Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Christian & Civil Government

Civil Rulers & Idolatry - 1

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Civil Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2006-09-24

Synopsis: John Weaver argues that civil rulers are uniquely prone to idolatry, using 2 Kings 23 and other Old Testament passages to show that kings, not the people, introduced false worship into Israel. He defines idolatry broadly as any unbiblical thought about God, and explains that governments lead people into idolatry through force or seduction for selfish reasons like power and control. Applications warn against political correctness as a state religion and call believers to recognize government overreach as usurpation.

[John Weaver] We're going to open our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23. 2 Kings chapter 23. And as you're turning there, let me point out that once again, I will be away out west for October the 7th and October the 15th. And I would encourage you to pray for those meetings and for travel mercies. So we're going in our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23. And let me point out that this is going to be Part 1 of a two-part message. I'm going to be dealing with the title, Civil Rulers and Idolatry. Civil Rulers and Idolatry. So let's begin reading with 2 Kings 23, verse 1.

[John Weaver] And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. and all the people stood to the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the hosts of heaven.

[John Weaver] And he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them into Bethel. And he put down the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem, them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven. And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it to small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people." And he broke down the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove. And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense from Geva to Beersheba, and broke down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on

[John Weaver] a man's left hand at the gate of the city. Nevertheless, the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun at the entering in the house of the Lord by the chamber of Nathan Melech, the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down and break them down from fence, and cast the dust of them into Brook Kidron. And the high places that were before Jerusalem that were on the right hand on the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtaroth, the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, And for Milcom, the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king

[John Weaver] defile. And he break in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men. Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place, he break down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove."

[John Weaver] So this message is part one, then, on civil rulers and idolatry. Now, many years ago, I brought two messages along this vein. One was entitled, Statism is Idolatry, and the other one was titled, The Biblical Attitude Toward Ungodly Rulers. Now, it is certainly not my intent to re-preach those messages. However, I do intend to build upon them. It may be necessary to give you one or two important points from them, but I'm certainly not going to re-preach them. And of course, those of you who have read my two books, The Christian and Civil Government, and The Sovereignty of God and Civil Government, are still a further development of this theme. When I read through 2 Kings chapter 23, all of this just simply jumped out again.

[John Weaver] And it just entered my mind afresh, so I want to just kind of show you where we are and what really could be done about it if someone would repent and follow the Lord. When you talk about civil rulers and idolatry, I suppose it is common for each of us to think of idolatry as a bowing down to idols. I mean, that is just the concept that immediately pops into our mind.

[John Weaver] It seems as if we cannot escape the graven image mentality. that we have to think that we must have a graven image in front of us in order for there to be idolatry. But let me point out the fact that idolatry is exceedingly broad. Without you turning there, if you were to read from Colossians 3 and verse 5, and Ephesians 5 and verse 5, you will find this statement. Covetousness is idolatry. Isn't that amazing? Covetousness is idolatry. You do not have to have a physical image in order to be an idol, an idolater. In other words, if you are a covetous individual in any area of your life, then God says you are an idolater. So one does not need to bow down to a raven image to be an idolater. The very word image comes from the word imagination. In fact, if you would look in your Bibles, very quickly, to the book of Romans chapter 1 and verse 1, you will see what these wicked, ungodly reprobates began to do. Notice, if you would please, in Romans chapter 1 and verse 1, the Word of God makes this very clear.

[John Weaver] Romans 1 it is, and verse 21, the Bible says, because that 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." Now, I want you to note, God says first they were vain in their imaginations, then in verse 2, 22, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, verse 23, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like the corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. The point I want to emphasize is this, that the imagination precedes the image. You may be an idolater in your mind well before there is ever a physical Image.

[John Weaver] Now, the truth of the matter is this. Whenever you think unscripturally and unbiblically toward God, you are an idolater. The only God that exists is the God of the Bible that has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. All other gods are merely figments of man's imagination, and therefore they are idols. And let me just point this out, to the degree that you think unbiblically toward the one true and the living God who's revealed himself in the Bible, to that degree, you also are an idolater.

[John Weaver] Now, we've got to understand a simple truth. Automobiles do not begin in Detroit or any other city. Automobiles begin in the mind of an engineer somewhere. It's just the plant that puts them together. Likewise, idolatry always begins in the mind, and it may stay there, especially for a long period of time, without revealing itself in a physical manner. So therefore, we must make sure that our thoughts are right concerning God, and that we are thinking biblical thoughts, those thoughts that He has revealed in His Word, in order that we might honor Him and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, let me carefully point out this fact as well. Man by nature, that is unsaved man, is prone to idolatry. Normally, he either worships himself or some god of his imagination. It is only as we are convicted and converted as individuals that we begin to see and understand the full extent of our idolatry. Do you realize The average American considers himself or herself a Christian and yet has no concept, no biblical concept of God, of Christ, of sin, or salvation. I never will forget, I was preaching in Illinois and I saw this little teenage girl and I was witnessing to her and I asked her, was she a Christian?

[John Weaver] And she said, I don't know. She said, I'll have to ask my mother. Well, I knew immediately, of course, she was not. I said, will you ask your mother? Because I was going to see the child the next day. And the next day I said, well, did you ask your mother? Are you a Christian? She said, yes, I did. I said, well, what was your mother's response? She said, well, of course, we're Christians. We live in America, don't we? That was their understanding of being a Christian, living in America. You can live in America and certainly not be a Christian. That is certainly true and very obviously and patently true. But the average professing Christian has no biblical concept of God.

[John Weaver] Unsaved men are prone to idolatry. But let me show you there is an entity that is taught in the Bible that is even more prone to idolatry than just simply unsaved men as individuals. And that entity is civil government. Governments, or civil rulers, those who are in authority, oftentimes willingly, readily, knowingly, purposely, and deliberately lead their people into idolatry.

[John Weaver] Now, how do we know that? Well, the answer is very simple. The Bible tells us so. History verifies it. and practical observation attest to the truth.

[John Weaver] Now, before I begin to show you from 2 Kings chapter 23, the truth that I'm going to emphasize today, let me give you once again one very important principle. You need to lock this down in your mind. Here is a foundational truth. In reality, God and God alone is sovereign. I'm telling you this is a foundational truth. God and God alone is sovereign. That means this. He is the only sovereign. Truthfully and practically, I hope you understand that there can only be one sovereign, one ultimate, one absolute.

[John Weaver] There may be individuals who are striving for sovereignty and fighting for sovereignty and want sovereignty. But there can only be one Sovereign, and one Absolute, and one Ultimate at the time. And that one Sovereign is God Himself. God has never been unseated. He has never abdicated. He has never been voted out of office. And He will never be voted out of office, for He always was, always is, and always shall be the only true and living Sovereign God of the universe. So marker down, God is sovereign and him alone.

[John Weaver] All of those who wish to dethrone him shall be destroyed. They may seek after his sovereignty, but they will never acquire it.

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you why I'm emphasizing this truth. Because everyone must have a sovereign. Whether you're saved or unsaved, you must have a sovereign. Society nor individuals can exist without a law system. What does that mean? That means you must have a law system. Are you listening? And you must have someone with authority to give you that law system. So. When God as the absolute sovereign is denied. What his law system is denied is only so that you may elevate yourself or someone else or something else as sovereign in his place. So God's sovereignty is only denied in order that it might be replaced with another false sovereignty. Whenever men deny God's absolute sovereignty, it is so that they may place sovereignty either in themselves or some other entity. And usually the other entity that sovereignty is invested with is civil government.

[John Weaver] Now listen to me very carefully. Each of us have heard these old cliches. You can't fight City Hall. They can do whatever they please. Well, if you don't submit, they'll destroy you. Do you realize when those cliches are used, the people who are using them are saying that government is sovereign and that government can do as it pleases, whenever it pleases, to whomever it pleases. Those statements are an absolute denial of God's sovereignty. Let me say this again, folks, if you do not acknowledge God as your absolute sovereign. Then you're going to play sovereignty in some other entity, and usually it is civil government.

[John Weaver] Now, let me remind you of a simple fact again. God has created only three institutions. He created the family as a ministry of education, he created the church as a ministry of grace. and he created civil government as a ministry of justice. Are you listening? The family, the church, and the state, or the civil government, is each the creation of God. The creation cannot become the creator. Since God created these three institutions, He has laid down their boundaries and their limits. Just like the family cannot rebel and become the creator or the sovereign. And just like the church cannot rebel and become the creator and the sovereign, likewise civil government cannot rebel and become the creator and the sovereign. It may attempt to do so, but it cannot do so. It is the creator who limits and confines and sets the boundaries for each institution. And whenever the family, the church, or civil government violates those boundaries, than it is in rebellion against God, and of course, ends up destroying itself.

[John Weaver] The perfect illustration is found in Adam and Eve in the garden. What did the serpent say? You need to eat this fruit. And the reason you need to eat it is because God doth know that in the day that you eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods, knowing good from evil. And what did Adam do? He took of the fruit and promptly destroyed himself and his posterity. Now, Adam attempted to be the creator. He attempted to be something other than what God had created him for.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask and answer another question before we look at 2 Kings chapter 23. I've told you that from the Bible, governments are prone to idolatry. So let's ask and answer this question. Why are civil rulers, why are civil governments prone to idolatry?

[John Weaver] Now, I'm sure there are a multitude of answers to that question, but I want to give you several to begin with. The first one is very clear. Government deals with power. When you're talking about power, you're talking about power to compel, power to force, power to destroy. Most men cannot wield power under God. Listen carefully to what I'm saying. Most men cannot wield power under God. They want to be equal to God or above God. And thus they end up abusing, misusing, or usurping that power. And when man then wants to abuse that power, he wants to play God, and he wants to make men in his image, and he wants to make men do what he would have them to do, because he's playing God.

[John Weaver] You've got to remember, folks, most of these idolatrous religions that we find in the Bible, most of them are power religions. When I say power religions, I'm talking about witchcraft, Moloch, worship, and a host of other of these false religions. They derive their power from below. In other words, if you can't get it legally, if you can't get it lawfully, if you can't get it from God, then you get it from below. You get it from the devil. They are power religions. And government deals with power. Secondly, government also deals with law.

[John Weaver] What do I mean by that? Well, it is difficult for fallen man to understand one simple truth. It is God who gives the law. You know what civil rulers are bound to do according to the word of God? Civil rulers are bound to enforce God's law, not make their own laws. The Bible says in Isaiah 33 in verse 22, For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us. Who is our lawgiver? God alone. In James 4 in verse 12, the word of God says, For there is one lawgiver who is able to save and destroy. One lawgiver. That's God. That's not Congress. That's not the president. That's not any king. Except King Jesus, no earthly king, there is one lawgiver that is able to save and destroy. Law deals with right and wrong. God determines what is right and what is wrong, but when men want to play God, they want to determine themselves what is right and what is wrong. That's exactly what Adam wanted to do back in the garden.

[John Weaver] So why are civil governments prone to idolatry? First of all, government deals with power. Secondly, government deals with law. Thirdly, governments deal with money. Lots and lots of money. All of us have heard the golden rule according to the world. He who has the gold rules. That is their mentality. According to scripture, men have become enamored with money. And what does scripture say? It is the love of money that is the root of all evil.

[John Weaver] And when you can get all of this wealth very easily by fraud or by hook or crook, and then you discover that with all this wealth, you may accumulate power and control beyond your imagination. You've got to remember this. In Revelation 18 and verse 13, Scripture deals with those civil rulers who deal in the souls of men. Would you stop and think about this? You think just of the people in America.

[John Weaver] You don't have to go to Russia. You don't have to go to China. You don't have to go to Africa. Just think of the people in America who have been subsidized and lobotomized and corrupted by governmental pottage and subsidies.

[John Weaver] Now, if you're still not convinced that government is one of the prime movers on idolatry, I'm going to show you that from the scripture. And we're also going to see probably some of their motives. In fact, you're going to find that usually their motives are very selfish, very crass, and even their false worship is never sincere. It's always there for a purpose, and that purpose is control.

[John Weaver] Now, let's look in our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23, and I want to take our time and go down through this and show you not only this passage, but several others. In fact, I've been reading through 2 Chronicles this week, and if I had time, I could show you a multitude of passages in 2 Chronicles that will tie right in with this passage. But notice, if you would, 2 Kings chapter 23, and look at verse 4 to begin with.

[John Weaver] Here's what the scripture says. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven. And he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel."

[John Weaver] Now, when you read that, You have to ask yourself a question. How in the world did all of these vessels for Baal and the grove get into the house of God? These vessels were inside the temple. Now remember, the grove was Asherah, or Asherah, or Venus, a sex goddess, and she was worshipped as the consort of Baal. So ask yourself this question. How did all of these vessels and all of these things get into the temple of God? Now, remember, the temple of God was to be a sacred place. It was a house that was set aside for the one true and the living God who revealed himself in Jesus Christ. And now you have his house, which had been dedicated for his honor and his glory back in first Kings chapter eight.

[John Weaver] Now it is filled with all the vessels of all the false gods under heaven. How in the world could the house of God become so corrupted? Well, look in verse five, I'm asking that question and we're going to answer it. And he were still talking about the king. Now we're talking about. The one who's willing to do what is right. And he put down the idolatrous priests. Are you looking now?

[John Weaver] whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places, in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem, them also that burned incense in the veil, to the sun, to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven." Now in verse 5 we read about all of these idolatrous priests. Now an idolatrous priest is either a priest that is not of the tribe of Levi, Or they were apostate priests of the tribe of Levi who were priests to all of these false gods. So these apostate priests then are priests who were not appointed by God, nor did they meet God's requirements. So if God did not appoint and ordain these priests, then you have to ask, who did? Who appointed them? Who made them? Certainly not the people. The people did not have power to make a man a priest. Look in verse 5 again. And he put down the idolatrous priest whom the kings of Judah had ordained. Who put these apostate, wicked priests in power?

[John Weaver] The civil rulers. They put them there. They alone had the power to make them and to make sure that their demands were met. I mean, after all, if you're a king, if you have the power of life and death, then you say you either submit or die. You know, that's power still in the hands of civil government today. You either submit or die. So we're finding out it was the kings who made these.

[John Weaver] Look in verse six now. And he brought out of the grove from the house of the Lord without Jerusalem. And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord without Jerusalem unto the brook Kidron and burned it at the brook Kidron and stamped it small to powder and cast the powder there and upon the graves of the children of the people. Now, the Bible tells us that he brought out this grove, this Asherah, this carving of this goddess, sex goddess, out of the house of the Lord. How in the world did this thing get into God's house? Well, I tell you what, look back in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Kings chapter 15.

