Oak Trees and Idolatry: A Biblical Perspective

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Two mature oak trees in a grassy rural landscape with a winding dirt path under a colorful sunset sky

“You will be ashamed of your idol worship in groves of sacred oaks. You will blush because you worshipped in gardens dedicated to idols. You will be like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water. The strongest among you will disappear like straw; their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire. They and their evil works will burn up together, and no one will be able to put out the fire.”
Isaiah 1:29-31 NLT

Oaks are wonderful examples of trees in our deciduous woods because they are slow-growing and can live for centuries if conditions are right. They were commonly used as a source of timber in any application requiring a hard and durable wood, but in the UK today, they are treated with more respect and are even protected in some cases. I came across several wonderful and very old examples at the West end of Loch Tay in Scotland, oaks gnarled and twisted into almost grotesque shapes, yet with a longevity that seemed to have a determined, almost aggressive personality all of their own. In Israel, oaks were not a common tree, and when one was found, they could find themselves involved in idolatrous worship practices that even included sexual immorality. In the UK, oak trees held a central, sacred position in pre-Christian pagan worship, serving as focal points for rituals, gatherings, and spiritual veneration. Primarily associated with the Druids—whose name may derive from a Celtic word for “knowing the oak”—these trees were revered as “kings of the forest,” symbolising strength, endurance, and wisdom.

Isaiah’s vision warned those in Israel who practised idol worship that before oak trees, they would become like one of them, only with their source of water cut off. Trees in such an environment don’t die straight away, but instead take steps to contain the water loss from the leaves so that they wither and die, falling from the branches, and presenting an autumnal appearance. The saddest thing was that the idolatrous Jews also went through the motions of worshipping God with their sacrifices and offerings, not making the connection that such behaviour would not end well. In Isaiah’s vision, the Lord called them prostitutes and likened their behaviour to those in Sodom and Gomorrah, so many years before. 

Isaiah continued to warn the Israelites with an analogy involving straw, the dried stalks that remain after grain harvesting. It is highly flammable and only needs a spark to ignite, leaving very little behind but fine ash. This was what was going to happen to the idolatrous people, and Isaiah warned that they, “and their evil works,” would burn up together in a fire that could not be extinguished. A picture of hell if ever there was one.

Jesus taught us much about hell, and in one passage, his words are recorded as, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’ “For everyone will be tested with fire.” (Mark 9:43f). 

We pilgrims perhaps read these verses in Isaiah and wonder how the Jews could have got things so wrong. But before we start climbing onto the moral high ground, claiming we would never do such a thing, and behave in such an idolatrous way, we must pause and consider that idols are not just something like an oak tree, or perhaps a statue made of wood, but can be anything that takes the place of worship to God alone. Are we involved in anything that takes priority over God? Yes, we have to work for a living, and we have families to look after, but where are they in our lives compared to God? Many years ago, I was taught that the order of priorities in life was God first, our work and families second, and anything else last. It has remained with me ever since. 

Paul wrote about fire in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, “Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames”. The foundation is Christ, so what are we building on Him? In the context of 1 Corinthians 3, the verses mostly apply to leaders and teachers; if their teaching is of poor quality, it will not survive the fire to come. But for those Christians who aren’t leaders and teachers, what are they building? Each believer is given a gift from the Holy Spirit – how is it being used? In our families. In the church we attend. In our community. Paul wrote in Romans 14:10b, “… Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God”. In 1 Corinthians 5:10, we read, “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body”. 

So, Isaiah’s warning to the Jews in 740 BC still has an application today for us pilgrims. A solemn warning about idolatry and the works we do. But before we go down the tubes, we remember that God hasn’t just left us to get on with our lives, parentless like orphans. We have a loving Heavenly Father who delights in us and who is more than willing to answer our prayers for help. He will show us the way and will help us in the works that He has asked us to do.

Dear God. We pray with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life”. Thank You. Amen.

Finding Redemption: The Message of Isaiah 1:18-20

Posted on by Adrian Clark

““Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat. But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the Lord, have spoken!””
Isaiah 1:18-20 NLT

After a hard-hitting message that included a comparison between the Israelites and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, God offered the Israelites a way out from the impending destruction that was getting closer and closer. The problem, though, was that the people didn’t recognise God for who He is anymore. Isaiah 1:3, “Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognises its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognise my care for them”.  So what was the point of all the burnt offerings, the blood of bulls, the ceremonies and meaningless gifts that we read about earlier? The Israelites were just going through the religious motions without any understanding of what they were really doing or why they were doing it. They were even praying, but to no avail, “When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims” (Isaiah 1:15). 

