Revealed in the Law - Commandment 2

Commandment 2 - Divine Dignity

"You must not make for yourself an idol."

Deuteronomy 12

This section tells us how God should be treated.

Fully grasping the first commandment gives us a good foundation for understanding this second commandment.  There are two aspects to this commandment:  actual idols and any substitutions for the divine-human relationship with God.

This commandment prohibits ALL idols used in worship.  We can certainly get our minds around the prohibitions of representations of other contemporary gods such as any of the hundreds of Hindi gods, or Egyptian gods like the sun god Ra, or a buddha.  But God is saying any material representations of even Himself are prohibited! (Deuteronomy 4:15-19)  God gives us His reason right in Deuteronomy 4:19 that says they would draw us away (or seduce or entice us) from worshipping and loving Him directly.  In our need for something material to see, touch, control, own, use for our own purposes, but not be accountable to, we would end up substituting the exclusive divine-human relationship with an unseen and transcendent God with something lifeless and dead (5.1), ... and boring, which we would quickly lose interest in and move on to the next "interesting" thing.   

As an illustration of this substitution, consider your most precious human-human relationship(s).  I think of my husband and my daughter.  What would it be like if they were to make a material representation of me, let's say one of those life-sized cardboard cutouts with my full body picture glued to it, and set it up in the kitchen when I went away on a business trip?  Then every day they interact with it in my absence and when I return they ignore me in favor of this piece of paper.  They made it and don't have it hidden away because they know I exist, and love me and have a desire to have me be a part of their lives, but it's way easier to interact with an always smiling, never demanding representation of me than it is to interact with me in person.  Obviously, since I am visible, when I am standing right next to it, it's hard for them to actually ignore me, but so easy to do if I were invisible, right?  In ignoring me, even in their loving desire to have my image present, they are now giving their respect to the image, not to me.  The image becomes the thing with value, and my value, the respect due to me, my personhood is diminished or eliminated all together. My actual presence is no longer required or even sought.  This is what we are in danger of doing to God when we create any kind of representations of Him in our places of worship or homes.

The core of this principle is based on God's great desire to have an exclusive divine-human relationship with us.  He wants to be the One we turn to, pray to and talk with, run to with our troubles on a daily basis.  Not for us to remember with guilty pangs how we should act when we have a cross hanging from our car rearview mirror, or a picture of Jesus (what does He look like anyway (Isaiah 53:2)?) hanging in our bedroom which could actually impede our ability to fully attain the loving physical intimacy God designed for us in our marriages (see Song of Songs) because of misplaced guilt that "He's watching us," or to think of other humans gone before us as guardian angels (we do not become angels, they are separately created beings) or pray to dead humans (no matter how "saintly" they were!) who are perceived to be able to "intercede on our behalf" (only Jesus can do that!), or even to only interact with Him when we go to church on Sundays or open our Bibles.  Let me be very clear to say art or symbols depicting God is not what is prohibited, but our interacting with or praying to or serving anything or anyone instead of God Himself (an idol is anything or anyone that isn't God) is what we are to avoid.  

This principle has been very convicting for me as a former Roman Catholic.  I know my family members and spiritual brothers and sisters still in that denomination take great issue with the protestant interpretation of this principle, but these are not my words, they are God's.  And He is not being passive here.  In addition to the second commandment (think about the placement of this, next to the top) which says (Deuteronomy 5:8-10 (NASB) (emphasis mine)):

"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God."

Just because the Israelites violated this commandment in the context of worshipping other ANE gods does not mean that's the only way to violate Deuteronomy 5:8-10 NASB.  In Deuteronomy, between the recap of the history of bringing Israel out of slavery in Egypt God has Moses lead up to the reiteration of the Ten Commandments by one chapter in between -- all about... idolatry.  God says in Deuteronomy 4:11-12 (NASB) (emphasis mine):

"You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom. Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice."