[John Weaver] Let me show you something else. 1 Kings chapter 15. At least King Asa had a little sense. In 1 Kings 15, verse 13, look what King Asa did. Verse 12 says, And he took away the Sodomites out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. That is, the civil rulers. And also Maacah, his mother, even her he removed from being queen because she had made an idol in her grove and Asa destroyed her idol and burned it by the brook Kidron. Here was the queen who had an idol of Asherah. Oh, look in your Bibles to 1 Kings 16, verse 33. You'll find another king, 1 Kings 16, verse 33, and Ahab made a grove And Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. So King Ahab had an Asherah himself. He had an idol of this sex goddess. And then if you look in 2 Kings chapter 21 and verse 7, 2 Kings 21 and verse 7, we're told here that it is King Manasseh who put this idol in the temple.

[John Weaver] 2 Kings 21 verse 7, and he, that is King Manasseh, set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house of which the Lord said to David and to the Solomon his son, in this house and in Jerusalem which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel will I put my name forever. It was King Manasseh that put the image of the grove in the house of the Lord.

[John Weaver] The point I'm trying to make in this is this. Every time you see this happening, it is civil rulers. It's not the people.

[John Weaver] Now, it's true the people were guilty of following these false idols and worshipping them, but it was the kings and queens who were instituting them. Look in verse 7 of 2 Kings chapter 23. 2 Kings 23 verse 7. and he break down the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for their grove." Now, an interesting thing as you read in this passage, not only are all of these vessels to Baal and Asherah in the house of God, but now you find that the Sodomites and the prostitutes are either by it or in it as well. And he'd break down the houses of the sodomites, plural by the way, the houses of the sodomites that were by the house of the Lord.

[John Weaver] They were close to it. Where the women wove hangings for the grove.

[John Weaver] Now, you've got to remember, since the grove was inside the temple, that's where the idol was, evidently the sodomites and the religious prostitutes went into the temple to perform their functions. How did these sodomites get into the temple? Well, if you read 2 Kings chapter 21, you once again find out it was King Manasseh. He was the one who placed that idol of the grove in the temple, and it was Manasseh who allowed the sodomites and the prostitutes in the temple. where the women wove hangings for the grove. You know, the word hangings actually means little tents.

[John Weaver] So what were they doing? They were giving these little tents. To people who wanted to go into the temple. For sex. Male and female, it didn't matter. I mean, you've got to remember, this is inside the temple. Who has the power? To make prostitution and sodomy legal, not lawful, but legal, who has the power to do that? Only civil rulers. Only civil rulers. We should learn at this point, and I want to emphasize this, that the usual culprits in leading the people into idolatry are their civil rulers. They are the only ones that can legalize sin. They can't make it lawful, but they can legalize it. Do you understand that sodomy and prostitution are closely connected to and are always involved in the power religions. What are politicians and civil rulers concerned about? Power. Control. And I might point out control is a key word. You've got to consider, folks, how the sects, any and all kinds, are involved in Satanism, black magic, and the occult. Why? Because it's a power religion.

[John Weaver] I read today, and it was a headline yesterday, how the Europeans are paying big money for barnyard sex, bestiality, horses, cows. All of this is from the occult. It is a power religion. That's what those sodomites, that's what those prostitutes were doing in the temple, because the philosophy is if you can't get power from above, you get power from below and it works out with control.

[John Weaver] Now, look in verse 10, 2 Kings 23 and verse 10. The Bible says, and he defiled Tophet. which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech."

[John Weaver] Now, verse 10 deals with Moloch worship, and let me just tell you that you will find the word Moloch pronounced and spelled differently throughout the Bible. Moloch, Melech, Milcom, Malcom, it's all the same. Now, Moloch worship dealt with the sacrificing and dedication of children. Now, you'll remember the Bible says in verse 10, and he defiled Tophet. The word Tophet means literally to roll as a drum. Because Moloch was a metal false god, usually made of brass or something like this, He was standing like this with his arms out.

[John Weaver] There was a huge fire that was built beneath him. And when his arms and his hands were red, scorching hot, they would place a little baby in his hands and the baby then would roll down his arms into his stomach. where, of course, he would be consumed in the flames. And they played the drums, they rolled the drums to cover the screams and the cries of the child as he is being literally burned to death. Now, sometimes, not all children were burned to death. Sometimes, they were taken and just passed over the heat of Moloch's arms in the act of purification and dedication, and thus now their lives are given to him, usually as a prostitute, male or female, in honor of Moloch and in honor of his worship.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you a quote from Adam Clark. Adam Clark, in his commentary, in talking about the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, says this, It is here said that Josiah defiled this place that no man might make his son or daughter to pass through the fire. He destroyed the image of Moloch and so polluted the place where he stood, or his temple, that it was rendered in every way abominable. The Rabbins say that Toph had had its name from Toph, a drum, because the instruments of this kind were used to drown the cries of the children that were put into the burning arms of Moloch to be scorched to death.

[John Weaver] This may be true as also the following definition. Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hiddom, was a place near Jerusalem where the filth and awful of the city were thrown, and where a constant fire was kept up to consume the wretched remains of executed criminals. It was a human shambles, a public chopping block, where the arms and legs of men and women were quartered off by the thousands.

[John Weaver] And this is where Moloch Let me ask a question. Since Moloch worship is so vile and so wicked, since it involves the offering of human sacrifice, and since it is condemned by God all through scripture, Would you like to take a guess as to who it was that introduced Moloch worship into the land of Israel? It was King Solomon. You'll find that in First Kings chapter 11. First Kings chapter 11.

[John Weaver] And look, if you would please, at verse 5 and then at verse 7. First Kings chapter 11, verse 5. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, or Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites, verse 7. Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. Who built it? King Solomon.

[John Weaver] Who introduced it in the land? A civil ruler. Are you getting the picture that civil rulers are prone to idolatry? Go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23 and look at verse 11. 2 Kings chapter 23 and verse 11. Josiah is certainly reforming the land. And verse 11 says he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun. at the entering into the house of the Lord by the chamber of Nathan-Milek, the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire." What? Judahites? People of Judah worshipping the sun? Oh, yes. Yes. Listen to what John Gill, in his commentary, had to say about this sun worship. He said, the kings that gave them, that is the horses and chariots, for the service of the sun and for the sacrifice to it were probably Manasseh and Ammon. That horses were sacred to the sun with many heathen nations as the Massingate, a people in Scythia, and the Persians and the Babylonians and the Ethiopians is affirmed by various riders.

[John Weaver] These horses were provided for the worshippers of the sun to ride upon and to meet the sun in the morning at its rising and to pay their homage to it. But certain it is that he, the nations before mentioned, slew the horses and sacrificed them as burnt offerings to the sun, as is asserted in the list of many of the ancient riders." And he says, people of India did the same thing, and sacrificing the horses to Apollo, the same as the sun, these being the swiftest of the creatures, they offered them to the swiftest of their gods, as Herodotus and Heliodorus observed, and the places before referred to. The stables in which these horses were kept were at the entering in of the house of the Lord, and were kept by a chamberlain.

[John Weaver] and the suburbs reached from there throughout in Jerusalem. So here then are kings of Judah who have given horses and chariots for the worship of the sun. And you know, it is interesting how God required each king to have his own copy of the law. and to read therein every day. For these kings did not do so. And they led their people into idolatry.

[John Weaver] Now, look at verse 12. This is a passage that just should shock you. And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, Did the king beat down and break them down from the fence and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron?" Now we're talking about a chamber that Ahaz has made. We're also reading about altars that Ahaz and Manasseh and other kings have made, and these false altars are put into the temple. Now, when you go back and read First Kings chapter eight, when Solomon built the temple and dedicated the temple, you're not going to find a chamber of Ahaz in the temple. And you're not going to find all these other false altars in the temple as well. How did these false altars get into the temple? Well, let me show you a couple of them. Look in your Bibles to Second Kings chapter 16.

[John Weaver] You know. You know, I hate to say it. And I know it's because of their depravity, I know it's because of their loss condition, but it seems like civil rulers have a propensity to stupidity. I mean, that is historically true, but let me show you one that was really stupid. 2 Kings chapter 16, and let's begin reading there with verse 5. Watch carefully.

[John Weaver] Now, remember, we're reading about the chamber of Ahaz and the altar that he built that got in the temple. Then Rezan, king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war, and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. And at that time, Rezan, king of Syria, recovered Elof to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elof, and the Syrians came to Elof and dwelt there unto this day. So Ahaz, king Ahaz, sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant, and thy son, come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.

[John Weaver] And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and did not send his own. by the way, and in the treasures of the king's house, he got most of it from the house of the Lord first, and he sent it for the presence of the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened them, for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, and care of the people of it kept it to Ker and slew and King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it according to all the workmanship thereof. And Uriah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent him from Damascus. So Uriah the priest made it against King Ahaz, Came from Damascus and when the king was come from Damascus the king saw the altar and the king approached to the altar and offered thereon and he offered his burnt offering and his meat offering and poured his drink offering and sprinkled his blood of

[John Weaver] his peace offering upon the altar now What in the world has King Ahaz done? Syria has come against him. He's unable to defeat them. So he hires the king of Assyria. Assyria comes down. They defeat the king of Syria. He goes to Damascus to meet the king of Assyria. And there he sees an altar and he likes it. He says, that's what I'm going to worship at. The altar was unable to protect Syria from Assyria. And now he's going to take this altar that was unable to protect the Syrian people from the king of Assyria and make it his private altar. That's exactly what he did. And he sent the pattern and the high priest made it according to the command of the king and the king worshipped at that altar, not at God's altar.

[John Weaver] Let me show you another verse, another chapter. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles. Chapter 25. Second Chronicles 25. Look, if you would, please. Beginning there with verse 14, Second Chronicles 25, verse 14, Amaziah. He's the Thistle King, remember that. Second Chronicles, Chapter 25, notice verse 14. Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, now he has defeated the Edomites, that he brought the cubs of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to them. Wherefore, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of their hand? And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel forbear? Why shouldst thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbear, and said, I know that God is determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel."

[John Weaver] What did Amaziah do? He went and defeated the kings of Edom, and then he took their gods that couldn't even protect them, and made them his gods. Stupidity must run in the family of civil rulers. Blows my mind. And if you look back in your Bibles to Second Kings chapter 21 again, verses four and five. It was King Manasseh. That put alters of every kind. Into the house of God, notice Second Kings chapter 21. at verses four and five. Now, we're talking about King Manasseh. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said in Jerusalem, will I put my name? And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

[John Weaver] He wanted to worship the sun or the moon or the stars or anybody. He made up an altar. Who put those altars in the temple? The king. The civil rulers go back to 2nd Kings chapter 23. In verses 13 and 14, and there you're going to find the altars and images that Solomon had built for his wives. 2nd Kings 23, verse 13, and the high places that were for Jerusalem that were on the right hand of the Mount of corruption, which Solomon, the king of Israel had built it for Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Zidonians and for Chemosh. the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom or Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile, and he break in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and fill their places with the bones of men." Now, this passage just speaks about all the altars that Solomon built for his wives. The Mount of Corruption refers to the Mount of Olives where these altars and were built. The Mount of Olives had three summits and King Solomon places altars on the middle summit.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note as we go through this passage. It's not the people who are introducing idolatry into the land. It is always the civil rulers. They have the power, the money and the position to do so.

[John Weaver] Now look in verse 15. Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he break down, and burn the high place, and stamp it small to powder, and burn the grove." Now, 2 Kings 23 and verse 15 tells us about Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Now, Jeroboam the son of Nebat was one of the first kings of Israel. that led Israel into idolatry.

[John Weaver] Let me show you how and why he did it. Go back in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12. And let's begin reading there with verse 25. 1 Kings chapter 12, verse 25.

[John Weaver] Watch carefully, 1 Kings 12, verse 25, Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went out from Phins and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. Remember he had taken ten tribes away from Rehoboam. Solomon's son had left Rehoboam two tribes. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David, if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord of Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto the Lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel and made two calves of gold and said unto them, to the people, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] Behold, I God so Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made a house of high priests, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

[John Weaver] And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like in the feast that is in Judah. And he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made, And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel. And he offered upon the altar and burnt incense."

[John Weaver] Now, there are several things you need to understand about this passage. First, I want you to note that this idolatry was a deliberately planned and premeditated act by Jeroboam and his counselors. Look at it in verse 28. Wherefore, the king took what? Counsel and made two cans of gold. So this thing is deliberate. Second, I want you to note in verse 27, He was willing to sell the people into idolatry for personal gain and selfish reasons. Verse 27, if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord of Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their Lord, even to Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill me. Now, what did Jeroboam realize?

[John Weaver] He was not of a lineage of David. He said, I can't let these people go down to worship Jerusalem. If they go down there, eventually their hearts going to turn back to Rehoboam. And I'm going to be dead. What's going to happen to my kingdom? What's going to happen to my power, my position? What about my sons? What about my dynasty? Have you ever known a politician that once he got in power, that didn't want to stay in power? And he's willing to sell the whole nation into idolatry just so he can stay in power. Thirdly, I want you to know this. He appealed to the selfishness of the people and made it appear that he was only interested in their care and comfort. Look in verse 28. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two cans of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] Behold, I God so Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Oh, you don't have to go to Jerusalem. That is so far. That is so expensive. It is so inconvenient. No, no, no. You may worship here with comfort and convenience and no expense to you. We're just concerned about you. We're looking out for your best interest. Hello, I'm from the government and I'm here to help you. That was the mentality. Fourth. He ordained false prophets and false feast days and a false worship, according to verse 33, that he devised according to his own heart. God was not in it.

[John Weaver] Scripture was not in it. He designed it. Fifth, one can see the royal authority and position being used again to influence and sway the people. If you want to please the king, if you want governmental contracts, if you want governmental subsidies, if you want his blessing, what do you do? You go to church where he goes to church. When it came to Jeroboam II, let me show you how this really came into play. When Amos was prophesying against Jeroboam II, the statist priest said to Amos, prophesy not anymore at Bethel, for it is the king's chapel and it is the king's court. So the king's rule and the king's religion had become one.

[John Weaver] You're either for me or against me. And if you're for me, you'll worship where I worship.

