One of the Bible’s strongest commands is no idolatry.
It’s common for this command to strike modern readers as odd, and there are several reasons for that. The main reason is that we don’t “make idols” the way the ancient world does. But do we?
We may not craft images, but we do worship what we shouldn’t. Idol making isn’t just crafting images from stone or precious metals or wood. Idol making is looking to created things to meet our needs and fulfill our desires.
When Nebuchadnezzar makes an idol and insists on people worshipping it, he’s saying that loyalty to Babylon will make your life stable. Submit yourself and yourself around these ideas of Babylon and you will find peace, security, and overall wellbeing.
God prohibits idolatry because there is nothing in the created order that can meet all your needs. Only God can do that. God has created and designed us to depend on Him, not the creation, for our well-being. God is the one, not the creation, who provides what we need thrive. He is the source and creator of life, and he alone is able to meet the eternal needs of the human soul.
This is why Jesus is the bread of life.
There’s a little more to it than this.
God doesn’t just prohibit worshipping other gods (created things), he prohibits anything made in _his _image or likeness.
This is because, being infinite, God is bigger than the created world. Nothing in the created world can contain him. Anything in this created world that represents him will fall infinitely short of accurately representing him in the world.
In fact, the closet thing to being an image of God in the world is…humans. They are crated in his image and likeness. Do you want to know what God looks like? Look at the human. And it’s not strictly our physicality, it’s that our being is made for others.
The bottom line is that God doesn’t forbid worshipping created things because he’s a kill joy. He’s protecting us. He knows that if we give our loyalty to created things, then we’ll simply be miserable. We’ll be left to die because those things don’t give life, HE gives life.
Lastly, what does it mean to “worship”? At its core, worship means submission. When we worship something, we place ourselves beneath its authority and allow it to shape our choices, priorities, and desires. When we worship someone, we give ourselves over to that person’s will: “Tell me what you want, and I will do it.”
This is why worship involves far more than singing songs or participating in a religious service. We worship whatever receives our deepest allegiance—whatever we obey, sacrifice for, and depend upon for security, identity, or joy. Every object of worship makes demands of us. It says, “Do what I ask, and I will give you what you desire.”
The question, then, is not whether we worship, but what—or whom—we worship. The idols of this world demand our submission but cannot fulfill their promises. God alone is worthy of our worship because his will is good, his character is steadfast, and surrendering ourselves to him leads not to slavery but to freedom.
Be wise. Give yourself to the author and giver of life. Worship him alone because he’s the only one who can fulfill you.
