What we usually mean by it
Worshipping idols? That's not what we often think. It has little to do with things that are important to you and that have a big place in your life, like your house, your car, your work, people who are like idols to you, Facebook. You name them; all things that may be important to you. And of course it can get crazy because you put way too much time and/or money into it. But that is not exactly what the Bible means by 'serving idols'.
What Moses Says
Moses defines exactly what idolatry is when he says in Deuteronomy 12:30-31:
BE CAUTION (…) THAT YOU DO NOT ASK FOR THEIR GODS, SAYING AS THESE NATIONS HAVE SERVED THEIR GODS, SO SHALL I DO IT. YOU SHOULD NOT DO AS THEY ARE TO THE LORD YOUR GOD!
Also in verse 4 of the same chapter it is already emphatically stated: “You shall not do as they do before the Lord your God!“. This is immediately very clear.
GOD'S PEOPLE MUST NOT DRAW TO GOD AS THE NATIONS AROUND THEM APPROACH TO THEIR GODS.
If the people of Israel nevertheless approach the Lord in a pagan way, He calls it 'idolatry'. They would then not serve the Lord, but the (idols) gods! In this way one would not come into contact with the Lord their God, but with the idols, the demons. The people might think they were serving God, but in reality they were serving idols and opening themselves up to demons.
So it is in idolatry not a matter of consciously turning your back on God and devoting yourself to the gods. This is very crucial and we will have to keep this in mind from now on. They think they are approaching God, their own God. Fine right? Yes indeed, nothing wrong with that
but because they approach God in the way that the nations approach their gods, they experience nothing of God, but of the idols, the demons. They are then in contact with the demon world, while they think it is (from) God!
Paul says the same
Paul says the same thing in other words to the church in Corinth. In response to the question of whether or not they can eat sacrificial meat (1 Corinthians 8:1) Paul gives a whole treatise, which actually ends only at the end of chapter 11.
In chapter 10, verses 19 and 20, there is a key text relevant to our subject that reads:
WHAT DO I SAY WITH THIS? THAT AN IDOLS IS ANYTHING, OR THAT AN IDODIAN SACRIFICE IS ANYTHING? NO, I SAY THIS BECAUSE WHAT THE pagans Sacrifice, THEy Sacrifice THAT TO THE DEMONS AND NOT TO GOD, AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO HAVE COMMUNITY WITH THE DEMONS.
Paul is saying three things here:
- that an idol, an idol, or an idol offering, is nothing in itself. He had already explained that in chapter 8 (1 Corinthians 8:4), but he repeats it again here
- when the nations approach their gods (= sacrifice), they do not come to God, but to the demons. That is an observation that makes sense in itself and may seem superfluous, but is nevertheless important in connection with what follows.
- you have "communion with demons" if you draw near to God the way the nations draw near to their gods.
This last point is what matters. It is also the only meaningful meaning of the text. Paul says that the same thing will happen to the Corinthians as the Gentiles, that they will approach the demons and have fellowship with them, if they approach God in a pagan way. That is why he also says in verse 14:flee from idolatry“.
Conclusion
Our conclusion is that the Bible calls it idolatry when a believer draws near to God and does so in a way that the nations draw near to their gods. He then experiences special things and thinks that they come from God, while they come from demons. So in reality he has 'communion with the demons', while he thinks he is experiencing (something of) God.
Continue reading on the following pages, starting with “How men draw near to their gods”
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