Stubborn Idols

5 min read

12 He pulled down the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts of the temple of the LORD. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the people of Ammon. 14 Josiah smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.
— 2 Kings 23:12-13

Josiah instituted sweeping reforms. He was extremely zealous in consecrating Judah to the LORD once again. And so he methodically removed every remnant of idolatry that he found in the land.

Of course, there were altars built by Manasseh and Ahaz, two kings who were infamous for their idolatry. In fact, it is because of Manasseh that the destruction of Judah had reached a tipping point.

What’s more surprising, though, is to hear King Solomon’s name mentioned. We know that Solomon had committed idolatry, mainly because of all the foreign wives that he had married. What is surprising, though, is (1) the extent of his idolatry and especially (2) how long the altars that he erected remained standing.

Solomon might be the clearest reminder to us all that no human—no matter how wise, no matter how full of promise—is immune to falling away from God. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

It was to David that God had made His covenant promise that his throne would be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16). And his son Solomon was the wisest man to ever live. And yet, within one generation, idolatry became ingrained into the culture of Judah, and that idolatry lasted (at least up to this point) almost 400 years. In other words, Judah’s idolatry never stopped from Solomon all the way up to Josiah.

We might want to ask ourselves what causes us to so easily turn away from God and turn toward idols? Many people might say lack of “discipleship.” The transformation of our hearts does begin by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). But what causes our minds to be renewed in the first place? It’s certainly not knowledge.

Discipleship does nothing without relationship and love. In fact, discipleship without relationship and love will create minions of the devil and not disciples of Christ.

There is a reason that the “royal law” (James 2:8) is “royal.” It comes from King Jesus, and it is rule #1 in the kingdom of God.

Father, forgive the idolatry of our lives. But more than that, draw us out of our idolatry. Help us to recognize our idols so that we might tear them down. You alone are worthy of all glory, honor, and praise. In Jesus’s name. Amen.