But God is always merciful, and He offered a way out for the Israelites. Our verses today start with “Come now, let’s settle this”. Other translations read, “Come now, let us reason together”, but the meaning is the same. The human race has always had the capacity and mental ability to look at the facts and draw a conclusion. And the facts for the Israelites were stark. In Isaiah’s day, the political situation in Israel, the Northern Kingdom, was one of instability, and the Assyrian empire was expanding its horizons, starting to encroach on its borders. It wouldn’t be long before Samaria would fall, and many Israelites would be deported to a foreign land. But they had, as a people, one last chance to avoid a fate that otherwise seemed inevitable. Isaiah’s vision was directed at Judah in the South with the warning that unless they changed their ways, they too would follow into captivity.

The Lord effectively said to them, “Look at your circumstances, look at what is about to happen, and turn to Me so that you can be saved”. And He then said, “But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies”. The problem for the Israelites was that they didn’t want to change their sinful and idolatrous practices. There is something seductive about sin, that makes repentance so very hard. The deeper the Israelites were engulfed in their evil ways, the harder it was for them to turn their backs on all that they were doing and instead turn to God. God told them they must use their rational minds and consider their future. It seems simple to us, looking on with the benefit of hindsight, but, sadly, as events turned out, they failed to make the right choices. God had the power and mercy to forgive them for their sins, and if only they had made the right choice, for Him rather than against Him, they would have been returned to His protection, and world events would have been different. 

Sins like scarlet and red like crimson. Colours that had stained their hands and hearts, leaving the people indelibly inked with sin for which there was only one solution. God offered to make their hands and hearts white like snow or as white as wool. There was no human solution. No chemical in a bottle on the shelf with the power to bleach out the redness. No other god or idol was available to forgive their sins. They had only one solution, and God was holding out His hands, pleading with them to turn from their wicked ways and return to Him. 

We pilgrims made the right choice when we turned to God from our lives of sin. We came to the Cross at Calvary, and bowed before the Man crucified, believing Him and His message of salvation. That was the moment when our crimson-red hearts were made as white as snow. King David made the right choice after his affair with Bathsheba when he wrote, “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). He then wrote, “Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me”. David could see the same choice before him three hundred years before that of the Israelites. He wrote, “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:16-19).

There are many people around us who are heading toward destruction and a lost eternity. The same choice that Godless people face today is the same as the one before the Israelites in the 7th Century BC. We pilgrims must be diligent in telling them about the consequences of a life spent in sin. God is holding out His loving arms to them, just as He did to us, and we are His messengers responsible for dispensing His message of love and hope.

Dear God. Only You have the remedy for sin and guilt. Please help us, we pray, to be diligent in telling others of Your love and grace at every opportunity. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Some Of Them Did

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.”
1 Corinthians 10:5-8 NLT

These verses today are in a section of my Bible entitled “Lessons from Israel’s Idolatry”. Paul was deeply troubled by the news of events unfolding in the Corinthian church. This situation was particularly influenced by the type of society in which the Corinthian believers lived, characterised by its emphasis on idol worship and the flagrant immorality that accompanied it. Part of the problem as well was that some of the Corinthians joined in with the idolatrous meals, eating meat that had been offered to idols, and in the process, upsetting more sensitive Christians who would not touch anything even remotely associated with idols. In Exodus 32, there is the account of the Golden Calf episode, where the Israelites persuaded Aaron to make a calf out of the gold jewellery donated by the people. In Exodus 32:6b, we read, “ … After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry”. Moses was up the mountain, and the Lord told him what was going on in the camp. He said to Moses, “How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt’”” (Exodus 32:8). Idolatry, pure and simple. The punishment was brutal, and we read later on that three thousand idolaters were killed by the Levites. “Moses told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone—even your brothers, friends, and neighbours.” The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day” (Exodus 32:7-8). But the retribution didn’t end there, and the last verse in Exodus 32 reads, “Then the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshipped the calf Aaron had made”. 

Paul warned the Corinthians about what would happen if God wasn’t pleased with them because of their idolatry. He implied that death would result, and that they should consider the events in the wilderness all those years ago as a warning. But it was clear that the Corinthians misunderstood what many Christians still misunderstand today. They believed their freedom in Christ—their freedom from following the law of Moses—meant they were free to indulge in sinful desires without fear of consequences from the Lord. But we pilgrims, of course, maintain that we don’t worship idols, picturing a Golden Calf hanging there in our imaginations. But there are many other kinds of idols that we need to be aware of. An idol is anything that takes the place of God, and when we consider that, we find that perhaps we do find objects or even people that we can idolise. A sobering thought for us Christians today. 

