The Ten Commandments: Second Commandment

Exodus 20:4-6

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. MOSES. David. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to Come.

Our study of God’s story in his people has brought us to Mount Sinai, where we stand with the Israelites at its base. Remember, lightning is cracking, thunder roars, and smoke from God’s fiery presence covers the trembling mountain as he gives his law.

Calling the moment unforgettable is an understatement.

Last time, we looked at the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). Today, let’s move on to the second commandment. 

First Commandment: No god but God (Ex. 20:2-3)
SECOND COMMANDMENT: NO IMAGES (EX. 20:4-6)

Exodus 20:4-5
You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God, am a jealous God.

Commandment #2 is very straightforward. Those who follow God should not use any man-made image to worship him, represent him, or make him seem tangible. John Calvin wrote, “A true image of God is not found in all the world; and hence . . . His glory is defiled, and His truth corrupted by the lie, whenever He is set before our eyes in a visible form.”[1]

God has no visible form, so anything meant to represent him inherently misrepresents him! Images diminish the Creator. All human-made images will eventually rot, rust, and decay. A likeness of rotted wood or rusty metal would be a blasphemous portrayal of the eternal God. Nothing created by human hands can adequately depict God Almighty.

Don’t Worship the True God in a False Way
The command could be said this way: Don’t worship the true God in a false way. As theologian Charles Hodge says, “Idolatry consists not only in the worship of false gods, but also in the worship of the true God by images.”[2]

The image issue is so significant to theologian J. I. Packer that he devotes an entire chapter to the second commandment in his book Knowing God. He notes that “images dishonor God, for they obscure his glory” and “images mislead us, for they convey false ideas about God.”[3]

There are two primary ways we can worship God incorrectly. Let’s think through physical idolatry and mental idolatry.

Physical Idolatry
Physical idolatry is when we put God in a box. We make him into something we can see, touch, hold, and kneel before. We like to worship God using a human likeness: a picture of the crucified Christ hanging on the wall, a statue of the Virgin Mary, a Saint Christopher pendant, the “patron saint of travelers,” dangling from a rearview mirror. All these (and others) are images worshiped or prayed to instead of the Almighty God, who cannot be contained within time or space.[4]

Mental Idolatry
Mental idolatry is what comes to our minds when we think of God. For example, some might say, “I like to think of God as a loving father or grandfather,” or “a gentle mother,” or “a great artist,” or “a great architect.” Certainly, God displays all those characteristics, but he cannot be reduced to any one thing, concept, or idea.

Only God’s Voice
Moses was firm in his belief that the people of Israel should take God’s Word seriously. Later in their journey, Moses reminded them of the day they “stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire” (Deut. 4:11-12). Moses stressed that the people heard God talk, but they “saw no form; there was only a voice” (Deut. 4:12). Although there was no visible form of God, he declared his covenant and inscribed the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone (Deut. 4:13). 

Moses recalled that day on the mountain when they heard God’s voice to emphasize the second commandment. Moses told the people, “Therefore, watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you . . . out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female” (Deut. 4:15-16). 

Meet God in His Word
God’s Word is powerful and transformative. We don’t need an image “in the form of any figure” to help us know the Person of God, speak to him, and worship him. J. I. Packer writes, “The mind that takes up with images is a mind that has not yet learned to love and attend God’s Word. Those who look to manmade images, material or mental, to lead them to God are not likely to take any part of his revelation as seriously as he should.”[5]

So, let’s dedicate ourselves to engaging daily with God’s Word, keeping our hearts and minds focused on worshiping and following the one true God. 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD 
Read and reflect on Exodus 20:4-6. Are there physical objects, traditions, or symbols that may be subtly influencing your view of God more than Scripture does?

Talking to God: Ask God to open your eyes to anything that needs to be addressed regarding the second commandment. 

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