[John Weaver] Now, before I close today, I want to show you two methods that civil rulers use to lead a people into idolatry. If you'll go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings, chapter 17, and look at verse 21, you'll see the word that is used there for Jeroboam, son of Nebat. 2 Kings, chapter 17, and look, if you would please, at verse 21. Are you ready? 2 Kings, 17, verse 21. For he rent Israel from the house of David, And they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Are you looking now? And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord and made them sin a great sin. The word drove, or drove, as we would say, means to drive, to compel, to thrust with force. That is, Jeroboam drove them physically, financially, emotionally, and any other way possible into worshiping the calves that he designed, he forced them into it.

[John Weaver] You either worship here or you die. Or you worship here or you don't go down south to Judah. You either worship here or you do without. I'm the king. He drove them. was the main ingredient. And he was going to use force to accomplish his purpose. Now, force does not always work, and it does not always work with some people. By the way, a lot of people at this time left Israel and came to Judah and Benjamin because of this.

[John Weaver] But if you look in your Bibles to 2 Kings 21 and verse 9, you'll see the ploy that Manasseh used. Manasseh was more cunning. In 2 Kings chapter 21 in verse 9, the Bible says this, But they hearkened not, that is, they did not hearken to God and to God's law. And Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel. Note, Manasseh seduced them.

[John Weaver] Now, the word seduced means to cause to stagger, to cause to go astray or to vacillate. He debauched the people by seduction, by his encouragement, by his examples, by his program.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. Here's exactly what it means and here's exactly where we are today. There are plenty of people in this country that are professing Christians. That really would like to take a stand and would really would want to come out strong on behalf of Jesus Christ, but. They understand if they do, then they're going to upset the powers that be. Do you see the vacillation? Do you see the seduction? In other words, we want to do right, but we are afraid to do right. We want to please God, but we don't want to suffer. We want to obey the Lord, but we don't want to have to lose everything that we worked for. Oh, we want to honor Christ, but we don't want to go to jail. Who is it? that causes people to vacillate and waver back and forth. Government. Because government has the power either to use force or to seduce.

[John Weaver] And say, if you go along with us, look what all we can do for you and look what all we will do for you. Why? I mean, come on. We've got government faith programs in this country. And if you will sign up and be one of our state churches, we will give you funds for your faith. So. Here we are. Let me show you another word, look in your Bibles, the second Chronicles 21. Second Chronicles 21. And look at verse 11. Second Chronicles 21 and verse 11. Here is a parallel verse in reference to King Joram and what he did.

[John Weaver] Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication and compelled Judah there too. You will worship my gods. Look in verse 13. God says,"...but hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a-whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab. And also thou hast slain the brethren of thy father's house, who were better than thyself." Note, if you would, God says He forced the children into idolatry.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something, folks. When you and I think of a tyrant, we think of a wicked, strong-armed despot who says, you will do what I say or you will die. But if you will look up the definition of a tyrant, you will also find that he is one who uses lawful power unlawfully. A tyrant may get into office lawfully. But then he may use that lawful power unlawfully, and he's still a tyrant.

[John Weaver] Now let me just try to tie together with some applications what I'm showing you. It should be no question as to this truth that civil governments are leaders in idolatry. What is amazing to me is this, that the American people cannot see That political correctness is another religion. Political correctness is another religion. It is idolatry. It is a state religion. It is a seeking to please man and not God.

[John Weaver] It is developing an attitude that is contrary to Scripture. What does Scripture require of us in 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 5? That every thought of ours be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. And yet, political correctness says no. Pluralism, multiculturalism, multireligiousism. Well, they are all equally fine. It is all idolatry. and political correctness is designed to lead people away from the Word of God and to make them to do and follow what government thinks best and not what God says is best. Governments are prone to idolatry because they want the power, the prestige, the position and the prominence, and I could add preeminence, that belongs to God alone.

[John Weaver] The second application is this. Throughout history, it has been government that has led the people in forsaking scripture and the one true and the living God. And you will find, if you will study scripture, and if you will study history, most of the civil rulers did it for purely selfish reasons. They were not concerned about the people. They were concerned with their own party. with their own power, with their own position. The last one is this.

[John Weaver] I want to read a quote from the Alabama Constitution, Article 1, Section 35. Here it is. The sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when government assumes other functions, it is usurpation and oppression. As Alabama Constitution, Article 1, Section 35, Romans 13 says the only thing that God has ordained government for is to punish the wicked and protect the righteous. And I can say truthfully, when government assumes any other function, it is usurpation and oppression.

[John Weaver] The leading culprits and idolatry are always civil rulers. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your love and for your grace and for your mercy. We pray that you would teach us, open our eyes, give us understanding that we may serve thee and worship the one true and living God as he has revealed himself in scripture. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Civil Rulers & Idolatry - 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	10310684355
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Christian & Civil Government
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-09-24
Dictation Name
Book	Book 018: Civil Rulers & Idolatry — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	87

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Context

Weaver introduces the two-part message on civil rulers and idolatry, referencing previous sermons and books, and reads 2 Kings 23:1-15 to set the stage.

We're going to open our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23. 2 Kings chapter 23. And as you're turning there, let me point out that once again, I will be away out west for October the 7th and October the 15th. And I would encourage you to pray for those meetings and for travel mercies. So we're going in our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23. And let me point out that this is going to be Part 1 of a two-part message. I'm going to be dealing with the title, Civil Rulers and Idolatry. Civil Rulers and Idolatry. So let's begin reading with 2 Kings 23, verse 1.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 23:1-15

And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the hosts of heaven. And he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them into Bethel. And he put down the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem, them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven. And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. And he broke down the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove. And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense from Geva to Beersheba, and broke down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on

a man's left hand at the gate of the city. Nevertheless, the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren. And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun at the entering in the house of the Lord by the chamber of Nathan Melech, the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down and break them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into Brook Kidron. And the high places that were before Jerusalem that were on the right hand on the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtaroth, the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom, the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king

defile. And he break in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men. Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place, he break down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. So this message is part one, then, on civil rulers and idolatry. Now, many years ago, I brought two messages along this vein. One was entitled, Statism is Idolatry, and the other one was titled, The Biblical Attitude Toward Ungodly Rulers. Now, it is certainly not my intent to re-preach those messages. However, I do intend to build upon them. It may be necessary to give you one or two important points from them, but I'm certainly not going to re-preach them. And of course, those of you who have read my two books, The Christian and Civil Government, and The Sovereignty of God and Civil Government, are still a further development of this theme. When I read through 2 Kings chapter 23, all of this just simply jumped out again.

The Broad Definition of Idolatry

Idolatry is not limited to bowing to graven images; covetousness is idolatry, and any unbiblical thought about God constitutes idolatry, beginning in the imagination.

It seems as if we cannot escape the graven image mentality, that we have to think that we must have a graven image in front of us in order for there to be idolatry. But let me point out the fact that idolatry is exceedingly broad. Without you turning there, if you were to read from Colossians 3 and verse 5, and Ephesians 5 and verse 5, you will find this statement. Covetousness is idolatry. Isn't that amazing? Covetousness is idolatry. You do not have to have a physical image in order to be an idolater. In other words, if you are a covetous individual in any area of your life, then God says you are an idolater. So one does not need to bow down to a graven image to be an idolater. The very word image comes from the word imagination. In fact, if you would look in your Bibles, very quickly, to the book of Romans chapter 1 and verse 21, you will see what these wicked, ungodly reprobates began to do. Notice, if you would please, in Romans chapter 1 and verse 21, the Word of God makes this very clear.

Romans 1 it is, and verse 21, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:21-23

"Because that 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."

Now, I want you to note, God says first they were vain in their imaginations, then in verse 22,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:21-23

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,"

verse 23,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:21-23

"and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things."

The point I want to emphasize is this, that the imagination precedes the image. You may be an idolater in your mind well before there is ever a physical image. Now, the truth of the matter is this. Whenever you think unscripturally and unbiblically toward God, you are an idolater. The only God that exists is the God of the Bible that has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. All other gods are merely figments of man's imagination, and therefore they are idols. And let me just point this out, to the degree that you think unbiblically toward the one true and the living God who's revealed himself in the Bible, to that degree, you also are an idolater.

Now, we've got to understand a simple truth. Automobiles do not begin in Detroit or any other city. Automobiles begin in the mind of an engineer somewhere. It's just the plant that puts them together. Likewise, idolatry always begins in the mind, and it may stay there, especially for a long period of time, without revealing itself in a physical manner. So therefore, we must make sure that our thoughts are right concerning God, and that we are thinking biblical thoughts, those thoughts that He has revealed in His Word, in order that we might honor Him and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Man's Natural Proneness to Idolatry

Unsaved man is prone to idolatry, often worshiping himself or imaginary gods, and many professing Christians lack a biblical concept of God.

Now, let me carefully point out this fact as well. Man by nature, that is unsaved man, is prone to idolatry. Normally, he either worships himself or some god of his imagination. It is only as we are convicted and converted as individuals that we begin to see and understand the full extent of our idolatry. Do you realize the average American considers himself or herself a Christian and yet has no concept, no biblical concept of God, of Christ, of sin, or salvation? I never will forget, I was preaching in Illinois and I saw this little teenage girl and I was witnessing to her and I asked her, was she a Christian? And she said, I don't know. She said, I'll have to ask my mother. Well, I knew immediately, of course, she was not. I said, will you ask your mother? Because I was going to see the child the next day. And the next day I said, well, did you ask your mother? Are you a Christian? She said, yes, I did. I said, well, what was your mother's response? She said, well, of course, we're Christians. We live in America, don't we? That was their understanding of being a Christian, living in America. You can live in America and certainly not be a Christian. That is certainly true and very obviously and patently true. But the average professing Christian has no biblical concept of God.

Unsaved men are prone to idolatry. But let me show you there is an entity that is taught in the Bible that is even more prone to idolatry than just simply unsaved men as individuals. And that entity is civil government. Governments, or civil rulers, those who are in authority, oftentimes willingly, readily, knowingly, purposely, and deliberately lead their people into idolatry.

Civil Government's Greater Proneness to Idolatry

Civil rulers are even more prone to idolatry than individuals, as they often deliberately lead people into false worship.

Now, how do we know that? Well, the answer is very simple. The Bible tells us so. History verifies it, and practical observation attest to the truth.

The Sovereignty of God as Foundational Truth

God alone is sovereign; denying His sovereignty leads to replacing Him with another false sovereign, usually civil government.

There may be individuals who are striving for sovereignty and fighting for sovereignty and want sovereignty. But there can only be one Sovereign, and one Absolute, and one Ultimate at the time. And that one Sovereign is God Himself. God has never been unseated. He has never abdicated. He has never been voted out of office. And He will never be voted out of office, for He always was, always is, and always shall be the only true and living Sovereign God of the universe. So marker down, God is sovereign and Him alone.

All of those who wish to dethrone Him shall be destroyed. They may seek after His sovereignty, but they will never acquire it. Now, let me tell you why I'm emphasizing this truth. Because everyone must have a sovereign. Whether you're saved or unsaved, you must have a sovereign. Society nor individuals can exist without a law system. What does that mean? That means you must have a law system. Are you listening? And you must have someone with authority to give you that law system. So when God as the absolute sovereign is denied, what His law system is denied is only so that you may elevate yourself or someone else or something else as sovereign in His place. So God's sovereignty is only denied in order that it might be replaced with another false sovereignty. Whenever men deny God's absolute sovereignty, it is so that they may place sovereignty either in themselves or some other entity. And usually the other entity that sovereignty is invested with is civil government.

Now listen to me very carefully. Each of us have heard these old cliches. You can't fight City Hall. They can do whatever they please. Well, if you don't submit, they'll destroy you. Do you realize when those cliches are used, the people who are using them are saying that government is sovereign and that government can do as it pleases, whenever it pleases, to whomever it pleases. Those statements are an absolute denial of God's sovereignty. Let me say this again, folks, if you do not acknowledge God as your absolute sovereign, then you're going to place sovereignty in some other entity, and usually it is civil government.

God's Three Institutions and Their Boundaries

God created family, church, and civil government with defined limits; when any institution rebels and seeks sovereignty, it destroys itself.

Now, let me remind you of a simple fact again. God has created only three institutions. He created the family as a ministry of education, He created the church as a ministry of grace, and He created civil government as a ministry of justice. Are you listening? The family, the church, and the state, or the civil government, is each the creation of God. The creation cannot become the creator. Since God created these three institutions, He has laid down their boundaries and their limits. Just like the family cannot rebel and become the creator or the sovereign, and just like the church cannot rebel and become the creator and the sovereign, likewise civil government cannot rebel and become the creator and the sovereign. It may attempt to do so, but it cannot do so. It is the creator who limits and confines and sets the boundaries for each institution. And whenever the family, the church, or civil government violates those boundaries, then it is in rebellion against God, and of course, ends up destroying itself.

The perfect illustration is found in Adam and Eve in the garden. What did the serpent say? You need to eat this fruit. And the reason you need to eat it is because God doth know that in the day that you eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods, knowing good from evil. And what did Adam do? He took of the fruit and promptly destroyed himself and his posterity. Now, Adam attempted to be the creator. He attempted to be something other than what God had created him for.

Now, let me ask and answer another question before we look at 2 Kings chapter 23. I've told you that from the Bible, governments are prone to idolatry. So let's ask and answer this question. Why are civil rulers, why are civil governments prone to idolatry?

Why Civil Governments Are Prone to Idolatry

Governments deal with power, law, and money, which tempt rulers to play God, make their own laws, and use wealth for control.

Now, I'm sure there are a multitude of answers to that question, but I want to give you several to begin with. The first one is very clear. Government deals with power. When you're talking about power, you're talking about power to compel, power to force, power to destroy. Most men cannot wield power under God. Listen carefully to what I'm saying. Most men cannot wield power under God. They want to be equal to God or above God. And thus they end up abusing, misusing, or usurping that power. And when man then wants to abuse that power, he wants to play God, and he wants to make men in his image, and he wants to make men do what he would have them to do, because he's playing God.

You've got to remember, folks, most of these idolatrous religions that we find in the Bible, most of them are power religions. When I say power religions, I'm talking about witchcraft, Moloch worship, and a host of other of these false religions. They derive their power from below. In other words, if you can't get it legally, if you can't get it lawfully, if you can't get it from God, then you get it from below. You get it from the devil. They are power religions. And government deals with power. Secondly, government also deals with law.

What do I mean by that? Well, it is difficult for fallen man to understand one simple truth. It is God who gives the law. You know what civil rulers are bound to do according to the word of God? Civil rulers are bound to enforce God's law, not make their own laws. The Bible says in Isaiah 33 and verse 22,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 33:22

"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us."

