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Exposing False Gods
Oct 12, 07:18 AM
“And he fashioned a golden calf, and they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’” Exodus 32:4
The calf that Israel made at Mt. Sinai was fashioned after the Canaanite fertility god, Baal. Baal was a bull – a large, virile, fertile bull. It symbolized power, reproductive power especially. People chose that god because of its economic impact. It was thought that Baal would make their herds and crops more fertile so they would have a greater harvest. It might make their sons and daughters more fertile so that they could have a larger stake in the land. It was all about having more.
Baal is mentioned many times in the Bible. The issue of the Exodus was not just that the Jews were being delivered out of oppression; they were being brought out of poly-theistic surroundings to serve the One true and living God who created the heavens and earth. Israel’s history with God in that area was a difficult one. Much of the Old Testament is dedicated to this question: Would they trust the One true God or would they revert back to their lesser gods? Would they trust God as their provider or resort to their own creations of gold, wood, and stone? It was more than a matter of religious belief. It was a matter of which god they would trust and whose ways they would follow. Thus the first commandment: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before (or beside) Me.” (Exodus 20:2-3)
Several years ago, I was pondering the whole “Baal” thing and wondering what possible application it might have for us today. I remember driving down one of the main thoroughfares of my home town, pondering this, and asking God, “What are our Baals today?” I stopped at a traffic light, God spoke to my heart and said, “Lift up your eyes.” I looked and all around me were billboards, advertisements, and store-upon-store. They were everywhere! And I realized that, like in the days of the Bible, so it is now: the economy IS our god and consumption is the way of this god.
It is interesting to note in these days how panicked people are as a result of the failing economy. As a nation, the United States would vote for anyone or anything who would promise to return us to unrestrained prosperity. In 1992, one of presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s strategists, James Carville, coined the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Indeed, the only thing most Americans really care about is their economy because the economy is our god. We believe that the economy is better at holding us up than the God who created us and sustains us by the Word of His power.
False gods will always fail you. Always. They will not deliver you in time of need and will not answer when you call. They will not comfort you in the night, tell you that you are loved, or that what you do matters to the overall scheme of things. The gods of the nations will always be shown for what they are: wood, stone, and gold – the creation of human hands. They have no power to speak nor will they deliver you in times of need. The economy of the nation is not an inherently bad thing. It is not evil. Economic, social, and political dynamics are part of the life of any society. The problem comes when any of these become god-like for us. Politics are important, but they cannot save us. The same is true for economics. The bull which is so prominently displayed on Wall Street is being shown for what it is: metal and stone. Nothing more.