“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
—Exodus 20:4-6
We often create our own version of God—one that’s convenient, indulgent, and never challenges us. But the second commandment warns us against this very trap. The gods we make up never challenge us. They agree with everything we do. There’s no laying down our life. Everything is catered towards us. But we are called to be living sacrifices, image bearers of a Heavenly Father who knelt in the dust to craft us. In this week's Manhattan Sunday message, Pastor Ryan Schlachter implores us to surrender our self-made idols and worship the true, living God who transforms us.
What is the context?
- While the first commandment tells us who we are to worship, the second command deals with how we are to worship.
- “The second commandment is about worshipping the correct God, correctly.” –Alistair Begg
- The very crux of the second commandment is to prevent us from making God who we want him to be.
God makes us, not the other way around
- At the heart of graven images is our desire to make God what we want, what we can understand and more importantly, what we can control.
- Why are idols so appealing to us today?
- Graven images are guaranteed: Nations would perform rituals of incantation after sculpting or molding an image to help that god or goddess now occupy the image to give an assurance that a god was actually there.
- Graven images are easy: A grain offering or animal offering to a graven image was a lot easier than conforming to ethical behavior.
- Graven images are convenient: When idols are everywhere, they become more convenient.
- Graven images are normal: Worship of idols to specific gods was quite normal amongst the people in the Old Testament.
- Graven images are pleasing to the senses: Many graven images were curated in a way that brought artistic beauty and visually stimulating depictions.
- Graven images are indulgent: Graven images allow us to indulge in all the things that we want, and then the deity gets what's left over.
Worship God, not what we want Him to do
- One of the chief issues with images of gods was that it perpetuated selfishness in people who worshipped them.
- If we are not careful, we can inadvertently come to God with the theory that if we scratch his back, he'll scratch ours.
- The reason we don’t worship an image of God is because we need the vastness of Him before us at all times to understand that we don’t make Him move, we align to how He’s already planning to move.
Images repeat themselves
- To repeat the image that we see in idols is to blaspheme the image that we currently have.
- Every time we exchange our glory for things created by human hands, we are defaming what God has already done for us by making us in his image.
Additional Resources
- Psalm 73:25-26
- Colossians 1:15
- Romans 1
Dinner Party Questions:
- What are some ways people try to "make God" in their own image today?
- The sermon mentioned several characteristics of graven images (e.g., they're guaranteed, easy, convenient). Which of these do you find most tempting in your own life?
- What are some modern "idols" that have become normalized in our culture? How can we resist them?
Put It Into Practice
- Spend time this week examining your life for potential "idols." Write them down and pray about how to address them.
- Practice sitting in silence with God for 10 minutes each day, resisting the urge for constant entertainment or stimulation.
- Reflect on how Jesus reveals God's character. Read a Gospel passage and note specific ways Jesus demonstrates God's attributes.