Who is our lawgiver? God alone. In James 4 and verse 12, the word of God says, "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy." One lawgiver. That's God. That's not Congress. That's not the president. That's not any king. Except King Jesus, no earthly king, there is one lawgiver that is able to save and destroy. Law deals with right and wrong. God determines what is right and what is wrong, but when men want to play God, they want to determine themselves what is right and what is wrong. That's exactly what Adam wanted to do back in the garden.

So why are civil governments prone to idolatry? First of all, government deals with power. Secondly, government deals with law. Thirdly, governments deal with money. Lots and lots of money. All of us have heard the golden rule according to the world. He who has the gold rules. That is their mentality. According to scripture, men have become enamored with money. And what does scripture say? It is the love of money that is the root of all evil.

And when you can get all of this wealth very easily by fraud or by hook or crook, and then you discover that with all this wealth, you may accumulate power and control beyond your imagination. You've got to remember this. In Revelation 18 and verse 13, Scripture deals with those civil rulers who deal in the souls of men. Would you stop and think about this? You think just of the people in America. You don't have to go to Russia. You don't have to go to China. You don't have to go to Africa. Just think of the people in America who have been subsidized and lobotomized and corrupted by governmental pottage and subsidies.

Now, if you're still not convinced that government is one of the prime movers on idolatry, I'm going to show you that from the scripture. And we're also going to see probably some of their motives. In fact, you're going to find that usually their motives are very selfish, very crass, and even their false worship is never sincere. It's always there for a purpose, and that purpose is control.

Biblical Examples of Civil Rulers Introducing Idolatry

Kings of Judah and Israel, such as Manasseh, Ahaz, Amaziah, Solomon, and Jeroboam, introduced false worship, idols, and altars into the temple and land for selfish reasons.

Here's what the scripture says. "And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven. And he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel." Now, when you read that, you have to ask yourself a question. How in the world did all of these vessels for Baal and the grove get into the house of God? These vessels were inside the temple. Now remember, the grove was Asherah, or Asherah, or Venus, a sex goddess, and she was worshipped as the consort of Baal. So ask yourself this question. How did all of these vessels and all of these things get into the temple of God? Now, remember, the temple of God was to be a sacred place. It was a house that was set aside for the one true and the living God who revealed himself in Jesus Christ. And now you have his house, which had been dedicated for his honor and his glory back in 1 Kings chapter 8.

Now it is filled with all the vessels of all the false gods under heaven. How in the world could the house of God become so corrupted? Well, look in verse 5, I'm asking that question and we're going to answer it. "And he"—we're still talking about the king. Now we're talking about the one who's willing to do what is right. "And he put down the idolatrous priests." Are you looking now? "whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places, in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem, them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven." Now in verse 5 we read about all of these idolatrous priests. Now an idolatrous priest is either a priest that is not of the tribe of Levi, or they were apostate priests of the tribe of Levi who were priests to all of these false gods. So these apostate priests then are priests who were not appointed by God, nor did they meet God's requirements. So if God did not appoint and ordain these priests, then you have to ask, who did? Who appointed them? Who made them? Certainly not the people. The people did not have power to make a man a priest. Look in verse 5 again. "And he put down the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained." Who put these apostate, wicked priests in power?

The civil rulers. They put them there. They alone had the power to make them and to make sure that their demands were met. I mean, after all, if you're a king, if you have the power of life and death, then you say you either submit or die. You know, that's power still in the hands of civil government today. You either submit or die. So we're finding out it was the kings who made these.

Look in verse 6 now.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 15:12-13

"And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people."

Now, the Bible tells us that he brought out this grove, this Asherah, this carving of this goddess, sex goddess, out of the house of the Lord. How in the world did this thing get into God's house? Well, I tell you what, look back in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Kings chapter 15. Let me show you something else. 1 Kings chapter 15. At least King Asa had a little sense. In 1 Kings 15, verse 13, look what King Asa did. Verse 12 says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 15:12-13

"And he took away the Sodomites out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made."

That is, the civil rulers.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 15:12-13

"And also Maacah, his mother, even her he removed from being queen because she had made an idol in her grove and Asa destroyed her idol and burned it by the brook Kidron."

Here was the queen who had an idol of Asherah. Oh, look in your Bibles to 1 Kings 16, verse 33. You'll find another king, 1 Kings 16, verse 33, "And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." So King Ahab had an Asherah himself. He had an idol of this sex goddess. And then if you look in 2 Kings chapter 21 and verse 7, 2 Kings 21 and verse 7, we're told here that it is King Manasseh who put this idol in the temple.

2 Kings 21 verse 7, "And he," that is King Manasseh, "set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 21:7

" It was King Manasseh that put the image of the grove in the house of the Lord. The point I'm trying to make in this is this. Every time you see this happening, it is civil rulers. It's not the people.

Now, it's true the people were guilty of following these false idols and worshipping them, but it was the kings and queens who were instituting them. Look in verse 7 of 2 Kings chapter 23. 2 Kings 23 verse 7, "And he break down the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove." Now, an interesting thing as you read in this passage, not only are all of these vessels to Baal and Asherah in the house of God, but now you find that the Sodomites and the prostitutes are either by it or in it as well. "And he break down the houses of the Sodomites"—plural, by the way—"the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord." They were close to it. "Where the women wove hangings for the grove."

Now, you've got to remember, since the grove was inside the temple, that's where the idol was, evidently the sodomites and the religious prostitutes went into the temple to perform their functions. How did these sodomites get into the temple? Well, if you read 2 Kings chapter 21, you once again find out it was King Manasseh. He was the one who placed that idol of the grove in the temple, and it was Manasseh who allowed the sodomites and the prostitutes in the temple. "Where the women wove hangings for the grove." You know, the word hangings actually means little tents.

So what were they doing? They were giving these little tents to people who wanted to go into the temple for sex. Male and female, it didn't matter. I mean, you've got to remember, this is inside the temple. Who has the power to make prostitution and sodomy legal, not lawful, but legal, who has the power to do that? Only civil rulers. Only civil rulers. We should learn at this point, and I want to emphasize this, that the usual culprits in leading the people into idolatry are their civil rulers. They are the only ones that can legalize sin. They can't make it lawful, but they can legalize it. Do you understand that sodomy and prostitution are closely connected to and are always involved in the power religions. What are politicians and civil rulers concerned about? Power. Control. And I might point out control is a key word. You've got to consider, folks, how the sects, any and all kinds, are involved in Satanism, black magic, and the occult. Why? Because it's a power religion.

I read today, and it was a headline yesterday, how the Europeans are paying big money for barnyard sex, bestiality, horses, cows. All of this is from the occult. It is a power religion. That's what those sodomites, that's what those prostitutes were doing in the temple, because the philosophy is if you can't get power from above, you get power from below and it works out with control.

Now, look in verse 10, 2 Kings 23 and verse 10. The Bible says, "And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech." Now, verse 10 deals with Moloch worship, and let me just tell you that you will find the word Moloch pronounced and spelled differently throughout the Bible. Moloch, Melech, Milcom, Malcom, it's all the same. Now, Moloch worship dealt with the sacrificing and dedication of children. Now, you'll remember the Bible says in verse 10, "and he defiled Topheth." The word Topheth means literally to roll as a drum. Because Moloch was a metal false god, usually made of brass or something like this, He was standing like this with his arms out.

There was a huge fire that was built beneath him. And when his arms and his hands were red, scorching hot, they would place a little baby in his hands and the baby then would roll down his arms into his stomach, where, of course, he would be consumed in the flames. And they played the drums, they rolled the drums to cover the screams and the cries of the child as he is being literally burned to death. Now, sometimes, not all children were burned to death. Sometimes, they were taken and just passed over the heat of Moloch's arms in the act of purification and dedication, and thus now their lives are given to him, usually as a prostitute, male or female, in honor of Moloch and in honor of his worship.

Now, let me give you a quote from Adam Clarke. Adam Clarke, in his commentary, in talking about the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, says this, "It is here said that Josiah defiled this place that no man might make his son or daughter to pass through the fire. He destroyed the image of Moloch and so polluted the place where he stood, or his temple, that it was rendered in every way abominable. The Rabbins say that Topheth had its name from Toph, a drum, because the instruments of this kind were used to drown the cries of the children that were put into the burning arms of Moloch to be scorched to death." This may be true as also the following definition. Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, was a place near Jerusalem where the filth and offal of the city were thrown, and where a constant fire was kept up to consume the wretched remains of executed criminals. It was a human shambles, a public chopping block, where the arms and legs of men and women were quartered off by the thousands.

And this is where Moloch—let me ask a question. Since Moloch worship is so vile and so wicked, since it involves the offering of human sacrifice, and since it is condemned by God all through scripture, would you like to take a guess as to who it was that introduced Moloch worship into the land of Israel? It was King Solomon. You'll find that in 1 Kings chapter 11. 1 Kings chapter 11. And look, if you would please, at verse 5 and then at verse 7. 1 Kings chapter 11, verse 5,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:5, 7

"For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom,"

or Molech,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:5, 7

"the abomination of the Ammonites,"

verse 7,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:5, 7

"Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon."

Who built it? King Solomon.

Who introduced it in the land? A civil ruler. Are you getting the picture that civil rulers are prone to idolatry? Go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23 and look at verse 11. 2 Kings chapter 23 and verse 11. Josiah is certainly reforming the land. And verse 11 says, "He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire." What? Judahites? People of Judah worshipping the sun? Oh, yes. Yes. Listen to what John Gill, in his commentary, had to say about this sun worship. He said, "The kings that gave them, that is the horses and chariots, for the service of the sun and for the sacrifice to it were probably Manasseh and Ammon. That horses were sacred to the sun with many heathen nations as the Massagetae, a people in Scythia, and the Persians and the Babylonians and the Ethiopians is affirmed by various writers."

"These horses were provided for the worshippers of the sun to ride upon and to meet the sun in the morning at its rising and to pay their homage to it. But certain it is that he," the nations before mentioned, "slew the horses and sacrificed them as burnt offerings to the sun, as is asserted in the list of many of the ancient writers." And he says, "People of India did the same thing, and sacrificing the horses to Apollo, the same as the sun, these being the swiftest of the creatures, they offered them to the swiftest of their gods, as Herodotus and Heliodorus observed, and the places before referred to. The stables in which these horses were kept were at the entering in of the house of the Lord, and were kept by a chamberlain."

"and the suburbs reached from there throughout in Jerusalem." So here then are kings of Judah who have given horses and chariots for the worship of the sun. And you know, it is interesting how God required each king to have his own copy of the law and to read therein every day. For these kings did not do so. And they led their people into idolatry.

Now, look at verse 12. This is a passage that just should shock you. "And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down and break them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron." Now we're talking about a chamber that Ahaz has made. We're also reading about altars that Ahaz and Manasseh and other kings have made, and these false altars are put into the temple. Now, when you go back and read 1 Kings chapter 8, when Solomon built the temple and dedicated the temple, you're not going to find a chamber of Ahaz in the temple. And you're not going to find all these other false altars in the temple as well. How did these false altars get into the temple? Well, let me show you a couple of them. Look in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 16.

You know, I hate to say it. And I know it's because of their depravity, I know it's because of their lost condition, but it seems like civil rulers have a propensity to stupidity. I mean, that is historically true, but let me show you one that was really stupid. 2 Kings chapter 16, and let's begin reading there with verse 5. Watch carefully.

Now, remember, we're reading about the chamber of Ahaz and the altar that he built that got in the temple. "Then Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war, and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. And at that time, Rezin, king of Syria, recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath, and the Syrians came to Elath and dwelt there unto this day. So Ahaz, king Ahaz, sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant, and thy son, come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me." "And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord," and did not send his own, by the way, "and in the treasures of the king's house," he got most of it from the house of the Lord first, "and he sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. And Uriah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent him from Damascus. So Uriah the priest made it against King Ahaz came from Damascus. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon. And he offered his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of

his peace offering upon the altar." Now, what in the world has King Ahaz done? Syria has come against him. He's unable to defeat them. So he hires the king of Assyria. Assyria comes down. They defeat the king of Syria. He goes to Damascus to meet the king of Assyria. And there he sees an altar and he likes it. He says, that's what I'm going to worship at. The altar was unable to protect Syria from Assyria. And now he's going to take this altar that was unable to protect the Syrian people from the king of Assyria and make it his private altar. That's exactly what he did. And he sent the pattern and the high priest made it according to the command of the king and the king worshipped at that altar, not at God's altar.

Let me show you another verse, another chapter. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 25. 2 Chronicles 25. Look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 14, 2 Chronicles 25, verse 14, Amaziah. He's the thistle king, remember that. 2 Chronicles, chapter 25, notice verse 14.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 25:14-16

"Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites,"

now he has defeated the Edomites,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 25:14-16

"that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to them. Wherefore, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbear, and said, I know that God is determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel."

What did Amaziah do? He went and defeated the kings of Edom, and then he took their gods that couldn't even protect them, and made them his gods. Stupidity must run in the family of civil rulers. Blows my mind. And if you look back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 21 again, verses 4 and 5, it was King Manasseh that put altars of every kind into the house of God. Notice 2 Kings chapter 21 at verses 4 and 5. Now, we're talking about King Manasseh. "And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord."

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 21:4-5

He wanted to worship the sun or the moon or the stars or anybody. He made up an altar. Who put those altars in the temple? The king. The civil rulers. Go back to 2 Kings chapter 23, in verses 13 and 14, and there you're going to find the altars and images that Solomon had built for his wives. 2 Kings 23, verse 13, "And the high places that were before Jerusalem, that were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom," or Molech, "the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. And he break in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men." Now, this passage just speaks about all the altars that Solomon built for his wives. The Mount of Corruption refers to the Mount of Olives where these altars were built. The Mount of Olives had three summits and King Solomon places altars on the middle summit.

Now, I want you to note as we go through this passage. It's not the people who are introducing idolatry into the land. It is always the civil rulers. They have the power, the money and the position to do so.

Now look in verse 15. "Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he break down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove." Now, 2 Kings 23 and verse 15 tells us about Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Now, Jeroboam the son of Nebat was one of the first kings of Israel that led Israel into idolatry. Let me show you how and why he did it. Go back in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12. And let's begin reading there with verse 25. 1 Kings chapter 12, verse 25.

Watch carefully, 1 Kings 12, verse 25,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 12:25-33

"Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David."

Remember he had taken ten tribes away from Rehoboam. Solomon's son had left Rehoboam two tribes.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 12:25-33

"And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David, if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them,"

to the people,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 12:25-33

"It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem."

"Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi." "And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah. And he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense."

Now, there are several things you need to understand about this passage. First, I want you to note that this idolatry was a deliberately planned and premeditated act by Jeroboam and his counselors. Look at it in verse 28. "Whereupon the king took" what? "counsel, and made two calves of gold." So this thing is deliberate. Second, I want you to note in verse 27, he was willing to sell the people into idolatry for personal gain and selfish reasons. Verse 27, "If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me." Now, what did Jeroboam realize?

Methods of Leading into Idolatry: Force and Seduction

Jeroboam drove Israel into idolatry by force, while Manasseh seduced them through encouragement and programs; both methods are used by governments today.

Now, before I close today, I want to show you two methods that civil rulers use to lead a people into idolatry. If you'll go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 17, and look at verse 21, you'll see the word that is used there for Jeroboam, son of Nebat. 2 Kings chapter 17, and look, if you would please, at verse 21. Are you ready? 2 Kings 17, verse 21.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:21

"For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king."

Are you looking now?

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:21

"And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin."

The word drove, or drave, as we would say, means to drive, to compel, to thrust with force. That is, Jeroboam drove them physically, financially, emotionally, and any other way possible into worshiping the calves that he designed, he forced them into it.

You either worship here or you die. Or you worship here or you don't go down south to Judah. You either worship here or you do without. I'm the king. He drove them. Force was the main ingredient. And he was going to use force to accomplish his purpose. Now, force does not always work, and it does not always work with some people. By the way, a lot of people at this time left Israel and came to Judah and Benjamin because of this.

But if you look in your Bibles to 2 Kings 21 and verse 9, you'll see the ploy that Manasseh used. Manasseh was more cunning. In 2 Kings chapter 21 in verse 9, the Bible says this,

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 21:9

"But they hearkened not:"

that is, they did not hearken to God and to God's law.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 21:9

"And Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel."

Note, Manasseh seduced them.

Now, the word seduced means to cause to stagger, to cause to go astray or to vacillate. He debauched the people by seduction, by his encouragement, by his examples, by his program. Now, let me show you. Here's exactly what it means and here's exactly where we are today. There are plenty of people in this country that are professing Christians that really would like to take a stand and really would want to come out strong on behalf of Jesus Christ, but they understand if they do, then they're going to upset the powers that be. Do you see the vacillation? Do you see the seduction? In other words, we want to do right, but we are afraid to do right. We want to please God, but we don't want to suffer. We want to obey the Lord, but we don't want to have to lose everything that we worked for. Oh, we want to honor Christ, but we don't want to go to jail. Who is it that causes people to vacillate and waver back and forth? Government. Because government has the power either to use force or to seduce.

Modern Applications and Conclusion

Political correctness is a state religion and idolatry; governments lead people from Scripture for selfish reasons; government overreach is usurpation and oppression.

Let me tell you something, folks. When you and I think of a tyrant, we think of a wicked, strong-armed despot who says, you will do what I say or you will die. But if you will look up the definition of a tyrant, you will also find that he is one who uses lawful power unlawfully. A tyrant may get into office lawfully. But then he may use that lawful power unlawfully, and he's still a tyrant.

Now let me just try to tie together with some applications what I'm showing you. It should be no question as to this truth that civil governments are leaders in idolatry. What is amazing to me is this, that the American people cannot see that political correctness is another religion. Political correctness is another religion. It is idolatry. It is a state religion. It is a seeking to please man and not God.

It is developing an attitude that is contrary to Scripture. What does Scripture require of us in 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 5? That every thought of ours be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. And yet, political correctness says no. Pluralism, multiculturalism, multireligiousism. Well, they are all equally fine. It is all idolatry. And political correctness is designed to lead people away from the Word of God and to make them to do and follow what government thinks best and not what God says is best. Governments are prone to idolatry because they want the power, the prestige, the position and the prominence, and I could add preeminence, that belongs to God alone.

The second application is this. Throughout history, it has been government that has led the people in forsaking scripture and the one true and the living God. And you will find, if you will study scripture, and if you will study history, most of the civil rulers did it for purely selfish reasons. They were not concerned about the people. They were concerned with their own party, with their own power, with their own position. The last one is this. I want to read a quote from the Alabama Constitution, Article 1, Section 35. Here it is. "The sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when government assumes other functions, it is usurpation and oppression." As Alabama Constitution, Article 1, Section 35, Romans 13 says the only thing that God has ordained government for is to punish the wicked and protect the righteous. And I can say truthfully, when government assumes any other function, it is usurpation and oppression.

The leading culprits in idolatry are always civil rulers. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your love and for your grace and for your mercy. We pray that you would teach us, open our eyes, give us understanding that we may serve thee and worship the one true and living God as he has revealed himself in scripture. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Broad Definition of Idolatry

Summary: Idolatry includes covetousness and any unbiblical thought about God, beginning in the imagination before any physical image.

Evidence: Weaver cites Colossians 3:5 and Ephesians 5:5 to show covetousness is idolatry, and Romans 1:21-23 to show imagination precedes image.

Sovereignty of God

Summary: God alone is the absolute sovereign; denying His sovereignty leads to replacing Him with civil government as a false sovereign.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God and God alone is sovereign... there can only be one sovereign,' and explains that denying God's sovereignty elevates government.

Civil Rulers as Primary Instigators of Idolatry

Summary: Throughout Scripture, it is kings and civil rulers who introduce and enforce idolatry, not the common people.

Evidence: Weaver points to 2 Kings 23:5, 1 Kings 15:13, 1 Kings 16:33, 2 Kings 21:7, and other passages showing kings ordained idolatrous priests and placed idols in the temple.

Selfish Motives of Civil Rulers

Summary: Rulers lead people into idolatry for personal gain, power, and to maintain their dynasty, not out of sincere religious conviction.

Evidence: Jeroboam's fear of losing his kingdom (1 Kings 12:27) and Ahaz's adoption of a defeated altar (2 Kings 16) illustrate selfish motives.

Methods of Leading into Idolatry: Force and Seduction

Summary: Governments use force (compulsion) or seduction (enticement) to lead people into false worship and away from God.

Evidence: 2 Kings 17:21 says Jeroboam 'drove' Israel; 2 Kings 21:9 says Manasseh 'seduced' them; both methods are seen today.

Political Correctness as Modern Idolatry

Summary: Political correctness functions as a state religion, leading people away from Scripture and toward pleasing government rather than God.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'political correctness is another religion... It is idolatry. It is a state religion.'

Key Arguments

Idolatry is broader than graven images

Summary: Idolatry includes covetousness and any unbiblical thought about God, originating in the imagination.

Evidence: Colossians 3:5 and Ephesians 5:5 equate covetousness with idolatry; Romans 1:21-23 shows imagination precedes image.

Denial of God's sovereignty leads to state idolatry

Summary: When God's absolute sovereignty is denied, people inevitably place sovereignty in civil government, making it an idol.

Evidence: Weaver argues that clichés like 'you can't fight City Hall' reflect a belief in government sovereignty, which denies God's sovereignty.

Civil rulers, not the people, introduced idolatry in Israel

Summary: Biblical evidence consistently shows that kings and queens instituted false worship, idols, and altars in the temple and land.

Evidence: 2 Kings 23:5 says kings ordained idolatrous priests; 2 Kings 21:7 says Manasseh set an image in the temple; 1 Kings 11:5-7 says Solomon built high places for false gods.

Civil rulers act from selfish motives

Summary: Rulers introduce idolatry to preserve their power, position, and dynasty, not from genuine religious devotion.

Evidence: Jeroboam feared losing his kingdom if people worshiped in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:27); Ahaz adopted a foreign altar for personal preference (2 Kings 16).

Governments use force and seduction to promote idolatry

Summary: Jeroboam drove Israel by force; Manasseh seduced Judah by enticement; both methods are used by modern governments.

Evidence: 2 Kings 17:21 uses 'drove'; 2 Kings 21:9 uses 'seduced'; Weaver applies this to modern government programs and political correctness.

Political correctness is a state religion

Summary: Political correctness demands conformity to government-approved pluralism and multiculturalism, leading people away from Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver states political correctness 'is idolatry. It is a state religion. It is a seeking to please man and not God.'

Government overreach is usurpation and oppression

Summary: When government assumes functions beyond punishing evil and protecting the righteous, it becomes tyrannical and oppressive.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Alabama Constitution Article 1, Section 35 and references Romans 13 to define legitimate government role.

Scripture References

2 Kings 23:1-15

Context: Read as the primary text showing Josiah's reforms against idolatry introduced by previous kings.

Colossians 3:5

Context: Cited to show covetousness is idolatry, broadening the definition beyond graven images.

Ephesians 5:5

Context: Cited alongside Colossians 3:5 to reinforce that covetousness is idolatry.

Romans 1:21-23

Context: Used to show that vain imaginations precede physical idolatry; idolatry begins in the mind.

Isaiah 33:22

Context: Quoted to assert that the Lord alone is lawgiver, judge, and king, not civil rulers.

James 4:12

Context: Cited to emphasize there is one lawgiver able to save and destroy, meaning God, not government.

Revelation 18:13

Context: Referenced to show civil rulers deal in the 'souls of men,' corrupting people with subsidies.

1 Kings 15:12-13

Context: King Asa removed idols his fathers (civil rulers) had made, and removed his mother for making an idol.

1 Kings 16:33

Context: Ahab made a grove (Asherah), provoking God more than all previous kings.

2 Kings 21:7

Context: Manasseh set a graven image of the grove in the temple, directly violating God's command.

1 Kings 11:5, 7

Context: Solomon built high places for Ashtoreth, Milcom (Molech), and Chemosh, introducing Molech worship.

2 Kings 16:5-16

Context: Ahaz saw an altar in Damascus, sent its pattern to Uriah the priest, and had it built for his own worship.

2 Chronicles 25:14-16

Context: Amaziah brought back the gods of Edom after defeating them and worshiped them, showing stupidity.

2 Kings 21:4-5

Context: Manasseh built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the Lord's house.

1 Kings 12:25-33

Context: Jeroboam made golden calves, appointed non-Levitical priests, and devised his own feast to prevent people from returning to Rehoboam.

2 Kings 17:21

Context: Jeroboam 'drove' Israel from following the Lord, using force to compel idolatry.

2 Kings 21:9

Context: Manasseh 'seduced' Judah to do more evil than the nations, using enticement rather than force.

2 Chronicles 21:11, 13

Context: Jehoram made high places and compelled Judah to commit fornication, forcing them into idolatry.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Context: Cited to contrast political correctness with bringing every thought captive to Christ.

Romans 13

Context: Referenced to define the sole legitimate function of government as punishing evil and protecting the righteous.

Historical References

Adam Clarke's Commentary on Topheth

Context: Clarke explains Topheth means 'drum' used to drown children's cries during Molech worship, and describes the valley as a place for burning criminals' remains.

John Gill's Commentary on sun worship

Context: Gill notes that horses and chariots were dedicated to the sun by various heathen nations, and kings of Judah provided them for sun worship at the temple.

Alabama Constitution, Article 1, Section 35

Context: Quoted to define the sole legitimate end of government as protecting life, liberty, and property; other functions are usurpation and oppression.

Important Quotes

Covetousness is idolatry.

Significance: Key biblical basis for broadening the definition of idolatry beyond physical images.

The imagination precedes the image.

Significance: Summarizes the argument that idolatry begins in the mind before any physical manifestation.

God and God alone is sovereign.

Significance: Foundational truth that undergirds the entire message about government's illegitimate claim to sovereignty.

The creation cannot become the creator.

Significance: Principle that God's institutions (family, church, state) cannot rebel and become sovereign without destroying themselves.

It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.

Significance: Jeroboam's deceptive appeal to convenience and comfort to lead Israel into idolatry, paralleling modern government programs.

Political correctness is another religion. It is idolatry. It is a state religion.

Significance: Direct application of the message to contemporary culture, identifying political correctness as modern idolatry.

The sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when government assumes other functions, it is usurpation and oppression.

Significance: Quote from Alabama Constitution used to define the biblical limits of civil government.

Discussion Questions

How does the biblical definition of idolatry as including covetousness and unbiblical thoughts about God challenge our common understanding?

Context: Weaver expands idolatry beyond graven images to include covetousness (Col. 3:5) and vain imaginations (Rom. 1:21).

In what ways do people today deny God's sovereignty and replace it with trust in civil government?

Context: Weaver argues that clichés like 'you can't fight City Hall' reflect a practical belief in government sovereignty.

Why are civil rulers more prone to idolatry than ordinary individuals, according to the biblical examples given?

Context: Weaver cites power, law, and money as factors, and shows kings consistently introduced false worship.

How did Jeroboam's and Manasseh's methods of leading Israel into idolatry differ, and what modern parallels do you see?

Context: Jeroboam used force ('drove'), Manasseh used seduction; Weaver applies this to government programs and political correctness.

What does it mean that political correctness functions as a 'state religion,' and how should Christians respond?

Context: Weaver calls political correctness idolatry that leads people away from Scripture to please government.

According to Romans 13 and the Alabama Constitution quote, what is the sole legitimate function of government, and what are the implications when it exceeds that role?

Context: Weaver states government is only to punish evil and protect the righteous; other functions are usurpation.

Applications

Examine your own thoughts about God

Summary: Ensure your thoughts about God align with Scripture, as any unbiblical concept is a form of idolatry.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'to the degree that you think unbiblically toward the one true and the living God... to that degree, you also are an idolater.'

Recognize government's proneness to idolatry

Summary: Understand that civil rulers historically and biblically lead people into false worship for selfish reasons.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'the usual culprits in leading the people into idolatry are their civil rulers.'

Reject political correctness as idolatry

Summary: Political correctness is a state religion that demands conformity to pluralism over obedience to Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver says political correctness 'is idolatry. It is a state religion. It is a seeking to please man and not God.'

Limit government to its biblical role

Summary: Government is ordained only to punish evil and protect the righteous; any other function is usurpation and oppression.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Alabama Constitution and references Romans 13 to define legitimate government.

Do not vacillate under government seduction

Summary: Resist the temptation to compromise biblical convictions for government favor, subsidies, or fear of suffering.

