When You Put Idols Before God
Sermon Notes
UNINTENTIONAL IDOLS
KEY PASSAGE
2 Samuel 24:2-4 ESV… So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” 3 But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” 4 But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel.
DAVID’S MOST FAMOUS MORAL FAILURE… BATHSHEBA!
King David’s adultery with Bathsheba is one of the most well known moral failures in all the Bible.
Adultery wasn't’ David’s only moral failure… perhaps not even the most severe either… 2 Sam. 24:2-4
DAVID’S LESSER KNOWN MORAL FAILURE… A CENSUS?
David is given the option between three punishments… 2 Sam. 24:13-15
It’s in God’s response to David’s sin that we see just how serious an offense it actually was!
THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING THIS CENSUS
Our text seems to indicate that David wanted to know the strength of his army… 2 Sam. 24:9-10
David may have fallen into the same prideful trap as Nebuchadnezzar… Dan. 4:29-32
Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892): "Whatever a man depends upon, whatever rules his mind, whatever governs his affections, whatever is the chief object of his delight, is his god."
At the end of the day, David seems to have made an “IDOL OUT OF HIS ARMY”.
UNINTENTIONAL IDOLS
The first two of the 10 commandments deal with the issue of idolatry… Ex. 20:1-6
God had warned about the dangers of the king acquiring a large army… Deut. 17:16
God dwindled down Gideon’s army to show that the victory is always from him… Judges 7:2-7
God wants his children to have the mentality where we “set nothing before him” and “withhold nothing from him”… Gen. 22:11-13
MAKING IDOLS OUT OF MEN
The early church was being tempted to make idols out of men… 1 Cor. 3:1-4
John Calvin (1509-1564): "Man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols."
Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892): "Whatever a man depends upon, whatever rules his mind, whatever governs his affections, whatever is the chief object of his delight, is his god."
We are told to flee from idolatry… 1 Cor. 10:13-14
God will not share his glory with another… Isa. 42:8; Ex. 20:3
Idolatry is a form of spiritually adultery… Jer.3:6-9
REFLECTION
Is there an idol (or potential idol) in your life that you need to place on the altar as a sacrifice to the LORD?