God didn't even give us a form of Himself to worship!  How much more offensive to God is it that we then pray to or ascribe power to anyone else, even if a now-in-heaven faithful believer or the human woman who birthed Jesus, especially since they are human (the emphasis here is not divine, which equals powerless).  Because God has chosen to accomplish His plan through ordinary humans, it means He needs to occasionally use one in an amazing way using His power, but it absolutely never means they have become divine in the process.  Jesus of course was the sole exception, but He was no ordinary human. Deuteronomy 4:35 "The Lord is God; there is no other besides Him."

There are no exceptions or "but"s about this principle. Just before this Deuteronomy 4:2 says "Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it."  There just isn't another way to interpret this principle.  Stay with me here through my next point that I think points to the "why."

Divination was common in the ANE for people to try to learn the future.  The ancient Egyptians were the first peoples known to observe the constellations, but the Babylonians were the first to chart them as a means to forecast the future and to learn the will of the gods. (5.2)  Influences of these practices can be seen today in western cultures through things like horoscopes, tarot card-palm readers and ouija boards.  

The bottom line for these practices, and praying to dead saints or the human mother of Jesus, is that people used (and still use) them to try to circumvent God in discerning or influencing the future because they lack trust in Him.  They do not fully trust that He is a good God who will take care of them if they love and serve Him alone.  They have removed themselves (knowingly or unknowingly) from the intimate divine-human relationship with God, and substituted someone/something else (without any power) to intercede for them.  God has given us Jesus alone as our intercessor (Romans 8:26-27, 34)!  It is not surprising that anyone who anchors themselves to something or someone without any divine power feels lost, adrift, subject to many whims and chance.  A vicious cycle that stirs up even more anxieties and temptations to grab onto anyone or anything that hints at a promise for stability and peace.  There is no sure footing, no unchanging foundation upon which to stand in this tumultuous world, other than God (2 Peter 2:6).

Going back to the Israelites, the main message of this commandment served to underscore that nothing used in pagan rituals was to be used in worship of God. (5.3)  Again God is very serious about this and there are numerous examples in the other laws that exist simply because they prohibit the way people worshipped other gods, such as the strange (to us) law of Exodus 23:19 "Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk," also restated in Exodus 34:26 and again in Deuteronomy 14:21.  This was actually a widespread Canaanite fertility ritual in which the people thought boiling the sacrifice in the milk that in life would have given it strength, will in death strengthen the power and magic of the sacrifice.  God strictly forbid any of these kinds of "magical" rituals, as standalone rituals or even to incorporate portions into Israelite worship. (5.4)  The way some contemporary worship rituals blend a pluralistic approach such as to look to anything outside of the inspired canon of Scripture (think human authority here not divine), or a ritual that adopts another religion's ritual but puts a "Christian" spin on it, or certainly any "church" that also teaches other world religions at the same time as "Christianity" has dangerously crossed the line of this principle.  This is not to say we cannot read and appreciate the writings of fellow believers, but we are not to think of the writings as the inspired Word of God and ascribe them any power that is not given to them by God Himself.  There have been, and will be, many learned interpreters and teachers, but they (myself included) are not God's authorized prophets or apostles. 

Are we covered by the law of Christ if we cross such lines of blending today? 1 Corinthians 8:8 demonstrates our freedom we have in Christ, but we are called to be responsible in our treatment of God and abide by His ways (Romans 6:1-2, 12-15), because we love Him back and want to show Him our respect. Moses speaks to this exactly in Deuteronomy 12:8-9 when he says "You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit," (we know this today as "relativism") and in Deuteronomy 12:30-32 which says "be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.' You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it." (Notice the repeat of the last verse?)

Keep in mind that the most egregious sin of unrepentant and continued idol worship is what led to the cessation of the Sinai Covenant, the exile of Israel from the land, and silence from God for 400 years.

As we are under the new covenant, the law of Christ, as believers in His atonement for our sin (not anything we can do to EARN it, though we can show evidence of it), God says He will remember our sin no more (Jeremiah 31:34) even though sin will continue to plague us until Jesus' return. But that certainly does not mean we should continue to willfully behave in a manner we know displeases Him! (Romans 6:15) That would not be showing love to Him.

