The Law of God, The Second Commandment
Series: The Law of God
January 17, 2016
Larry W Dean
Episode Notes
The Law of God 02
The 2nd Commandment
Ex 20:4-6
4 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:
5 Thou 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;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. KJV
Introduction:
There is an enormous discussion that has been going on for a long time as to how the commands given at
Sinai were to be divided. One party holds that this particular prohibition concerning images and likenesses
is a part of the same commandment as “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Those scholars who
connect these into one commandment then separate the last commandment concerning covetousness into
two separate commands so that the number comes out to be ten.
We know for sure that there were 10 commandments and that they were written on two tables of stone.
Deut 4:12-13
12 And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the
words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten
commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. KJV
There is good scholarship behind the standard division which makes this command separate from the first
and leaves the tenth intact as one command.
This is a sort of a strange commandment that has been variously kept and variously violated throughout the
history of the worship of Jehovah. It is obvious that Aaron violated this commandment and the first one
while Moses was on the Mountain of God, Horeb.
Ex 32:1-4
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people
gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which
shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of
Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your
wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them
unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made
it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of
the land of Egypt. KJV
Moses phrased the story specifically to demonstrate that this was an image that was ‘made’ and that it was
‘fashioned with a graving tool’ in specific violation of the second commandment. So, this forever stands
as the epitome of what it means to make a graven image and bow down to it.
Interestingly enough, this word translated ‘graven image’ in the Authorized Version (KJV) is used 7 times
from Ex. to Deuteronomy.
Lev 26:1
1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither
shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD
your God. KJV
Deut 4:16
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the
likeness of male or female, KJV
Deut 4:23
23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he
made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the
LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. KJV
Deut 4:25
25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long
in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any
thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: KJV
Deut 5:8
8 Thou shalt not make 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 waters beneath the earth:
Deut 27:15
15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the
LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the
people shall answer and say, Amen. KJV
The number seven is often associated with the works of God and is considered to be a expression of
completion and perfection. If so, then the prohibition of God against fashioning any image and then
worshiping it as if it were deity is perfectly expressed through Moses as the Absolute Will of the Living
God.
It is amazing that the Israelites so brazenly and consistently violated this command and subjected themselves
to the judgment of God for their wickedness in doing so. This was the most consistent means by which they
departed from the LORD Who had given them these Ten Commandments when He delivered them from
Egypt.
So long as Moses and Joshua lived no such thing was tolerated in the nation but almost as soon as they
were gone the people turned to the outright violation of the first and second commandments.
Judg 2:8-13
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten
years old.
9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of
Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another
generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done
for Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of
Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and
bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. KJV
This was actually the reason that God had commanded them to drive out or kill all of the nations that lived
within the borders of the Promised Land. So long as Israel lived in the immediate vicinity of this kind of
worship, God knew that they would be seduced by it and drawn aside to worship false deities.
When they went into outright violation of the first two principles of the law, He would chastise them, usually
by causing some one of these nations around them to defeat them and put them into servitude. They would
cry out to God and repent and He would send them a deliverer, but almost every time within a generation
or two they would be right back in the same mess from which they had been delivered.
Israel is a grand testimony to the reality that any people, no matter how grandly the Lord may
bless them, is only one generation from heathenism.
So, what can we learn from this Second Commandment?
First of all you should know that this law did not forbid the making of images, even images that
were used in worship.
1 Kings 6:22-29
22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the
whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
23 And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.
24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the
cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were
ten cubits.
25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one
size.
26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the
cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other
cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the
house.
28 And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and
palm trees and open flowers, within and without. KJV
He made two images of angels 15 feet high with wing spans such that the two standing side by side
stretched from one side of the temple to the other. He also carved images of them in the walls and the
doors.
1 Kings 6:31-32
31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts
were a fifth part of the wall.
32 The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and
palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the
cherubims, and upon the palm trees. KJV
But the most amazing thing to me is that he made images of oxen under the great basin in which the priests
were to wash.
