When people think of idolatry, they usually think of a golden calf or something from Pharaoh’s court. However, I’ve learned that idolatry is a lot more than that. Isaiah’s writings show a disdain for physical idols and depict him mocking them. Idols have no power, but they nevertheless affect us in a very real way.
Avraham’s writings help point out that there’s a problem if any person, place, or thing gets in the way of our covenant relationship and reliance on God. If we spend our time or strength on things that distract us from God, then we’re engaged in idolatry. It is whatever people or nations rely upon for security, power, and continuity in place of covenant dependence on God.
Isaiah repeatedly associates idolatry with political, military, and economic reliance. Israel’s appeals to foreign alliances, imperial powers, or material strength are portrayed as acts of unfaithfulness equivalent to idol worship. These substitutes are condemned not merely because they’re ineffective but because they violate the exclusive loyalty demanded by the covenant.
What is so shocking and surprising is that such a reliance often coexists with formal religious observance, producing a form of dual allegiance that Isaiah presents as spiritually fatal (Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded). To me this is the epitome of trying to serve God and Mammon.
In his work, Gileadi points out that this idolatry can consist of our favorite things: ball games, TV, movies, excessive recreation, gardening, camping, possessions, etc. Really anything that detracts from our covenant path and takes us away from true covenantal observance. In short, we need to turn our hearts away from the false gods that cannot support or nourish us and fully sup at the table the Lord has placed before us.
There’s a lot more that can be written on the words of Isaiah, but I want to write about this particular topic because it was so surprising to me when I realized that although I thought myself to be in full covenantal compliance, I was in fact engaged in my own form of modern idolatry.
Reading, pondering, and praying in this regard has helped me understand ways to turn more fully to the Lord. It has allowed me to focus on the true things that bring nourishment through the Bread of Life.
