do not forgive them.
10 Go into the rocks, hide in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendour of his majesty!
11 The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled
and human pride brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 The Lord Almighty has a day in store
for all the proud and lofty,
for all that is exalted
(and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,
and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low
and human pride humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 and the idols will totally disappear.
19 People will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendour of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
20 In that day people will throw away
to the moles and bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made to worship.
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendour of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
22 Stop trusting in mere humans,
who have but a breath in their nostrils.
Why hold them in esteem?
Explore
Reading about idol worship in the Old Testament, I wonder how people could drift so far away from God that they worship a bit of wood or stone. And yet, how tempting is it to give in to superstition or other ungodly practices that we see around us (v 6)? Money and accumulation of material things (v 7) can become idols. Nations trust in military strength (v 7) rather than looking to God. And people rate themselves according to their own abilities and achievements (v 8).
An idol is anything or anyone who takes the place of God in our lives. We may not physically put offerings on an altar, but how many children are sacrificed for the sake of a career, or a new relationship?
What idols do you see in your society? What about your own life? Many of these things are not wrong necessarily; the danger is when they become more important to us than God – and we are all at risk!
Respond
In 1 Chronicles 29:14 David prays, ‘Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.’ Ask God to help you keep this perspective on the people and things in your life.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 2 Chronicles 24,25; Ephesians 5
Pray for Scripture Union
Grace Youth is a Grow Community in Sheffield run by Faith Guide Natasha. They meet to worship, play games, explore the Bible and sometimes eat pizza! Pray that members will continue to grow in faith and that the community will make new connections with the 95 in the area.
