Idols of the Heart
by Ron Rose
While Ahab's youngest son, Jehoram, was ruling the northern kingdom, Ben-hadad of Syria besieged its capital. He surrounded the city so long that the citizens of Samaria ran out of food and a donkey's head and dove's dung were selling for a high price. There was even talk of cannibalism. King Jehoram blamed Elisha and threatened to kill him, but Elisha prevented him by announcing the siege would be over in twenty-four hours.
That very evening four lepers, who were kept outside the city gates, decided to surrender to the Syrians, but when they arrived at the perimeter of the enemy camp, no soldiers could be found. The Lord had covered the camp with sounds of chariots and horses, panicking the Syrians, who abandoned their possessions and ran for their lives. The lepers brought the good news back to the city, and by the next morning the starving people of Samaria were gathering the food and goods the Syrians had left behind.
Shortly afterward Elisha anointed Jehu as the next king of the northern kingdom. Jehu eliminated all descendants of Ahab in a bloody coup. Then he announced a religious assembly at the temple of Baal to celebrate his accession to the throne. When the ceremony was underway, Jehu commanded his soldiers to massacre the Baal worshipers.
Although Jehu destroyed Baal worship in the kingdom, he was not careful to follow God's law. God still did not reign in the people's hearts.
Reflection: Looking back on all the powerful ways God provided for and rescued his people, we have a hard time understanding how quickly they could forget and become obstinate once again. Even when the outward symbols of idol worship were destroyed, their hearts lagged behind. The prophets constantly warned them of the inevitable discipline of a holy God whom they defied with their rebellion, their worship of false gods, and their self-rule.
In reality, however, although our "idols" are different, are our hearts any less stubborn and forgetful?
Posted: 07/03/2001
URL: http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200107/20010703_diary40.htmlText copyright (c) 1997, Multnomah Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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