Exodus 20:4-6
4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.
Psalm 115:1-8
1 Not to us, LORD, not to us,
but to Your name give glory
because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth.
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven
and does whatever He pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot make a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.
Related Text:
Deuteronomy 7
Isaiah 44:6-19
Jeremiah 10:1-16
Jeremiah 16:19-21
Matthew 6:19-24
1 John 5:21
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This might get tough
So yesterday’s commandment was to not have any other gods besides the One True God. Today’s study of the 2nd commandment is similar, yet completely different. It’s kind of like God’s follow up to the first commandment just in case there are people who have ADD and didn’t pay full attention to #1.
In Biblical times, an idol referred to a handmade object that was the focus of worship of some sort. People may have worshiped a wooden pigeon, a golden calf, or a ceramic armadillo. The most serious error and sin here is that they were worshiping something other than the One True God.
Is this sort of idol worship even an issue today? Yes and no.
In our society, we may not see people going to worship or burn incense to some kind of man-made object. We may not pass by people trying to sell little hand made statues that we can take home for the specific purpose of worshiping it as a god. But make no mistake, idol worship does exist and in some cases, it is done in the exact same way as it was during the Old Testament.
However, idol worship does exist all around us, even in our own lives sometimes. It creeps in to where we don’t even realize it half the time. When we value stuff above God, we are creating an idol. (Now, you may have heard this all too much before, and you might be ready to check out. Please take a moment to consider, check your life, is there anything that you put before your relationship with God?)
Stuff just creeps into our lives and takes our focus away from God. We have to be aware, so when something begins to take away that focus, we can adjust our schedule, priorities, and wallet so that we remain true to the One who sent His Son to die for our sins.
So how do you know if there is anything in your life that you value above God? No Christian wants to admit that they worship something other than God. But we get tunnel vision with that word “worship”. No, I don’t sing praise snogs to my tv. No I don’t burn incense to my ipod. I have never sacrificed an animal and sprinkled the blood on my car, house, or clothes.
But ask yourself this, “Is there anything in my life that gets in the way of me spending time with God consistently? What get’s in the way of going to church, reading my Bible, praying, singing worship? What takes my focus and attention from the One True God?
This is a tough question for some people to answer. Ask God for humility. Be sincere. Don’t be so ashamed that you never stop to figure out what you can do to remove stuff from your life so you can worship God with everything that you have.
