Exodus 20:2-3
2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
3 Do not have other gods besides Me.
1 Chronicles 16:23-31
23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Proclaim His salvation from day to day.
24 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.
25 For the LORD is great and is highly praised;
He is feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and joy are in His place.
28 Ascribe to the LORD, families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;
bring an offering and come before Him.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness;
30 tremble before Him, all the earth.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.
31 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The LORD is King!”
Related Text:
Exodus 18:8-10
Deuteronomy 4:32-39
Deuteronomy 5:1-21
Deuteronomy 13:1-16
Isaiah 37:15-20
Ephesians 4:4-6
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Think On This
Idols were (and many times still are) viewed as having god-like power. People believed that the power of the gods could be contained in the idol that they worshiped. This is one reason why God refused to allow any images (or idols) to be made of Him. Think about it, if He wanted to, couldn’t He have come down from the mountain after chatting with Moses and made an appointment with the local art sculptor? Sure He could have. He’s God. But He knew how ridiculous us humans can get from time to time, and we’d probably start worshiping the man made art instead of God.
(Wait a minute, this exact thing happened. God saved the Israelites from poisonous snake bites by creating a statue of a snake. If the people believed and wanted God to save them, they had to look at the snake statue after they got bit by a snake. – Numbers 21:4-9 – But after a little while, the people started worshiping the snake, so they eventually had to destroy it. – 2 Kings 18:4 – See, we can’t be trusted!)
God didn’t want us to begin to worship a picture or statue of Himself. God wants us to worship and praise Him and only Him. Not a picture or a statue of Him or anything or anyone else. Him alone!
God’s presence and power cannot be limited to a human created object. Idols have no real power, they can be broken, destroyed, or stolen. God is living, and is not bound by a building, a church, a temple, a golden calf, or a statue of a snake. PRAISE GOD THAT HE IS NOT LIMITED TO OUR IMAGINATION OR EXPERTISE IN CONSTRUCTION!
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