Character of Idolaters.

suffer hunger. 20: 4 The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. 13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread. 21: 25 The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labor. 26 He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not. -23: 21 The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. 24: 30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31 And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. 33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

Ec. 10: 18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.

2 Thes. 3: 10 Even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 11 We hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy-bodies. 12 Now them that are such, we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

1 Tim. 5: 13 They learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house and not only idle, but tattlers also, and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. [See 1, 709.]

IDOLATRY AND HEATHENISM.

359. Character of heathen idolaters.

2 K. 16: 3 But he [Ahaz] walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.

Rom. 1: 21 When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools; 23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up

Heathen gods destitute of divinity-Image-worship forbidden.

to uncleanness, through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.

Ep. 4: 17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. [See 480.]

360. Heathen gods destitute of divinity.

Ps. 115: 4 Their idols are silver and gold; the work of men's hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

Is. 46: 6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea they worship. 7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.

361. Idolatry and image-worship forbidden.

Ex. 20: 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. 23: 24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works : but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. 34: 17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

Common Displeasing to God.

Lev. 19: 4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.—26: 1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

Dt. 6: 14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; 15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you;) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth-28: 14 Thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Ex. 22: 20 He that sacrificeth unto ang god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

Dt. 8: 19 It shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

27: 15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place: and all the people shall answer and say, Amen.—30: 17 If thy heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish.

Jud. 2: 11 The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. 13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers.-10: 6 The children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. 7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

1 K. 9: 6 If ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my

Displeasing to God.

statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them: 7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a bye-word among all people.

2 K. 17: 9 The children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. 10 And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: 11 And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: 12 For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. 16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. 19 Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.—22: 17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

Ps. 78: 58 They provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. 59 When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel.

Jer. 44: 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein; 3 Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers. 4 I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.

Ezk. 36: 18 Wherefore, I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols

Sin and Danger of Ignorance

wherewith they had polluted it: 19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. [See 486, 699.]

IGNORANCE.

363. The sin and danger of ignorance-knowledge required.

Ps. 32: 9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

Pr. 13: 18 Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honored. 15:32 He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.-19: 2 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

Is. 5: 13 My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

Hos. 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Jn. 16: 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doeth God service. 3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

1 Cor. 2: 7 We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory; 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.—14: 20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit, in malice be ye children, but in understanding be

men.

2 Th. 1: 7 To you, who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. [See 127, 200,(10) 391.]