ODJ: when gods die

January 25, 2014 

READ: Ezekiel 28:1-19 

You are only a man and not a god, though you boast that you are a god (v.2).

France Nouvelle, the newspaper of the French Communist Party, stated this after Stalin died: “The heart of Stalin . . . has ceased beating. But Stalinism lives on and is immortal. . . . To Stalin we shall remain faithful for evermore. Communists everywhere will endeavour to deserve, by their untiring devotion to the sacred cause of the working class . . . the honourary title of Stalinists. Eternal glory to the great Stalin”.

This panegyric demonstrates that even communists must worship something. If they won’t serve God, they will make a god out of whatever lies at hand. But their god had died, so their predicament seemed hopeless. For people who proudly proclaimed their trust in science, they were slow to notice the evidence.

History is littered with people who were too easily impressed with their own success. The king of Tyre was so rich and wise that he declared, “I am a god! I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea” (Ezekiel 28:2). God replied that his throne would be the place of his demise. A foreign army would come and “bring you down to the pit and you will die in the heart of the sea, pierced with many wounds. Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!’ to those who kill you?” (vv.8-9).

Likewise, when the king of Babylon boasted of his military might, God declared that his army would “be completely destroyed” (Jeremiah 51:3). God will topple every god until people realise that “idols are worthless” and that “the God of Israel is no idol! . . . The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name!” (vv.18-19).

You will worship someone. Don’t settle for yourself or any mortal. There is only One who is worthy of your worship and you already know His name.

—Mike Wittmer