God's Response to Idolatry

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I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; and I will cut off the cities of your land… and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes; and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands; and I will root out your Asherah images from among you and destroy your cities. And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.

Micah 5:10-15

Focus on the verbs. This is the action God says He will take: He will “cut off” (5:10), “destroy” (5:10), “throw down” (5:11), “root out” (5:14), and “execute vengeance” (5:15) on all idols.

Notice the subject. God is telling us that this is something that He himself will do directly.

“I will cut off your horses” (5:10)

“I will destroy your chariots” (5:10)

“I will cut off the cities of your land” (5:11)

“I will cut off sorceries from your hand” (5:12)

“I will cut off your carved images” (5:13)

“I will root out your Asherah images” (5:14)

“I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath” (5:15)

God does not tell us to do these things. It is not for us to bring down the causes that assert themselves in the face of God. He will dethrone all other gods.

There is an Old Testament story about a time when the ark of God was taken by the Philistines and put in Dagon’s temple. In the morning Dagon had fallen over, so the attendant set him up again. But the next morning, Dagon had fallen again, only this time his head and his hands were smashed on the floor. Only the stump of Dagon was left (1 Samuel 5).

God will vindicate His own name. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He is Lord (Phil. 2:9-11).

What is your reaction to this?