Living the 10 Commandments

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Living the 10 Commandments

• Second Commandment

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2nd commandment

• Exodus 204You shall not make for yourself a
  carved imageany likeness of anything that is in
  heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
  that is in the water under the earth you shall
  not bow down to them nor serve them

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Whats new?

• 1st Commandment You shall have no other gods
  before Me. (Exodus 203)
• 1st Commandment tells the people WHO to worship
• 2nd Commandment tells them HOW to worship
• How do we know this? Deuteronomy 4 restates the
  10 commandments.

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2nd commandment revisited

• Deuteronomy 415-19Take careful heed to
  yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD
  spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the
  fire, lest you act corruptly and make for
  yourselves a carved image in the form of any
  figure the likeness of male or female, the
  likeness of any animal that is on the earth or
  the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the
  air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the
  ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the
  water beneath the earth. And take heed, lest you
  lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the
  sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of
  heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve
  them, which the LORD your God has given to all
  the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
  

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So what does this mean?

• 1st Commandment says dont worship other gods and
  dont make idols of other gods to worship
• 2nd Commandment says not to worship God through
  carved images
• Why is this relevant? What does it mean?

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What did polytheists believe?

• There are both visible and invisible causes at
  work in the world
• There are also natural and personal causes
• Natural causes
• Water is essential to plant life
• Water runs downhill
• Day-night cycle
• If you drop an object it falls to the ground
• Predictable, repeatable, and anticipated

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Polytheism

• Personal causes actions of other human beings
• Killing
• Stealing
• Lying
• Governed by hidden desires
• Unpredictable and not mechanical in nature
• We might try to predict someones actions based
  on what we know about them, but they could always
  surprise us

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Polytheism

• Visible
• Natural Observable physical laws
• Personal Human beings (wild, free,
  uncontrollable)
• Invisible
• What exists here? Natural or personal causes?
• The ancient polytheist believed that the
  invisible realm was peopled by personal forces
  just like the physical realm
• In their mind, invisible forces were more like
  the unpredictable behaviors of humans than they
  were the predictable natural laws
• Example Sometimes rain came in spring, sometimes
  it didnt
• This decision would be attributed to a rain god

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Gods in polytheism

• These gods acted largely in an unpredictable way
  to bring about their desires in the physical
  realm
• There were many such gods, all interacting with
  physical reality
• They were at cross-purposes with each other
• Some were stronger, some were weaker
• The outcome in human affairs was the net result
  of the actions of all the gods working with (or
  against) one another

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Gods in polytheism

• Thus life was totally unpredictable, and it was
  best to remain in good standing with the most
  powerful of gods
• Gods are finite and imperfect. They are simply
  invisible forces that affect human affairs in a
  personal way.
• They are not above the cosmos, but a part of it
• A god can be defeated or nullified by other gods,
  or even by human ingenuity

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Amun-Ra

• Amun-Ra was the sun god in ancient Egypt
• He was a personal being with a mind
• The Egyptians did not believe that he was in fact
  the sun, but that the sun was a physical
  representation of him in the physical world
• He (and the other gods) actually operated in a
  completely different realm
• To the Egyptians, the suns nature and character
  accurately represented Amun-Ras personality and
  nature

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Amun-Ra

• They felt that the sun represented him best,
  whereas other elements such as water or air did
  not
• Therefore they did not worship the sun itself, as
  much as they worshipped Amun-Ra who was
  represented by the sun

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What IS God saying?

• Do not create an image that represents Me and
  worship it as the other nations do for their gods
• I am not limited to just one aspect of nature,
  but have created and am in all things
• I am not a finite or limited god that only has
  dominion over one aspect of nature
• I am not just one influence in your life, but the
  Pantocrator

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What IS God saying?

• Nothing in this visible realm is like Me
• Do not conceive of Me as a God who can be
  represented as a finite image
• If you do, then it will not be Me you are
  worshipping, but a shrunken deity of your own
  imagination

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Purpose of the commandment

• God is not saying that we should not have
  representations of Him (icons, pictures,
  crucifixes, etc)
• He wants us to worship Him as the Pantocrator,
  the creator and sustainer of all things, and not
  limit Him in any way

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How do we limit God?

• Fear
• Disobedience
• Forgetfulness
• Complaining
• Unbelief
• Insincerity
• Unfaithfulness

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Fear

• Psalm 789 - The children of Ephraim, being armed
  and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of
  battle.
• St. Peter walking on water
• God is not able to protect and preserve us

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Disobedience

• Psalm 7810 - They did not keep the covenant of
  God They refused to walk in His law,
• Genesis 34-5Then the serpent said to the woman,
  "You will not surely die. For God knows that in
  the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened,
  and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
• Gods commands are overly restrictive. He is not
  looking out for my best interests

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Forgetfulness

• Psalm 7811, 4211 And forgot His works And His
  wonders that He had shown them. 42 They did not
  remember His power The day when He redeemed them
  from the enemy,
• Do we remember Gods deliverance and His promises?

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Complaining

• Psalm 7819-20 - Yes, they spoke against God
  They said, "Can God prepare a table in the
  wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock, So that
  the waters gushed out, And the streams
  overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He
  provide meat for His people?
• Not content with what God provides or our
  situation in life

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Unbelief

• Psalm 7822,3222 Because they did not believe in
  God, And did not trust in His salvation. 32 In
  spite of this they still sinned, And did not
  believe in His wondrous works.
• Do we still doubt God even after He continually
  reveals Himself to us?

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Insincerity

• Psalm 78 36-37Nevertheless they flattered Him
  with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their
  tongue For their heart was not steadfast with
  Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
• Do we think we can trick or fool God?

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Unfaithfulness

• Psalm 7857-58But turned back and acted
  unfaithfully like their fathers They were turned
  aside like a deceitful bow. For they provoked Him
  to anger with their high places, And moved Him to
  jealousy with their carved images.
• Do we play the harlot with God by the idols we
  worship?

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Conclusion

• 2nd Commandment tells us not to worship God with
  carved images, and not to limit Him to our own
  imaginations
• Its easy to believe that God can manage the
  galaxies, but hard to accept that He can manage
  my life
• God wants to bless us and change us, but we have
  to be willing to trust in His character and
  follow His commandments