This post is written by Andrew Hall, and is published as a companion to Unit 5, Session 3 of The Gospel Project for Adults Vol. 2 (Winter 2021-22): From Captivity to the Wilderness.
With the advent of reality TV, an entire industry has arisen that seeks to take everyday, ordinary people and turn them into stars. At first their raw talent is impressive. But soon they are taught how to perform and are given an image to set apart their brand. For most people, the minute they become a celebrity is the same minute they become a monster.[1] Once pleasant people who lived plain lives are thrust into the spotlight, wealth, success, and fame changes them so that their anger and wrath is terrifying. It is as though the thing they longed for the most reveals what is truly deep within their heart. Celebrity after celebrity seems to have their lives ruined—they want the lights on them, the roaring crowds, the cameras flashing, the adoring fans. But the minute the show is over and the lights are off, they find that the money, fame, and success hasn’t satisfied.
Idols Lure Us Away from True Worship
Idols have a way of shaping people. Moses saw how the Israelites were nearly destroyed by their worship of a golden calf (see Exodus 32). When Moses descended from Mount Sinai with the covenant written on the tablets of stone, he heard the people, wild and untamed, as they worshiped the calf. Upon seeing how they had disobeyed the first and second commandments, he smashed the tablets to the ground. The Israelites had fallen away from their God.
God has made humanity to worship. It may not be a golden calf or a statue, but the human heart will find something to cherish, adore, pursue, and love. The object of worship may be immaterial: success at work, recognition from people, a life of ease. Whatever the search, the heart will begin to be shaped by and look like its pursuits.
Idols Bring Hopelessness
When Israel made for themselves a golden calf, they wanted gods to worship and lead them. Unfortunately, the gods they followed shaped them in terrible ways. When the Lord told Moses what the people were doing (Exod. 32:8-10), they are described like wild cattle, on the loose and stiff-necked. Moses even tried to gather the people, standing at the gate, corralling these undomesticated people. And in a bizarre act of punishment, Moses grinds up the golden calf, mixes it in the water, and commands the people to drink it up (v. 20). It is as though Moses is saying, “You want to worship this beast who shape your life? Then drink up and get this calf right into you!”
The Psalmist had warned God’s people not to pursue idolatry. Idols have mouths, eyes, ears, noses, and hands, but they do not have a single sense. They are lifeless, helpless, and hopeless. The great judgment is that those who make the idols are just like them, as are those who worship and trust in them (Ps. 115:4-8). There is only wrath and fury that remains for the idol worshiper (Exod. 32:10). Is there any hope when a life is ruined by being shaped by an idol?
Hope for When We Turn from Idols
There is a way for a life to be restored that has been ruined by false worship. Just as Moses went up the mountain to plead for the people and make atonement for their sin (Exod. 32:30), we have an advocate before the Father who pleads and atones for our sins when we confess and repent (see 1 Jn. 2:1; Heb. 9:11-14; 1 Jn. 1:9).
The beauty of the good news of Jesus Christ is that he remakes us into his image (Rom. 8:29). He takes a life shaped by idols and begins to form us so that we look increasingly like him. He rescues us from false worship and gives us hearts that desire what he desires. The ruined is restored. And he can do this because he is greater than Moses, for he intercedes and offers himself for us (Heb. 7:25). And for this reason, we can only worship all the more.
[1] Cynthia Heimel, quoted by Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods (New York, NY: Dutton, 2009), 2.
Andrew Hall is the Lead Pastor of Community Bible Church, located in Ilderton, Ontario, Canada . He is a graduate from Southern Seminary . He and his wife, Melanie, have four children: Noelle, Ava, Calvin, and Brita.