A comment worth posting… from my recent article Easter, Ishtar or Resurrection Sunday?….please read and share.
Andy, I am writing this because I recognize your fiery passion to please God, and that is awesome! you have taken a big step to even research the backgrounds of what so many Christians don’t even think about. So I’m writing this to encourage you to go a step further and draw closer to God’s Word considering this matter.
I loved everything you wrote until the end. If this holiday really is about us focusing God, then shouldn’t His opinion on pagan practices matter more than ours? We might say, “Yes these eggs used to worship a false god, but thats not what it means to me.” But we aren’t the ones being worshiped on this holiday. What do these things mean to HIM? Do we even think to search Scriptures to see what God wants for us to do in this regard? Is there evidence in Scripture of God even once “redeeming” something pagan to be used for Himself? Isn’t the very definition of Holy “kadosh” literally “set-apart”. If holiness means to be set apart, what are you set apart from? How about everything that is not pleasing to God? How do we know what is pleasing? God plainly told us in His Word, the entire Bible, that means the words of Moses too. What does God think of pagan practices? “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.” Duet 18:9
Deut. 12:29-32: “When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, “take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
When the Israelites came out of Egypt and built the golden calf, they didnt see it as an idol or another God. They took something pagan, that they were familiar with, because it was the Egyptian culture they were raised in, and put the name of God (YHVH) on it.
Exodus 32:2-7
2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.
Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”
Notice Aaron proclaims that the calf is the one who brought us out of Egypt, and then proceeds to say they will proclIm a festival to the LORD. In the Hebrew text LORD is God’s name YHVH, a name exclusive to the God of Israel, a name never used for idols or other Gods. The people of Israel thought they were worshipping the true God! They even proclaimed a feast, a holy day (or holiday) to the true God! Their hearts were in the right place, right? They were focusing on God, right? It wasn’t something pagan to them, but a way to worship God. We could say, well God should accept that because their heart was to worship the true God. But what did God say of it? He said they were stiff necked. He recognized their holiday to Him as idolatry, no matter the good intentions behind it, and did not accept it. In fact, Everyone who did worship the calf was killed.
If we try to make the argument that God sees our hearts and knows that we are genuinely worshipping Him, even if it is through something that has pagan origins, then we are forgetting the story of Uzzah. David had a passionate heart for God. His genuine desire was to please Him and serve Him. David rejoiced to bring the Ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, he even built a new cart for it. He was singing and dancing and praising God. But what happened?
“They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.” (II Samuel 6:3-7)
David did not study to find out how God had instructed for the Ark to be carried. It was to be carried by Its poles on the shoulders of Levites and not a cart. David did not follow God’s instructions for how He wanted things done, and a man died because of it. David had the best intentions. His heart was in the right place. But God is set apart from ways of the world, He is perfect. If we try to worship Him with ways that are not His, Scripture shows that He will not accept it.
So is there harm in dying Ishtar eggs and teaching your children to be more excited about chocolate and bunnies than Messiah? Yes. I know that sounds harsh, but it is more harsh to realize that the God you love looks at your Easter celebration of Him and calls you stiff-necked and does not recognize what you are doing for Him. Learning the truth is hard and uncomfortable, but Isn’t it much better than being rejected by the one you love?
P.s. there is a way He asked us to remember His death and Resurrection its called Passover and First fruits Do THIS in remembrance of me. What was He doing? Passover, or at least an instruction in how to keep Passover from now on in remembrance of Him.
Luke 22:14-20
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you,[b] I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
Jesus never asked us to celebrate his birth, He never asked us to decorate eggs or give chocolates, but the one thing He did ask us to do to remember Him, churches don’t do. They have a form of it once a month or weekly with a “Lord’s Sipper” but Jesus very clearly said that what He and His disciples were doing was related to Passover. and if you have done any study on ancient covenants, you will recognize all the elements of establishing or renewing a blood covenant in their meal together.
Jesus spoke harshly against the doctrines of men that tried to replace the good Commands of His Father.
Matthew 15:3
“He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?”
Matthew 15:8-10
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Yes, seek the truth, do no follow doctrines of men, no matter how long they have been passed down, or how much it is a part of your culture, or how good they make you feel. God is a jealous God, and He has every right to tell us exactly how He wants to be worshiped.
