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TEXT: Exodus 20:1-17
SUBJECT: The First of the Ten Commandments
The first two commandments have quite a bit in common. So much, in fact, that Roman Catholics and Lutherans combine the two into a single precept. But there is a difference, and a very important one at that.
The First Commandment reveals the object of worship: The LORD. "You shall have no other gods before Me" clearly means that we are to worship God and Him alone. "I am God and there is none else; I am God and there is none like Me".
The Second Commandment tells the way to worship Him. Not through the use of images, but as He directs us in His Word.
The Second Commandment, therefore, forbids the religious use of images. Not all statues, paintings, and the like, of course, but only those used for devotional purposes. This includes two things:
1.Idols. An idol can be informally defined as the image of a false god. Baal, Dagon, Molech, and the like were "gods" (of a sort). And they were worshipped by various carvings of wood, stone, or precious metal. Now, that the LORD would not have us worship at the altar of false gods needs no belaboring. "My little children, keep yourselves from idols".
2.Icons. An icon should not be confused with an idol. It is actually worse--far worse. For whereas an idol represents a false god, icons are made to supposedly honor the True God! Most often, they take the form of a crucifix, although other images are used as well.
Now, what's wrong with icons? If the thing itself is worshipped, then it becomes an idol. But what's wrong with the use of images if they are kept in their proper place, as aids to devotion, rather than the object of worship?
1.No image can adequately represent God. "To whom, then will you liken God? Or with what likeness will you compare to Him?" asks Isaiah. "What is God? "God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable..." Think about it: How does an artist carve infinity into a slab of marble? How can paints depict the eternal? How can anyone visibly represent an invisible Spirit?
2.Because no image can adequately represent God, it follows that every image mis-represents Him! "What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, the molded image, a teacher of lies" (Habakkuk 2:8). This is a strange Scripture, isn't it. How can an image "teach lies"? Not verbally, of course. Not by writing a note. Not by acting it out. An image can only deceive by its appearance. Therefore, no supposed image of God can possibly embody the "God who cannot lie".
3.Finally, the Bible contains at least one example of men using images in His worship and God's response to them. See Exodus 32:1-0 and its aftermath, vv.27-28, 34-35.
We must conclude, therefore, that the Second Commandment forbids all use of religious imagery. The tenderest "Mary", the bloodiest "Jesus", the grandest "God", the holiest "saints" are an abomination to the LORD.
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But the Word does not only forbid the setting up of wooden images, but of mental ones as well. "Son of man--said God to Ezekiel--these men have set up idols in their hearts..." Mental imagery--I would define--as unbiblical and distorted thinking about God.
What's the difference between limiting God's on canvass--or in the mind? Is it the canvass God is displeased with? No. It is clearly the idea behind the painting He finds so objectionable. Therefore, wrong thinking about God is also a violation of the Second Commandment.
But how do we think wrongly about God? In short, whenever our concept of God is drawn from anywhere but Scripture. Examples abound:
1.The "Limited God" as preached in Evangelical churches--the God unable to save without the sinner's cooperation--is an image.
2.The "Indulgent God"--the God who winks at the sin of His people and only wants them to "do their best"--is an image.
3.The "Hard God"--the God who will not forgive gross or repeated sins--is an image.
4.The "Sentimental God"--the God more pleased with warm feelings than principled obedience--is an image.
And so, whenever our concept of God is out of line with His revelation in Scripture, then we too are paying our respects to a "graven image".
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Thus, from a negative perspective, the Second Commandment forbids the use of all imagery (physical or mental) in the worship of God.
But this brings us to the positive. What does the Second Commandment require? This is stated easily: Purity of Worship. The Westminster Confession of Faith, Article 21, paragraph 1, says:
"The light of nature sheweth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is good and doeth good unto all; and is therefore, to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture".
Perhaps the easiest way to understand my point (and hopefully remember it), is to recall a saying, once common in the Christian Reformed Church: "You worship your way and we'll worship His way".
But what is "His" way? Jesus tells us plainly: "Those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth". This is "His" way! All worship, therefore, must be:
1."True". No matter how beautiful, sincere, or enjoyable an act of worship may be, if it is untrue, then it is displeasing to God. Kirkegaard, the depressed Dane, thought that a pagan bowing before his idol with passion was worshipping God, albeit ignorantly. His philosophy has been watered down a bit and turned into something like this: "It doesn't matter how you believe or do as long as you're sincere". Evidently, a warm heresy is better than a cold truth. Enthusiastic gibberish is better than dull preaching. Fervent singing (whatever its content) is better than the listless singing of Psalms or great hymns.
a.It seems, in other words, that passion or excitement is central to the worship of God. But I wonder if this is so? Were any worshippers more passionate than the prophets of Baal who screamed to their god for hours, leaped upon his altar, and nearly bled to death in his honor? Or, for another example, how about Israel around the "Golden Calf". The people weren't moping around, "going through the motions", etc. They were wild with enthusiasm, yet God cut them down in their ecstasy.
2.And so, what is true worship? In a nutshell, this:
a.Coming to God
b.Through the mediation of Christ
c.In dependence on the Holy Spirit
d.And guided by Scripture.
3.If this is what worship is, then it follows that God puts a high premium on solid and deep knowledge.
a."Coming to God" after all, means that you know God, His nature, attributes, and works.
b."Through the mediation of Christ" assumes that you know something of His Humanity and His Deity, His humiliation and His exaltation, His "active obedience" and His "passive obedience". The design and extent of the atonement. In short, you know what you're talking about when you say "Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture".
c."In dependence on the Holy Spirit" means that you understand His procession from God and Christ, His office, and His work in Scripture, the Church, and your life.
d."And guided by Scripture" assumes that you know the nature and authority of Scripture, as well as how to interpret it.
Thus, the Second Commandment requires more than it forbids. It is comparatively easy to "flee idolatry". But it's hard--very hard--to "worship God in truth".
1.It requires the careful study of Scripture, with one passage throwing light on another.
2.From these raw materials, it requires the forming of Scripture into a systematic and logical whole.
3.It requires the judicious use of teachers (verbal or written). "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good".
4.It requires consulting with other Christians on matters spiritual and theological.
5.It requires prayer. "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law".
Finally, why should you go to all of this trouble? Why worry about it all? Why not let someone else do your thinking for you? The Second Commandment offers two pretty good reasons:
1."For I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me".
a.The implications are serious: The one who will put little or no thought into the worship of God, enrages God, imperils his children, and bears the title, "Hater of God".
2."But showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments".
a.Putting some thought into worship and theology is an evidence of saving grace and a token of future blessedness.
And so, the First Commandment tells us who to worship: God. The Second instructs us how to worship Him: His way.
"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God;
Your Spirit is good; lead me into the land of
uprightness".
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