Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth: 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for
I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6And
showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments — Exodus
20:4-6
The
10 Commandments - so wonderfully encapsulates the highest moral, ethical and
spiritual standards imaginable. Their influence is outsized by any stretch of
the imagination. Our theology, the glorious gospel of Christ, and western legal
foundation, find a solid foundation in these divine precepts.
The
first four commandments deal with God and our relationship with Him. The last
six have to do with our treatment of people. As we learn, Jesus Christ summarised
the 10 commandments, indeed the entire ‘law and the prophets,’ in these two
precepts:
1.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, soul, and mind;
2.
You shall love your neighbour as yourself — Matthew
22:37-40, cf. Mark 12:28-31
After
an introduction and learning of the first commandment - no other gods - we now
learn about the second commandment, which is strongly tied to the first.
You
shall not make graven images or likeness of any thing in heaven, earth, or in
the water. At first glance, this prohibition seems to rule out much artwork,
whether it’s painting canvasses, making pots or doing of sculpture. Some
believe it is a violation of the 2nd commandment to paint pictures of Jesus or
of a dove as representative of the Holy Spirit.
Yet
verse 5 gives clarity: you shall not serve them. It is not wrong to do artwork
of Bible characters or animals, provided that you do not bow down and
worship them. Making graven images for the purpose of devotion is a sin;
simply making the items of art is not. After all, God did give a command in Exodus
25:18 and 26:13 to make cherubims. They represent holy things but
their construction is not forbidden because God Himself commands it. Second
that they themselves are not objects of worship.
Idolatry
is wrong on several counts. First, it uses human reasoning, which may or may
not be demonically influenced, to try and describe God on their terms. Romans
1:23 states And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping
things. Even in the best of days, our man-made ideas of God are woefully
inadequate compared to what He truly is. Human folly (verse 22) is the reason
for such ridiculous speculation of the Almighty
Second,
idolatry ultimately causes people to worship the creation, rather than the
Creator. Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for
ever. Amen. This is highly insulting to the Almighty. Instead of
celebrating the One who made all things possible, it adores the result of God’s
creative power. Isaiah 40:18 asks the pertinent question: To whom
then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The
answer: nothing and no one.
Third,
idolatry is a deficient, substandard, and false form of worship. In His
dialogue with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in Sychar, Jesus lays out the
rule regarding worship. Worship is not limited to geography, be it Mount Gerizim
of the Samaritans or Jerusalem of the Jews. Instead, since worship is of God
Himself, who is a Spirit, our worship to Him must be in spirit and in truth. In
fact, those who worship in this manner are called ‘true worshippers’ who are
sought of the Father Himself (John 4:23-24). So idolatry not only involves
false gods but renders the idolater as a false worshipper. What a catastrophic
misdirection of ones time, resource, and devotion. TO BE CONTINUED
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