The Divine Void

It’s been said that God created mankind with a Divine Void in his soul, which can only be satisfied by Himself. Isaiah 55 alludes to this: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live.” (verses 1-3)

The Empty Heart

The keyword in this passage is “satisfy.” It speaks volumes about the nature of mankind. In short, people are insatiable. The two primary demands of the body are food and water. Without them, we quickly experience dissatisfaction. We are able to satisfy these wants, but only for brief time periods. This seems to be the case with every desire searching for satisfaction.

Because things of the world are incapable of providing lasting satisfaction, people are drawn to excess and destructive behaviors. Everyone struggles to fill this void, which can only be satisfied with God. The Lord Jesus addressed this with the woman at the well in John, Chapter 4: “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

The Divine Void

People too, long to worship. Unfortunately, for most people, this worship is not confined to God. This leaves a wide-open door for idolatry. Consider the first commandment: “You shall have no gods before me.” Put another way, it says that nothing should ever occupy God’s preeminent place in our lives. Michael Maynard framed this thought profoundly: “When anything or anyone becomes more important than God, even if it is a good thing, it will eventually turn into an idol.”

When we hear the word “idolatry,” we usually think back to ancient times and the people who carved images from wood or fabricated gold, silver, bronze, and iron into objects of worship. These images would then become their god(s). They would revere them and sacrifice to them.

These ancient people would then expect blessings from the idols in the form of abundant harvests, victory in battle, the birth of children, etc. It was a very peculiar and illogical practice, but it flourished throughout the known world for thousands of years and was central to every culture and people group.

The ancients also worshiped the sun, moon, stars, and a host of other objects, including members of the animal kingdom. Today, we laugh at such foolishness and excuse it as the ignorance of our “unsophisticated” ancestors. It’s interesting that the first two of the Ten Commandments forbid the practice of idolatry in very specific terms (Deuteronomy 5:7-8):
1. “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
2. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them…”

Penalty of Sin

Despite this clear direction from God, the ancient peoples, as well as His chosen people, were steeped in idolatry. You might be thinking such behavior was harmless, so why such a strong prohibition? The truth is that idolatry is far from harmless. In fact, it involved gross immorality and even the sacrifice of infants. This is the primary reason the Lord did not want His people to associate and intermarry with the nations around them. Again in Deuteronomy (7:3-4), we read: “Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.”

Scripture Truths

God is not saying we cannot have other interests. He simply says these interests should not remove Him from His rightful place. To do so is idolatry. Most people today realize the folly of carving or molding an idol from wood and precious metals. Nevertheless, man’s insatiable tendencies still need to be addressed. God can still be moved out of His rightful place in our lives with a myriad of interests. The world and Satan stand ready at all times to provide options that displace God. In fact, one of the methods used to open the door to wholesale sinful satisfaction is to eliminate God entirely from our thought life, even to deny His existence. Paul addressed this inclination over 19 centuries ago in his letter to the Romans:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.”

This is probably the strongest indictment against man in his pursuit to ignore God or eliminate Him from his life. Scripture declares that people “suppress the truth.” It declares that ample evidence is available substantiating God’s existence. Not only is evidence available to everyone, but “God has made it evident to them.” He has provided significant evidence and made it easy to see and experience.

So, what is this evidence that can’t be missed? It’s the very world in which we live, and which provides us with beauty, wonder, and all the necessities of life. It’s undeniable and man is without excuse in denying the very handiwork of God. A person cannot ignore this evidence unless they choose to suppress the truth. God considers such people to be fools, though they consider themselves wise: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’.” (Psalm 14:1)

Atheism is becoming increasingly fashionable and those of us who acknowledge the Divine Void unmistakable evidence for the existence of God are considered woefully ignorant and superstitious.

Idolatry is still rampant in our world. People still seek to fill the internal, insatiable void with things other than the presence of the holy and benevolent Creator. Idolatry  Divine Void is Satan’s greatest weapon in his zeal to keep people away from the path of salvation and to damage or even destroy the testimony of the saints. Yes, believers too can fall into idolatry. Such are the wiles of Satan.

Salvation is for Everyone

It’s impossible for the unsaved person to be able to identify idolatry in their life because idolatry is such a natural endeavor. The only escape is to find salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you’re not saved, you are, by default, subject to the desires of the flesh to reach some level of satisfaction in this Divine Void life. Unfortunately, these satisfactions do not fill the divine void. Only God fill the void.

“And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.” (Isaiah 58:11)

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Idolatry is insufficient in giving rest to the soul! Only when the void in our soul is filled with God’s presence can there be true rest and satisfaction.

When God fills the VOID, there’s no room for idolatry.
When man fills the VOID, there’s no room for God.