There is also the issue of sexual immorality, another blight on the Corinthian societal landscape. Paul wrote, “And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did”. And he continued with a warning about the consequences of such a sin, as we read in Numbers 25. The Israelites were in proximity to Moab, and we read in Numbers 25:1, “While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women”. Summary justice resulted in one wrongdoer being put to death, having been caught in the act, and a plague followed that killed 24,000 people. “ … Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, but not before 24,000 people had died” (Numbers 25:8-9)—gruesome details but a sombre warning to the Corinthian believers.

So what about us pilgrims today? Idolatry and sexual immorality are two sins that have been a curse for the human race for many years. While it’s true that believers are saved from damnation through faith in Christ by God’s grace, Paul’s message is that believers everywhere must understand that the Lord will discipline them in this life, if necessary. Will that discipline come from plagues or even death? Will an idolatrous or immoral believer suffer an early death? Not necessarily to both these questions, but we should never underestimate the power of God’s justice. God, in His grace and mercy, will award plenty of time before He feels He has to act, and we must never assume that just because God is apparently turning a blind eye to our misdemeanours, that He is ignoring them. 

Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for Your grace, mercy and love, limitless and constant. Please forgive us for our waywardness and sins. We pray with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life”. Amen.

Idolatry

Posted on by Adrian Clark

So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many Lords. But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.”
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 NLT

What is an idol? In our minds, an image immediately appears before us of a figurine, perhaps beautifully crafted by a skilled sculptor. We remember the problem Paul had in Ephesus, where a silversmith called Demetrius had a successful and lucrative business manufacturing shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis, for resale to tourists. He stirred up trouble, saying, “But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!” (Acts 19:26). He continued in the next verse, “Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!” In the Greek society there were many gods and goddesses all represented with idols which the people worshipped and revered, and in some cases they brought before these “gods” offerings of food. Food offered to idols was typically meat from animal sacrifices, but could also include fruits, flowers, or other items, depending on the tradition. After a deity was thought to have consumed or been blessed by the offering, the food was often eaten at temple banquets, resold in the market, or given to priests. The practice served various purposes, including honouring a deity, seeking blessings, or participating in worship feasts that could also be associated with sexual immorality. 

So, the Corinthians believers must have had the opportunity to acquire this meat from animal sacrifices, and they were wondering if this was the correct thing to do. Paul’s first response was that these idols weren’t really gods at all, because “there is only one God”. Perhaps the logical answer to the believers in Corinth was that idols were nothing more than lumps of decorative metal, with no ability to do anything or be anything. Therefore if they were “nothing” then what was the problem if the meat had been offered to “nothing”. Paul wrote to the Galatian believers, “Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist” (Galatians 4:8), a verse that sums up the futility of the cults of idol worship. 

In Western societies today, the pendulum seems to have swung to the other extreme, where a secular people fail to recognise any sort of “god”, even the God we pilgrims worship, or so it would seem. Inbuilt within human beings is a god-shaped hole that has to be filled by something. To the Greeks, they filled their need for something spiritual by making lots of idols, and they then intertwined their sinful natures with idol worship. But today, mankind is still born with this god-shaped hole within them, a spiritual need that has to be filled in some way, be it by the use of various substances such as drugs, or by sexual misbehaviour, or by the person building their own “idols” for the purposes of worship. We find a mother idolising her children, or a pop fan idolising a singer. We see men worshipping the cult of golf, local football team, or some other sport, so there are probably even more “idols” present in our society today than there were in Greek societies. 

So what is an “idol”? To a Christian, an idol is anything or anyone that replaces God as the ultimate focus of their heart, thoughts, and reliance. While it can refer to a physical object, such as a statue or image, it extends to anything — a person, a system, a desire, or a possession — that is loved more than God or is relied upon for blessings, help, or guidance in place of Him. The core issue is a shift in loyalty and trust away from the one true God to something lesser. So, by now, I’m sure we have worked out that an idol is something or someone who takes the place of the one and only true God, but the problem originates in our own hearts. Back in Genesis, we read that God made man in His own image, and it therefore makes sense that the only valid and effective way of filling our need for a god is with the only God who exists. No matter how hard people try, they can never replace their need for a relationship with God with anything that is man-made or false.

