Why Fake Gods Do Not Compare To The Real God

Text: Micah 7:18-20

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Old Testament warns against the Canaanite gods - false gods like Baal and Asherah. These false gods were always a temptation to Israel. But why were they such a temptation? Well, the Cannanite religion and its pantheon of gods were deeply integrated into the daily lives of the neighboring Canaanites. And so, at every turn and with every interaction with the Canaanite neighbors, the Israelites would be exposed to these false gods.      For example, the Canaanites had various gods for each aspect of life.  The false God of Baal was primarily responsible for the rain and crops, whereas gods like Asherah were involved with fertility, childbirth, and the protection of the family.  

Now, the reason why these false gods were so embedded in the Canaanite culture was that they provided a framework for the people to understand the big things of life.  In other words, if there was a drought, Baal was supposedly upset and needed to be appeased to get him to make it rain.  If there was a natural disaster, a plague, or a personal misfortune, well… the gods were not happy and needed to be appeased so that balance could be resorted.  Perhaps we could say that the Canaanites were always walking on eggshells with their gods.  The pagan gods were unpredictable and impulsive. They were prone to sudden changes in mood because failure to appease them could result in great misfortune, such as drought, plague, or military defeat.  

Fast forward to today, and obviously, in America, we do not have the Caanatie pantheon – we do not recognize these false deities in our culture.  But nonetheless, we Americans tend to function in a very similar way to the ancient Canaanites. For example, for the average Canaanite, one moment, there would be rain, and the next, there would be a drought.  Here in North Dakota, one moment, the oil is flowing, and the next, the pumps are turned off.  Furthermore, for the average Canaanite, their authoritative gods were unpredictable and could act in ways that would cause great trouble for them.  Here in America, it is not much different, as those in authority often act irrationally and unpredictably – with one simple signature of a pen, entire job markets can be destroyed, uprooting families and destroying people’s livelihoods.  Indeed, just like the Canaanites, we live in an unpredictable economic and social landscape.  

Now, we could draw many more parallels between the ancient Canaanites and modern Americans, but for the sake of time, let’s briefly address one more thing and then summarize. That one last thing is this: the Canaanites did not have a robust doctrine of sin.  Instead, they viewed the world as coming into existence and continuing with suffering and toil.  For the Canaanites, they would say it the same way as today’s youth, 

“It is… what it is!”

For the Canaanites, the world existed in suffering and toil; mankind existed in suffering and toil, and the pagan gods often existed in suffering and toil, while they sometimes offered a helping hand to mortals who showed them favor.  

And so, just like the Canaanites, America is very similar in that we view the world as harsh and unpredictable while the powers that be are often temperamental and unreasonable. Like the Canaanites, our world is what it is.  It is not a world full of grace, compassion, and forgiveness; more often than not, it is a dog-eat-dog kind of world where the last man standing survives.  

So, now all of this begs the question—why spend so much time unpacking the Canaanite religion? The answer is that Israel was heavily influenced by the Canaanites, especially during the time of the Prophet Micah. In other words, when we understand the Canaanite culture and religion, our reading from the Old Testament Book of Micah comes to life.  

Consider our reading from Micah chapter 7 again.  Let me paraphrase verses 18-20, 

The Canaanite gods do not compare to you, O God, for you forgive our sins, you take away our guilt, and you do not stay angry forever because you are pleased to be merciful.  You trample on our sins; you sink our sins to the bottom of the ocean; you keep your word and are faithful – you are not finicky or moody like Baal and his unpredictable fake deities.

It cannot be stressed enough; our God is not like other fake gods.  In fact, let me be so bold as to say this: it is often taught that there are 4,300 religions in the world; however, that number is incorrect.  How many religions are there in the world?  To be precise – two.  Yes, there are only two.  You see, all the other religions in the world can be lumped up together with the Canaanite pantheon as a religion where the so-called gods are unpredictable, temperamental, and unreasonable, which leaves mankind always striving, always seeking, and always trying to please a fake deity.  However, as we hear from Micah, there is no other God like the God of the Old and New Testament Scriptures – a God that pardons sins, delights in steadfast love, gives compassion, treads sin under His feet, and casts sins into the depths of the ocean.  No other false god does this or even comes close.  

And this is why Micah and the other prophets were always rebuking Israel! 

“Israel, don’t you dare mingle these Pagan gods with God Almighty.  They are not the same.  Don’t ruin what you already have in our gracious and steadfast God.  Israel, you have a profound gift; God has chosen you to be His Holy People – don’t go and throw that away.  Those false gods will not forgive your sins; they will not take away your guilt, for they stay angry and are not pleased to be merciful.  They will not trample on your sins; they will not sink your sins to the bottom of the ocean; they will not keep their word, and they are not faithful. Don’t be seduced by those counterfeit gods; don’t forsake the God that loves you.  Stay put.  Abide. Remain!”  

Baptized Saints, the same can be proclaimed to you and me right now!   

Let me be very blunt right now. Do we realize the profound gift we have here at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church?  Consider a moment: every week we gather here in this sanctuary to have a Divine Service with the Word and Sacraments.  In these services, the Lord God proclaims to us that our sins are forgiven in the sermon, He tramples our sins under His feet in absolution, and He shows us His mercy at His table.  Now, here is the point.  Listen up!  This is not happening in our culture, and it is not something that is happening within many churches in America.  The American landscape is more like Canaan than it is like St. Paul’s Lutheran. What we confess here at St. Paul’s; what we sing here at St. Paul’s; what we hear at St. Paul’s; and what we receive at St. Paul’s does not exist in culture and it does not exist in many churches around us. 

As you know, there are several members in this church that drive 30, 50, and even over 100 miles every Sunday to come to St. Paul’s Lutheran.  The reason why?  It isn’t for our coffee and donuts, and it isn’t for our church building.  Instead, they drive from long distances because where they live, they don’t hear and receive the message of Christ-crucified for the forgiveness of sins.  As one of our traveling members recently said to me, 

“Pastor, if you stop preaching Christ-crucified and this church stops giving Christ’s body and blood in the Holy Supper, I’m out of here.  I will save my gas money and just stay home.” 

Please know that I am not saying that these traveling members are somehow better than the rest of you; instead, I am stating that where they live, the culture and local churches are not delivering Micah’s message.  And so, we should weep a thousand tears that Micah’s message is not being proclaimed across all of North Dakota, while at the same time, we should rejoice that for over 125 years, St. Paul’s Lutheran has been blessed to hear over and over and over that God almighty forgives sins, delights in steadfast love, and treads iniquities under His feet by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

The world we live in is just like Canaan – it is not full of grace, compassion, and forgiveness, but more often than not, it is a dog-eat-dog kind of world where everyone must pull themselves up by their own boot-straps and spiritually scrape by just hoping that they might make it through the next calamity in their life.  But God be praised that you and I have the Gospel here in this place, that the Lord has sustained us in the Gospel at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. 

Baptized Saints, don’t be seduced by counterfeit gods; don’t forsake the God that loves you.  Stay put, abide, and remain, for there is no other God that forgives your sins, takes away your guilt, tramples your sins under His feet, and sinks your sins to the bottom of the ocean.  No other God does this or can do this, except your Triune God… the God that created you, redeemed you, and sanctifies you.  

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.