10 Commandments: Second Commandment

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.Last time The first commandment is to worship God only, allowing no false god to capture our heart.The rest of the Decalogue, and in fact the entire Torah, depend on this spiritual principle.The second commandment, in a sense, concerns concretely disobeying the first -- that is, creating an idol, which naturally competes with God for our attention, energy, loyalty, and worship.TextSecond commandmentExodus 20:4-6: You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.CommentsNo physical images of God were permitted.Amazingly, among the religions of the ancient Near East, only Judaism is aniconic; all others represent their deities through statues and other imagery.The Jews did, however, portray him in numerous literary images (as in the poetry of the prophets and Psalms).Nature worship is a serious error.In the ancient world, people worshiped the sun, moon, and stars; forces of nature; animals; persons (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was a "god"); various spirits; and so forth.Creator and creation are separate (see Romans 1). If the creation were divine, or everything was God, there would be pantheism. Yet biblically they are separate.Although the creation reflects the glory of the creator (Psalm 8, 19), this reflection must not be taken as ultimate.The Holy of Holies was empty. There is no image for two reasons:God may not be seen; he is wholly transcendcent and holy.We are the image of God (Genesis 1)! We represent him on this planet.Sin has consequences, and may affect several generations. God's goodness would extend to 1000 generations (such an imbalance!).Jealousy occurs in two varieties: one healthy (the rightful jealousy of a spouse; the jealousy of God), the other unhealthy (the self-directed jealousy, which is related to envy).As in 1 John 1-2, love without obedience is not love at all.Notice God's benevolence: punishing for a few generations, blessing for a thousand.If idolatry is present in our lives, we will not be able to honor God's name as holy -- and thus the connection to the third commandment.Thought questionsIs there anything more important to me than God, any idol -- whether material or immaterial -- coming between the Lord and me? We often speak of priorities; the Bible speaks of idolatries.Are we drawn to literal idols - as in Hinduism, Buddhism, and several other religions?Possible idols: money, government, power, lifestyle, spouse, child, friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, technology, education, sport, popularity, reputation, health.. Bible (bibliolatry), church, a spiritual leader, etc. can also be idols.In 1 John 5:21, the idol is a warped concept of Jesus (in that case, a God not truly incarnate). Men, are you putting career ahead of your family? ahead of the Lord?Women, are you putting any relationships ahead of the Lord? your family? anything else?Do I understand that idolatry dogged ancient Israel, and is a major reason why God's people wandered in the desert as long as they did?Have I been wandering? (Could the reason be some form of idolatry?) Next time: the third commandment.