Justin Lakemacher, Program Director
“Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of the Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else.” - Charles Spurgeon.
Those in addiction understand the emptiness of idolatry. This gives biblical counselors a tremendous opportunity to help them learn the preciousness of Christ. One of the passages in Scripture that helps us do so is the story of idolatry in Exodus.
In Exodus 32, God’s people find themselves in “recovery” from slavery. They have been physically delivered from Egypt and are on their way to the promised land. But the journey is proving to be more challenging than they thought. Moses, their leader, has disappeared on Mt. Sinai and is gone for a long time (vs. 1). The Israelites became, in the words of Alcoholics Anonymous, “irritable, restless, and discontent” and desired relief.
At this point Scripture fills us in on what is happening in their hearts and what is the root of all idolatry: sinful desire. Consider the following passages that demonstrate this further.
In 1 Corinthians 10:6-7 Paul is recounting the journey of the Israelites in Exodus and writes “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
In Colossians 3:5 Paul writes “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
Sinful desires are synonymous with idolatry and at this point it’s imperative that we help our counselees see the deeper problem of their desires underneath the idolatrous behavior. Whether it’s addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, etc., those behaviors are rooted in a deep allegiance of the heart to its own selfish desires.
Returning to Exodus 32, consider what the Israelites do with their desire? They obey it and turn to a false god for satisfaction. Aaron makes them a calf, the Israelites begin to worship it and in doing so are guilty of an exchange of worship. They turn from following the Lord who delivered them from slavery and fashion an idol for themselves, one that makes life easier and will give them assurance while Moses is gone. At this point, another significant truth is relevant to addicts: you can be physically delivered from slavery and yet remain enslaved to the selfish desires in your heart. In other words, addicts can obtain sobriety and yet remain enslaved to the desires that drive the addiction. In the Israelites case, they were delivered from Egypt yet Egypt remained in their heart.
What happens next every addict can relate to: The idol gave them temporary relief. In verse 6 we are told, “They arose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” The Israelites threw a party and had a celebration because the idol relieved their concerns about Moses being gone.
However, idols and addictions are deceptive. The idol that gave instant gratification also changed them. Notice how God identified the Israelites in verse 9 as a “stiff-necked” people. This interesting phrase seems to indicate that God is now defining the people of Israel by the object they worshiped. They were stiff-necked like a stubborn heifer that refused to be led. G.K. Beale summarizes it well,
“The first generation Israelites did not literally become petrified golden calves like the golden calf they worshiped, but they are depicted as acting like out-of-control and headstrong calves apparently because they are being mocked as having become identified with the spiritually rebellious image of the calf that they had worshiped. What they had revered, they had come to resemble, and that resemblance was destroying them.”
Psalm 115:8 states this truth plainly, “Those who make them [idols] become like them.” The more we worship idols, the more hopeless, empty, and spiritually dull we become. Those enslaved to addiction bear witness to this truth as manifested in experiences of a lack of joy, hope, identity, and purpose. In the words of Jeremiah 2:5, they “went after worthlessness, and became worthless.”
Now at this point, the Israelites are oblivious of God’s anger at their idolatry and of his plan to destroy them. However, the good news is that while Israel is giving into idolatry, Moses, a mediator and intercessor, reminds God of His faithfulness and pleads with him not to destroy the people (vs. 11-13). God relents from completely wiping out the nation of Israel, not because the people have shown remorse or were able to demonstrate their worthiness but rather because God is faithful to his promise. Deuteronomy 7:7-8, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping his oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
Here is where we can help those enslaved to addiction walk out of the emptiness of idolatry and into fulfillment in Christ. The themes of Exodus 32 are seen even more clearly at Calvary and in the person of Jesus Christ. Here are three relevant themes:
1. Jesus’ intercession. Prior to going to the cross in John 17, Jesus offers his high priestly prayer for those whom he is about to make atonement for. On the cross, Jesus cries out in prayer, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). And now Jesus is risen and he lives to make intercession for his people (Hebrews 7:25). This is the gospel for addicts: Jesus intercedes for you. He prayed for you when you were in the dark throes of idolatry. He gave his life for you and “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25). And He prays for you now.
2. Jesus’ wrath absorbing sacrifice. In Exodus 32, 3,000 people died because of their idolatry. God’s wrath came down but he was faithful to his promise and he listened to Moses’ intercession and did not destroy the entire nation. On the cross, Jesus absorbs the full wrath of God as he stood in the place of sinners and he pronounces the complete forgiveness of sins for those who trust in him. This is good news for addicts weighed down with guilt and shame. Jesus was sacrificed in your place so that you can be forgiven. The guilt and shame of your addiction can die on the cross with Jesus.
3. A New Identity. On the cross, Jesus not only forgives, he fulfills Ezekiel 36:25 and cleanses his people from all their idols. He washes and makes new. In Exodus 32, the Israelites were defined spiritually with their idolatry. Jesus changes our identity on the cross. Listen to Paul in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Jesus and his work on the cross are central to Paul’s identity. Likewise, it is important for addicts to remember that the gospel gives you a new identity, all wrapped up in Christ and His work. This means you are no longer defined by your past sin or your current temptations. You are new in Christ and defined by his life.
Exodus 32 reveals both the emptiness of idolatry and the preciousness of Christ. When we see the preciousness of Christ and what He has done for us in the gospel, the result is worship. And when we respond to God by turning from our old idols to following Jesus we have begun the process of worshiping our way out of addiction. The more we behold Christ, the more our identity changes and we become like Him, being transformed from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18).