Idols, Idolatry

An idol is a human-made image or an image of something in the natural world that people worship as a god. It can also be anything that receives worship that belongs only to the one true God. Idolatry is the worship of an idol.

Some people served idols in very literal ways. In ancient Egypt, people regularly dressed statues of gods and gave them food as part of religious ceremonies.

The Bible gives an example of the worship of the false god Baal in the contest on Mount Carmel. The priests of Baal shouted loudly, moved around the altar, and cut themselves with “knives and lances” (1 Kings 18:26–29). Baal worship became common among the people of Israel during the time of the kings.

Abraham’s ancestors worshiped idols in Mesopotamia (Joshua 24:2). Archaeologists have found many images of gods in that region. Ancient Mesopotamian religious writings also show that people worshiped many gods. This belief in many gods is called polytheism.

The Israelites also struggled with idolatry. Part of this may have come from a common human desire to worship a god that people can see and experience through their physical senses.

The Israelites adopted many forms of idol worship from the peoples around them. The descendants of Jacob lived in Egypt for more than 400 years. During this time, they were exposed to the worship of many gods. This influenced their religious beliefs and practices.

At Mount Sinai, Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from the Lord. Meanwhile, the people asked Aaron to make gods for them (Exodus 32:1–6). Aaron made a golden calf. This image was similar to Egyptian forms of worship. The Egyptians worshiped several gods represented by cattle, including the Apis bull, the goddess Hathor, who was often shown as a cow, and the Mnevis calf.

After Jeroboam spent time in Egypt (1 Kings 11:40), he became king of Israel. He later set up two golden calves, one at Bethel and one at Dan (12:26–33). Because of this, the Bible describes Jeroboam as the king who caused Israel to sin (2 Kings 3:3).

In the time of the patriarchs, the Bible mentions teraphim, or household gods. Archaeologists have found examples of these idols at Ur of the Chaldeans, Nuzi, and other ancient sites. Ancient cuneiform tablets, which were written on clay, also mention them. The teraphim that Rachel stole from Laban were small enough to hide in a camel’s saddlebag (Genesis 31:34).

However, by the time of David, some of these idols seem to have been larger. When Saul’s men came to kill David, Michal, David's wife and daughter of Saul, helped David escape. She then placed a household idol in the bed so that the men would think David was sick (1 Samuel 19:11–16).

The second commandment clearly forbids idolatry (Exodus 20:4–5):

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (see also Exodus 34:17; Leviticus 19:4; 26:1; Deuteronomy 4:15–19; 27:1–5).

This commandment supports the first commandment. It protects the truth that God is unique and that his glory belongs to him alone.

In the time of Samuel, the idea of idolatry was also applied more broadly. Samuel told King Saul that “arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23).

Before Israel entered Canaan, the Lord repeatedly warned the Israelites not to marry people from the nations living there. God had commanded Israel to remove those nations from the land. One purpose of this command was to keep Israel from being led away from faithful obedience to God (Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3–4).

The New Testament also teaches that close relationships can influence a person’s faith and conduct (see 1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Corinthians 6:14).

Israel’s history shows the danger behind this warning. Marriages with people who worshiped other gods often led the Israelites away from the Lord. One of the clearest examples is Solomon (1 Kings 11:1–8). When Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart toward other gods, and he was no longer fully faithful to the Lord his God (verse 4).

During the time of the judges, the Bible describes a well-known case of idol worship (Judges 17:1–18:31). The mother of a man from Ephraim named Micah gave 200 pieces of silver to a silversmith. He used the silver to make an idol for her son.

Micah also had a shrine, an ephod, which was a special religious garment or object, and teraphim, or household gods. He hired a traveling Levite to serve as his priest.

Later, men from the tribe of Dan took the Levite, the idol, and the other objects used for worship. They brought them to Dan, set up the idol there, and worshiped it (Judges 18:30–31).

In the Bible, the kings of Israel are often judged by how they dealt with the “high places,” which were places of worship, and with idols.

King Asa removed the idols his ancestors had made (1 Kings 15:12). He also removed Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an offensive image for the goddess Asherah. Asa cut down the image and burned it (verse 13). King Ahab, however, worshiped idols and led Israel further into idolatry (21:26; compare 16:30–33).

King Hezekiah “removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles” (2 Kings 18:4; 2 Chronicles 31:1). He also ended the worship of a bronze serpent. This example shows how an object that once had a good purpose can later become an idol. Moses had lifted up this bronze serpent on a pole so that Israelites who had been bitten by snakes could live (Numbers 21:9; see also John 3:14).

The bronze serpent was kept until the time of Hezekiah. People called it Nehushtan, honored it as sacred, and burned incense to it. Hezekiah destroyed it because the people had begun to worship an object that had originally been used for good (2 Kings 18:4).

