Destroying Idolatry with Judgment

By Robb Brunansky

Published September 18, 2024

In the last post, we saw the Lord will bring devastating destruction upon anything that seeks to usurp His place as God.

God sometimes destroys idolatry by the grace found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. God delights in the salvation of idolaters who cease their idolatry and worship Him alone.

Sadly, however, not everyone repents, which leads to the second way God destroys idolatry – through divine judgment on idolaters.

The concept of divine judgment is familiar, even if it is uncomfortable. We generally understand what the outcome of divine judgment is for those who fall under it. Many times, though, we fail to understand the process of divine judgment for those who persist in unrepentant idolatry.

When we fail to appreciate how God’s judgment falls on idolaters, we might think they are getting away with flagrant rebellion against Him. Many times, we conclude that since the world at times appears to be winning – and the church appears to be losing ground – God’s judgment has not been rendered. We must understand, however, that God’s judgment on idolaters is far more terrifying than anything a human being could inflict upon them.

Scripture is clear that God destroys idolatry by condemning unrepentant idolaters, and that the Lord works His judgment upon unrepentant sinners through a devastating process. There are three phases to this judgment that falls on ungodly idolaters.

The first phase of this judgment is dysfunction.

The Bible describes this dysfunction as sensory dysfunction. This type of dysfunction is a horrific condition where people have what appear to be functioning sensory organs, such as eyes and ears, but their senses do not function properly.

In Psalm 115, the psalmist shows that idolaters’ sensory organs will fail after being delivered over to their idols in this first phase of divine judgment because they will become just like their blind, mute, and deaf idols. Again, in Psalm 135, idolaters under God’s judgment have all the markings of being able to see, hear, think, and reason – but none of the ability to do so.

Isaiah 6 gives an explanation for how this phase of judgment works itself out in an idolatrous people. God sends Isaiah a message of judgment for idolaters who have repeatedly rejected His Word. The Lord gives these unrepentant idolaters exactly what they crave, which is more idolatry; and He does so by aggravating their condition so they cannot perceive the truth with their sensory organs.

This dysfunction is precisely what Paul pinpoints in Romans 1. God’s judgment on idolatrous man is that what is plainly seen cannot be seen. There is only one true God, and He alone deserves our worship, thanksgiving, and praise. Idolaters do not accept this truth because their senses cannot see what is obvious nor understand what is clearly heard as the universe declares the glory of God.

God’s judgment on idolaters gets worse, because the second phase is delusion.

Individuals in this phase embrace a lie because they have lived so long unable to see, hear, or believe the truth. They’ve been delivered over to their idolatry.

In Isaiah 44, the prophet condemns the folly of idolaters because they worship something that is not real. This passage gives us the opportunity to observe the process of divine judgment in its first two phases (verses 18-20). God has delivered idolaters over to their idolatry by making their eyes and hearts useless to see and understand. Because of this sensory dysfunction, idolaters become delusional and act totally insane. Their hearts are completely deceived, and they persistently demonstrate they have hopelessly embraced delusions.

We have a graphic illustration of this idolatrous delusion in 1 Kings 18, when Elijah faces off against the prophets of Baal to determine who is the true and living God. The Baal worshipers start pleading with their false god to answer them by dancing about the altar, but to no avail. Then these prophets cut their bodies, screaming as loud as they can to get Baal’s attention due to their delusion about their false god. These acts of delusion transpire over several hours.

If someone were there that day as an impartial observer, he could only conclude those people were delusional. That’s what happens when God’s judgment on idolatry falls: people cannot see, understand, or hear the truth; and so, they are completely absorbed in their delusions.

When we look around our culture today, many people are clearly in phase two of God’s judgment. They have suppressed the truth for so long that they are delusional. In fact, delusion is the simplest explanation for why so many people support and participate in the idea of transgenderism. Their eyes and hearts have been so smeared over by divine judgment that they believe what is, to anyone who can see, a demonic, idolatrous insanity.

How else can we explain why so much of our nation believes that murdering babies in the womb should be a federally enshrined right? We know beyond any doubt through sonograms and other scientific advancements we can perceive with our senses that babies in the womb are human beings. Yet people have embraced the delusion of rejecting what is patently obvious to the human senses. To see any abortion as morally good, or as something that should be protected in the law, is to live in a demonic delusion.

The final phase of divine judgment on idolatry is destruction.

An illustration of this judgment occurred when the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant in 1 Samuel. After defeating the Israelites in battle, the Philistines brought the ark into the temple of their god, Dagon. This symbolic action celebrated Dagon’s supposed supremacy over Yahweh. However, the Philistines twice found Dagon lying prostrate before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh – and the second time, the Lord decapitated the false god to show the Philistines that He is the one true God, supreme over all gods, including headless and handless Dagon.

Even after Yahweh showed Dagon’s impotence, the Philistines still didn’t get the message, so God ravaged them with tumors. They then were convinced God would kill them, which is exactly the message they should have received in the first place. God destroyed Dagon to show He will bring total devastation upon idols and those who worship them. The destruction of idols in the Old Testament always warns idolaters that what happened to the idol will be the worshippers’ fate if they do not repent, turn away from their idolatry, and worship the living God.

This principle of God’s judgment is confirmed throughout the Bible. The Apostle Paul warns several times that idolaters will not inherit God’s kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:20-21, Ephesians 5:5). Because of idolatry, God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience (Colossians 3:5-6). Those who worship idols will give an account to God and be condemned under His eternal judgment on the last day (1 Peter 4:3-5). And unrepentant idolaters will end up in the lake of fire under God’s eternal wrath, which is the final phase in His destruction of idolatry (Revelation 21:8, 22:15).

We might often think, “God’s wrath will come on our nation because of our idolatry.” However, it’s more correct to say that God’s wrath is already here. We see the Lord’s judgment every day in unbelievers, whose senses do not function as intended, or who are living in a delusion, believing insane concepts no rational person would accept.

Unrepentant sinners cannot be convinced of the truth when their eyes and ears have been broken. Only our great God can rescue idolaters from present and future wrath. That’s one reason why we pray for the salvation of idolaters all around us. Remember how God can destroy idols through the grace of Christ in the gospel. When we think of the unspeakable horror of the Lord’s judgment, our heart’s desire for unrepentant people is their salvation.