Idolatry | Knowable Word

Easy Money is Self-Destructive

February 14, 2025 By Peter Krol

Easy money will keep you from being wise because it turns you from the Lord to focus on yourself. And self-focus is ultimately self-destructive: Easy money “takes away the life of its possessors.”

Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
It takes away the life of its possessors (Prov 1:19, ESV).

Remember how to get started on the path of wisdom? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov 1:7). If we desire to be wise, we begin by focusing on the Lord, continue by focusing on the Lord, and end with focusing on the Lord. We must admit our weakness, own our failure, and trust in Jesus for life and security. He rewards us with wisdom, instruction, righteousness, discretion, and attractiveness.

We forfeit all these gains when we turn inward. We begin to doubt God’s Word. We think that Jesus is neat and all, but he can’t really help us in the trenches of life. What we really need is a more diversified portfolio to protect us from a recession. Then we get proud in our choices, confident with the future, and less needy for a Rescuer. We lose the trust of those we care about the most, and we never really obtain stable lives.

“Uranium” (2008) Marcin Wichary, shared under Creative Commons Attribution License

Solomon’s conclusion is that easy money “takes away the life of its possessors.” It is like a bar of uranium that looks so shiny and pretty. It has a lovely glow about it, and might be nice to touch. But the closer I get to it, the more it harms me.

That’s why Jesus came to break the cycle of sin and misery and lead us to God. Our greatest financial need is not for better money management, but for rescue. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). Our hearts constantly entice us to find our community and security in wealth, so Jesus gave up all his wealth to bring us lasting security and community with him.

Don’t buy it. It’s not worth it. Next week, I’ll give some practical tips on how you can reject easy money and pursue wisdom instead.

This post was first published in 2012.

Easy Money Can’t Deliver on its Promises

January 31, 2025 By Peter Krol

Last week, we saw that easy money promises community and security. Don’t fall for it.

My son, do not walk in the way with them;
Hold back your foot from their paths,
For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
For in vain is a net spread
In the sight of any bird,
But these men lie in wait for their own blood;
They set an ambush for their own lives. (Prov 1:15-18)

abandoned pink piano in a derelict building — Photo by Mike Norris on Pexels.com

Security

Where is the promised security? “But these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.” All the promises of an easier life with fewer worries are simply lies. If we murder an old lady for her credit cards, we’re likely to be imprisoned or executed. The authorities are not very forgiving with tax evaders. Buying more stuff puts us in more debt, which costs us more in the long run.

Even winning the lottery can be more trouble than it’s worth. For example, consider Canadian Gerald Muswagon who won $10 million in the lottery, spent it all in seven years, and then hanged himself in 2005. Or William “Bud” Post, who in 1988 pawned a ring to buy some lottery tickets, won $16.2 million, racked up $500,000 in debt within three months, and had to declare bankruptcy. He ended up with numerous homes full of unused junk and declared, “I was much happier when I was broke” (Source: Maclean’s Magazine).

Please note that Proverbs is not condemning all wealth. The warning is against the unjust acquisition of wealth (what I’m calling “easy money”), which happens whenever we trample on others to gain it. Proverbs expects that wise people will gain wealth: “Honor the Lord…[and] your barns will be filled with plenty” (Pro 3:9-10). However, the methods for acquiring wealth make all the difference:

Diligence in gainful employment: “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty” (Prov 28:19).
Inheritance from wise forebears: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous” (Prov 13:22).
Patient endurance over time: “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (Prov 13:11).

In addition, the motivation for gaining wealth ought to be to serve others and not ourselves. God provides money and possessions to those who will share it with others: “Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor” (Prov 28:8).

From Prov 13:22 and Prov 28:8, quoted above, we see that you can’t keep your wealth; either you plan to give it away, or you have it taken from you. Is that your perspective on money? The critical point is that the wise person never finds his security in his wealth, but rather in the Lord. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination” (18:10-11).

Community

Not only does easy money fail to keep its promise of security; it also can’t deliver on community.

