Scripture constantly warns against the worship of false gods. The first of the Ten Commandments is itself a proscription against idol worship. The title El Chay (EL CHAY), the Living God, emphasizes God’s role as Creator of all that is, in contrast with idols made of metal, wood, or stone, which are merely the creations of human hands. This title sets Israel’s God apart from the false gods of surrounding nations.
Jeremiah paints a vivid picture, saying,
“The customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good” (Jeremiah 10:3–5, NIV).
Unlike idols of wood and stone, made by human hands, the Living God is himself maker of heaven and earth. He alone is the source of our life. We live because he lives.
Praying to El Chay
Have you ever had the experience of talking on the phone with someone for several moments before realizing there’s nobody on the line? I did this recently when a friend called me on her cell phone. I was making a point, pitching an idea, but there was no response. The silence felt awkward until I realized the line had gone dead. Even though I was alone at the time, I felt embarrassed, talking so enthusiastically into thin air.
The prophet Jeremiah says that’s what it’s like when you pray to an idol. You’re addressing your concerns to a block of wood or a piece of stone or a fashioning of metal. You might as well be worshiping a bottle of coke for all the good it will do you. In one translation, Jeremiah calls idol worshipers “complete idiots!”
Fortunately we’re modern people. We know better than to worship idols, to bow down to statues as though some god is hidden beneath the plaster. But do we? Look at the celebrity idols who fascinate us. I remember attending a Michael Bolton concert several years ago. It was a steamy August night. In the middle of the concert, Michael wiped his sweaty brow with a tissue and then handed it lovingly, with a flourish, to one of his screaming, adoring fans, who must have cherished it forever. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like worship to me.
Our idols take an infinite variety of forms—people, health, education, money, success, shopping. They are golden and beautiful, and we think that if only we can attain them, then we will be happy, then we will be safe. But they never quite deliver. People disappoint. We fall ill. The stock market refuses to answer our most fervent prayers.
Fortunately we don’t have to live that way, chasing every little god that comes along. Instead, we can fulfill our need for worship by bowing down before the one Scripture calls El Chay, the Living God who transcends culture and time and who yet is present with us. This is the God who made heaven and earth and who fashioned each of us inside our mothers’ wombs. He is not the work of our hands. We are the work of his hands.
