Micah 1:2-7: The Lord's Feelings on Idolatry

Micah 1:3-4.. "For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place."

How do you think the Lord feels about idolatry? Well, today we're going to answer that question, but before we do, let us define idolatry. To put it simply, idolatry is making a good thing a God thing, a great thing into an ultimate thing.1 Idolatry is taking something that is not God and seeing it as God, taking something that is the created and holding it to the same value as the Creator (Romans 1:25). This is idolatry, but how does the Lord feel about it?

In the Old Testament around 700 BC, the Israelite people were being very idolatrous (Micah 1:7). In response to this, God sent the prophet Micah (and many other prophets) to call the Israelite people to repent of their sins before the Lord sends other nations to destroy them because of their transgression. Amidst the first chapter of Micah's prophesy, we get great insights to how the Lord feels about idolatry through the response that he had to Israel's idolatrous acts.

Firstly, we see that God hates idolatry so much that he is willing to come down from heaven just to judge it. Micah proclaims to the Israelite people that "the Lord is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth" (Micah 1:3, full verse quotes above). In other words, the Lord is willing to disturb his daily morning routine of drinking his Starbuck's white chocolate mocha latte just to punish those who commit idolatry. This surely points to how seriously the Lord takes idolatry--he cannot have it, he will judge all who commit it, and he will set aside his grande Starbuck's latte just to deal with it [but come back to it later, of course...he spent $6 on that thing!].

Secondly, we see that God responds to idolatry by making high places low. Israel's (the Northern part of Israel) capital was Samaria, and Judah's (the Southern part of Israel) capital was Jerusalem. Micah prophesied that the Lord was coming to judge them both, and bring them both low. The Lord would start with the Northern kingdom (which is Micah's primary point in this section), but eventaully have Jerusalem taken captive and eventually destroyed as well (which is the main proclamation of Micah throughout the rest of his book). The Lord judges idolatry by making high places low, that is, by proving that he is greater than whatever is being idolized because he has the power to destroy even the highest of places, the greatest of idols. The Lord not only hates idolatry and takes it seriously, he destroys it.

So, what are you idolizing? Perhaps its a certain possession you can't stop obsessing over, a certain habit that you can't give up, a certain person you can't stop being around, or a certain situation that you are remaining in even though the Lord has called you out of it. Whatever it is, realize that the Lord hates the fact that you idolize it, and he is more than willing to come down and destroy it if you don't repent. Ask yourself: why are you iddolizing? Why are you making a good thing into a God thing? Why are you turning away all of the pleasures found in Christ for something lesser? Why are you valuing something less than God in a place that God is only worthy to be? Perhaps it is because you don't realize the greatness of God. Truly, he will show you his greatness, whether that will be now as you repent and ask him to in faith, or when he comes to judge your idolatry and make your high places low.

The Lord takes idolatry seriously. He hates it, and he will disturb his morning coffee routine to judge those who commit it and destroy its existence. Why? Yes, because he is a righteous and jealous God that will not tolerate the worship of any other, but also because he loves you and hates to see you trade the greatness of himself for something lesser. Why does the Lord feel this way about idolatry? Because he wants your unconditional, undivided devotion. Amen.

1. Credit where credit is due, I believe Tim Keller first coined this deffinition of idolatry. Don't quote me on that, however.