One hint of this failure to provide community comes in Prov 1:15: “My son, do not walk in the way with them.” When I trample on others to gain wealth, they’ll eventually withdraw to avoid my folly.

People will catch on to my selfishness and run away: “for in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird” (Prov 1:17). If I come to you with a proposition for easy money, and you have the wisdom to see through the empty promises, you will fly like a sparrow. I can lay the net out to catch you, but—unless you are blind to reality—I’ll never gain your confidence.

That last fact gets at the heart of the matter. How often am I willfully blind to reality? I hear the promises of easy money, and I want to believe them! Gaining wealth, by hard work over a long time, in order to serve others, doesn’t sound like much fun. It sure doesn’t give me much hope that my stress will go away. So I spend more money, get nicer things, go further into debt, and leave it to my next of kin to pick up the pieces. This plan of action does not build community with those I love the most!

Now, not only does easy money fail to deliver on its promises; it also is highly self-destructive (Prov 1:19). More on that next week.

This post was first published in 2012.

Easy Money Makes Promises

January 24, 2025 By Peter Krol

Why is it the case that pursuing a quick buck, as the cost of serving others, will always keep us from being wise and ought to be rejected?

If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
Let us ambush the innocent without reason;
Like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
And whole, like those who go down to the pit;
We shall find all precious goods,
We shall fill our houses with plunder;
Throw in your lot among us;
We will all have one purse’ (Prov 1:11-14).

These verses are morbidly comical. When was the last time you ever had a total stranger approach you on the street and ask, “Hey, whadd’ya say we go find a defenseless old lady, beat her to death, and take her credit cards? We can share them; I promise.” It just doesn’t happen like that, and Solomon knows it. It’s not like the ancients were so much dumber than we are that they’d fall for such a thing.

man wearing sunglasses and leather jacket at the party — Photo by Wolrider YURTSEVEN on Pexels.com

Rather, Solomon is taking what is usually implicit, and he’s making it explicit by telling a story. He’s bringing to light what is really going on every time we give in to our desire for more stuff. We’re not innocent victims (Prov 1:10 implies that we consent to it), and we’re not making life any easier for ourselves. Instead, we love ourselves and ignore reality. We believe the world’s promises.

The first promise is that easy money will give me community. “Come with us… Throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse.” Easy money promises me that I can be just like everyone else. I won’t be left behind, and I can’t be the butt of people’s jokes. I won’t be one of those weirdoes who is out of touch with his own generation. I will be normal, acceptable, informed, and relevant. I might even be envied and pursued by others who are normal, acceptable, informed, and relevant. I will have the community I’ve always longed for.

The second promise is that easy money will give me security. “We shall find all precious goods; we shall fill our houses with plunder.” Once I get all the precious stuff that normal people are supposed to have, my life will be easier. Communication will be easier. Managing my life will be easier. I’ll finally be able to relax on that ideal vacation. My clothes will be more comfortable, my work will be more productive, and my stress level will drop drastically. I can pay for the car, the house, college tuition, and weddings. I’ll be set up for retirement. Problems will disappear, and nothing will shake me. I will have security.

In the poem’s next stanza, we’ll see that easy money can’t keep such promises.

This post was first published in 2012.

No Substitute for God

October 23, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

In the kitchen, some food substitutions work better than others. Swap oil for applesauce? Sure! Use almond or soy milk for your lactose-sensitive friends? Unnoticeable. Cut some butter in favor of plain yogurt? Absolutely.

But other replacements don’t cut the mustard. Gluten-free bread doesn’t behave like bread. Fat-free cheese won’t melt. Tofu? No thanks.

Tim Sackton (2012), Creative Commons License

But the altar is unlike the oven. Though we know nothing measures up to God, our hearts are prone to wander. How does God react to his children’s idolatry? Isaiah 31:1–9 gives us a glimpse.