The prophet Isaiah described how people made idols in human form (Isaiah 40:19–20; 44:9–17). They cast images in molds using melted metal (40:19; 44:10). Blacksmiths forged statues from metal (44:12). Carpenters carved them from wood (44:13–17). Workers then covered them with precious metal (40:19).

People also made small clay images and plaques by shaping the clay and heating it in a kiln. Other statues were carved from stone.

The book of Psalms also speaks against idols and images (Psalms 96:5; 97:7; 106:34–39). Psalms 115:4–8 and 135:15–18 describe idols as powerless and unable to help those who worship them.

The northern and southern kingdoms of Israel were taken into exile because the people turned away from God and worshiped idols. The Jewish people understood that idolatry had contributed to their exile. During their time in Babylon, they developed a strong rejection of idol worship. This rejection of idolatry continued to be an important part of Judaism.

The New Testament gives its fullest discussion of idolatry in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. The Greek word for idolatry is eidololatreia, and the word for an idol worshiper is eidololatres.

In an earlier letter that has not survived, Paul told the Corinthians not to associate with people who claimed to be believers but still worshiped idols (1 Corinthians 5:9–11).

After receiving that letter, the Corinthians may have asked Paul for more explanation. In 1 Corinthians, Paul then speaks again about “idolaters” in 5:10–11, 6:9, 10:7, and “idolatry” in 10:14.

The words “idolatry” and “idolater” are related to two other Greek terms. The first is eidolon, meaning “idol” (1 Corinthians 8:4; 10:19; 12:2). The second is eidolothutos, meaning “food sacrificed to idols” (1 Corinthians 8:1, 4, 7; 10:19).

Paul strongly condemns Christians who take part in sacrifices to idols and then eat the food offered in those sacrifices. He calls such people idol worshipers because taking part in these sacrifices meant sharing in fellowship with demons.

Paul therefore forbids Christians to eat sacrificial food in pagan temples where idols were worshiped. In this way, his view was similar to that of many Jews of his time. They connected pagan gods with idols. Paul also contrasts idols with “the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

At the same time, Paul says that an idol has no real power in itself (1 Corinthians 8:4). However, he also teaches that demons are connected with sacrifices offered to idols (10:20).

Paul did not allow Christians to take part in meals connected with idol worship in pagan temples. He taught that those who joined these meals were sharing in fellowship with demons (see 1 Corinthians 10:19–21).

However, Paul allowed Christians to buy and eat food that had first been offered to idols and was later sold in the marketplace. If they ate this food at home, they were not taking part in idol worship.

They could eat it with a clear conscience unless doing so would harm the faith of another believer. In that case, they should choose not to eat it for the sake of the weaker believer. Paul treated this as a matter of conscience (1 Corinthians 10:25–29). But taking part in pagan festivals and eating meals offered to idols as part of worship was not permitted.

Before becoming Christians, the Corinthians regularly took part in meals connected with pagan worship. Some of them seem to have continued this practice after becoming Christians.

In Corinth, these meals were common at public festivals and private celebrations. People believed that these gods were present because sacrifices had been offered to them. Paul understood these “gods” as “demons.” Therefore, he taught that taking part in these meals joined a person with demons and made that person an idol worshiper.

Paul also pointed to the history of Israel as a warning. On several occasions, the Israelites were drawn into idolatry by joining the religious celebrations of neighboring peoples (for example, Numbers 25; compare Exodus 32:6). These celebrations also involved sexual immorality.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul uses Israel’s unfaithfulness as a negative example. By taking part in pagan celebrations, the Israelites were led into idolatry and sexual immorality. This brought God’s judgment and destruction on them.

In Paul’s other letters, he mentions idolatry but does not explain it as fully as he does in 1 Corinthians. Paul speaks against both direct idol worship and what may be called figurative idolatry. Figurative idolatry means desiring or valuing something more than God.

In Romans 1:18–32, Paul connects sexual immorality and other sins with idolatry. He says that the Gentiles should have recognized God through what he created. Instead, they turned away from the immortal and invisible God and worshiped mortal, visible images. Because they rejected God, Paul says that God gave them over to follow the sinful desires of their hearts (Romans 1:24).

Paul also includes idolatry among the “acts of the flesh,” meaning sinful actions that come from human desires opposed to God (see Galatians 5:19–20). He also says that idol worshipers are among those who will not inherit the kingdom of God (see 1 Corinthians 6:9).

In Ephesians 5:5, Paul again says that idol worshipers will not inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God. In this passage, however, idolatry includes more than worshiping idols in pagan temples. Paul also connects idolatry with greed.

The verse describes a greedy person as an idol worshiper. The idea seems to be that a greedy person gives their desires the place that belongs to God. In this sense, greed becomes a form of idolatry.

Colossians 3:5 makes this connection even more directly by saying that greed is idolatry.

See also Canaanite Gods and Religion; Gods and Goddesses; Grove; High Place.