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I asked the Lord, “How are the sins of man today like those of former times?” As I continue to read in Isaiah and Jeremiah, pictures of idol worship on top of hills, under trees, and in the temple prevail. What is going on here and what is the parallel to our study of worship?
To worship simply means to bow down or to prostrate oneself before God in heaven. There are no exceptions to this position. Also, worship is most often a singular act though at times associated with service. It is the highest commandment of God that Jesus testified to in Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8, referenced back to Exodus 20:1-6.
During idol worship, how does one prostrate oneself upon the hilltops, under the trees, or in the temple? The answer is in the service. Idolaters commit adultery and fornication there with prostitutes. This act is typically committed in the prostrate position. It is ultimately an act of self-service, that is, worship of oneself. That is the root of all idolatry. This is today as it was in the beginning according to Genesis 3:4-6.
Think of any sin and you will find at its core a service, an activity, or a motion that ends up or suggests a bowed down or prostrate position of one or more people. Some are obvious. Some are not. For instance, Jesus points out many subtle sins of prostration in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount.
How is anger (v. 22) such a sin? Jesus likened anger to murder. You murder someone. What is their most likely final position? Right! Prostrate. Before you. Do you see the picture of this person at your feet? What is in your heart besides anger and murder? Pride! You are over that other person. They prostrate to you.
“But I am no murderer,” you say, “and I’m not angry with anyone. And no one has ever bowed down to me.” Seems silly doesn’t it? We don’t see this happening on the street let alone a hilltop, under a tree, or in a temple, do we? Look again. What does God say about pride?
Pride puts the poor under your feet – Psalm 10:2
Pride puts God beneath you – Psalm 10:4
Pride in its arrogance and forwardness puts others beneath your tongue – Proverbs 8:13
Pride brings contention (the prefix ‘con’ making one against or beneath) – Proverbs 13:10
Pride conquers and destroys everything flat before you – Proverbs 16:18
Pride takes the spoils so that nothing is left to hold another up – Isaiah 25:11
Pride makes one drunk and fallen down (passed out) – Isaiah 28:3
Pride makes one believe he can bring God down – Obadiah 1:3
Pride of life (the little ‘I am’ vs. the Great I AM) – I John 2:16 (See how this verse ties back to Genesis 2!)
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Why did the Hebrews choose a calf as the idol to worship during the Exodus? Where did they get such an idea? Understand this truth and you will have plumbed the depths of original sin. Worship the Lord instead and you will be free indeed.
John N. Oswalt wrote, “The Golden Calves and the Egyptian Concept of Deity,” in Evangelical Quarterly 45.1, (January-March 1973): 13-20. It is available online at:
Around the time of the Exodus, Egypt was leading towards monotheism. Their one god was Amon-Re. Like Yahweh/Jehovah, Amon-Re was all-powerful, creator, good, and merciful. Unlike our God, the Egyptian god had the likeness of a bull. This signified his all-powerful/creator status, that is, his sexual prowess.
This Hebrews were born, raised, worked, lived, and died in this Egyptian culture. By the time of the Exodus, most had forgotten the God of Abraham. In fact, until Moses, none had any encounters with Him at all. Therefore, Amon-Re was foremost in their minds.
When Aaron constructed the golden calf however, he did not construct an image of Amon-Re. No, the knowledge of what Yahweh/Jehovah God had just done was too fresh and too powerful. The Hebrews could not deny what their eyes beheld during the Egyptian plagues, the Passover, the Red Sea, and the fiery, smoking mountain where Moses met God. The Hebrews certainly came to know again something of the God of Abraham.
In the hardness of their hearts they fell back on what they knew, not Who they knew, as their god to worship. They saw the great power, the miracles, and the deliverance. They reverted to their mental image of who was responsible for all this. They drew a parallel and concluded that this calf was not really Amon-Re; it was Yahweh/Jehovah God Himself!
This is why Moses was so upset when he came down and saw them worshiping the idol. He was indeed upset about the idol and the lewd sexual acts performed in prostrate worship of the idol. Moses was most upset because the Hebrews called this idol “Jehovah/God”. The calf represented both the visible and invisible (g) Gods that they knew.
Fast forward a few more centuries to another meeting with Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:20-24.
(The woman said), "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
Notice again the tendency towards the seen and familiar versus the unseen yet familiar.
We idolize what is known, seen, and familiar. We derive these idols from our culture, our upbringing, our education, and our churches.
God is not known because He is seen, familiar, culturally popular, or part of our Christian homes or education. He is only known by those He knows, chooses, and saves by the quickening of the spirit.