The Alliance With Egypt

In a previous post we saw Judah seek protection from Assyria through a sinful alliance with Egypt. Isaiah tells us that Judah turned to “horses,” “chariots,” and “horsemen” instead of looking to God (Is 31:1). Why did Judah trust Egypt? What are the consequences of that misplaced trust?

Isaiah writes that Judah “trust[s] in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong” (Is 31:1). Were the chariots and horsemen of Egypt really stronger and more able than God? Judah’s betrayal was that they did “not look to the Holy One of Israel, or consult the Lord.”

God’s reaction to this treason springs from his character: he is “wise” and he “does not call back his words” (Is 31:2). He will turn against Egypt, the “helpers” who “work iniquity.” We read the obvious contrasts: “the Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit” (Is 31:3). Isaiah highlights these disparities both to emphasize the inability of Egypt to resist “when the Lord stretches out his hand” and to finish the rebuke begun in Is 31:1.

Notice that Egypt and Judah share a fate: “they will all perish together” (Is 31:3). As we saw when studying Isaiah 30, God often punishes sin by bringing about its natural consequences. Judah sinned by aligning with Egypt, so they will share Egypt’s demise. The alliance they pursued for life has resulted in death.

Like a Lion, Like Birds

We read of two similies for God’s posture toward his people in Is 31:4–5. In Is 31:4, Isaiah compares God to a lion who “growls over his prey.” The “band of shepherds” (Egypt) tries to rescue the prey (Judah) from the lion, but the lion “is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise.”

Does it bother you that God compares Judah to a lion’s prey? God is jealous for his people—he will discipline them as he pleases, with no unwanted interference.

This same “Lord of hosts” (repeated in Is 31:4 and Is 31:5) who will wage war on Mount Zion (Is 31:4 NASB) will also protect Jerusalem like hovering birds. God will “protect and deliver” and “spare and rescue” his people, a fourfold blessing of protection.

A natural question is, from whom/what is God delivering Judah? On the one hand, God is rescuing his people from their earthly enemies. But put these two figures together—if Judah is like a lion’s prey, then God is also sparing Judah from himself.

Can you see your Savior here? In Jesus, God rescues us from his own just wrath. The Father spares us by devouring his son like lion’s prey. We are protected because Jesus was not.

Turn to God!

In Is 31:6 NASB, Isaiah exhorts Judah to return to God from whom they have “deeply defected.” What an accusation! Defected means Judah has not merely forgotten God or somehow grown apathetic, but they have turned against him! A defector doesn’t quit military service, he wages war against his former allies. “Defector” is the charge leveled against idolators. If we worship anything other than God (and we do), we are traitors.

Isaiah tries to persuade Judah to return to God in Is 31:7 by writing that “everyone shall cast away his idols.” Is this a convincing argument?

There is no doubt about the sinfulness of idols: we see “idols” twice along with “sinful” and “sin” in Is 31:7 NASB. But the glory of the Lord will be so great “in that day” that “everyone” will discard their idols. If that is true about this glorious, future day, why not start now? You’ve defected from him—waste no time in turning back!

God Fights for His Own

Along with a return to God and the smashing of idols, in that day “the Assyrian shall fall” (Is 31:8). We saw God’s willingness to fight for his people in Is 30:32 and we see it again here with the repetition of “a sword, not of man.” God’s sword will slay the Assyrian.

In addition to death, God will bring slavery, panic, and terror to the Assyrians (Is 31:8–9). God is not to be opposed. If you wage war against his people, you may feel his “fire” or be subject to his “furnace” (Is 31:9).

Return to God through his Son

Isaiah’s message is clear. Do not trust in replacements for God. Return to God—he will discipline, protect, and deliver his people. But we take no Christian meaning from the chapter unless we consider Jesus.

Jesus died for our idolatry. The Lord “stretch[ed] out his hand” against Jesus in terrible judgment. Though he had opportunity (Matt 4:1–11), Jesus never (not once!) trusted anyone except his Father.

