September 24
Altars and Idols
All the animals and all the creatures … came out of the ark, one kind after another. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”
––Genesis 8:19-21
Altar – noun
ˈȯl-tər
1 : a usually raised structure or place on which sacrifices are offered or incense is burned in worship; often used figuratively to describe a thing given great or undue precedence or value especially at the cost of something else
From the earliest days of civilization, men have been compelled to build altars to worship things—animals, spirits, gods. Turkey’s 12,000-year-old Göbekli Tepe is the oldest discovered altar structure in the world, predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years and the Egyptian pyramids by 7,000 years.[1] And we know from the Word that Noah was the first person to build an altar before God (today’s verse), though we also know that both Cain and Abel sacrificed animals to Him (though no altar is mentioned).
My question for you (and myself): What altars are you frequenting, and once there, what are you worshipping? I’m not going to rail on about the obvious “altars” that we frequently encounter, such as materialism, pornography/promiscuity, greed, etc. (We have discussed those topics often in other readings.) We all know the obvious things that can distract us.
Rather, I want to focus on the idols animating the altars. Frequently in the Old Testament the Jews backslid, took down their holy altars to YHWH, and erected pagan altars to Baal, Moloch, and other foreign deities. The ground didn’t change; the gods being worshipped did. In today’s terms, we can go to church and if our hearts are not pure, walk away still worshipping false idols. The building (or altar) doesn’t make us holy; the God who meets us there does.
Jesus warns us about discerning and avoiding false beliefs and teachers:
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. ––Matthew 7:15-20
So how do we know when and if we are being deceived by a false belief or doctrine? It’s in the fruit we bear, and in the fruit of others. Satan will use all his tricks to convince us that we “married the wrong woman” or that tithing is an “outdated concept,” or that pornography is a “harmless stress reliever.” The enemy wants to produce thistles and thorns, rather than life-giving fruit, and will demand that we keep our eyes on false idols rather than on the Father of Lights.
What are you worshipping? What occupies your time and your thought life? Anything that causes you to scooch away from where Jesus sits in your life—even just an inch or two—is a false idol. It’s your job to keep asking the questions, to submit yourself to accountability, to continually check your spirit and ask the Holy Spirit to root out the false idols that may have taken up residence on the altar of your heart.
Be encouraged though, brother, because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. As we daily submit and commit our hearts to Him, He will be faithful and true to bear good fruit in us.
Lord, root out any false beliefs or attitudes in my heart that are keeping me from walking more intimately with You. I can’t trust my heart, Lord, and rely on Your Holy Spirit to guide me today.
[1] lykaionexcavation.org