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What’s the use of an idol? It is only something that a human being has made, and it tells you nothing but lies. What good does it do for its maker to trust it—a god that can’t even talk!
Habakkuk 2:18 GNB
Idolatry always begins with deception. It began in the Garden when Satan tempted man to disobey God and choose his own path in order to satisfy his needs. Since then, we have been continually tempted by the lure of deception. It promises so much but only delivers destruction in the end.
Habakkuk is highlighting the root of the problem. When we look around at our world today, we may be tempted to blame politics or a lack of morality as the culprits for such a decline. However, the catalyst for such a backslidden condition can always be traced back to idolatry. The book of Judges is an object lesson in how quickly things can unravel. First, there is spiritual apostasy. Next comes moral decline. Finally, there is political anarchy which eventually crushes the nation. You can try and blame politics, or a lack of morality, but the root issue is always a turning away from God in all aspects of life.
We are worshippers that inevitably find something or someone to worship. If it isn’t God, then we have been deceived. We have been fooled by a counterfeit. God will let us chase that idol to our destruction knowing that the tighter we cling to it, the more forcefully it pulls us into the darkness. This is exactly why prophets were given the Word of God to speak to the people and why we were given the Scriptures to read today. The truth of God breaks the chains of idolatry and awakens us to deceit. But that’s not all. It calls us to turn, repent, and come back to God!