Jesus makes it safe for deep defectors to return to God. Because Jesus (the faithful, loyal one) was treated as a traitor, we are welcomed as sons and daughters of God. For those who are in Christ, we are no longer enemies of God, and God will take vengeance on our behalf (Rom 12:19).

Application

Consider these questions as you apply the truths of this chapter.

How can we identify our replacements for God? How can we help each other identify these replacements?
What are the barriers we might face to helping each other in this way?
How should we call each other to return to God? How can we be the sort of people that can be called back to God by our friends?

The Prodigal Son in Isaiah

October 9, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

Why are some of Jesus’s parables more popular than others? The story of the prodigal son, for example—why do we hear so much about it? The return of a wayward child strikes a deep chord. We all know friends, siblings, or church members who have turned away from God. We long for the joyful return described in Luke 15.

Isaiah 30 presents an Old Testament precursor to this story. This chapter describes the despicable idolatry of Judah and the lavish love of God the Father.

laura.bell (2009), Creative Commons License

First, a bit of history: Isaiah prophesied to the kingdom of Judah from 740 BC until at least 681 BC. Assyria was the major political and military power of the time and the nations around Assyria lived in fear. These countries often negotiated alliances among themselves for protection. Judah, despite being commanded to the contrary, was not immune to this temptation.

Judah’s Alliance with Egypt

In Is 30:1–5, Isaiah lays out God’s displeasure with Judah. They are “stubborn children” (Is 30:1) who “set out to go down to Egypt without asking for my direction” (Is 30:2). They do this in order to “take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh” (Is 30:3).

Catch the irony—the dominant Old Testament story of deliverance (the exodus) is powerful because of how ruthless, bloodthirsty, and oppressive Pharaoh was toward God’s people. In the history of Israel, Egypt is a place of death! So how can Judah now seek life there?!

Isaiah tells us that Judah’s alliance with Egypt won’t even be successful. Notice the words “shame” and “humiliation” in Is 30:3 and Is 30:5. Why will they be ashamed? Because Egypt is “a people that cannot profit them” (Is 30:5).

The worthlessness of Egypt’s help reappears in Isaiah’s poem (Is 30:6–7). Notice especially in Is 30:7 where God says that “Egypt’s help is worthless and empty” and he refers to Egypt (“Rahab”) as a “Do-Nothing” (Is 30:7 NIV). There is more sad irony in this poem: God once led Israel out of Egypt full of treasure plundered from the Egyptians (Ex 12:35–36), but now Judah carries treasure back to Egypt (Is 30:6) as payment for protection.

A Rebellious People

Isaiah presented the basic accusation against Judah in Is 30:1–2; he now presents a deeper charge in Is 30:8–11. The children of God are not behaving like true children (Is 30:9), because they are “unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord.” In this refusal, they don’t silence the prophets, they merely limit their speech. They don’t want to hear “what is right.” They only want to hear “pleasant words” and “illusions” (Is 30:10 NASB). And in a very revealing way, they want to hear “no more about the Holy One of Israel” (Is 30:11).

Note the clear connection between rejecting God and rejecting his word. The people realize that hearing a true prophetic word would mean being confronted with the Holy One, and they want no part of that. Since this Holy One is their father, they are acting like “lying children” indeed (Is 30:9).

A Word From God

As much as Judah didn’t want to hear from the “Holy One” (Is 30:11), they will hear from the Holy One (Is 30:12,15)! After summarizing Judah’s sin in Is 30:12, God details the consequences. Of the two violent metaphors used in Is 30:13 and Is 30:14, I found the smashing of the pottery particularly vivid. The jar will be shattered so completely that no useful piece will remain (Is 30:14).

Isaiah describes Judah’s refusal of God’s word and the corresponding punishment in general terms in Is 30:12–14, but he is quite specific in Is 30:15–17. In Is 30:15 we see the posture God requires for salvation. This is the word Judah rejected—God’s people had put their trust in the wrong place.

