they know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. [isaiah 44:18]
idolatry hardens the heart
as a result of judah’s idolatry, the Lord hardens their hearts, similar to what we see described in romans 1:
for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever! amen. for this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. [romans 1:21-26a]
idolatry hides itself, making us blind to how we’re serving our idols instead of the Lord. even for christians, we can convince ourselves we’re doing things for the sake of God, when really we do them to serve an idol of comfort, control, power, or approval—telling God that he is not enough. therefore, the more we serve idols, the harder it is to see, hear, or understand the truth—that is Christ and his word. when we serve idols instead of God, we become fools, unable to discern frugality from sinful self-protection, boldness from arrogance, and humility from weakness. when we serve idols, our eyes can no longer see the person of Christ, because we have distorted our view of him.
what do we do?
have you been discerning this week, or today, that you’re serving idols? what should you do about it? first, name them before the Lord, repent and ask his forgiveness and for him to satisfy your desire for those things. second, worship! tell him how great he is; work your way through the psalms; sing praises to his name! i have found no single thing more helpful in tearing down idols than this. as we behold his mighty power and beauty in lifting up his name, he stirs something in our hearts that begins to kill the idols in our hearts.
Lord, replace our idolatry with worship! draw near to us as we draw near to you, as you have promised, and help us to see you as you are! show us where we have become blind, so we can name our idols, confess them to you, and let you begin to replace them through worship in our hearts.
~ stephen hall