Absolutely nothing is sacred to God other than you and your relationship with Him. I know that sounds strange but just think about it for a minute. God does not hold anything as sacred. And He is willing to allow its destruction if He does not have a relationship with His people. Years ago, I had an experience where I realized the extent to which God is willing to go to have His way. While I was looking at stories in the Hebrew Scriptures, something just began to pour through me. It was like living in the reality of the destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and of the people being cast into a diaspora and taken into Babylon. The reality of it gripped me. These were God’s people. If anything on earth was sacred to God, it would have been the Temple. God filled it with His presence. He said, “I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually” (2 Chronicles 7:16).[1] So it must have been heart-wrenching for God to allow the destruction of the Temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the destruction of Israel.
Consider the fulfillment of all the phenomenal prophecies and promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These men were such huge figures in the eyes of the nation that you would think, “How could God ever rescind or go against the prophecies that He had spoken to our fathers?” But it happened to Israel. And I think America is very much in that same place. As Americans we look to our Founding Fathers and are convinced, “We are a blessed people; nothing can ever happen to America.” Do not tell me that it cannot happen! That attitude in us really scares me. America is not the chosen of God. Israel was the chosen, and God gave us the greatest example in them of what can happen. I know I am using America as an illustration, but we could look at every nation right now that prides itself in its culture, in its government, and in all that it has built up. I just have one question: “If God would not stop at the destruction of His Temple, then where is He willing to stop?” God will not stop until He has what He wants. And what He wants is a people, just like He has always wanted. He was looking to Israel for a people who would love Him and serve Him.
When you study archaeological excavations in Israel, you find that before the Babylonian captivity the people worshipped Ashtaroth, Baal, and other gods from the different nations. It is proof that Israel tried to serve God and serve idols. However, if you go into archaeological sites after the Babylonian captivity, you will not find any more idols. Israel learned that God was not playing around, and those who went back to rebuild Jerusalem, rebuild the Temple, and reestablish Israel as a nation understood one thing: we cannot serve two masters; we cannot serve God and idols.
God will wipe away everything around you until you start crying out to Him. He is not afraid to let everything go that you hold near and dear until suddenly you realize, “Oh, I get it! I was worshipping an idol instead of serving God.” But it is time for a dynamic change; we must love the Lord our God with all our hearts and serve Him only. This step will remove the idolatry from our minds, our hearts, and our culture and change the world.
[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).