You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. [Exodus 20:3-5 (NLT)]
During the time of the judges, the Israelites were at war with the Philistines. Following their loss of 4,000 men, they questioned why God had allowed their defeat but never bothered asking Him. Instead, they decided that carrying the Ark of the Covenant into battle would guarantee a future victory. Perhaps they remembered the story of Israel entering the Promised Land—how the Jordan River stopped flowing when the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touched the water and the entire nation crossed the dry riverbed into Canaan. They may have recalled Jericho’s defeat when Israel’s priests carried the Ark around the walled city for seven days and the city’s seemingly invincible walls collapsed. Maybe they thought it was the Arks’ presence that caused those miracles; in any case, they brought the Ark to their camp in Ebenezer.
Rather than put their faith in God’s power to save them, the men put their faith in a powerless box that held revered artifacts. While sacred, the Ark had no more power to bring victory than would a scarab amulet. Nevertheless, Israel put their trust in this talisman instead of God. I wonder if they blamed the Ark rather than their sacrilege when the Philistines defeated them, captured the Ark, and took it into their territory.
Israel failed to remember that, in the 400 years since crossing the Jordan and defeating Jericho, the Ark never had been taken into battle and, in both of those instances, God specifically commanded the action. Worse, the men had broken the first commandment by putting their faith in something other than God.
The Philistines may have thought themselves lucky to have captured the Ark but that quickly changed. Although they placed it in their temple next to their chief deity Dagon, the next morning, Dagon was found on the ground before the Ark, face down in a position of humility and worship. After the idol was returned to its place, it was found face down again the next day. Decapitation of foes and the severing of hands was a common practice in the ancient world and Dagon’s head and hands were broken off and lying in the temple’s doorway. Jehovah’s message was clear: Dagon was a powerless god who couldn’t even prevent his own execution in his temple!
Still, the Philistines failed to return the Ark and, when God sent an illness of tumors (possibly something like bubonic plague), they played a deadly game of “hot potato” for the next seven months by moving the Ark from town to town. Wherever it landed, however, the plague of tumors followed. When a cry went through the land, the Philistines finally returned the Ark to Israel. Like Israel, they made the mistake of attributing power to the Ark rather than to the great God Jehovah!
As did the Israelites, we must never put our trust in things—whether it’s lucky coin, crystal, rabbit’s foot, or cross on a necklace. Although a rosary dangling from the rearview mirror, an olivewood cross in your purse, a fish symbol on the trunk, a St. Christopher medal on the dash, or an angel pin on your lapel may serve as visual reminders of our powerful God, they are powerless to keep us from being lost, injured, ill, or getting into an accident, or having some other trouble. God cannot be manipulated to bring about good fortune! Treating any object (secular or religious) as a talisman or good luck charm turns it into an idol!
In the same way, we must never live in fear of things like the number 13, not forwarding a chain letter, or seven years of bad luck after breaking a mirror. Those things are as powerless as was the Philistine’s god Dagon. At its simplest, superstition simply is fear. As Paul told Timothy in his second letter, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” [1:7] Rather than fearing superstitions or symbols, we should fear God with a fear that manifests itself in our respect, obedience, submission, and worship of Him.
Divine protection and victory come from God alone, not from pictures, jewelry, talismans, or even the Ark. There is a fine line between respecting an object and idolatry. Philistine and Israelite alike crossed that line; let’s be sure we never do.
While baking banana bread, I decided to add in the last of the walnuts I found in the refrigerator. After pouring the dough into the prepared pans, I spotted a few walnut pieces that hadn’t made the mixing bowl and popped them in my mouth. One taste told me they were rancid! Not only are rancid nuts horrid tasting but, if enough are consumed, they can make you sick! Just as there’s no way to get a little bit of yeast out of a lump of dough, there was no way to get every last bit of nut nastiness out of the bread. A mere cup of nuts managed to turn more than eight cups of what should have been sweet and delicious into something bitter and sour. As I emptied the pans into the garbage, I recalled a sermon illustration about a thirteen-year-old girl.
For a single-cell microorganism member of the fungus family, yeast is mighty powerful. When added to water and flour, it starts to grow and multiply as it ferments the sugars in the flour, releases carbon dioxide, and causes the dough to rise. Moreover, once added to something, yeast can’t be removed. When a small amount of old fermented dough called a starter or seor is kneaded into flour and water, it permeates the dough and makes it rise. Some of the newly leavened dough can be saved to become the starter for the next batch of bread and so on.
When writing about pride earlier this week, I remembered the Bible’s stories of proud men who got their comeuppance. 2 Chronicles 26 tells of Uzziah who, as long as he “sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.” His mighty army defeated the Philistines, Arabians, and Meunites (who then paid him an annual tribute) and, under his rule, Jerusalem’s walls were fortified, wilderness forts were established, water cisterns were dug, and something like catapults were erected on the walls to defend the city. With Uzziah as king, Judah prospered and the powerful king’s fame spread “far and wide.” Sadly, along with prosperity, power, and fame came pride. Believing he was above the law, the proud king entered the sanctuary and usurped the high priest’s role by offering incense. When priests warned him about his sacrilege, the proud king raged at them and immediately was stricken with leprosy—a disease that meant the “unclean” man lived the rest of his life in isolation and never again could enter the Temple. All the blessings, accomplishments, and prosperity of his reign were overshadowed by Uzziah’s one act of pride, insolence, and arrogance.
I enjoy stopping for a short stroll on the boardwalk of a local nature preserve that is home to well over 100 gopher tortoises (a protected species) and a wide assortment of native plants. The boardwalk is low to the ground and has no railing because it’s not there to protect people from the alligators and snakes of the swamp; it’s there to protect the animals and their dry scrub habitat from people! Several signs are posted about not stepping off it onto the fragile landscape. When I spotted an absolutely beautiful prickly pear cactus in full bloom, I was disappointed it was out of decent photo range. Since mine had been the only car in the parking lot, I was tempted to disobey the posted signs. “I really want that photo! Who’d know? What harm could I do?” I asked myself. If I’d seen someone else stepping off the boardwalk, however, I would have admonished them for their lack of environmental concern! Recognizing sin’s whisper in my ear, I stayed put. Nevertheless, I realized how tempting it is to think my desires are more important than anything or anyone else.