It is striking to read (Is 30:16–17) how God will punish Judah for their sin: He gives them what they want! They want to flee on horses, and God says they shall flee; Judah wants to ride swiftly, so God says their pursuers will be swift indeed. This is an astounding aspect of the way God punishes idolatry—idolatry is so terrible that receiving what we sought is an awful punishment.

God Waits to be Gracious

As we consider Isaiah 30:18–26, we transition from looking at the faithlessness of Judah to the faithfulness of God. God always relates to Israel/Judah as a loving father relates to his children.

Notice the way that God “longs” and “waits” to be gracious to Judah (Is 30:18 NASB). God is eager, on the edge of his seat to show compassion. But this is not separate from his character as the “God of justice.” In fact, he would be unjust if he let his children sin without consequence; he wants them once again to “long for him” (Is 30:18 NASB). Can you recognize the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:20)?

When the people turn back to God and he answers their cry—this is a glorious reunion! “He will surely be gracious” to Judah (Is 30:19). “He will no longer hide himself” but Judah will behold their God (Is 30:20 NASB). Notice how great a reward God himself is in this passage! When Judah returns to God, they will see him (Is 30:20) and hear him (Is 30:19,21); he will offer corrective advice so they can walk in the way again (Is 30:21). Another dramatic result of this reunion is the destruction of their idols (Is 30:22). How could an imitation ever hold a candle to the one true God they have now beheld?

What follows in Is 30:23–26 is a picture of a renewed creation. As creation was cursed at the fall (Gen 3:17–18), so it longs for renewal when the sons of God are revealed (Rom 8:18–21). Notice in these verses the increasingly supernatural quality given to the descriptions of the creation: rich and plenteous yield from crops (Is 30:23), especially fine food for the helping beasts (Is 30:24), flowing streams on every hill and mountain (Is 30:25), a blindingly bright moon and sun (Is 30:26). God makes explicit the connection between creation renewal and the salvation of his people in a wonderful description at the end of Is 30:26—how better to describe the Lord’s salvation through loving discipline than to say he “heals the wounds inflicted by his blow”?

God Against the Enemies

In the final section of this chapter (Is 30:27–33), we see God turn his anger toward the nations (Is 30:28) in general and Assyria (Is 30:31) in particular. Isaiah speaks of the indignation and judgment of God, that his voice alone is like a consuming fire (Is 30:27,30). God will strike Assyria with the rod (Is 30:31–32) and the funeral pyre will be prepared and used for the king of Assyria (Is 30:33).

But in the middle of this discourse, Isaiah writes that Judah “will have a song” like in festival time and there will be “gladness of heart” (Is 30:29). The musical references to “songs,” “the flute,” and “tambourines and lyres” appear in both Is 30:29 and Is 30:32. With all of the judgment God is doling out, what is the cause for Judah’s great rejoicing?

Isaiah says that God will deliver Judah in a very practical way. God himself will fight the battle against Assyria (Is 30:32)! God’s compassion toward his people is always practical. How gracious would God be if his compassion were only a sentiment?

Conclusion

What does this chapter teach us? When rebellious children ignore God’s word and seek safety elsewhere, God will bring severe discipline through their idols. But God is eager to be gracious to his children; they need only cry to him and he will bless them richly and destroy their enemies.

Don’t miss Jesus in this passage. On our behalf, he is the one who never sought protection apart from God. He never ignored God’s word; he brought us God’s word. Jesus makes God’s gracious disposition toward his children possible; we have peace with God because Jesus was smashed to bits by God’s fury at our idolatry.

Do you find yourself seeking protection and safety apart from God? Does your wealth, or your family, or your health, or your morality offer you a more attractive refuge than God? Are you suffering God’s discipline because you have pursued an idol? Perhaps this is the call you need to turn back to him. He longs to hear you cry out to him and he is eager to be gracious to you.

Context Matters: The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things

March 14, 2022 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard that our hearts are deceitful, wicked, and sick beyond all cure. You’ve been taught that our desires should always be questioned and our impulses should always be doubted. Anything we want—because that want blooms in our heart—should be suspect.

