Word of Encouragement (02/21/2023)
Then he will say, 'Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge, 38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection! 39 "'See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.’” (Deut. 32:37-39)
Having addressed the pagan nations, God directs His attention to Israel once again. God uses sarcasm to do so because it is an effective way of exposing the foolishness of Israel’s idolatry. She offered animal sacrifices and drink offerings to the pagan gods instead of the LORD, her God. It seems that her pagan neighbors told her that their gods and goddesses enjoyed eating the fat of animals and drinking the finest wine.
Maybe the Israelites liked that about these pagan idols—they were so much more relatable than the LORD! These idols had statues they could see and even touch. And they ate food and drank wine like them and enjoyed doing so! When the Israelites brought their animals and wine and offered them, they knew that they were not being wasted in silly religious rituals but were actually consumed by these idols. (But how did they know this? Maybe they could imagine that the animal fat being burnt on the altar was being consumed by the gods even though it didn’t look any different from simply burning the animal parts. But how could they think like that about the drink offerings when the wine was simply spilled on the ground or the altar?)
The Israelites might have thought that the LORD was boring in comparison. When they went to the tabernacle, they could not enter the Holy Place, let alone the Most Holy Place where the throne of God was on the Mercy Seat above the Ark of the Covenant. But even if they could enter the Most Holy Place, they would not be able to see any likeness of the LORD in the form of a statue. God, who told them not to make any graven image to worship, would not have any form of Himself there. There was only empty space on the Mercy Seat between the wings of the cherubim. How boring! How were they supposed to relate to a God like that? They wanted their god to be something more tangible and relatable.
But if these gods and goddesses needed to eat and drink, did that mean they got hungry and thirsty, too? If they did, were they worthy of one’s absolute trust and worship? If they had needs, would they try to use their worshippers to get what they wanted instead of taking care of them? But maybe the Israelites liked that about the idols, too. If the idols needed them, they could bargain and manipulate them to get what they wanted, too. But do you see what this would do to their relationship? It will be at best a symbiotic relationship of give-and-take, or at worst a competitive relationship, in which the two parties try to outsmart and outmaneuver each other; it will never be a relationship of love and union.
Why did God forbid making any graven image of Him? The question is why people want to make images of God. Is it not an attempt to manage or even manipulate God? Is it not an expression of our desire to make God in our own image? God is God. He is wholly other, infinitely greater than man. He cannot be contained in an image or place. That is why He is worthy of our worship. But God did not leave us in the dark. He revealed Himself to us through His creation and His Word. Through these means, we can come to know God—not fully nor perfectly but accurately and truthfully. Though God may seem unrelatable, He took the initiative to relate to us, even to the point of the Son of God coming into this world in the flesh and laying down His life for our redemption. God is infinitely greater than all things, including this universe, But He is nearer to us than we are to ourselves. Let us love Him with reverence and fear Him with love!