It seems most of the time idols are talked about in the Bible, it involves an idol to a false god (like Baal, etc). We recognize that any idols and images of the true God are also forbidden per the second commandment. In addition to Deut 4:15-16, what are some other verses and examples that show someone made an idol in order to worship Yahweh?
Idols of Jehovah
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Judges 17:1-3
The 2nd commandment forbids false worship of the true God, and corruptions in God's worship often lead to greater corruptions such as forsaking the true God for false ones. Ahaz is an example; 2 Kings. 16, as George Gillespie, the Scottish Presbyterian theologian, adduces.
When Uriah the priest had once pleased King Ahaz, in making an altar like unto that at Damascus, he was afterwards led on to please him in a greater matter, even in forsaking the altar of the Lord, and in offering all the sacrifices upon the altar of Damascus (2 Kings 16:10–16). All your winning or losing of a good conscience, is in your first buying; for such is the deceitfulness of sin, and the cunning conveyance of that old serpent, that if his head be once entering in, his whole body will easily follow after; and if he make you handsomely to swallow gnats at first, he will make you swallow camels ere all be done. Oh, happy they who dash the little ones of Babylon against the stones (Ps. 137:9)! George Gillespie, A Dispute against the English Popish Ceremonies, "To All the Reformed Churches" (Naphtali Press: new edition forthcoming, 2013, D.V.) 17.
Moreover, when king Ahaz took a pattern of the altar of Damascus, and sent it to Urijah the priest, though we cannot gather from the text that he either intended or pretended any other respect beside the honoring and pleasuring of his patron and protector, the king of Assyria (for of his appointing that new altar for his own and all the people’s sacrifices, there was nothing heard till after his return from Damascus, at which time he began to fall back from one degree of defection to a greater), yet this very innovation of taking the pattern of an altar from idolaters is marked as a sin and a snare (2 Kings 16:10, 18). EPC, book 3, chapter 8 §19 (NP, forthcoming, 2013) 291.
Moreover, when king Ahaz took a pattern of the altar of Damascus, and sent it to Urijah the priest, though we cannot gather from the text that he either intended or pretended any other respect beside the honoring and pleasuring of his patron and protector, the king of Assyria (for of his appointing that new altar for his own and all the people’s sacrifices, there was nothing heard till after his return from Damascus, at which time he began to fall back from one degree of defection to a greater), yet this very innovation of taking the pattern of an altar from idolaters is marked as a sin and a snare (2 Kings 16:10, 18). EPC, book 3, chapter 8 §19 (NP, forthcoming, 2013) 291.
Exodus chapter 32 has the people of Israel demanding that Aaron make them "gods", which Aaron does, saying this calf represented the gods that brought them out of Egypt.
To the extent that they wanted to worship the God who delivered them out of Egypt, they were making idols to him, not to Baal or other entities.
To the extent that they wanted to worship the God who delivered them out of Egypt, they were making idols to him, not to Baal or other entities.
Matthew Willard Lankford
Puritan Board Freshman
Notice how the word "elohim" in Nehemiah 9:19 was translated in the KJV (as it is in other versions):
"Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations [blasphemies, NASB, ESV, HCSB];" (Nehemiah 9:18 KJV)
Also, according to John Gill the Arabic version has it "the image of thy god"
1 Kings 12:28 and Nehemiah 9:18 are, of course, recalling Exodus 32:4. On a blog post by TurretinFan, he explained the immediate context of 1 Kings 12:28 showing that the word "elohim" is in specific reference to the Lord:
This explanation applies to Nehemiah 9:19 and Exodus 32:4, which contain the same expression "Who [(NASB, ESV, HCSB)] brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."
Following Exodus 32:4, verse 5 shows the people did not intend to renounce the worship of Jehovah (ref. see JFB commentary).
"And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD." (Exodus 32:5 KJV)
That the word "elohim" in these passages is actually referring to the Lord is further proven by Psalm 106:19-20
"They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass." (Psalm 106:19-20 KJV)
See Romans 1:23-25 for what it means to 'change the glory of God into a similitude' and to 'change the truth of God into a lie'. Note: Jeremiah 2:11 "My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols." Jeremiah 10:8, 14 "the stock is a doctrine of vanities." (KJV) "Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image, for his cast images are a lie; there is no breath in them." (HCSB) Habbakuk 2:18 "What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of lies?" (NASB)
Note: Israel's glory is the Lord (see: Psalm 3:3, Isaiah 60:19). Also see "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." (Isaiah 42:8) and "For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another." (Isaiah 48:11)
And note that the Third Commandment is also broken when "when men give the title and name of God to those things which are not God indeed" (ref. see Thomas Cranmer's sermons on the Second and Third Commandment: IDOLATRY CONDEMNED: Thomas Cranmer on the Second Commandment & Third Commandments). Also, Martin Luther gives a similar point in his Preface to the Prophets, concerning Hosea 2:16. "Thus says the Lord: thou shalt call me my husband, and no longer call me my Baal; for I will take away the name Baalim from their mouths; the name of Baalim shall no longer be remembered." (see this link: IDOLATRY CONDEMNED: Martin Luther's Preface to the Prophets)
Also, the one who brought Israel out of Egypt is described as the Lord. See Jude verses 4-5 to see that Jesus Christ is our only Lord and that He saved a people out of the land of Egypt.
"For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe." (Jude 1:4-5 NASB)
"They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again." (Amos 8:14 KJV)
John Gill points out the epithet, "only belonged to the God of Israel" and Matthew Poole on Amos 8:14 says, "Thy god, O Dan, liveth; the idol at Dan is the true and living God."