Evidence: Weaver describes how Manasseh 'seduced' people, causing them to waver between pleasing God and fearing government.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:38:02Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:58:14Z

Clean Transcript

Civil Rulers & Idolatry - 1

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

We're going to open our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23. 2 Kings chapter 23. And as you're turning there, let me point out that once again, I will be away out west for October the 7th and October the 15th. And I would encourage you to pray for those meetings and for travel mercies. So we're going in our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23. And let me point out that this is going to be Part 1 of a two-part message. I'm going to be dealing with the title, Civil Rulers and Idolatry. Civil Rulers and Idolatry. So let's begin reading with 2 Kings 23, verse 1.
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And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the hosts of heaven.
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And he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them into Bethel. And he put down the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem, them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven. And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. And he broke down the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove. And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense from Geva to Beersheba, and broke down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on
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a man's left hand at the gate of the city. Nevertheless, the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren. And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun at the entering in the house of the Lord by the chamber of Nathan Melech, the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down and break them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into Brook Kidron. And the high places that were before Jerusalem that were on the right hand on the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtaroth, the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom, the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king
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defile. And he break in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men. Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place, he break down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.
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So this message is part one, then, on civil rulers and idolatry. Now, many years ago, I brought two messages along this vein. One was entitled, Statism is Idolatry, and the other one was titled, The Biblical Attitude Toward Ungodly Rulers. Now, it is certainly not my intent to re-preach those messages. However, I do intend to build upon them. It may be necessary to give you one or two important points from them, but I'm certainly not going to re-preach them. And of course, those of you who have read my two books, The Christian and Civil Government, and The Sovereignty of God and Civil Government, are still a further development of this theme. When I read through 2 Kings chapter 23, all of this just simply jumped out again.
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And it just entered my mind afresh, so I want to just kind of show you where we are and what really could be done about it if someone would repent and follow the Lord. When you talk about civil rulers and idolatry, I suppose it is common for each of us to think of idolatry as a bowing down to idols. I mean, that is just the concept that immediately pops into our mind.
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It seems as if we cannot escape the graven image mentality, that we have to think that we must have a graven image in front of us in order for there to be idolatry. But let me point out the fact that idolatry is exceedingly broad. Without you turning there, if you were to read from Colossians 3 and verse 5, and Ephesians 5 and verse 5, you will find this statement. Covetousness is idolatry. Isn't that amazing? Covetousness is idolatry. You do not have to have a physical image in order to be an idolater. In other words, if you are a covetous individual in any area of your life, then God says you are an idolater. So one does not need to bow down to a graven image to be an idolater. The very word image comes from the word imagination. In fact, if you would look in your Bibles, very quickly, to the book of Romans chapter 1 and verse 21, you will see what these wicked, ungodly reprobates began to do. Notice, if you would please, in Romans chapter 1 and verse 21, the Word of God makes this very clear.
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Romans 1 it is, and verse 21, the Bible says, "Because that 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." Now, I want you to note, God says first they were vain in their imaginations, then in verse 22, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools," verse 23, "and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." The point I want to emphasize is this, that the imagination precedes the image. You may be an idolater in your mind well before there is ever a physical image.
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Now, the truth of the matter is this. Whenever you think unscripturally and unbiblically toward God, you are an idolater. The only God that exists is the God of the Bible that has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. All other gods are merely figments of man's imagination, and therefore they are idols. And let me just point this out, to the degree that you think unbiblically toward the one true and the living God who's revealed himself in the Bible, to that degree, you also are an idolater.
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Now, we've got to understand a simple truth. Automobiles do not begin in Detroit or any other city. Automobiles begin in the mind of an engineer somewhere. It's just the plant that puts them together. Likewise, idolatry always begins in the mind, and it may stay there, especially for a long period of time, without revealing itself in a physical manner. So therefore, we must make sure that our thoughts are right concerning God, and that we are thinking biblical thoughts, those thoughts that He has revealed in His Word, in order that we might honor Him and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Now, let me carefully point out this fact as well. Man by nature, that is unsaved man, is prone to idolatry. Normally, he either worships himself or some god of his imagination. It is only as we are convicted and converted as individuals that we begin to see and understand the full extent of our idolatry. Do you realize the average American considers himself or herself a Christian and yet has no concept, no biblical concept of God, of Christ, of sin, or salvation? I never will forget, I was preaching in Illinois and I saw this little teenage girl and I was witnessing to her and I asked her, was she a Christian?
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And she said, I don't know. She said, I'll have to ask my mother. Well, I knew immediately, of course, she was not. I said, will you ask your mother? Because I was going to see the child the next day. And the next day I said, well, did you ask your mother? Are you a Christian? She said, yes, I did. I said, well, what was your mother's response? She said, well, of course, we're Christians. We live in America, don't we? That was their understanding of being a Christian, living in America. You can live in America and certainly not be a Christian. That is certainly true and very obviously and patently true. But the average professing Christian has no biblical concept of God.
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Unsaved men are prone to idolatry. But let me show you there is an entity that is taught in the Bible that is even more prone to idolatry than just simply unsaved men as individuals. And that entity is civil government. Governments, or civil rulers, those who are in authority, oftentimes willingly, readily, knowingly, purposely, and deliberately lead their people into idolatry.
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Now, how do we know that? Well, the answer is very simple. The Bible tells us so. History verifies it, and practical observation attest to the truth.
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Now, before I begin to show you from 2 Kings chapter 23, the truth that I'm going to emphasize today, let me give you once again one very important principle. You need to lock this down in your mind. Here is a foundational truth. In reality, God and God alone is sovereign. I'm telling you this is a foundational truth. God and God alone is sovereign. That means this. He is the only sovereign. Truthfully and practically, I hope you understand that there can only be one sovereign, one ultimate, one absolute.
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There may be individuals who are striving for sovereignty and fighting for sovereignty and want sovereignty. But there can only be one Sovereign, and one Absolute, and one Ultimate at the time. And that one Sovereign is God Himself. God has never been unseated. He has never abdicated. He has never been voted out of office. And He will never be voted out of office, for He always was, always is, and always shall be the only true and living Sovereign God of the universe. So marker down, God is sovereign and Him alone.
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All of those who wish to dethrone Him shall be destroyed. They may seek after His sovereignty, but they will never acquire it.
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Now, let me tell you why I'm emphasizing this truth. Because everyone must have a sovereign. Whether you're saved or unsaved, you must have a sovereign. Society nor individuals can exist without a law system. What does that mean? That means you must have a law system. Are you listening? And you must have someone with authority to give you that law system. So when God as the absolute sovereign is denied, what His law system is denied is only so that you may elevate yourself or someone else or something else as sovereign in His place. So God's sovereignty is only denied in order that it might be replaced with another false sovereignty. Whenever men deny God's absolute sovereignty, it is so that they may place sovereignty either in themselves or some other entity. And usually the other entity that sovereignty is invested with is civil government.
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Now listen to me very carefully. Each of us have heard these old cliches. You can't fight City Hall. They can do whatever they please. Well, if you don't submit, they'll destroy you. Do you realize when those cliches are used, the people who are using them are saying that government is sovereign and that government can do as it pleases, whenever it pleases, to whomever it pleases. Those statements are an absolute denial of God's sovereignty. Let me say this again, folks, if you do not acknowledge God as your absolute sovereign, then you're going to place sovereignty in some other entity, and usually it is civil government.
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Now, let me remind you of a simple fact again. God has created only three institutions. He created the family as a ministry of education, He created the church as a ministry of grace, and He created civil government as a ministry of justice. Are you listening? The family, the church, and the state, or the civil government, is each the creation of God. The creation cannot become the creator. Since God created these three institutions, He has laid down their boundaries and their limits. Just like the family cannot rebel and become the creator or the sovereign, and just like the church cannot rebel and become the creator and the sovereign, likewise civil government cannot rebel and become the creator and the sovereign. It may attempt to do so, but it cannot do so. It is the creator who limits and confines and sets the boundaries for each institution. And whenever the family, the church, or civil government violates those boundaries, then it is in rebellion against God, and of course, ends up destroying itself.
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The perfect illustration is found in Adam and Eve in the garden. What did the serpent say? You need to eat this fruit. And the reason you need to eat it is because God doth know that in the day that you eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods, knowing good from evil. And what did Adam do? He took of the fruit and promptly destroyed himself and his posterity. Now, Adam attempted to be the creator. He attempted to be something other than what God had created him for.
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Now, let me ask and answer another question before we look at 2 Kings chapter 23. I've told you that from the Bible, governments are prone to idolatry. So let's ask and answer this question. Why are civil rulers, why are civil governments prone to idolatry?
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Now, I'm sure there are a multitude of answers to that question, but I want to give you several to begin with. The first one is very clear. Government deals with power. When you're talking about power, you're talking about power to compel, power to force, power to destroy. Most men cannot wield power under God. Listen carefully to what I'm saying. Most men cannot wield power under God. They want to be equal to God or above God. And thus they end up abusing, misusing, or usurping that power. And when man then wants to abuse that power, he wants to play God, and he wants to make men in his image, and he wants to make men do what he would have them to do, because he's playing God.
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You've got to remember, folks, most of these idolatrous religions that we find in the Bible, most of them are power religions. When I say power religions, I'm talking about witchcraft, Moloch worship, and a host of other of these false religions. They derive their power from below. In other words, if you can't get it legally, if you can't get it lawfully, if you can't get it from God, then you get it from below. You get it from the devil. They are power religions. And government deals with power. Secondly, government also deals with law.
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What do I mean by that? Well, it is difficult for fallen man to understand one simple truth. It is God who gives the law. You know what civil rulers are bound to do according to the word of God? Civil rulers are bound to enforce God's law, not make their own laws. The Bible says in Isaiah 33 and verse 22, "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us." Who is our lawgiver? God alone. In James 4 and verse 12, the word of God says, "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy." One lawgiver. That's God. That's not Congress. That's not the president. That's not any king. Except King Jesus, no earthly king, there is one lawgiver that is able to save and destroy. Law deals with right and wrong. God determines what is right and what is wrong, but when men want to play God, they want to determine themselves what is right and what is wrong. That's exactly what Adam wanted to do back in the garden.
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So why are civil governments prone to idolatry? First of all, government deals with power. Secondly, government deals with law. Thirdly, governments deal with money. Lots and lots of money. All of us have heard the golden rule according to the world. He who has the gold rules. That is their mentality. According to scripture, men have become enamored with money. And what does scripture say? It is the love of money that is the root of all evil.
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And when you can get all of this wealth very easily by fraud or by hook or crook, and then you discover that with all this wealth, you may accumulate power and control beyond your imagination. You've got to remember this. In Revelation 18 and verse 13, Scripture deals with those civil rulers who deal in the souls of men. Would you stop and think about this? You think just of the people in America.
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You don't have to go to Russia. You don't have to go to China. You don't have to go to Africa. Just think of the people in America who have been subsidized and lobotomized and corrupted by governmental pottage and subsidies.
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Now, if you're still not convinced that government is one of the prime movers on idolatry, I'm going to show you that from the scripture. And we're also going to see probably some of their motives. In fact, you're going to find that usually their motives are very selfish, very crass, and even their false worship is never sincere. It's always there for a purpose, and that purpose is control.
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Now, let's look in our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23, and I want to take our time and go down through this and show you not only this passage, but several others. In fact, I've been reading through 2 Chronicles this week, and if I had time, I could show you a multitude of passages in 2 Chronicles that will tie right in with this passage. But notice, if you would, 2 Kings chapter 23, and look at verse 4 to begin with.
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Here's what the scripture says. "And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven. And he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel."
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Now, when you read that, you have to ask yourself a question. How in the world did all of these vessels for Baal and the grove get into the house of God? These vessels were inside the temple. Now remember, the grove was Asherah, or Asherah, or Venus, a sex goddess, and she was worshipped as the consort of Baal. So ask yourself this question. How did all of these vessels and all of these things get into the temple of God? Now, remember, the temple of God was to be a sacred place. It was a house that was set aside for the one true and the living God who revealed himself in Jesus Christ. And now you have his house, which had been dedicated for his honor and his glory back in 1 Kings chapter 8.
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Now it is filled with all the vessels of all the false gods under heaven. How in the world could the house of God become so corrupted? Well, look in verse 5, I'm asking that question and we're going to answer it. "And he"—we're still talking about the king. Now we're talking about the one who's willing to do what is right. "And he put down the idolatrous priests." Are you looking now?
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"whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places, in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem, them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven." Now in verse 5 we read about all of these idolatrous priests. Now an idolatrous priest is either a priest that is not of the tribe of Levi, or they were apostate priests of the tribe of Levi who were priests to all of these false gods. So these apostate priests then are priests who were not appointed by God, nor did they meet God's requirements. So if God did not appoint and ordain these priests, then you have to ask, who did? Who appointed them? Who made them? Certainly not the people. The people did not have power to make a man a priest. Look in verse 5 again. "And he put down the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained." Who put these apostate, wicked priests in power?
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The civil rulers. They put them there. They alone had the power to make them and to make sure that their demands were met. I mean, after all, if you're a king, if you have the power of life and death, then you say you either submit or die. You know, that's power still in the hands of civil government today. You either submit or die. So we're finding out it was the kings who made these.
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Look in verse 6 now. "And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people." Now, the Bible tells us that he brought out this grove, this Asherah, this carving of this goddess, sex goddess, out of the house of the Lord. How in the world did this thing get into God's house? Well, I tell you what, look back in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Kings chapter 15.
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Let me show you something else. 1 Kings chapter 15. At least King Asa had a little sense. In 1 Kings 15, verse 13, look what King Asa did. Verse 12 says, "And he took away the Sodomites out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made." That is, the civil rulers. "And also Maacah, his mother, even her he removed from being queen because she had made an idol in her grove and Asa destroyed her idol and burned it by the brook Kidron." Here was the queen who had an idol of Asherah. Oh, look in your Bibles to 1 Kings 16, verse 33. You'll find another king, 1 Kings 16, verse 33, "And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." So King Ahab had an Asherah himself. He had an idol of this sex goddess. And then if you look in 2 Kings chapter 21 and verse 7, 2 Kings 21 and verse 7, we're told here that it is King Manasseh who put this idol in the temple.
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2 Kings 21 verse 7, "And he," that is King Manasseh, "set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever." It was King Manasseh that put the image of the grove in the house of the Lord.
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The point I'm trying to make in this is this. Every time you see this happening, it is civil rulers. It's not the people.
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Now, it's true the people were guilty of following these false idols and worshipping them, but it was the kings and queens who were instituting them. Look in verse 7 of 2 Kings chapter 23. 2 Kings 23 verse 7, "And he break down the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove." Now, an interesting thing as you read in this passage, not only are all of these vessels to Baal and Asherah in the house of God, but now you find that the Sodomites and the prostitutes are either by it or in it as well. "And he break down the houses of the Sodomites"—plural, by the way—"the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord."
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They were close to it. "Where the women wove hangings for the grove."
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Now, you've got to remember, since the grove was inside the temple, that's where the idol was, evidently the sodomites and the religious prostitutes went into the temple to perform their functions. How did these sodomites get into the temple? Well, if you read 2 Kings chapter 21, you once again find out it was King Manasseh. He was the one who placed that idol of the grove in the temple, and it was Manasseh who allowed the sodomites and the prostitutes in the temple. "Where the women wove hangings for the grove." You know, the word hangings actually means little tents.