1 Kings 7:23-25
23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all
about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit,
compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.
25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the
west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea
was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. KJV
This tells me that the Jews did not believe that the simple making of an image was a violation of the Law
of God. If it had been, how, then did the Spirit of God come at the dedication of the temple and so inhabit
it that all of the priests were pushed outside?
This tells me that the command was a sort of a two-part thing. Look again at the words of it.
4 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:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:
The command was to not make any kind of image and then worship it as if it were deity. There is really
no other way to explain it. The nations of the world all had images which they held to be representations
and even at times personifications of supposed deities, spirit beings who held power over the world in
which they lived. Each one had his own special set of rules but it was claimed that each was an actual being
who could cause either good or bad things to happen depending upon whether he/she was pleased or
displeased.
Here would be a good place to think for a few minutes about what it means to ‘worship.’
There are actually several elements to this notion, each of which constitutes true worship when it is directed
toward the God of Scripture and false worship when directed anywhere else.
1. First of all, it means to consider some personage to be deity.
The Person Who revealed Himself to Adam, to Seth, to Enoch, to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and then to Moses, revealed Himself to be the Creator of all that exists and to be the Only Person that is
to be considered as deity. He is the Only God, the Exclusive and Unique Deity, apart from Whom no being
exists that can be compared to Him or considered as worthy of the worshipful attention of the human mind.
He is Alone, Sovereign, the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Eternal, Holy, Just, Gracious, and Merciful God.
He dwells in a sort of blinding radiance that is likened to light but which does not have natural processes
as its source. This radiance emanates from the Perfections of His Being and is so intense that even the most
elevated of the angels must cover their faces in His Presence. But instead of being an expression of
hydrogen atoms fusing into helium atoms and releasing energy in the form of electromagnetic frequencies,
some of which are visible to the human eye, this brilliance is the expression of the Splendor of His Being.
To affirm another as even similar to Him or, at the depths of human corruption, to be God instead of Him
is to blaspheme Him Whose very identity is the Only God. This is the core crime and offense of all idolatry,
the affirming of something other than God as being divine.
2. Secondly, it means to give one’s self in a conscious way to be a servant of that
deity.
If a being is believed to be deity, holding some power over human beings and their circumstances, reason
says that one ought to try to gain his favor in some way so as to prosper. Often this involves a ceremony
of some kind. Pagans who would come to be a part of Israel would be required to undergo the very painful
and humiliating rite of circumcision and be ceremonially washed among other things.
There is often a formal pledge, commitment, or promise that is expected by which a person binds himself
to the presumed deity. In Christianity there is a public proclamation or ‘confession’ of one’s faith. In
ancient times converts were questioned closely concerning their understanding of the core doctrines of the
faith. Then, they are publicly baptized and are received into the fellowship of a local assembly which has
bound itself by a mutual covenant to be faithful to God according to His Word.
Pagan worship required the same. Often very expensive gifts were to be given to the false deity and
sometimes one of a person’s own children had to be sacrificed to demonstrate his loyalty to the system.
But worship is always conscious and deliberate, an expression of a set of beliefs in regard to a specific
entity whether real or imagined. It is always assumed and required that once one has given himself or
herself to that deity as a worshiper that he/she will be consistently faithful to the set of beliefs that are
associated with that worship system.
3. Thirdly, it means to live according to a set of rules and laws associated with
that (supposed) deity.
In all reality, Christianity is the only religion in which one deliberately and consciously gives himself to an
actual Person in a sensible, rational, and intentional way. Most conversions to religion are commitments,
either voluntary or coerced, to a system of rules, laws, procedures, ceremonies, etc. But Christianity has
in common with idolatry that there are literal principles, articulated and understood, that govern the worship
and define one’s commitments.