Hosea also mentions the expression:
"Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth." (Hosea 4:15 KJV)
Note the Jamieson, Fausset, Brown commentary on Hosea 4:15:
"nor swear, The Lord liveth — This formula of oath was appointed by God Himself (Deu_6:13; Deu_10:20; Jer_4:2). It is therefore here forbidden not absolutely, but in conjunction with idolatry and falsehood (Isa_48:1; Eze_20:39; Zep_1:5)."
And don't forget Paul told people not to worship God by an image (because he knew men are prone to do so and because the Lord is worshiped in spirit and in truth, not by images like the pagans worship their gods). "Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man." (Acts 17:29)
"Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations [blasphemies, NASB, ESV, HCSB];" (Nehemiah 9:18 KJV)
Also, according to John Gill the Arabic version has it "the image of thy god"
1 Kings 12:28 and Nehemiah 9:18 are, of course, recalling Exodus 32:4. On a blog post by TurretinFan, he explained the immediate context of 1 Kings 12:28 showing that the word "elohim" is in specific reference to the Lord:
This explanation applies to Nehemiah 9:19 and Exodus 32:4, which contain the same expression "Who [(NASB, ESV, HCSB)] brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."
Following Exodus 32:4, verse 5 shows the people did not intend to renounce the worship of Jehovah (ref. see JFB commentary).
"And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD." (Exodus 32:5 KJV)
That the word "elohim" in these passages is actually referring to the Lord is further proven by Psalm 106:19-20
"They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass." (Psalm 106:19-20 KJV)
See Romans 1:23-25 for what it means to 'change the glory of God into a similitude' and to 'change the truth of God into a lie'. Note: Jeremiah 2:11 "My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols." Jeremiah 10:8, 14 "the stock is a doctrine of vanities." (KJV) "Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image, for his cast images are a lie; there is no breath in them." (HCSB) Habbakuk 2:18 "What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of lies?" (NASB)
Note: Israel's glory is the Lord (see: Psalm 3:3, Isaiah 60:19). Also see "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." (Isaiah 42:8) and "For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another." (Isaiah 48:11)
And note that the Third Commandment is also broken when "when men give the title and name of God to those things which are not God indeed" (ref. see Thomas Cranmer's sermons on the Second and Third Commandment: IDOLATRY CONDEMNED: Thomas Cranmer on the Second Commandment & Third Commandments). Also, Martin Luther gives a similar point in his Preface to the Prophets, concerning Hosea 2:16. "Thus says the Lord: thou shalt call me my husband, and no longer call me my Baal; for I will take away the name Baalim from their mouths; the name of Baalim shall no longer be remembered." (see this link: IDOLATRY CONDEMNED: Martin Luther's Preface to the Prophets)
Also, the one who brought Israel out of Egypt is described as the Lord. See Jude verses 4-5 to see that Jesus Christ is our only Lord and that He saved a people out of the land of Egypt.
"For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe." (Jude 1:4-5 NASB)
"They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again." (Amos 8:14 KJV)
John Gill points out the epithet, "only belonged to the God of Israel" and Matthew Poole on Amos 8:14 says, "Thy god, O Dan, liveth; the idol at Dan is the true and living God."
Hosea also mentions the expression:
"Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth." (Hosea 4:15 KJV)
Note the Jamieson, Fausset, Brown commentary on Hosea 4:15:
"nor swear, The Lord liveth — This formula of oath was appointed by God Himself (Deu_6:13; Deu_10:20; Jer_4:2). It is therefore here forbidden not absolutely, but in conjunction with idolatry and falsehood (Isa_48:1; Eze_20:39; Zep_1:5)."
And don't forget Paul told people not to worship God by an image (because he knew men are prone to do so and because the Lord is worshiped in spirit and in truth, not by images like the pagans worship their gods). "Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man." (Acts 17:29)
Jack K
Puritan Board Doctor
Right. Jeroboam's gold calves are often forgotten, but come under constant criticism throughout the books of Kings. Jeroboam's sin, in which he led Israel to sin, was that he led them to try to worship the Lord falsely, using the idols at Bethel and Dan. I'm guessing that sin is referred to even more often in the Bible than is the original golden calf at Sinai.
The other clear example that came immediately to my mind was Ahaz, which Chris has mentioned.
True; that bad example became part of his name practically; Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. The other is prominent in the Scottish literature on worship; in fact one of the more famous took it's title from it: David Calderwood's Altare Damascenum, ceu politia ecclesiæ Anglicanæ obtrusa Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, a formalista quodam delineata, illustrata & examinata, studio & opera Edwardi Didoclavii. Cui locis suis interserta confutatio Paræneseos Tileni ad Scotos Genevensis, ut ait, disciplinæ zelotas; et adjecta Epistola Hieronymi Philadelphi de regimine ecclesiæ Scoticanæ. Ejusque vindiciæ contra calumnias Iohannis Spotsuodi Fani Andreæ Pseudoarchiepiscopi per anonymum (pseudonym Edwardus Didoclavius). Amsterdam: 1623. Lugdunum Batavorum: 1708. A short compendium was put into English; but nothing like the folio Latin work which sadly has never been translated. The Altar of Damascus: Or The Patern Of The English Hierarchie, And Chvrch-Policie Obtruded Upon the Church of Scotland. 1621. The Gillespie previously cited is a more accessible work, and even more celebrated.
Matthew Willard Lankford
Puritan Board Freshman
It is also important to mention that Jesus is Jehovah and many men fancied to themselves false christs. See: John 10:33, Luke 9:19, Matthew 16:14, Mark 8:28, Matthew 24:5, Mark 13:6, 2 Cor. 11:2-4, 1 John 4:2, 2 John 1:7-8. See Goodwin on this subject: IDOLATRY CONDEMNED: Thomas Goodwin on False Christs
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