IDOLATRY AND CHARACTER (29 OF 52)
Scripture: 1 Kings 21:5-14
This content is part of a series.
Idolatry and Character (29 of 52)
Series: Discipleship Part Three
Christopher B. Harbin
1 Kings 21:5-14
We read the Bible's condemnations of idolatry and often miss the important issues it associates with idolatry. Rather than reflecting the worship of the wrong deity, lesser beings, or inanimate objects, the Bible deals with idolatry as being a problem on various levels. Idolatry was at heart an attempt to seek control from the spiritual realm in order to gain power over others. Might some of the ways we view worship have more to do with a love for power than a desire to serve out of love?
Of all the women in the Bible, Jezebel's name stands out in history and literature as the prime example of a wicked woman. She was Queen during the reign of Ahab, but in many respects she seems to have been the one in charge of Israel. Whether she was manipulating Ahab or whether he simply gave her plenty of authority to act on her own, her influence was responsible for the presence of 850 priests and prophets to Baal and Astarte during the tenure of Elijah. She is credited with turning Ahab from Yahweh to the worship of Baal, seeking Elijah's life for standing up to her influence.
Jezebel was not from Israel. Ahab had married her in a political alliance with another nation. She ushered Baal worship into the heart of Israel's monarchy. Today's passage displays a second example of the influence she wielded over Ahab. It speaks to her character, linking it to the Yahwist prophetic view of the basic properties behind idolatry. More than competing with Yahweh for attention, idolatry offered a conflicting character for life and the use of status, power, and influence.
Ahab had opportunity to visit Naboth's vineyard. He was impressed. The work that had gone into improving the land had paid off remarkably well. Ahab wanted the vineyard. He offered to buy it or trade it for some other property of Naboth's choosing. Naboth, however, was uninterested. The land had been en ...
Series: Discipleship Part Three
Christopher B. Harbin
1 Kings 21:5-14
We read the Bible's condemnations of idolatry and often miss the important issues it associates with idolatry. Rather than reflecting the worship of the wrong deity, lesser beings, or inanimate objects, the Bible deals with idolatry as being a problem on various levels. Idolatry was at heart an attempt to seek control from the spiritual realm in order to gain power over others. Might some of the ways we view worship have more to do with a love for power than a desire to serve out of love?
Of all the women in the Bible, Jezebel's name stands out in history and literature as the prime example of a wicked woman. She was Queen during the reign of Ahab, but in many respects she seems to have been the one in charge of Israel. Whether she was manipulating Ahab or whether he simply gave her plenty of authority to act on her own, her influence was responsible for the presence of 850 priests and prophets to Baal and Astarte during the tenure of Elijah. She is credited with turning Ahab from Yahweh to the worship of Baal, seeking Elijah's life for standing up to her influence.
Jezebel was not from Israel. Ahab had married her in a political alliance with another nation. She ushered Baal worship into the heart of Israel's monarchy. Today's passage displays a second example of the influence she wielded over Ahab. It speaks to her character, linking it to the Yahwist prophetic view of the basic properties behind idolatry. More than competing with Yahweh for attention, idolatry offered a conflicting character for life and the use of status, power, and influence.
Ahab had opportunity to visit Naboth's vineyard. He was impressed. The work that had gone into improving the land had paid off remarkably well. Ahab wanted the vineyard. He offered to buy it or trade it for some other property of Naboth's choosing. Naboth, however, was uninterested. The land had been en ...
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