What’s so bad about idol worship? Some idols are believed to be inspired by demons, thus idol worship is demon worship. And idol worship involved “temple prostitutes” of both sexes. When babies were born to them, the girls joined their mothers as sex slaves, and the boys were killed. Idolatry also involved child sacrifice.
When the king of Moab was about to lose a battle, he was desperate.
“When the king saw that the battle was too fierce for him … he took his firstborn son who was to become king in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall” 2 Kings 3:26-27.
No wonder God hates idol worship.
First-time readers of the Old Testament are sometimes shocked to discover that God’s people—the nation of Israel—killed all the people in the Promised Land. When the Hebrews left Egypt, they moved into the land now known as Israel, and systematically slaughtered the people.
Israel killed thousands; not all of them soldiers. Some were the very young and the very old.
How do we reconcile such hard facts with God’s love and holiness?
First, God had been watching the pagans for centuries. He mentioned wiping them out centuries before while speaking to Abraham in a dream, but the idol worshippers had not yet “filled up the full measure of their sin” Genesis 15:16. He was patient.
Second, God exists outside of time. He knows everyone is going to die, and earthly death is when REAL life begins. Leaving this life at death is like leaving the womb at birth: a newborn hates to leave the womb because it is all he knows. But birth into this life is better than the womb. Similarly, dying and joining eternity is better than this life.
Third, the innocent children who arouse our compassion the most were actually better off. Rather than grow up to be idol worshippers likely to spend eternity in hell, many were killed so young, God would not hold them accountable for sins, and they would instead be granted eternal life in Heaven.
All religions are not the same: idolatry has often led to sex trafficking and the slaughter of babies and children. But Jesus offers a “more excellent way” 1 Corinthians 12:31.
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