The Deceptive Idol of “God-And”

And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).
2 Kings 18:4 (ESV)

Whenever the Bible describes the sins of Israel, we should take care to read with interest and investment. There is a great consistency between Old Testament Israel and the New Testament Church. Each chosen by grace, lavished with blessings, given the very Presence of God, and even a mediator and sacrifice for sins. When we read of the Israelites’ sins, they should not be considered foreign, ancient, distant, or primitive. They are the sins common to the people of God and therefore of immense relevance to our lives.

One such description of the sins of Israel is given in reference to King Hezekiah, who opposed the moral and religious corruption in Judah. The high places which stood as a black mark on even the most righteous kings were finally torn down and the Asherah pole used to worship a Near Eastern goddess was broken and cut down.

Among the actions Hezekiah took to return Israel’s heart to the Lord was breaking a bronze serpent. This is a shocking revelation to Old Testament readers. Since its first reference in Numbers 21, we have not heard of this statue even once. Apparently, since then, it had become an idol worshiped by the Israelites.

If you don’t remember the serpent story, it can be boiled down to a simple outline. The Israelites spoke against God in the wilderness and accused Him of wrongdoing. In response God sent poisonous snakes among them to bite them and kill them. Yet in His mercy, he had Moses craft a bronze serpent and any Israelite who looked upon the statue was healed of their bites.

It’s a miraculous story where the mercy of God is put on display. Yes, God rightly judged the people for their sins, but he also provided a means of escaping this judgement. A picture of mercy; a picture of Christ.

And yet, the next we hear of this statue, it has become a god to the Israelites, receiving offerings and given a proper name under which it could be worshiped. Eventually, this reminder of God’s-mercy-turned-idol would meet its end when the good king Hezekiah ordered its destruction.

What religious corruption it is to worship the means by which God gave mercy rather than merciful God Himself! How Israel even came to such a foolish and wicked understanding is difficult to comprehend. Yet, the sins of Israel are in many ways still alive and well in the Church today.

The pitfalls of God’s people may have the trappings of this modern age but make no mistake these sins are as old as humanity and just as deadly today as they were then. I will assume that you don’t have any household idols craved from wood, bronze, or stone. Most likely, you’ve never seen an idol for worship. And yet, our hearts clamor for the taste of idolatry still the same.

The Israelites worshiped an Asherah pole and at pagan high places. Among these pagan, gods, they also worshiped a remnant of God’s mercy. So too must we be on guard against making idols out of the gifts of God.

It is not the new job, the spouse, the children, the food on the table, the money in the bank, the friends around us, the pastors over us, or even the ticket to heaven which deserves worship. This is is the great danger of a “God-and” theology. When we live our lives worshiping God as well as the gifts He gives, our religion will be as idolatrous and weak as the Israelites!

The gifts that God gives are sweet and pleasant and necessary but they are not worthy of worship. The more that we love them, the less capable of true worship we will be. The more we choose to look past them to the good God of the gifts, the more we will be able to enjoy what He has given us.

The sin of idolatry has plagued the people of God since the wilderness wanderers lusted after the fruits of Egypt and before. Christian, is there any gift of God that instead of pointing you to the satisfier of your soul has taken up residency in your heart? Cast it down! For the people of God will only be happy, be joyful, be hopeful, be driven, and be satisfied in God alone.

A. W. Tozer, when writing on this topic of “the evil habit of seeking God-and,” reminds us why even these good and merciful gifts can become poisonous idols. I will close with his insight:

In the “and” lies our great woe. If we omit the “and” we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing. We need not fear that in seeking God only we may narrow our lives or restrict the motions of our expanding hearts. The opposite is true. We can well afford to make God our All, to concentrate, to sacrifice the many for the One…

The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One.

A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God