God is a person, and not just as the Word made flesh in Jesus (John 1:14), but as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He has personality, intellect, emotions, and a will. (5.5)

One of the most startling things I learned while studying the Pentateuch was that God actually manifested Himself to partake in the creation and ratification of the covenants and in other special events!  As a Christian, I've always known that Jesus is the ultimate manifestation of God in person, but to find evidence in the Old Testament prior to Jesus (and not just angels appearing as His messengers) just blew my mind.  See them for yourself:

• To ratify the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, Abraham set up a standard ANE ratification ceremony by spreading out cut up animal parts alongside a cleared aisle for both parties of the covenant to walk through (the animal parts represented "may this happen to me if I do not uphold my part of the covenant").  Then God caused Abraham to sleep while He Himself walked down that aisle for both of them in the form of a smoking fire pot and flaming torch. (Genesis 15:17)
• Exodus 24 tells us that God partially manifested Himself to the elders on top of Mount Sinai to ratify the Sinai Covenant with His presence and a meal (also standard ratification procedure in ANE). (Exodus 24:9-10)
• God wrote the tablets of the Ten Commandments with His own finger. (Exodus 31:18)
• God spoke face to face with Moses as with a friend in the Tent of Meeting. (Exodus 33:11)
• When the Tabernacle was completed and the sacrifices were offered, God responded by having His divine fire consume them. (i.e. Leviticus 9:24)

This last one certainly demonstrates the authenticity of God as a person in comparison to the lifeless and unresponsive idols of other religions whose sacrifices spoiled untouched on their altars. Why do you think people needed to "eat the food sacrificed to idols" in 1 Corinthians 8:4 ESV? Because "an idol has no real existence" and "there is no God but one." We also see from every single intense response when God shows His full glory (presence) to a human, He is anything but boring! (i.e. Leviticus 9:24, Numbers 16:4; Judges 13:20; 2 Chronicles 7:3)

As a New Testament aside, this context should give rich meaning now to Jesus sharing a meal with His disciples at the last supper and yet again when He shares a meal in the upper room after the resurrection to ratify His new covenant with them!

The whole account of the prophet Elijah (one man) confronting the priests of the Baal in 1 Kings 18 not only highlights this reality, when the Baal (as represented by 450 of his priests) couldn't get the wood to ignite after incredible effort in 1 Kings 18:29 but God easily did so even after drenching the wood four times with water in 1 Kings 18:38, but shows us yet another trait of God's personhood -- His sense of humor and flare for the dramatic.  I love this account for the irony and maybe even playfulness (though like how a cat plays with a mouse before the kill) of the back and forth between Elijah and the priests.  We know you can barely get a damp log to smoke when we try to light it, and here the wood is drenched four times, and the resulting fire God makes burns so hot it actually burns up the stones and dust in the trench as well!  Again, note the intensity of the responses from the people in 1 Kings 18:39 (and consider that "all" the people even means the (now former) 450 Baal priests).

Our God is very much alive and deserves dignity and our utmost respect.  Face to face.

Here are a few questions to ponder before you continue:

How is your heart responding to what you just learned?  
Do you have anything in your life that might be a snare to you to draw you away from an authentic relationship with God?
Are you willing to get rid of them if you cannot interact with them rightly and seek God directly while they are around?
Do you think of God as boring and lifeless?  If so, how might this be an indication that you are not looking directly at Him or seeking His Presence?
In quiet prayer time, ask Him to reveal to you if you need to do some housecleaning. Ask Him for help to overcome your skepticism or doubts or fears of letting them go.  Ask Him to let you feel His Presence (you will be forever changed)!
What aspect of God's personhood draws you closer to Him?

Next Post:  Commandment 3

Credit Notes

Previous Posts:

Commandment 1

The Decalogue (The Ten Commandments)

Some Background

Introduction

I encourage respectful and edifying dialog.  All comments are subject to approval.
Last updated: June 28, 2018