Smashing

Jane Denniston October 18, 2026 3 1

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Exodus 32: 15–20 (NIVUK)

15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, ‘There is the sound of war in the camp.’

18 Moses replied:

‘It is not the sound of victory,
    it is not the sound of defeat;
    it is the sound of singing that I hear.’

19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

What are our idols? Where do we spend our time, our money, our creativity? To what do we give our adoration and our love? Which of our possessions would we be distraught to lose? We all have things we value and there is nothing inherently wrong with that, but we need to be careful about their place in our lives.

Many years ago, I became addicted to reading a certain series of books. I was enraptured by them and spent many hours imagining myself as the heroine. One day, in prayer, I felt God telling me that I was too attached and I had to get rid of them. Oh, that was tough. I struggled and struggled to get to the place of willingness. Finally, I went to the bookshelf and picked up the books to take to a charity shop. As I put them in the bag, I felt God telling me: ‘you can keep the books!’. I was delighted, but their power over me was broken – smashed.

It strikes me that there is something prophetic too about Moses smashing the tablets of stone. It looks forward to Jesus who smashed the old ways, told us to forget rules and regulations which are burdensome, and instead follow the law of love. For some of us, perhaps the rules and regulations have become our idols. Following them is more important than loving our neighbour.

And so, I return to the questions we began with – what are your idols? Where do we spend our time, our money, our creativity? To what do we give our adoration and our love? Which of our possessions would we be distraught to lose? And what idols do we need to smash?

Prayer:

Father of love,

help us to be free of idolatry.

Show us where we look to things,

or to people,

rather than look to you.

Help us to not lean on our own understanding,

but rely on you for clear sight

fresh vision

and hearts that are open to your love

in this upside down world,

which too often values property over people.

May we show the way of love in our lives

which, free from idolatry,

put you and others before rules and regulations. Amen.