Articles
Abandoning Their Idols
After hearing that David had been anointed as king over Israel, the Philistines came into the land looking for him. David asked God if He would give the Philistines into his hand. God told him to go up against the Philistines and David defeated them. (2 Sam. 5:17-20). An interesting statement is made regarding the defeat of the Philistines: “They abandoned their idols there, so David and his men carried them away” (v. 21, NASU).
Adam Clarke tells us “it was the custom of most nations to carry their gods with them to battle.” These nations trusted in their idols to give them a victory. The defeat of the Philistines was so complete that they left their idols in the field and fled for their lives.
The abandonment of these idols is significant. It marked a turning point for these Philistines. They no longer trusted in their idols to guide, bless, and protect them. The discovered that idols were worthless, gave them up, and left them behind.
I can’t help but wonder, what would it take to make me abandon my God? What kind of a defeat would I have to suffer to leave my God behind like trash in a field?
Our faith should produce a strong, unbreakable commitment to God. This kind of faith was expressed by the young Hebrews who withstood king Nebuchadnezzar. “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up’” (Dan. 3:16-18). Even in apparent defeat, and at the threat of their lives, these young men were never going to abandon their God.
From the midst of his suffering, Job proclaimed, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). Job did not have all the answers. He did not know why he was suffering, but he knew he could not give up on God.
The Second Century martyr Polycarp refused to denounce Christ upon threat of death. He is credited with having said, “Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never once wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King, who saved me?” (Foxe’s Christian Martyrs of the World, page 11).
How sad it is to see brethren buckle under lesser trials. Some Christians weather the storms of life with a resolute faith. Others wilt like the seed sprouting from the stony ground (Matt. 13:5-6, 20-21). Their absence in the pew marks their desertion from the field of battle.
There is another sense in which idols need to be abandoned. Paul praised the Thessalonians for having “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9). Their conversion to Christ marked a turning point in their lives. Spiritually speaking, they abandoned their idols in defeat and yielded to the gospel of Christ. He won the battle, but they won their souls. The same thing happens today when sinners are baptized into Christ for the remission of their sins. Whatever idol they were clinging to (religious error, family traditions, worldliness, reliance upon self, etc.) is abandoned as they turn to serve the living and true God. We can’t see them physically, but these “idols” lie deserted and abandoned as the worthless things they are.
Unfortunately, God’s people sometimes “pick up” idols that need to be abandoned. An idol is anything that comes before God in one’s life. Some Christians develop a love for money – “…covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). Some Christians seek the approval of the world (John 12:42-43), while others put their family members before God (Matt. 10:37). When a Christian realizes he has “picked up” such an idol, he needs to abandon it as soon as possible.
Wouldn’t it be a beautiful picture to look through our eyes of faith and see the fields of the world littered with religious relics, knowing that men have abandoned such and given their hearts completely to God? Do you have any idols that need to be abandoned? Do I?