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So what were they doing? They were giving these little tents to people who wanted to go into the temple for sex. Male and female, it didn't matter. I mean, you've got to remember, this is inside the temple. Who has the power to make prostitution and sodomy legal, not lawful, but legal, who has the power to do that? Only civil rulers. Only civil rulers. We should learn at this point, and I want to emphasize this, that the usual culprits in leading the people into idolatry are their civil rulers. They are the only ones that can legalize sin. They can't make it lawful, but they can legalize it. Do you understand that sodomy and prostitution are closely connected to and are always involved in the power religions. What are politicians and civil rulers concerned about? Power. Control. And I might point out control is a key word. You've got to consider, folks, how the sects, any and all kinds, are involved in Satanism, black magic, and the occult. Why? Because it's a power religion.
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I read today, and it was a headline yesterday, how the Europeans are paying big money for barnyard sex, bestiality, horses, cows. All of this is from the occult. It is a power religion. That's what those sodomites, that's what those prostitutes were doing in the temple, because the philosophy is if you can't get power from above, you get power from below and it works out with control.
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Now, look in verse 10, 2 Kings 23 and verse 10. The Bible says, "And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech."
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Now, verse 10 deals with Moloch worship, and let me just tell you that you will find the word Moloch pronounced and spelled differently throughout the Bible. Moloch, Melech, Milcom, Malcom, it's all the same. Now, Moloch worship dealt with the sacrificing and dedication of children. Now, you'll remember the Bible says in verse 10, "and he defiled Topheth." The word Topheth means literally to roll as a drum. Because Moloch was a metal false god, usually made of brass or something like this, He was standing like this with his arms out.
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There was a huge fire that was built beneath him. And when his arms and his hands were red, scorching hot, they would place a little baby in his hands and the baby then would roll down his arms into his stomach, where, of course, he would be consumed in the flames. And they played the drums, they rolled the drums to cover the screams and the cries of the child as he is being literally burned to death. Now, sometimes, not all children were burned to death. Sometimes, they were taken and just passed over the heat of Moloch's arms in the act of purification and dedication, and thus now their lives are given to him, usually as a prostitute, male or female, in honor of Moloch and in honor of his worship.
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Now, let me give you a quote from Adam Clarke. Adam Clarke, in his commentary, in talking about the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, says this, "It is here said that Josiah defiled this place that no man might make his son or daughter to pass through the fire. He destroyed the image of Moloch and so polluted the place where he stood, or his temple, that it was rendered in every way abominable. The Rabbins say that Topheth had its name from Toph, a drum, because the instruments of this kind were used to drown the cries of the children that were put into the burning arms of Moloch to be scorched to death."
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This may be true as also the following definition. Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, was a place near Jerusalem where the filth and offal of the city were thrown, and where a constant fire was kept up to consume the wretched remains of executed criminals. It was a human shambles, a public chopping block, where the arms and legs of men and women were quartered off by the thousands.
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And this is where Moloch—let me ask a question. Since Moloch worship is so vile and so wicked, since it involves the offering of human sacrifice, and since it is condemned by God all through scripture, would you like to take a guess as to who it was that introduced Moloch worship into the land of Israel? It was King Solomon. You'll find that in 1 Kings chapter 11. 1 Kings chapter 11.
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And look, if you would please, at verse 5 and then at verse 7. 1 Kings chapter 11, verse 5, "For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom," or Molech, "the abomination of the Ammonites," verse 7, "Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon." Who built it? King Solomon.
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Who introduced it in the land? A civil ruler. Are you getting the picture that civil rulers are prone to idolatry? Go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 23 and look at verse 11. 2 Kings chapter 23 and verse 11. Josiah is certainly reforming the land. And verse 11 says, "He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire." What? Judahites? People of Judah worshipping the sun? Oh, yes. Yes. Listen to what John Gill, in his commentary, had to say about this sun worship. He said, "The kings that gave them, that is the horses and chariots, for the service of the sun and for the sacrifice to it were probably Manasseh and Ammon. That horses were sacred to the sun with many heathen nations as the Massagetae, a people in Scythia, and the Persians and the Babylonians and the Ethiopians is affirmed by various writers."
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"These horses were provided for the worshippers of the sun to ride upon and to meet the sun in the morning at its rising and to pay their homage to it. But certain it is that he," the nations before mentioned, "slew the horses and sacrificed them as burnt offerings to the sun, as is asserted in the list of many of the ancient writers." And he says, "People of India did the same thing, and sacrificing the horses to Apollo, the same as the sun, these being the swiftest of the creatures, they offered them to the swiftest of their gods, as Herodotus and Heliodorus observed, and the places before referred to. The stables in which these horses were kept were at the entering in of the house of the Lord, and were kept by a chamberlain."
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"and the suburbs reached from there throughout in Jerusalem." So here then are kings of Judah who have given horses and chariots for the worship of the sun. And you know, it is interesting how God required each king to have his own copy of the law and to read therein every day. For these kings did not do so. And they led their people into idolatry.
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Now, look at verse 12. This is a passage that just should shock you. "And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down and break them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron." Now we're talking about a chamber that Ahaz has made. We're also reading about altars that Ahaz and Manasseh and other kings have made, and these false altars are put into the temple. Now, when you go back and read 1 Kings chapter 8, when Solomon built the temple and dedicated the temple, you're not going to find a chamber of Ahaz in the temple. And you're not going to find all these other false altars in the temple as well. How did these false altars get into the temple? Well, let me show you a couple of them. Look in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 16.
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You know, I hate to say it. And I know it's because of their depravity, I know it's because of their lost condition, but it seems like civil rulers have a propensity to stupidity. I mean, that is historically true, but let me show you one that was really stupid. 2 Kings chapter 16, and let's begin reading there with verse 5. Watch carefully.
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Now, remember, we're reading about the chamber of Ahaz and the altar that he built that got in the temple. "Then Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war, and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. And at that time, Rezin, king of Syria, recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath, and the Syrians came to Elath and dwelt there unto this day. So Ahaz, king Ahaz, sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant, and thy son, come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me."
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"And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord," and did not send his own, by the way, "and in the treasures of the king's house," he got most of it from the house of the Lord first, "and he sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. And Uriah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent him from Damascus. So Uriah the priest made it against King Ahaz came from Damascus. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon. And he offered his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of
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his peace offering upon the altar." Now, what in the world has King Ahaz done? Syria has come against him. He's unable to defeat them. So he hires the king of Assyria. Assyria comes down. They defeat the king of Syria. He goes to Damascus to meet the king of Assyria. And there he sees an altar and he likes it. He says, that's what I'm going to worship at. The altar was unable to protect Syria from Assyria. And now he's going to take this altar that was unable to protect the Syrian people from the king of Assyria and make it his private altar. That's exactly what he did. And he sent the pattern and the high priest made it according to the command of the king and the king worshipped at that altar, not at God's altar.
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Let me show you another verse, another chapter. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 25. 2 Chronicles 25. Look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 14, 2 Chronicles 25, verse 14, Amaziah. He's the thistle king, remember that. 2 Chronicles, chapter 25, notice verse 14. "Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites," now he has defeated the Edomites, "that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to them. Wherefore, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbear, and said, I know that God is determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel."
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What did Amaziah do? He went and defeated the kings of Edom, and then he took their gods that couldn't even protect them, and made them his gods. Stupidity must run in the family of civil rulers. Blows my mind. And if you look back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 21 again, verses 4 and 5, it was King Manasseh that put altars of every kind into the house of God. Notice 2 Kings chapter 21 at verses 4 and 5. Now, we're talking about King Manasseh. "And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord."
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He wanted to worship the sun or the moon or the stars or anybody. He made up an altar. Who put those altars in the temple? The king. The civil rulers. Go back to 2 Kings chapter 23, in verses 13 and 14, and there you're going to find the altars and images that Solomon had built for his wives. 2 Kings 23, verse 13, "And the high places that were before Jerusalem, that were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom," or Molech, "the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. And he break in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men." Now, this passage just speaks about all the altars that Solomon built for his wives. The Mount of Corruption refers to the Mount of Olives where these altars were built. The Mount of Olives had three summits and King Solomon places altars on the middle summit.
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Now, I want you to note as we go through this passage. It's not the people who are introducing idolatry into the land. It is always the civil rulers. They have the power, the money and the position to do so.
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Now look in verse 15. "Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he break down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove." Now, 2 Kings 23 and verse 15 tells us about Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Now, Jeroboam the son of Nebat was one of the first kings of Israel that led Israel into idolatry.
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Let me show you how and why he did it. Go back in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12. And let's begin reading there with verse 25. 1 Kings chapter 12, verse 25.
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Watch carefully, 1 Kings 12, verse 25, "Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David." Remember he had taken ten tribes away from Rehoboam. Solomon's son had left Rehoboam two tribes. "And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David, if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them," to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem."
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"Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi."
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"And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah. And he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense."
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Now, there are several things you need to understand about this passage. First, I want you to note that this idolatry was a deliberately planned and premeditated act by Jeroboam and his counselors. Look at it in verse 28. "Whereupon the king took" what? "counsel, and made two calves of gold." So this thing is deliberate. Second, I want you to note in verse 27, he was willing to sell the people into idolatry for personal gain and selfish reasons. Verse 27, "If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me." Now, what did Jeroboam realize?
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He was not of the lineage of David. He said, I can't let these people go down to worship Jerusalem. If they go down there, eventually their heart's going to turn back to Rehoboam. And I'm going to be dead. What's going to happen to my kingdom? What's going to happen to my power, my position? What about my sons? What about my dynasty? Have you ever known a politician that once he got in power, that didn't want to stay in power? And he's willing to sell the whole nation into idolatry just so he can stay in power. Thirdly, I want you to know this. He appealed to the selfishness of the people and made it appear that he was only interested in their care and comfort. Look in verse 28. "Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem."
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"Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Oh, you don't have to go to Jerusalem. That is so far. That is so expensive. It is so inconvenient. No, no, no. You may worship here with comfort and convenience and no expense to you. We're just concerned about you. We're looking out for your best interest. Hello, I'm from the government and I'm here to help you. That was the mentality. Fourth, he ordained false prophets and false feast days and a false worship, according to verse 33, that he devised according to his own heart. God was not in it.
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Scripture was not in it. He designed it. Fifth, one can see the royal authority and position being used again to influence and sway the people. If you want to please the king, if you want governmental contracts, if you want governmental subsidies, if you want his blessing, what do you do? You go to church where he goes to church. When it came to Jeroboam II, let me show you how this really came into play. When Amos was prophesying against Jeroboam II, the statist priest said to Amos, "Prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court." So the king's rule and the king's religion had become one.
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You're either for me or against me. And if you're for me, you'll worship where I worship.
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Now, before I close today, I want to show you two methods that civil rulers use to lead a people into idolatry. If you'll go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 17, and look at verse 21, you'll see the word that is used there for Jeroboam, son of Nebat. 2 Kings chapter 17, and look, if you would please, at verse 21. Are you ready? 2 Kings 17, verse 21. "For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king." Are you looking now? "And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin." The word drove, or drave, as we would say, means to drive, to compel, to thrust with force. That is, Jeroboam drove them physically, financially, emotionally, and any other way possible into worshiping the calves that he designed, he forced them into it.
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You either worship here or you die. Or you worship here or you don't go down south to Judah. You either worship here or you do without. I'm the king. He drove them. Force was the main ingredient. And he was going to use force to accomplish his purpose. Now, force does not always work, and it does not always work with some people. By the way, a lot of people at this time left Israel and came to Judah and Benjamin because of this.
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But if you look in your Bibles to 2 Kings 21 and verse 9, you'll see the ploy that Manasseh used. Manasseh was more cunning. In 2 Kings chapter 21 in verse 9, the Bible says this, "But they hearkened not:" that is, they did not hearken to God and to God's law. "And Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel." Note, Manasseh seduced them.
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Now, the word seduced means to cause to stagger, to cause to go astray or to vacillate. He debauched the people by seduction, by his encouragement, by his examples, by his program.
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Now, let me show you. Here's exactly what it means and here's exactly where we are today. There are plenty of people in this country that are professing Christians that really would like to take a stand and really would want to come out strong on behalf of Jesus Christ, but they understand if they do, then they're going to upset the powers that be. Do you see the vacillation? Do you see the seduction? In other words, we want to do right, but we are afraid to do right. We want to please God, but we don't want to suffer. We want to obey the Lord, but we don't want to have to lose everything that we worked for. Oh, we want to honor Christ, but we don't want to go to jail. Who is it that causes people to vacillate and waver back and forth? Government. Because government has the power either to use force or to seduce.
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And say, if you go along with us, look what all we can do for you and look what all we will do for you. Why? I mean, come on. We've got government faith programs in this country. And if you will sign up and be one of our state churches, we will give you funds for your faith. So here we are. Let me show you another word, look in your Bibles, 2 Chronicles 21. 2 Chronicles 21. And look at verse 11. 2 Chronicles 21 and verse 11. Here is a parallel verse in reference to King Joram and what he did.
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"Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto." You will worship my gods. Look in verse 13. God says, "...but hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better than thyself." Note, if you would, God says He forced the children into idolatry.
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Let me tell you something, folks. When you and I think of a tyrant, we think of a wicked, strong-armed despot who says, you will do what I say or you will die. But if you will look up the definition of a tyrant, you will also find that he is one who uses lawful power unlawfully. A tyrant may get into office lawfully. But then he may use that lawful power unlawfully, and he's still a tyrant.
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Now let me just try to tie together with some applications what I'm showing you. It should be no question as to this truth that civil governments are leaders in idolatry. What is amazing to me is this, that the American people cannot see that political correctness is another religion. Political correctness is another religion. It is idolatry. It is a state religion. It is a seeking to please man and not God.
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It is developing an attitude that is contrary to Scripture. What does Scripture require of us in 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 5? That every thought of ours be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. And yet, political correctness says no. Pluralism, multiculturalism, multireligiousism. Well, they are all equally fine. It is all idolatry. And political correctness is designed to lead people away from the Word of God and to make them to do and follow what government thinks best and not what God says is best. Governments are prone to idolatry because they want the power, the prestige, the position and the prominence, and I could add preeminence, that belongs to God alone.
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The second application is this. Throughout history, it has been government that has led the people in forsaking scripture and the one true and the living God. And you will find, if you will study scripture, and if you will study history, most of the civil rulers did it for purely selfish reasons. They were not concerned about the people. They were concerned with their own party, with their own power, with their own position. The last one is this.
#85 | 1:07:07 to 1:07:44 | cleaned
I want to read a quote from the Alabama Constitution, Article 1, Section 35. Here it is. "The sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when government assumes other functions, it is usurpation and oppression." As Alabama Constitution, Article 1, Section 35, Romans 13 says the only thing that God has ordained government for is to punish the wicked and protect the righteous. And I can say truthfully, when government assumes any other function, it is usurpation and oppression.
#86 | 1:07:45 to 1:08:42 | cleaned
The leading culprits in idolatry are always civil rulers. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your love and for your grace and for your mercy. We pray that you would teach us, open our eyes, give us understanding that we may serve thee and worship the one true and living God as he has revealed himself in scripture. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#87 | 1:08:44 to 1:09:17 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:38:02Z

Civil Rulers & Idolatry - 1

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver argues that civil rulers are uniquely prone to idolatry, using 2 Kings 23 and other Old Testament passages to show that kings, not the people, introduced false worship into Israel. He defines idolatry broadly as any unbiblical thought about God, and explains that governments lead people into idolatry through force or seduction for selfish reasons like power and control. Applications warn against political correctness as a state religion and call believers to recognize government overreach as usurpation.

