The Emptiness of Empty Things

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 12:21

There are some sentences in Scripture that make me stop and think. I know, it should all make me stop and think. What I mean is some lines are written in a way that grabs my attention either because of their poetic beauty, their mystery, or as it is in this case their obscurity. Samuel, talking to the people of Israel after they had asked for a king instead of God, is giving them instruction and warning.

It strikes me as odd that he says, “Do not turn aside after empty things…for they are empty.” Isn’t an empty thing by definition empty? What catches my attention here is that he repeats this idea of emptiness in a somewhat unnecessary way. It is unnecessary to tell them to not go after empty things because they are empty. After all, empty things are empty. That’s what it means to be an empty thing. So, why does he talk this way?

He is driving home the point of the emptiness, the vanity, the valuelessness of idols. If you are trying to get something of true value out of an idol you are going to come up empty. The way it is written helps us by stopping us with a little repetitive language. It makes us stop and take seriously the claim that is being made.

Idols are empty. Don’t waste your time on them.