Do we pilgrims have any idols in our lives? We may indeed have some. Take, for example, a St. Christopher medallion hung on a necklace. Some people, even Christians, superstitiously believe that this will protect them from danger. Then there is the phrase “retail therapy”. Isn’t this just another way some people replace God with “stuff”? Or how about the weight some people place on their “stars”, even being drawn to horoscopes? Then there are various superstitions, such as touching wood, that some people believe will ward off bad luck or will prevent good fortune from being taken away after making a favourable prediction or boasting about something. While the precise origins are debated, possible explanations include ancient pagan beliefs about tree spirits. Another idol? And we mustn’t forget that the very word “luck” is derived from lucifer, the devil himself. 

So, how do we discern if we are being surreptitiously drawn into idolatry? There is only one effective way, and that is to ask God for His guidance and then be obedient to what He says through His Spirit. A quotation from gotquestions.org, “idolatry is a matter of the heart—pride, self-centeredness, greed, gluttony, a love for possessions and ultimately rebellion against God. Is it any wonder that God hates it?” Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”. Our enemy, the devil, knows that if he can get control of our hearts, then we will lose our effectiveness in our relationship with God, and we mustn’t under any circumstances allow that to happen.

O Lord. Please forgive us, we pray, for the times when we try to replace You with something that is so inferior. We confess our waywardness and pray for Your forgiveness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Multiplied Troubles

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.” The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them! Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods.”
Psalm 16:2-4 NLT

Just a few words previously, David wrote about the “Godly people in the land” but here he is now pushing back at “those who chase after other gods”. He exposed a dichotomy between believers in God and the unbelievers around him who believed in false gods. If I was an extraterrestrial alien looking at the behaviour of the Israelites spanning a few hundred years, I would have observed a bountiful and merciful God who had miraculously fed a large number of Israelite slaves, after parting the Red Sea to facilitate their escape from Egypt, for a period of forty years. I would have observed how time and time again God had helped them overcome their enemies, after bringing them into a land this same God had promised to them, and He even parted the River Jordan, then in flood, to allow everyone to cross over to the other side. And yet I would have now been very puzzled, because so many of the descendants of the favoured people had now rejected the very God who had helped and supported them. What had gone wrong? 

The alien would have probably shrugged his shoulders (if he had any) at this point and moved on elsewhere, not wanting to have anything to do with such an irrational people. But the answer to the question can be found in a single, three-letter word – sin. David observed that in his day, those of his fellow Israelites who had abandoned the God of Israel would soon find the trouble that God had warned them about. In Deuteronomy 28 there is a list of all the troubling curses that will be incurred by those who choose to reject God and stop following His laws and precepts. The curses start with Deuteronomy 28:15, “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you“, and the chapter continues with a list of troubles that will come upon them. As we read on we find that troubles do indeed multiply. The lure of the sinful practices that accompany the worship of idols was so strong that many Israelites chose the way of evil, but soon afterwards they experienced the fruit of their idolatry.

Today, a secular society finds that life is afflicted with modern day equivalents of multiplied troubles. I’m saddened by David’s statement referencing the “sacrifices of blood” that were taking place in the name of the other gods, wondering if the same sacrifices are continuing today in the abortion clinics and in our hospitals. I observe a society increasingly at odds with itself, with strange ideologies emerging, with economic woes endlessly appearing both at the macro and micro levels, with people trampling over each other in their race to fulfil their selfish desires. By default, those people who do not follow God will reap their rewards at the altars of their own false gods. 

Paul wrote in Romans 1 about “… God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused” (Romans 1:21). Paul continued, “Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles” (Romans 1:22-23). But here’s the thing that applies to the times in which we live, “So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies” (Romans 1:24). It’s a terrible thing to be abandoned by God, and what He said through Paul has come to pass, with “multiplied troubles” appearing in the idolaters lives. Paul finishes Roman 1 with these verses, “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behaviour, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too“. Soberly, we know that their troubles won’t end at death, with another appointment waiting to be kept and the ultimate judgement taking place.

David wanted to have nothing to do with the people who “chased after other gods” with good reason, and neither must we pilgrims. We of course continue to try to draw the idolaters back from their sin with our stories of what God has done for us, and the Good News of what Jesus did for every human being at Calvary, should they choose to believe in Him. These days, idols might not be a wooden or stone edifice located in a home or shrine somewhere, but they exist in peoples’ lives. If we asked an unbeliever today if they instead have an idol, they worship, they would probably say of course not. An idol can be anything the takes the place of worshipping God. An idol can be another person, particular an actor or a pop star, (popular saying – “he worships the ground she walks on”). Or perhaps a motor car, or a mobile phone. Some people spend a lot of time playing computer games. The list is endless.