Introduction and Context

Weaver introduces the two-part message on civil rulers and idolatry, referencing previous sermons and books, and reads 2 Kings 23:1-15 to set the stage.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 23:1-15

And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the hosts of heaven. And he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them into Bethel. And he put down the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem, them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven. And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. And he broke down the houses of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove. And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense from Geva to Beersheba, and broke down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on

The Broad Definition of Idolatry

Idolatry is not limited to bowing to graven images; covetousness is idolatry, and any unbiblical thought about God constitutes idolatry, beginning in the imagination.

Romans 1 it is, and verse 21, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:21-23

"Because that 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."

Now, I want you to note, God says first they were vain in their imaginations, then in verse 22,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:21-23

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,"

verse 23,

Scripture Reading — Romans 1:21-23

"and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things."

Man's Natural Proneness to Idolatry

Unsaved man is prone to idolatry, often worshiping himself or imaginary gods, and many professing Christians lack a biblical concept of God.

Civil Government's Greater Proneness to Idolatry

Civil rulers are even more prone to idolatry than individuals, as they often deliberately lead people into false worship.

Now, how do we know that? Well, the answer is very simple. The Bible tells us so. History verifies it, and practical observation attest to the truth.

The Sovereignty of God as Foundational Truth

God alone is sovereign; denying His sovereignty leads to replacing Him with another false sovereign, usually civil government.

God's Three Institutions and Their Boundaries

God created family, church, and civil government with defined limits; when any institution rebels and seeks sovereignty, it destroys itself.

Why Civil Governments Are Prone to Idolatry

Governments deal with power, law, and money, which tempt rulers to play God, make their own laws, and use wealth for control.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 33:22

"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us."

Biblical Examples of Civil Rulers Introducing Idolatry

Kings of Judah and Israel, such as Manasseh, Ahaz, Amaziah, Solomon, and Jeroboam, introduced false worship, idols, and altars into the temple and land for selfish reasons.

Look in verse 6 now.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 15:12-13

"And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people."

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 15:12-13

"And he took away the Sodomites out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made."

That is, the civil rulers.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 15:12-13

"And also Maacah, his mother, even her he removed from being queen because she had made an idol in her grove and Asa destroyed her idol and burned it by the brook Kidron."

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 21:7

" It was King Manasseh that put the image of the grove in the house of the Lord. The point I'm trying to make in this is this. Every time you see this happening, it is civil rulers. It's not the people.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:5, 7

"For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom,"

or Molech,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:5, 7

"the abomination of the Ammonites,"

verse 7,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:5, 7

"Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon."

Who built it? King Solomon.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 25:14-16

"Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites,"

now he has defeated the Edomites,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 25:14-16

"that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to them. Wherefore, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbear, and said, I know that God is determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel."

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 21:4-5

He wanted to worship the sun or the moon or the stars or anybody. He made up an altar. Who put those altars in the temple? The king. The civil rulers. Go back to 2 Kings chapter 23, in verses 13 and 14, and there you're going to find the altars and images that Solomon had built for his wives. 2 Kings 23, verse 13, "And the high places that were before Jerusalem, that were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom," or Molech, "the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. And he break in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men." Now, this passage just speaks about all the altars that Solomon built for his wives. The Mount of Corruption refers to the Mount of Olives where these altars were built. The Mount of Olives had three summits and King Solomon places altars on the middle summit.

Watch carefully, 1 Kings 12, verse 25,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 12:25-33

"Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David."

Remember he had taken ten tribes away from Rehoboam. Solomon's son had left Rehoboam two tribes.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 12:25-33

"And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David, if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them,"

to the people,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 12:25-33

"It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem."

Methods of Leading into Idolatry: Force and Seduction

Jeroboam drove Israel into idolatry by force, while Manasseh seduced them through encouragement and programs; both methods are used by governments today.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:21

"For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king."

Are you looking now?

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 17:21

"And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin."

But if you look in your Bibles to 2 Kings 21 and verse 9, you'll see the ploy that Manasseh used. Manasseh was more cunning. In 2 Kings chapter 21 in verse 9, the Bible says this,

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 21:9

"But they hearkened not:"

that is, they did not hearken to God and to God's law.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 21:9

"And Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel."

Note, Manasseh seduced them.

Modern Applications and Conclusion

Political correctness is a state religion and idolatry; governments lead people from Scripture for selfish reasons; government overreach is usurpation and oppression.

Civil Rulers & Idolatry - 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	10310684355
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Christian & Civil Government
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-09-24
Dictation Name
Book	Book 018: Civil Rulers & Idolatry — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	87

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Context: Weaver introduces the two-part message on civil rulers and idolatry, referencing previous sermons and books, and reads 2 Kings 23:1-15 to set the stage.
The Broad Definition of Idolatry: Idolatry is not limited to bowing to graven images; covetousness is idolatry, and any unbiblical thought about God constitutes idolatry, beginning in the imagination.
Man's Natural Proneness to Idolatry: Unsaved man is prone to idolatry, often worshiping himself or imaginary gods, and many professing Christians lack a biblical concept of God.
Civil Government's Greater Proneness to Idolatry: Civil rulers are even more prone to idolatry than individuals, as they often deliberately lead people into false worship.
The Sovereignty of God as Foundational Truth: God alone is sovereign; denying His sovereignty leads to replacing Him with another false sovereign, usually civil government.
God's Three Institutions and Their Boundaries: God created family, church, and civil government with defined limits; when any institution rebels and seeks sovereignty, it destroys itself.
Why Civil Governments Are Prone to Idolatry: Governments deal with power, law, and money, which tempt rulers to play God, make their own laws, and use wealth for control.
Biblical Examples of Civil Rulers Introducing Idolatry: Kings of Judah and Israel, such as Manasseh, Ahaz, Amaziah, Solomon, and Jeroboam, introduced false worship, idols, and altars into the temple and land for selfish reasons.
Methods of Leading into Idolatry: Force and Seduction: Jeroboam drove Israel into idolatry by force, while Manasseh seduced them through encouragement and programs; both methods are used by governments today.
Modern Applications and Conclusion: Political correctness is a state religion and idolatry; governments lead people from Scripture for selfish reasons; government overreach is usurpation and oppression.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Idolatry is broader than graven images

Idolatry includes covetousness and any unbiblical thought about God, originating in the imagination.

Colossians 3:5 and Ephesians 5:5 equate covetousness with idolatry; Romans 1:21-23 shows imagination precedes image.

Denial of God's sovereignty leads to state idolatry

When God's absolute sovereignty is denied, people inevitably place sovereignty in civil government, making it an idol.

Weaver argues that clichés like 'you can't fight City Hall' reflect a belief in government sovereignty, which denies God's sovereignty.

Civil rulers, not the people, introduced idolatry in Israel

Biblical evidence consistently shows that kings and queens instituted false worship, idols, and altars in the temple and land.

2 Kings 23:5 says kings ordained idolatrous priests; 2 Kings 21:7 says Manasseh set an image in the temple; 1 Kings 11:5-7 says Solomon built high places for false gods.

Civil rulers act from selfish motives

Rulers introduce idolatry to preserve their power, position, and dynasty, not from genuine religious devotion.

Jeroboam feared losing his kingdom if people worshiped in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:27); Ahaz adopted a foreign altar for personal preference (2 Kings 16).

Governments use force and seduction to promote idolatry

Jeroboam drove Israel by force; Manasseh seduced Judah by enticement; both methods are used by modern governments.

2 Kings 17:21 uses 'drove'; 2 Kings 21:9 uses 'seduced'; Weaver applies this to modern government programs and political correctness.

Political correctness is a state religion

Political correctness demands conformity to government-approved pluralism and multiculturalism, leading people away from Scripture.

Weaver states political correctness 'is idolatry. It is a state religion. It is a seeking to please man and not God.'

Government overreach is usurpation and oppression

When government assumes functions beyond punishing evil and protecting the righteous, it becomes tyrannical and oppressive.

Weaver quotes Alabama Constitution Article 1, Section 35 and references Romans 13 to define legitimate government role.

Scripture References

2 Kings 23:1-15: Read as the primary text showing Josiah's reforms against idolatry introduced by previous kings.
Colossians 3:5: Cited to show covetousness is idolatry, broadening the definition beyond graven images.
Ephesians 5:5: Cited alongside Colossians 3:5 to reinforce that covetousness is idolatry.
Romans 1:21-23: Used to show that vain imaginations precede physical idolatry; idolatry begins in the mind.
Isaiah 33:22: Quoted to assert that the Lord alone is lawgiver, judge, and king, not civil rulers.
James 4:12: Cited to emphasize there is one lawgiver able to save and destroy, meaning God, not government.
Revelation 18:13: Referenced to show civil rulers deal in the 'souls of men,' corrupting people with subsidies.
1 Kings 15:12-13: King Asa removed idols his fathers (civil rulers) had made, and removed his mother for making an idol.
1 Kings 16:33: Ahab made a grove (Asherah), provoking God more than all previous kings.
2 Kings 21:7: Manasseh set a graven image of the grove in the temple, directly violating God's command.
1 Kings 11:5, 7: Solomon built high places for Ashtoreth, Milcom (Molech), and Chemosh, introducing Molech worship.
2 Kings 16:5-16: Ahaz saw an altar in Damascus, sent its pattern to Uriah the priest, and had it built for his own worship.
2 Chronicles 25:14-16: Amaziah brought back the gods of Edom after defeating them and worshiped them, showing stupidity.
2 Kings 21:4-5: Manasseh built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the Lord's house.
1 Kings 12:25-33: Jeroboam made golden calves, appointed non-Levitical priests, and devised his own feast to prevent people from returning to Rehoboam.
2 Kings 17:21: Jeroboam 'drove' Israel from following the Lord, using force to compel idolatry.
2 Kings 21:9: Manasseh 'seduced' Judah to do more evil than the nations, using enticement rather than force.
2 Chronicles 21:11, 13: Jehoram made high places and compelled Judah to commit fornication, forcing them into idolatry.
2 Corinthians 10:5: Cited to contrast political correctness with bringing every thought captive to Christ.
Romans 13: Referenced to define the sole legitimate function of government as punishing evil and protecting the righteous.

Historical References

Adam Clarke's Commentary on Topheth: Clarke explains Topheth means 'drum' used to drown children's cries during Molech worship, and describes the valley as a place for burning criminals' remains.
John Gill's Commentary on sun worship: Gill notes that horses and chariots were dedicated to the sun by various heathen nations, and kings of Judah provided them for sun worship at the temple.
Alabama Constitution, Article 1, Section 35: Quoted to define the sole legitimate end of government as protecting life, liberty, and property; other functions are usurpation and oppression.

Important Quotes

Covetousness is idolatry.

Key biblical basis for broadening the definition of idolatry beyond physical images.

The imagination precedes the image.

Summarizes the argument that idolatry begins in the mind before any physical manifestation.

God and God alone is sovereign.

Foundational truth that undergirds the entire message about government's illegitimate claim to sovereignty.

The creation cannot become the creator.

Principle that God's institutions (family, church, state) cannot rebel and become sovereign without destroying themselves.

It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.

Jeroboam's deceptive appeal to convenience and comfort to lead Israel into idolatry, paralleling modern government programs.

Political correctness is another religion. It is idolatry. It is a state religion.

Direct application of the message to contemporary culture, identifying political correctness as modern idolatry.

The sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when government assumes other functions, it is usurpation and oppression.

Quote from Alabama Constitution used to define the biblical limits of civil government.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the biblical definition of idolatry as including covetousness and unbiblical thoughts about God challenge our common understanding?

[Context]

Weaver expands idolatry beyond graven images to include covetousness (Col. 3:5) and vain imaginations (Rom. 1:21).

[Question]

In what ways do people today deny God's sovereignty and replace it with trust in civil government?

[Context]

Weaver argues that clichés like 'you can't fight City Hall' reflect a practical belief in government sovereignty.

[Question]

Why are civil rulers more prone to idolatry than ordinary individuals, according to the biblical examples given?

[Context]

Weaver cites power, law, and money as factors, and shows kings consistently introduced false worship.

[Question]

How did Jeroboam's and Manasseh's methods of leading Israel into idolatry differ, and what modern parallels do you see?

[Context]

Jeroboam used force ('drove'), Manasseh used seduction; Weaver applies this to government programs and political correctness.

[Question]

What does it mean that political correctness functions as a 'state religion,' and how should Christians respond?

[Context]

Weaver calls political correctness idolatry that leads people away from Scripture to please government.

[Question]

According to Romans 13 and the Alabama Constitution quote, what is the sole legitimate function of government, and what are the implications when it exceeds that role?

[Context]

Weaver states government is only to punish evil and protect the righteous; other functions are usurpation.

Applications

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