Idolatrous religions sometimes mirror elements of True Worship. After all, there was a time, in fact two
times, when the True Worship of God was the Only Religion in the world. (After the Fall and after the
Flood) It should not surprise us, then, that remnants of that original form have survived in the false worship
systems of the world. Not only that, but some of the false religions have been deliberate make-overs (we
now call them ‘hacks’) of the True Worship of God. But those who worship according to those false
systems, to one degree or another, follow the proscriptions of those ideologies and allegiance to the
authority of the system, under the presumption that the chief character of it is deity, and that is idolatry.
4. Fourthly, in its’ purest form, it means to commit one’s self exclusively to the
system of worship and life associated with that deity.
We see this manifested in the stories of Daniel and the group of three Hebrews that were associated with
him. To refuse to worship the king’s image or to pray to anyone other than the king was considered both
sacrilege and treason at the same time. Those who were citizens of Babylon or Persia were presumed and
required to be exclusive adherents to that system and any variation from it or disobedience to it was
considered treason and punishable by death.
Any religion which presumes itself to be true and right considers its’ deity or system as exclusive and
demands that one shut out all other systems. Now, again, Christianity makes the same claim and the same
requirements but it does not abuse and put to death those who do not agree. Almost every system of false
worship has a means of coercing obedience and of oppression of any other system of thought.
The reality is that the longer these systems were in existence the more inclusive they became until Greece
and Rome had more deities than they could name. Idolatry is a degenerative religion which follows an ever
downward spiral. That which begins as insanity ends as absurdity which is totally unworthy of the mind that
God has given to His special creatures.
Rom 1:18-23
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto
them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they
are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;
but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 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. KJV
It is absurd on an incredible level to worship images made like men, birds, elephants and bugs but this is
the path that idolatry follows. We live in a day in which a person might on one day abort a child as if it
were nothing and on the next protest in the streets over the death of a lion. They might send a child home
from school for bringing a bible but then spend a weekend camped in the forest trying to save the life of
a tree. A teacher might refuse to lead the class in prayer or the pledge of allegiance and then force them
to participate in some program designed to confuse them about their gender. This is the insanity of false
theology and false worship.
But how did this country which is home to two of the greatest Christian Revivals that have ever existed
become what it is today?
Look again at Rom 1:21-23, a people who knew the truth about God perverted their understanding of Him,
refusing to acknowledge Him as God, changed what they taught and understood about His glory, and
descended down the slippery slope of idolatry.
Here is the reality of idolatry. The core of it is not a physical image or idol. The core of it is an imagined
deity who is not real, not the True God at all, but a falsehood, a lie, a deception.
Probably the greatest idolatry of all is the perversion of the Christian faith by the preaching and proclaiming
of a God and a Christ that is ‘sort of’ like the true one but false enough in critical areas that its’ gospel is
not a gospel at all but an idolatrous theology which will forever condemn its adherents to fiery and horrible
judgment.
Now it is true that man is wicked and depraved and left to his own devices will invent all of the evils that
we see going on around us, but think about this. God gave the church to the world to be a sort of a ‘hedge’
against the wickedness becoming all consuming. It has been and still is the task of the church to bear
witness to the truth concerning God and concerning sin. But sometime in the last 100 years she has given
up her post, redirected her message, and completely abandoned the practice of intercessory prayer.
Seriously, comparing today with 100 years ago, how does our level of intercession before God for our
families, our communities, and our nations compare with their’s? 50%? 25%? 10%? If I were to guess,
I would put the figure somewhere under 5%.
Christianity, generally speaking, has forsaken its’ mission, invented a false God and a false gospel, and by
doing so has cast an entire culture into the grips of the kingdom of darkness.
What is even worse in my mind is that there are many who know this but refuse to take up their duty and
do the work that God has called them to do. Do you see how few come to our Convocations of Prayer?
Hundreds know about it. Tens of thousands could find out about it if they would look. Do you know how
many such things are going on in American and England? So few that it is embarrassing. Idolatry has
consequences. It always did and it still does. Consider this passage.