This is why God warned Moses and Joshua to rid the land of all the idols and their places of worship. Remove the pictures. Destroy the remnants of culture. Give no opportunity to the flesh. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
To worship simply means to bow down or to prostrate oneself before God in heaven. There are no exceptions to this position. Also, worship is most often a singular act though at times associated with service. It is the highest commandment of God that Jesus testified to in Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8, referenced back to Exodus 20:1-6.
During idol worship, how does one prostrate oneself upon the hilltops, under the trees, or in the temple? The answer is in the service. Idolaters commit adultery and fornication there with prostitutes. This act is typically committed in the prostrate position. It is ultimately an act of self-service, that is, worship of oneself. That is the root of all idolatry. This is today as it was in the beginning according to Genesis 3:4-6.
Think of any sin and you will find at its core a service, an activity, or a motion that ends up or suggests a bowed down or prostrate position of one or more people. Some are obvious. Some are not. For instance, Jesus points out many subtle sins of prostration in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount.
How is anger (v. 22) such a sin? Jesus likened anger to murder. You murder someone. What is their most likely final position? Right! Prostrate. Before you. Do you see the picture of this person at your feet? What is in your heart besides anger and murder? Pride! You are over that other person. They prostrate to you.
“But I am no murderer,” you say, “and I’m not angry with anyone. And no one has ever bowed down to me.” Seems silly doesn’t it? We don’t see this happening on the street let alone a hilltop, under a tree, or in a temple, do we? Look again. What does God say about pride?
Pride puts the poor under your feet – Psalm 10:2
Pride puts God beneath you – Psalm 10:4
Pride in its arrogance and forwardness puts others beneath your tongue – Proverbs 8:13
Pride brings contention (the prefix ‘con’ making one against or beneath) – Proverbs 13:10
Pride conquers and destroys everything flat before you – Proverbs 16:18
Pride takes the spoils so that nothing is left to hold another up – Isaiah 25:11
Pride makes one drunk and fallen down (passed out) – Isaiah 28:3
Pride makes one believe he can bring God down – Obadiah 1:3
Pride of life (the little ‘I am’ vs. the Great I AM) – I John 2:16 (See how this verse ties back to Genesis 2!)
--------------------------------------
Why did the Hebrews choose a calf as the idol to worship during the Exodus? Where did they get such an idea? Understand this truth and you will have plumbed the depths of original sin. Worship the Lord instead and you will be free indeed.
John N. Oswalt wrote, “The Golden Calves and the Egyptian Concept of Deity,” in Evangelical Quarterly 45.1, (January-March 1973): 13-20. It is available online at:
Around the time of the Exodus, Egypt was leading towards monotheism. Their one god was Amon-Re. Like Yahweh/Jehovah, Amon-Re was all-powerful, creator, good, and merciful. Unlike our God, the Egyptian god had the likeness of a bull. This signified his all-powerful/creator status, that is, his sexual prowess.
This Hebrews were born, raised, worked, lived, and died in this Egyptian culture. By the time of the Exodus, most had forgotten the God of Abraham. In fact, until Moses, none had any encounters with Him at all. Therefore, Amon-Re was foremost in their minds.
When Aaron constructed the golden calf however, he did not construct an image of Amon-Re. No, the knowledge of what Yahweh/Jehovah God had just done was too fresh and too powerful. The Hebrews could not deny what their eyes beheld during the Egyptian plagues, the Passover, the Red Sea, and the fiery, smoking mountain where Moses met God. The Hebrews certainly came to know again something of the God of Abraham.
In the hardness of their hearts they fell back on what they knew, not Who they knew, as their god to worship. They saw the great power, the miracles, and the deliverance. They reverted to their mental image of who was responsible for all this. They drew a parallel and concluded that this calf was not really Amon-Re; it was Yahweh/Jehovah God Himself!
This is why Moses was so upset when he came down and saw them worshiping the idol. He was indeed upset about the idol and the lewd sexual acts performed in prostrate worship of the idol. Moses was most upset because the Hebrews called this idol “Jehovah/God”. The calf represented both the visible and invisible (g) Gods that they knew.
Fast forward a few more centuries to another meeting with Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:20-24.
(The woman said), "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
Notice again the tendency towards the seen and familiar versus the unseen yet familiar.
We idolize what is known, seen, and familiar. We derive these idols from our culture, our upbringing, our education, and our churches.
God is not known because He is seen, familiar, culturally popular, or part of our Christian homes or education. He is only known by those He knows, chooses, and saves by the quickening of the spirit.
This is why God warned Moses and Joshua to rid the land of all the idols and their places of worship. Remove the pictures. Destroy the remnants of culture. Give no opportunity to the flesh. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
