BURIED IDOLS


A. "AND THEY GAVE UNTO JACOB ALL THE STRANGE GODS WHICH WERE IN THEIR HAND, AND ALL THE EARRINGS WHICH WERE IN THEIR EARS; AND JACOB HID THEM UNDER THE OAK WHICH WAS BY SHECHEM." - Gen. 35:1-10
  1. Our text is most revealing:
    1. Jacob did not break or burn the idols; he buried them.
    2. The whole procedure shows that the patriarch had some special failings in his life, in spite of his knowledge of the true God.
      1. He was not altogether weaned from his idols.
      2. That accounts for the idols hid by Rachel, the woman he loved - Gen. 31:34-36
  2. This weakness in the life of the Patriarch was very harmful to his relationship with God:
    1. It is known as double dealing.
    2. His natural descendants are noted for this weakness.
B. BURIED IDOLS
  1. This is a challenging subject:
    1. How we may be guilty of the same double dealing -
      1. We are guilty of double dealing when we retain privately those evil practices we have renounced in public.
      2. Iniquity is iniquity to God, whether done in secret or openly.
    2. We are guilty of double dealing when we practice partially the evils we have renounced as a whole.
  2. That was the weakness of the Reformers:
    1. The inherent weakness of the reformation was when the reformers retained some of the Papal practices, which the reformers knew were out of line with the Bible.
    2. This is true also of the individuals who leave the world and join the church. They seem in earnest, yet privately they retain some of their former ways which are contrary to the faith they profess.
    3. Here is food for thought for all of us.
  3. Let us be honest with ourselves and with God:
    1. Is our life any different than that of the Patriarch Jacob?
      1. Can we think of some secret pet sin to which we cling, even though we know better?
      2. By what standard do we measure our dedication to the Lord?
    2. Do we bury our little or big idols, or do we hide them as Rachel did?
C. COMPLETE CONSECRATION TO GOD, WITHOUT ANY RESERVATIONS, IS A MUST
  1. Look at the experience of ancient Israel:
    1. They left Egypt, but they took some of the practices of the Egyptians with them - Acts 7:39
    2. They had the form of truth but ignored it, practicing idolatry - Acts 7:42
  2. Are we much better in this so-called enlightened age?
    1. We should have a better experience because we do have more light.
    2. But let us examine our relationship in the truth and to the world -
      1. Can we think of hidden idols in our private life which we would not want our neighbors to know?
      2. Do we know of things in our life which witness against our profession?
      3. Are we not weak spiritually because we often are guilty of double dealing - Jas. 1:1-6
  3. The sensible thing for us to do is to heed the simple but timely counsel of the Bible:
    1. Put off all known sins - Eph. 4:24-26
    2. Break off every yoke and the sin that so easily besets us - Dan. 4:27; Heb. 12:1-6
    3. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh - Rom. 13:14
    4. It will be to our own good to destroy our idols and not bury them.
    5. Burn all the books that contain poison for the soul - Acts 19:19
    6. Let the life of Jacob teach us a lesson that it is utterly impossible to serve two Masters - Matt. 6:24


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