This is no inspirational teaching, so you won’t spot it on posters or mugs. But I see this verse dashed into arguments like salt in soup. Are we using using this verse properly? When we learn to read the Bible like a book and not as isolated bullet points, we’ll see that some familiar phrases don’t mean all that we’ve always assumed.

The Immediate Context

The verse in question is found in Jeremiah 17:9. Here it is with some surrounding context.

Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:5–10)

We first observe the connection between a man’s heart and his trust. A “man who trusts in man” is one whose “heart turns away from the Lord” (Jer 17:5). This man is cursed. In contrast, the man is blessed who “trusts in the Lord,” and from the structure we infer that his heart does not turn from the Lord.

This connection is essential to a proper understanding of this passage, and it is evident throughout Jeremiah’s prophecy as well. (More on this later.) This is also true in the larger context of the Bible—the heart is not primarily the origin of feelings; it is the control center for trust and worship.

We further see that the question asked in verse 9 (“who can understand it?”) is answered in verse 10 (“I the Lord”). Even if man cannot know his own heart, the Lord understands it well enough to treat everyone “according to the fruit of [their] deeds” (Jer 17:10).

Before moving on, we should examine the paragraph just prior to this passage. God is speaking, and he says that “the sin of Judah” is “written on the tablet of their heart” (Jer 17:1). The children of Judah have altars and Asherim (wooden idol-worship poles) “beside every green tree and on the high hills, on the mountains in the open country” (Jer 17:2–3). Turning away from God involves both turning to other people and turning to idols.

The Broader Context

In Jeremiah 16, the Lord tells Jeremiah what he should say when others ask what sin the people have committed against God.

Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me. (Jeremiah 16:11–12)

The primary way that God’s people rebelled against him in Jeremiah’s day was to forsake him, turning to and serving other gods. As we can see from earlier in this prophetic book, it is the people’s hearts that lead them astray.

The “people [have] a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away.” They do not fear the Lord (Jer 5:23–24).
The people “stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them” (Jer 9:14).
“This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them” (Jer 13:10).

There are numerous other examples in the first 16 chapters of Jeremiah which mention Israel’s idolatry and turning away from God. (Most of Jeremiah 10:1–16 is a contrast between the Lord and idols, showing just how ridiculous it is to prefer idols over God.)

Conclusion

Modern Christians like to seize upon the word “heart” in Jeremiah 17:9; they point it as an accusing finger and waive it as a grand caution flag. But this verse was written to a particularly idolatrous people in a specific time. Jeremiah had exhorted them repeatedly about the tendency of their hearts to prefer other gods to the Lord.

This does not mean that 21st century Christians are exempt from warning in this passage. God’s people were led by their hearts away from him before, and the same can (and does!) happen to us. We also must watch our desires, our trust, and our security. But this verse does not teach that we must be suspicious of our every thought or emotion.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Bible Study is Painful

September 14, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

When we say that an activity is “uncomfortable,” sometimes we’re just being nice. We often sugar coat reality when we throw out the terms “messy,” “unpleasant,” “awkward,” or “disagreeable.”

Some jobs, projects, and habits are painful. They might be good for us, even necessary for our lives, but they hurt. And it is healthy for us to confront that truth.

The Hard Work of Application

Studying the Bible is painful work. Here I’m not referring to the discipline needed to study the Scriptures. I’m not even talking about the intellectual labor and focus that such study demands. No, the hardest work of Bible study comes in application.

All of the steps of Bible study are important, and none are a cinch. Application may be the hardest step, however, since it is the most personal. In application, we are forced to change. And rare is the person who likes to cha n ge.

If the idea of application is new or confusing, check out our page of Bible study instruction. Application is the third step of the OIA (Observation, Interpretation, Application) process we promote on this blog, and we’ve written a lot about application.

Genuine Pain

The biblical word for the change that application demands is repentance. When God confronts us, he intends for us to turn around—away from sin and toward him.

