The Second Commandment

The Second Commandment

“You shall not make for yourself any graven idol, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water below the earth. You

shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, a visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of

them who hate Me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of them who love Me and keep My commandments.” Exo 20:4-6

The main point of the Second Commandment is in two (2) parts: 1) God-ward, that God is a spirit, whom no man has seen, of whom no physical description is found in the bible,

and so therefore any representation of him is not just inaccurate, but false, a lie, and 2) Regarding worship, that worship of, or at any representation, or using any representation

as an aid to worship is wrong.

Many people try to get around this clear statement prohibiting images, statues, pictures etc.

A first attempt to get around this is to say only graven images are prohibited, but the next phrase says, “any likeness.”

The next attempt to get around this is to say that God cannot mean “anything”, since artwork must be OK, and therefore this commandment is not really relevant. But God is

obviously talking about making something as an object of worship, he says, “idol.”

Another attempt is to say, “I don’t bow down or worship the image.” But to “bow down” means any physical act showing reverence, or respect, or worship, like kneeing, standing

reverently and quietly, or doing obeisance like genuflecting. And though you may not be “worshiping” the statue or image itself, but “only” praying to the person the image

supposedly represents, it is a clear violation of the command to worship only God.

Do not try to get around this commandment, it is serious; God says that breaking this commandment means you “hate” him!

God is a spirit, he is the invisible God, and therefore any rendering of him is wrong, no rendering can do him justice.

“Now to the eternal, immortal, invisible King, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever. Amen.” 1Ti 1:17

That regards God the Father, he is invisible.

What about pictures of Jesus, God the Son; are they OK? No, because there is not one word in the Bible giving us a physical description of Jesus; it is total guess work!

And what about picturing the Holy Spirit as a dove? The picture itself may not be bad, but the desire to make a representation of him is absolutely contrary to the clear statement

of this command.

Jesus said, “Yet the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is

Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.” Jhn 4:23-24

Let us be wise and obey God, and stop making pictures etc of whom we have not seen, and of whom there is no description.

Then there is the whole issue of praying to images. I know many Catholics, and none of them say they are worshipping the statue or image! The statue or image represents

someone to whom they are praying. It helps them. But this is still a violation of the commandment, we are told to pray directly to the Father in Jesus’ name – period.

Praying to God / Jesus by way of another person, is to put that person between God and me; God tells us not to do that; is worshipping that other person. Roman Catholic images

and praying to saints, with or without the image, is a blatant violation of this commandment. I go to the statue, I pray to the person the statue supposedly represents

(of course there is no picture of the person, it is again guess work), and I pray to the person while looking at the statue. I ask that person, to intercede with God for me. We

can play all the word games we want with each other, what do you think God says? If I talk to the picture of my old girl friend, what do you think my wife will say?

By the death of Christ, we have complete access directly to the Father in Jesus’ name. To make an image, and then pray to the person represented by the image is to dis-believe and

dis-obey God; it is to love the person the statue represents, and to hate God. Just like my wife would say!

God calls that sin.

Then consider non-Christian religions that represent God as animals: elephants, monkeys, many armed humans, etc.

“Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. But their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; eyes, but they

cannot see; they have ears, but they cannot hear; noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; feet, but they cannot walk; neither can they speak with their

throat.” Psa 115:3-7

“Because, although they knew God (about him from creation), they did not glorify Him or give thanks to Him as God, but became futile in their imaginations, and their foolish

hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools. They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, birds, four-footed beasts,

and creeping things.” Rom 1:21-23

This too is sin.

While we may be unable to really understand how there is an eternally self-existing being, who is invisible and hence non represent able, that is exactly what the bible teaches.

If I can understand him, he is not God!