Ezek 22:30-31
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap
before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the
fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord
GOD. KJV
The 2nd Commandment
Ex 20:4-6
4 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:
5 Thou 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;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. KJV
Introduction:
There is an enormous discussion that has been going on for a long time as to how the commands given at
Sinai were to be divided. One party holds that this particular prohibition concerning images and likenesses
is a part of the same commandment as “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Those scholars who
connect these into one commandment then separate the last commandment concerning covetousness into
two separate commands so that the number comes out to be ten.
We know for sure that there were 10 commandments and that they were written on two tables of stone.
Deut 4:12-13
12 And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the
words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten
commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. KJV
There is good scholarship behind the standard division which makes this command separate from the first
and leaves the tenth intact as one command.
This is a sort of a strange commandment that has been variously kept and variously violated throughout the
history of the worship of Jehovah. It is obvious that Aaron violated this commandment and the first one
while Moses was on the Mountain of God, Horeb.
Ex 32:1-4
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people
gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which
shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of
Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your
wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them
unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made
it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of
the land of Egypt. KJV
Moses phrased the story specifically to demonstrate that this was an image that was ‘made’ and that it was
‘fashioned with a graving tool’ in specific violation of the second commandment. So, this forever stands
as the epitome of what it means to make a graven image and bow down to it.
Interestingly enough, this word translated ‘graven image’ in the Authorized Version (KJV) is used 7 times
from Ex. to Deuteronomy.
Lev 26:1
1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither
shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD
your God. KJV
Deut 4:16
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the
likeness of male or female, KJV
Deut 4:23
23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he
made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the
LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. KJV
Deut 4:25
25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long
in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any
thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: KJV
Deut 5:8
8 Thou shalt not make 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 waters beneath the earth:
Deut 27:15
15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the
LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the
people shall answer and say, Amen. KJV
The number seven is often associated with the works of God and is considered to be a expression of
completion and perfection. If so, then the prohibition of God against fashioning any image and then
worshiping it as if it were deity is perfectly expressed through Moses as the Absolute Will of the Living
God.
It is amazing that the Israelites so brazenly and consistently violated this command and subjected themselves
to the judgment of God for their wickedness in doing so. This was the most consistent means by which they
departed from the LORD Who had given them these Ten Commandments when He delivered them from
Egypt.
So long as Moses and Joshua lived no such thing was tolerated in the nation but almost as soon as they
were gone the people turned to the outright violation of the first and second commandments.
Judg 2:8-13
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten
years old.
9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of
Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another
generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done
for Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of
Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and
bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. KJV
This was actually the reason that God had commanded them to drive out or kill all of the nations that lived
within the borders of the Promised Land. So long as Israel lived in the immediate vicinity of this kind of
worship, God knew that they would be seduced by it and drawn aside to worship false deities.
When they went into outright violation of the first two principles of the law, He would chastise them, usually
by causing some one of these nations around them to defeat them and put them into servitude. They would
cry out to God and repent and He would send them a deliverer, but almost every time within a generation
or two they would be right back in the same mess from which they had been delivered.
Israel is a grand testimony to the reality that any people, no matter how grandly the Lord may
bless them, is only one generation from heathenism.
So, what can we learn from this Second Commandment?
First of all you should know that this law did not forbid the making of images, even images that
were used in worship.
1 Kings 6:22-29
22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the
whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
23 And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.
24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the
cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were
ten cubits.
25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one
size.
26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the
cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other
cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the
house.
28 And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and
palm trees and open flowers, within and without. KJV
He made two images of angels 15 feet high with wing spans such that the two standing side by side
stretched from one side of the temple to the other. He also carved images of them in the walls and the
doors.
1 Kings 6:31-32
31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts
were a fifth part of the wall.
32 The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and
palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the
cherubims, and upon the palm trees. KJV
But the most amazing thing to me is that he made images of oxen under the great basin in which the priests
were to wash.
1 Kings 7:23-25
23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all
about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit,
compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.