It might be a good idea if we pilgrims ask God if there is anything in our lives that shouldn’t be there, things that could lead us into idolatry. Paul’s instructions were clear – he wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:14-15 “So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true“. And having decided we move on, in worship to the only God worth the name.

Dear Heavenly Father. We pray, “lead us not into temptation”, and today we pray that we will not be tempted to run after idols, of any persuasion. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Complaints

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2:14-16‬ ‭NLT

The story of Balaam and Balak can be found in Numbers 22-24. It’s a fascinating read, involving angels with swords and a talking donkey. Balak, of Moabite royalty, wanted Balaam to curse the oncoming Israelite nation because he was concerned that they would “…devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!” He involved the Midianites, and together they asked a man called Balaam to curse the Israelites, but instead he ended up blessing them, delivering the message God told him to say. The story concludes with Balaam cursing the surrounding nations after blessing the Israelites. Balaam wasn’t a Godly man, because the Scriptures record that he was involved in divination, a practice that carried the death penalty for the Jews. He was also a Gentile. However, that did not stop God using him to deliver His message. In several places in the Bible we see that if necessary, God will use influential people in Godless nations to carry out His plans. 

At the start of Numbers 25 we see that the Israelite men were starting to cohabit with Moabite women, even getting involved in their Baal worship. And as a result they were guilty of the sins in the complaint we read about in today’s Scripture, they sinned, “by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin”. Though we cannot find a direct Scriptural reference to Balaam teaching the Israelites how to sin, the theological consensus seems to be that Balaam advised Balak of a more devious response and solution – get them involved in the sinful practices of the Moabites and Midianites so that God will punish them. And in Numbers 25 the story of their sin and its consequences played out to a sad conclusion.

After referring to the story of Balaam, John continued in today’s verse, by exposing the Nicolaitans amongst them. They too followed the same practices of eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. As we found earlier, the Ephesian church had also been infiltrated by adherents of this sect. 

Jesus’ response to those engaging in these sinful practices was a warning. He said that He would come to fight them with “the sword of [His] mouth”. And this fight would happen suddenly. Back in the wayward Israelites’ day, when their sin with the Moabites had been uncovered, the solution was physical, with God sending a plague which only stopped with a gruesome ending – one of the ringleaders and his foreign partner were skewered by a spear. But “the sword of [His] mouth” attack against the Pergamums was not to be through some physical punishment. It was through God’s Word, the Scriptures, bringing repentance from sin. The Old Testament remedy was a physical death. The New Testament solution would end up a spiritual death. But in both cases, and in the context of eternity, the outcome was the same. Eternal death.

Back to our usual question – how do these verses help the 21st Century pilgrim? One lesson is that we pilgrims must diligently maintain the purity of our faith. Sin has a habit of creeping up on us, nibbling away at the margins, disguised as something minor or inoffensive, something easily rationalised away. Remember – our adversary the devil is extremely good at finding our weak spots. In the garden of Eden, the serpent found a chink in Eve’s armour, – “Did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1). And followed it with a plausible, subtle, and clever restatement of God’s instructions. 

Another lesson is that the worldly practices around us, and as portrayed on films and television, can numb our spiritual discernment. The constant bombardment from devil-backed lobby groups, from advertising, from conversations with people who aren’t Christians, will potentially dull our senses and, particularly when we’re tired, will lead to sin. Each day we must put on our Ephesians 6 armour, and take up the sword, God’s Word. By so doing we can be effective witnesses, counter-culturally standing as beacons of hope in a dying world. And if we have weak spots that the enemy will penetrate, we must avoid the circumstances that can give him an opening. 

A common tactic of the enemy is to revive our embarrassing memories. He will remind us that because we once did something bad, we are no good and not suitable to be a child of God. But we must tell him that we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. We are new creations. No more defined by our past, but instead defined by our future. In Hebrews 12:1, we read, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us”. The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13b-14, “… I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us”.

The Pergamums earned a rebuke from Jesus because they allowed worldly customs and idolatry to prevail in their lives and in their church. Let us not fall into the same trap.

Dear Jesus. We thank You that You love us too much to allow us to wallow in customs that You disapprove of. We pray David’s prayer from Psalm 139 today, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Amen.