The Lure of Idolatry - Deuteronomy 13
“The Covenant: The Lure of Idolatry� (13)
Moses addresses Israel in Deuteronomy 13 with the purpose of protecting her from idolatry. There are certain types of people who have the potential to lure Israel into idolatry. Moses warns Israel of three categories of people. If you were seeking to protect the church from idolatry, which categories of people would be on your list? Would you list rock stars, professional athletes, and best selling authors? Would your list of the top three most dangerous idolaters be cultists, artists, and university professors? Would you warn people against extreme environmentalists, secret societies, and success coaches? Which groups of people in our community have the greatest potential for luring us into idolatry?
Moses warns against three groups of people: spiritual leaders; family members; and civic leaders. We may be surprised at his choices, recognizing them to have potential for good, for the betterment of our community. Remember, idolatry is replacing the one, true God with any other person, object, or phenomenon. An idol need not be evil in itself. Many idols are good. Nature, money, land, family, sex, vocation, and security are all good yet they are all ranked among the top ten idols of our day. The evil does not lurk in them; the evil is in our idolizing of them. Similarly, these three categories of people are not evil, but good. We need spiritual leaders; we love family members; and civic leaders have been most helpful to us. Nevertheless, the potential of these people luring us into idolatry is high. Moses gives us some insight into why this is the case.
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