Commandment #2: Thou Shalt Not Make unto Thee Any Graven Image (Exodus 20:4-6)
2023-04-01
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. (Exodus 20:4-6)
This is the second commandment. This involves making images of God. The reason why this is grievous is twofold. First, God cannot be likened to any created object. He is the eternal Creator and everything else is a subordinate creature.
Second, God designated humankind to be in His image. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26). This ultimately reflects on our Lord Jesus Christ when He said He “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15).
All “gods” that are not God are things that were created by God but deified by people. When you bow to an idol or an image, you bow to an inferior thing. It is inferior to God and to you. Of people, He says, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
Do not be deceived by any mainline Christian denomination, saying that Exodus 20:4 is a part of the first commandment. This is done because these sects have their own graven images of venerated personages. However, the problem with this interpretation is that Exodus 20:5 says “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.” What is the antecedent of “them”? It cannot be a standalone precept; verse 4 must be a part of the same command as verse 5.
God is jealous. He wants the allegiance of His people because of all He did for them. The sinner who hates Him will feel the affects of their sins generations into the future. He shows mercy also, though, and this is made possible only because the Lord Jesus Christ would come and die for our sin.
Most agree that making statues of God or gods is a bad idea. How far does this extend? Pictures of Jesus in children’s Sunday School handouts? The cross hanging in the church auditorium? Most churches are going to have some of this to a degree, and most people are not going to think of them as idols. Everything in life calls for caution, and minimizing this sort of thing is best.
This commandment is distinct from the first commandment because people say they worship the LORD, the creator God named Jehovah, but attribute a physical image to Him. The golden calf was one such an example. The result was great judgment against the people.