The Ten Commandments

The 2nd Commandment

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”

Exodus 20:4-6, NLT

This command isn’t really that different from the first one, is it?Still, I think that there is enough about this that we can spend a page discussing it all on its own. 

Strictly speaking, just as the above biblical text shows, idolatry is making a thing that you bow down to and worship (as if it were a god). It could be a carved image or any likeness of anything. Some of them are pretty imaginatively made. It’s very common to have an idol be a blend of two or more creatures into one likeness. Some of them are really wacky. But all of them are fiercely hated by the Creator. And for this reason, it would be a good idea to avoid them altogether. 

While I have never made something that I bow down to, I have placed certain things or people really highly in my heart or mind. And for that reason, I think we could say that anything that has a place in our heart, which is equal to or above God, is an idol. Such things are common and all around us. Here are just a few things (or people) that anyone could treat the same as an idol:

• Money
• Work
• Loved ones (parents, siblings, children, spouses, etc.)
• Powerful people, or just power itself
• Famous people, like entertainers, or just fame itself
• Beautiful people, or just beauty itself
• Wise people, or wisdom itself
• Kind people, or kindness itself
• Ourselves
• Drugs, sex, music, or anything else that fills a void in our psyche

Obviously, we could name more than this short list, but you get the idea. 

Also notice how this command has such a strong warning of consequences for breaking it and blessing for following it. This should show us just how big of a deal this is for the Creator. In fact, if you look around the world at cultures that have idols, you might see that most of them have some pretty dark corners in their land. For example, India, which has more idols than anyone could count, has a real problem with their quality of life. America, in contrast, which has practically no idols (at least none are official), has the highest quality of life in the world. Just something to note.

When the early Church was struggling with what to do about the Law of Moses (what is important to keep and what we could do away with) one of the things they came up with was not eating food that was sacrificed to idols. This, too, tells me that this is a big deal.

Lastly, let’s not make a big deal out of God saying that He is a “jealous God”, as if it’s a weakness in His character. We should simply consider that He loves us, and our relationship with Him, enough that He jealously guards it. That is not weakness or sin; it’s strength of conviction and a powerful emotion. It shows the depth of His love and devotion to us. So let’s embrace that He is jealous for us and our devotion. Personally, I would not be devoted to my wife if she were not devoted to me. Why would I expect my Creator to feel any differently? It helps me to relate to Him and realize that I really am made in His likeness in certain ways. And it confirms that I am important to Him, while in avoiding idols like the plague I can show that He is important to me. 

Love God, not images made by man.

In Him,

Gary

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