This is why applying the Bible is painful. We’re usually quite comfortable traveling the road we’re on. We don’t want to turn around. We’ve gotten used to the scenery, the weather, and the traffic. Cruise control is easy.

Through his word, God often brings us to a full stop. He puts his holy finger on the idols of our hearts—anything to which we are too devoted. Idols are often good gifts we have twisted or to which we have given inflated affection and attention. Idols like comfort, family, and power abound in the western church. Biblical application may feel like losing a piece of ourselves. But if God is removing something cancerous from our hearts, we should expect pain along the way.

In our application we may also be compelled to love our neighbors in difficult ways. Like us, our neighbors may be unloving and unlovely at times, so extending ourselves and taking risks may be painful. Like the beginning of any exercise routine, we will resist because of the pain involved, even though we see the good on the other side.

A Pleasant Pain

Pain often accompanies our repentance, because God is challenging and changing what we love. This leads many to resist repentance and reject studying the Bible altogether.

But if we spurn repentance, we turn away from something good. For repentance is coming out of the darkness into the light! It is hearing and receiving the correction of a father who loves us! Repentance is growing and living and walking more in obedience to God, becoming more and more like the people we were created to be! For these reasons, though there is pain in repentance, there is also profound joy.

And here’s the best part. God is with us through the whole process: conviction, despair, confusion, and our halting, crooked steps of repentance. He is more committed to our growth in godliness than we are, because he always has our best in mind.

The pain of Bible study is not like the pain of touching a hot stove, a caution to stay away. Rather, the pain of Bible study is like the sore muscles of a preseason athlete. We ache because we’re not yet in shape for competition, but we have a good coach who is getting us ready for the opening bell.

Exodus 32: Our Most Troubling Trouble

January 12, 2018 By Peter Krol

God has explained to Moses how to recreate heaven on earth by building a place for God to live with his people. Moses holds in his hands two tablets of stone inscribed with Yahweh’s testimony (Ex 31:18). Now it’s time to execute the Lord’s instructions. But what will happen when a uniquely righteous God tries to dwell among his sinful people?

Observation of Exodus 32:1-35

Most repeated words: said (21 times), people (20x), Moses (17), Lord (13), out (12), Aaron (9), brought (9), sin (9), up (9), made (8)

while these words summarize the main action of the story, I don’t see any further significance to their repetition (but I always start observing with repetition, as it’s easy to observe, and it often suggests a direction for inquiry).

The first section (Ex 32:1-20) describes parallel scenes at the top and bottom of the mountain

Bottom of the mountain (Ex 32:1-6): The story’s conflict/tension arises when the people get nervous at Moses’ delay and ask Aaron to make them gods for revelry.
- Top of the mountain (Ex 32:7-10): Yahweh tells Moses what is happening at the bottom, and he prepares to consume the people (“your people,” not “my people.” Yikes!).
- Top of the mountain (Ex 32:11-14): Moses implores Yahweh and persuades him to relent from consuming the people.
Bottom of the mountain (Ex 32:15-20): Moses delays no longer but descends and sees the gods and revelry.

The second section (Ex 32:21-24) shows Moses uncovering Aaron’s motive for leading the people into “such a great sin”

First, Aaron blames the people (Ex 32:22).
Second, Aaron blames his circumstances (Ex 32:24) – “It’s not my fault, Moses; out came this calf!”
In between Aaron’s two self-justifications, he reveals his presenting problem: the nervousness people felt at Moses’ delay (Ex 32:23).

