We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry
G.K. Beale

What is the meaning of the various passages in the Scriptures that say Israel like an Ox, or Israel has a stiff neck? What are we to make of Yeshua’s words, during the Incarnation, that he was speaking so those who heard him would not hear, and those who saw him would not see? What are we to think about God hardening the heart of Pharaoh through the ten plagues that resulted in Israel finally going free?

This book is an attempt to answer those questions  by considering the idea of becoming what you worship in the Scriptures. The author begins by examining what he considers to be a foundational example of Israel becoming what they worship in Isaiah 6. This section of the Scriptures is dealt with in great detail, providing the concepts and terminology used throughout the rest of the book.

Mr. Beale then examines the rest of the Tanakh, marshaling evidence of those who become like they worship. The author moves into an examination of idolatry in the Tanakh, placing its origin at the first sin of Adam.

Ezekiel 28 and its understanding of Genesis 3 conceives of sin to be the rearranging of existence around the self…

After this survey of the meaning and origin of idolatry, Mr. Beale examines the concept of becoming what you worship specifically within the context of Judaism, and then in the context of the Gospels.

In fact, that the glory reflect on Moses’ face represented what all faithful Israelites should have reflected is pointed to by other Old Testament texts, which seem to view a faithful person’s closeness to God resulting in reflecting his light: “The Lord make His face shine on you” (Numbers 6:25); “they looked to Him [the Lord] and were radiant” (Psalms 34:5); so also Isaiah 60:1-5 (e.g., “but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear on you”).

The sin of the Jewish leadership in Matthew 13:10-15 is following that of the sins of the nation Israel; the terms in which this sin is described is in terms of Israel becoming like the idols they have chosen to worship. Hence, in their refusal to accept Jesus as the Messiah, they are in effect committing idolatry. To refuse God is to choose to worship something else.

He examines idolatry in Acts, Paul’s Epistles, and finally the Revelation.

Overall, this is a well argued book. The author does subscribe to a slightly different hermeneutic than many in the evangelical world; he focuses on intertextual clues as well as textual clues to gain a stronger understanding of what a specific piece of text is saying. While there are some places where Mr. Beale might go too far in his search for meaning, the hermeneutic is sound, and could be a guide for more productive study of the Scriptures. Beyond going beyond what I would consider appropriate in some places, the author also assume some things in the Revelation are symbolic, and clearly indicates he is an amillennialist. This does flavor some portions of his work in a negative way, but these sections are easily spotted and accounted for.

His final chapter, Why Does It Matter, is a tour de force in application. He shows how much that we would not consider idolatrous is, in fact, and how the principle that you become what you worship acts in our every day lives.

Have you ever heard a TV character say, “Well, let’s look at Scripture and see what God says about this. Let’s pray about this?” Or when have you heard someone on TV say, “Let’s go to the pastor to learn what the Bible says about this problem?”

Recommended.