“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.” 1 Kings 11: 3-6
Notice that Solomon started doing what “everyone else” was doing. He may have thought, “All the other kings have lots of wives and concubines. All the other kings have idols. I’m just doing what all the other kings do. Things are different now from when my father was king.”
We can do the same thing today by accepting what the world puts forth as truth rather than holding on to God’s Word, which is the only reliable source of real Truth.
Ashtoreth was the pagan goddess of war and sexual love. How is that any different from the practice of sexual sin found in today’s world?
Molek was an Ammonite god who required propitiatory child sacrifice. A couple sacrificed their firstborn by burning the child on a metal idol of Molech. How is that any different from abortion, which is really all about freedom to engage in sexual sin without consequence?
In today’s society, sexual sin and abortion are not only acceptable behaviors but also normalized through social media, television, and movies.
According to Guttmacher, 1,125,930 babies were murdered by clinicians in the United States in 2025 alone.
And there are more than 20 million estimated new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States each year — and rates are increasing. (Satterwhite, C.L. et al. 2013)
Idol worship doesn’t just refer to a pagan statue. The Apostle Paul tells us more.
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” Colossians 3:5-6
“Idolatry starts in the heart: craving, wanting, enjoying, being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God. That is an idol. If we find God to be so boring or so negligible that we must put other things in his place that really satisfy us more than He does, then we not only offend him, but we also destroy ourselves.”
John Piper
“…yet I am glad now, not because you were hurt and made sorry, but because your sorrow led to repentance [and you turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel … For [godly] sorrow that is in accord with the will of God produces a repentance without regret…” 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 AMP
Any number of things could become an idol. Ask the Lord with a sincere heart to show you if you have any idols. The Holy Spirit will bring conviction, but not condemnation. Conviction makes you want to change, but condemnation makes you want to give up.
“Since the fall, the hearts of humans have been inclined toward idolatry.”
Dr. Jeff Reynolds, Pastor
In His Love, Cindy
To learn more about Jesus, read Who Is Jesus? A message for the Skeptic
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.”
Psalm 122:6 NASB
Featured image from Nick Fancher on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
Real Christian Women 