The Internet defines syncretism as the blending or merging of different religious beliefs, practices, or traditions to create a new system of belief or a unified religious expression.
God warned the Israelites to not merge their belief in the One True God (Jehovah) with the gods of the land they were about to enter.
“When my angel goes in front of you and brings you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,
“You shall not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices, but you shall utterly demolish them and break their pillars in pieces.
“You shall serve the Lord your God, and I will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you” (Exodus 23.23-25).
Merging the worship of Jehovah with the gods of other nations is disastrous for at least two reasons.
(1) The gods of the nations are not true gods. They are projections of a basic human desire for control.
This desire is so strong that we take parts of the world and turn them into objects of worship and service.
(2) The second reason why blending worship of the One True God with other gods is problematic is that we become like the gods we worship.
Idolatry – An Attempt at Control
The Egyptian worship of the Nile River is an excellent example of how humans turn a part of creation into a deity.
The Nile was key to essential to two key Egyptian industries, agriculture and fishing. It is one thing to see the Nile as useful, but to reduce the infinite, transcendent nature of God into a finite, physical form is something entirely different.
God, who is beyond comprehension and categorization, cannot be accurately represented by a river, no matter how essential it is to human life.
We cheat ourselves when we allow a physical object to be worshiped. Instead of worshiping the One True God who created all things, we worship and serve something that is a part of the created order.
Becoming Like What We Worship
The second issue with blending the worship of the One True God with substitutes for God is that we become like what or who we worship.
Pharaoh was one of Egypt’s gods. Pharaoh’s treatment of Hebrew slaves is an example of the harm that is done to humans when we give something or someone less than God the exalted status of a god.
The gods that God forbade the Israelites to worship included in their service practices like human sacrifice (Molech) and temple prostitution (Baal).
Worship of False Gods
The worship of inferior substitutes for God is not limited to ancient history.
The blatant worship of idols may be rare in 2023, but syncretism, the blending of two systems of worship, is quite common in our day.
Consider the prosperity gospel where health and wealth are believed to be blessings we should expect from God.
Prosperity gospel preachers are attractive in a culture where the pursuit of material goods seems to be insatiable.
Jesus had a message for those who attempt to blend a desire for health and wealth with the worship of the One True God.
And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).
Another trend that has come to the forefront of present-day society is the blending of nationalism and extreme patriotism with religion.
Devotion to a nation is laudable, but where it overrides ethical, moral, and even religious considerations, it is destructive.
Isaiah devoted the majority of the first 39 chapters of his book to the issue of trust in God versus trust in the nation.
Isaiah met King Ahaz at a time when the king was attempting to secure Judah’s future through military means.
Isaiah’s message captures the essence of his message from chapters 7 to 39.
“If you do not stand firm in faith,
you shall not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7.9)
Our faith must be in God alone, and not God merged with the gods of the nation.
The tendency to worship God and the gods at the same time is both an ancient and modern problem.
God’s message to his people has not changed through the centuries and we do well to follow his guidance.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6.4-5).
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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