25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the
west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea
was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. KJV
This tells me that the Jews did not believe that the simple making of an image was a violation of the Law
of God. If it had been, how, then did the Spirit of God come at the dedication of the temple and so inhabit
it that all of the priests were pushed outside?
This tells me that the command was a sort of a two-part thing. Look again at the words of it.
4 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:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:
The command was to not make any kind of image and then worship it as if it were deity. There is really
no other way to explain it. The nations of the world all had images which they held to be representations
and even at times personifications of supposed deities, spirit beings who held power over the world in
which they lived. Each one had his own special set of rules but it was claimed that each was an actual being
who could cause either good or bad things to happen depending upon whether he/she was pleased or
displeased.
Here would be a good place to think for a few minutes about what it means to ‘worship.’
There are actually several elements to this notion, each of which constitutes true worship when it is directed
toward the God of Scripture and false worship when directed anywhere else.
1. First of all, it means to consider some personage to be deity.
The Person Who revealed Himself to Adam, to Seth, to Enoch, to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and then to Moses, revealed Himself to be the Creator of all that exists and to be the Only Person that is
to be considered as deity. He is the Only God, the Exclusive and Unique Deity, apart from Whom no being
exists that can be compared to Him or considered as worthy of the worshipful attention of the human mind.
He is Alone, Sovereign, the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Eternal, Holy, Just, Gracious, and Merciful God.
He dwells in a sort of blinding radiance that is likened to light but which does not have natural processes
as its source. This radiance emanates from the Perfections of His Being and is so intense that even the most
elevated of the angels must cover their faces in His Presence. But instead of being an expression of
hydrogen atoms fusing into helium atoms and releasing energy in the form of electromagnetic frequencies,
some of which are visible to the human eye, this brilliance is the expression of the Splendor of His Being.
To affirm another as even similar to Him or, at the depths of human corruption, to be God instead of Him
is to blaspheme Him Whose very identity is the Only God. This is the core crime and offense of all idolatry,
the affirming of something other than God as being divine.
2. Secondly, it means to give one’s self in a conscious way to be a servant of that
deity.
If a being is believed to be deity, holding some power over human beings and their circumstances, reason
says that one ought to try to gain his favor in some way so as to prosper. Often this involves a ceremony
of some kind. Pagans who would come to be a part of Israel would be required to undergo the very painful
and humiliating rite of circumcision and be ceremonially washed among other things.
There is often a formal pledge, commitment, or promise that is expected by which a person binds himself
to the presumed deity. In Christianity there is a public proclamation or ‘confession’ of one’s faith. In
ancient times converts were questioned closely concerning their understanding of the core doctrines of the
faith. Then, they are publicly baptized and are received into the fellowship of a local assembly which has
bound itself by a mutual covenant to be faithful to God according to His Word.
Pagan worship required the same. Often very expensive gifts were to be given to the false deity and
sometimes one of a person’s own children had to be sacrificed to demonstrate his loyalty to the system.
But worship is always conscious and deliberate, an expression of a set of beliefs in regard to a specific
entity whether real or imagined. It is always assumed and required that once one has given himself or
herself to that deity as a worshiper that he/she will be consistently faithful to the set of beliefs that are
associated with that worship system.
3. Thirdly, it means to live according to a set of rules and laws associated with
that (supposed) deity.
In all reality, Christianity is the only religion in which one deliberately and consciously gives himself to an
actual Person in a sensible, rational, and intentional way. Most conversions to religion are commitments,
either voluntary or coerced, to a system of rules, laws, procedures, ceremonies, etc. But Christianity has
in common with idolatry that there are literal principles, articulated and understood, that govern the worship
and define one’s commitments.