The third section (Ex 32:25-35) narrates a quasi-resolution to the conflict between the people and God

The Levites prove to be on Yahweh’s side by executing their countrymen (Ex 32:25-29).
Moses will go back up the mountain; perhaps he can cover (“make atonement for”) their sin (Ex 32:30-32).
But to move forward, Yahweh must punish sin (Ex 32:33-35).
Nicolas Poussin, public domain

Interpretation of Exodus 32

Some possible questions:

Why does Moses’ delay make the people so nervous that they would resort to such wild idolatry and revelry?
How is it possible for Moses to persuade God to relent from consuming the people?
Does God truly relent, if he visits their sin on them and sends a plague (Ex 32:34-35)? Is he just a whiny, capricious god?
So what is the point of these three resolutions in Ex 32:25-35? How do they help?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

We were told that Moses was on the mountain for 40 days (Ex 24:18), but the characters in the story were never told. All they knew was that they were to take care of any disputes while they waited for Moses to return (Ex 24:14). But Yahweh has heard the cries of these people before (Ex 3:7). They were to him as a son (Ex 4:22-23). They are now his treasured possession among all peoples (Ex 19:5). But now they forget who actually rescued them (compare Ex 20:2 with Ex 32:4) and who now leads them (Ex 32:1, where they want “gods who shall go before us”). In forgetting these things, they bring into question whose people they truly are (no longer “my people” but “your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt” in Ex 32:7). Clearly, this is extremely unsettling for them.
In this chapter, we finally see Moses settling into his appointed role as the mediator between God and his people. The main point of Ex 1:1-7:7 was to train him for this role. Clearly this was a part of Yahweh’s plan all along, and this incident of sin is no real surprise to him. It’s no accident that Moses appeal to the same promises (Ex 32:13) that motivated Yahweh to free these slaves in the first place (Ex 2:24-25). Thus, in speaking to Yahweh, Moses is acting like Yahweh. And when Moses goes to speak to the people, he still acts like Yahweh (compare Ex 32:9-10 with Ex 32:19). Here is just the mediator they need.
Yahweh does not follow through on his threat to consume the people and re-create a nation through Moses (Ex 32:10). But he can’t just wave his hand and pretend the sin didn’t happen. He shows that payment must still be made for it (Ex 32:33-35).
First, Yahweh blesses non-conformity to the fear and sin of the age (Ex 32:25-29). Second, there is hope that he just might cover (“atone for”) their sin (Ex 32:30-32). Third, this covering can only take place if payment is made (Ex 32:33-35).

Train of thought:

They get themselves into trouble when they forget who rescued them and now leads them.
This brings into question whose people they are.
The most troubling part is the potential severing of this covenant relationship and closeness to Yahweh!
Self-medicating the fear and anxiety with false assurance and pleasure does nothing to help.
But Yahweh’s mediator might make it right again by not conforming but covering the sin by paying for it.

Main point: God has a superior solution to our most troubling trouble. He can make a way to bring us back to him.

Connection to Christ: Moses couldn’t do it himself, but Jesus could. Jesus not only acts or speaks like Yahweh; he is Yahweh in the flesh. He never confirmed to the sinful pattern of this world. He shed his own blood to pay for our sin, such that his blood now covers those who trust him with their life.

My Application of Exodus 32

Head: I know the theology, that Jesus is the only savior. But when I feel anxious or afraid, I am still mostly inclined to self-medicate with pleasure, selfishness, blame-shifting, or anything else. When I face such temptation, I must remind myself of who alone can save me and lead me.

Heart: When I remember the Lord Jesus, I love him more than my false saviors.

Hands: I can close the browser window, set aside the video game, and choose not to attack my critic. Such things have never been able to save me in the past or lead me into paradise. Jesus is all in all, and being close to him is all that matters.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

Idolatry is Embarrassing

June 25, 2014 By Peter Krol

Idolatry is not only stupid and offensive to God; it is embarrassing. Check out this post by Ryan Higginbottom on Isaiah 20 and how embarrassing idolatry is. It’s a good example of finding the main point of a text and applying it specifically.

Those same soldiers in whom Judah had hoped were paraded naked through the streets by their captors. What a display of their weakness and frailty! What a dramatic point about the foolishness of trusting in them! You can almost hear the heavenly narrative: “Instead of me, the Lord of hosts, you trust in these guys? Really?!”

Check it out!