What is it like to worship many gods?  I can say that I have no clue, but that’s not true.  I must avoid worshipping idols all the time.  God ~ plus materialism.  God ~ plus others’ respect.  God ~ plus keeping the peace.  John Calvin said, “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.”  

Abram knew all about that!  He was the first in his family to leave his family’s gods to worship the ‘most high God.’  The gods of his youth were deities held sacred by the people of Ur, the place of his birth.  Abram’s father even sold small statues, likenesses of them, to make a living.  

The gods of Ur were said to be distant. No wonder Yahweh captivated Abram’s heart by speaking to him directly. When God spoke, he was told to leave the land of Ur, which meant leaving everything familiar, including his father’s religion.  Abram obeyed immediately.

But it was sometime later when Abram formally left polytheism and became the father of monotheism.  Abram had just rescued his nephew Lot from captivity.  Melchizedek, king of Salem, came out to meet him.  He blessed Abram and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High [El Elyon], who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”  This ‘most high God’ came into full view, and Abram realized He was the only God.

Centuries later, idol worship was one of the main issues in the Protestant Reformation. Luther preached against worshipping shrines, statues, icons, and relics in the Catholic Church, which were significant sources of income for the Vatican.  

Abram’s life can seem far removed from mine and deemed irrelevant.  While I may not carry around an idol that belonged to my family, my heart says differently. A company with a father’s name on it and expectations for his children to serve and perpetuate his legacy can quickly come before my loyalty to God.  So can honoring a matriarch who rules the family or condoning and whitewashing family sin patterns.  

I must make up my mind about whom I’m going to serve.  El Elyon won’t share His glory with anyone.   

From the rising of the sun to the place of its setting, people may know there is none besides me.    I am the Lord, and there is no other.  Isaiah 45:6