Idolatrous religions sometimes mirror elements of True Worship. After all, there was a time, in fact two
times, when the True Worship of God was the Only Religion in the world. (After the Fall and after the
Flood) It should not surprise us, then, that remnants of that original form have survived in the false worship
systems of the world. Not only that, but some of the false religions have been deliberate make-overs (we
now call them ‘hacks’) of the True Worship of God. But those who worship according to those false
systems, to one degree or another, follow the proscriptions of those ideologies and allegiance to the
authority of the system, under the presumption that the chief character of it is deity, and that is idolatry.
4. Fourthly, in its’ purest form, it means to commit one’s self exclusively to the
system of worship and life associated with that deity.
We see this manifested in the stories of Daniel and the group of three Hebrews that were associated with
him. To refuse to worship the king’s image or to pray to anyone other than the king was considered both
sacrilege and treason at the same time. Those who were citizens of Babylon or Persia were presumed and
required to be exclusive adherents to that system and any variation from it or disobedience to it was
considered treason and punishable by death.
Any religion which presumes itself to be true and right considers its’ deity or system as exclusive and
demands that one shut out all other systems. Now, again, Christianity makes the same claim and the same
requirements but it does not abuse and put to death those who do not agree. Almost every system of false
worship has a means of coercing obedience and of oppression of any other system of thought.
The reality is that the longer these systems were in existence the more inclusive they became until Greece
and Rome had more deities than they could name. Idolatry is a degenerative religion which follows an ever
downward spiral. That which begins as insanity ends as absurdity which is totally unworthy of the mind that
God has given to His special creatures.
Rom 1:18-23
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto
them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they
are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;
but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 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. KJV
It is absurd on an incredible level to worship images made like men, birds, elephants and bugs but this is
the path that idolatry follows. We live in a day in which a person might on one day abort a child as if it
were nothing and on the next protest in the streets over the death of a lion. They might send a child home
from school for bringing a bible but then spend a weekend camped in the forest trying to save the life of
a tree. A teacher might refuse to lead the class in prayer or the pledge of allegiance and then force them
to participate in some program designed to confuse them about their gender. This is the insanity of false
theology and false worship.
But how did this country which is home to two of the greatest Christian Revivals that have ever existed
become what it is today?
Look again at Rom 1:21-23, a people who knew the truth about God perverted their understanding of Him,
refusing to acknowledge Him as God, changed what they taught and understood about His glory, and
descended down the slippery slope of idolatry.
Here is the reality of idolatry. The core of it is not a physical image or idol. The core of it is an imagined
deity who is not real, not the True God at all, but a falsehood, a lie, a deception.
Probably the greatest idolatry of all is the perversion of the Christian faith by the preaching and proclaiming
of a God and a Christ that is ‘sort of’ like the true one but false enough in critical areas that its’ gospel is
not a gospel at all but an idolatrous theology which will forever condemn its adherents to fiery and horrible
judgment.
Now it is true that man is wicked and depraved and left to his own devices will invent all of the evils that
we see going on around us, but think about this. God gave the church to the world to be a sort of a ‘hedge’
against the wickedness becoming all consuming. It has been and still is the task of the church to bear
witness to the truth concerning God and concerning sin. But sometime in the last 100 years she has given
up her post, redirected her message, and completely abandoned the practice of intercessory prayer.
Seriously, comparing today with 100 years ago, how does our level of intercession before God for our
families, our communities, and our nations compare with their’s? 50%? 25%? 10%? If I were to guess,
I would put the figure somewhere under 5%.
Christianity, generally speaking, has forsaken its’ mission, invented a false God and a false gospel, and by
doing so has cast an entire culture into the grips of the kingdom of darkness.
What is even worse in my mind is that there are many who know this but refuse to take up their duty and
do the work that God has called them to do. Do you see how few come to our Convocations of Prayer?
Hundreds know about it. Tens of thousands could find out about it if they would look. Do you know how
many such things are going on in American and England? So few that it is embarrassing. Idolatry has
consequences. It always did and it still does. Consider this passage.
Ezek 22:30-31
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap
before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the
fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord
GOD. KJV
Content Copyright Belongs to Bridgetown Baptist Church
5904