You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing. (Deuteronomy 7:25-26)
We have spoken before about the fact that idols of wood and stone were often overlaid with gold, silver and other such precious metals or even jewels. The reason should be obvious — a piece of carved wood or stone doesn’t quite add up to something that should be considered of great value, much less to be worshiped. And so those images adorned with precious metals and such would be attractive to the eye of most. However, that which looks good to you can be a snare to you.
To donate one’s service and devotion to such an invaluable object is an abomination to God, something that is sickening and disgusting. Furthermore, He advises us that we should look upon such things in the same way, and therefore, not bring them into our homes. To bring such an abominable thing into your house would be to invite destruction to come to your home. A good example of this is found in the book of Joshua when, having been warned to “abstain from the accursed things” in Jericho (Joshua 6:18), Achan decided to help himself to the forbidden spoils of war and hide them in his tent. As a result, Israel lost the battle of Ai; Achan and his family were destroyed so that Israel could be cleansed from the accursed thing (Joshua 7).
You might be interested to know that the Hebrew word עי Ai means “eye.” How appropriate that, because his eye was seduced by the glitter of gold and silver, Israel lost the battle of “the Eye.” It was Eve’s eye that looked upon the forbidden fruit and determined within herself that it was good for food, pleasant to the eye and should be desired in order to make one wise. In short, errant man always looks on the outside of what seems good, never considering what’s lurking beneath the surface and the fatal outcome of being led astray. As followers of Messiah, we must be discerning of these things and always full of the Word so as not to be deceived. As it is written, “Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:10-11).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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