Mar 22
13
Old Testament Reading: Exodus 20:4-6
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any 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 or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:4–6, ESV)
New Testament Reading: Acts 2:37-42
“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.’ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:37–42, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
We have come now to the second of the Ten Commandments, which forbids idolatry.
And by way of introduction, I think it would be good for me to remind you that the first four of the Ten Commandments teach us about how we are to relate to God, whereas the last six of the Ten Commandments teach us about how we are to relate to our fellow man. This can be easily observed in the Ten Commandments themselves, but it is also seen in the answer that Christ gave to the question, “which is the great commandment in the Law?” You will notice that Christ was asked to identify the single greatest commandment. But Christ picked two. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:36–40, ESV).
As I have said in previous sermons, the command from Deuteronomy 6:5, “love the Lord your God” with all you are, sums up the first four of the Ten Commandments. And the command from Leviticus 19:18, “love your neighbor as yourself”, sums up the last six.
I would like to spend just a moment with you thinking a little more carefully about the relationship between the Ten Commandments and the two which summarize them.
What do the two commandments which Christ picked help us to understand about God’s law? Well, they get to the heart of the matter, don’t they? They help us to understand that, if we are going to keep God’s law truly, we must do so from the heart. God’s law is not to be obeyed merely in an external or superficial way. God is not interested in seeing his people go through the motions if you will. No, if we are going to keep God’s law truly and sincerely, we must do what God has said, and abstain from what he has forbidden, from a heart of love. To love God with all that we are, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, is to obey God’s law.
So then, why didn’t God just say that? Why didn’t he just command us to love? If the command to love God with all we are, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, gets to the heart of the issue and sums it all up, why the Ten Commandments? The answer is this. The Ten Commandments teach us how we are to love. Yes, love is the essence of the moral law. To love God and neighbor is the summary of the law. The two which summarize the Ten are vitally important, for they get to the heart of the matter. But the Ten are vitally important too, for they bring clarity to the question, how are we to love God and neighbor?
It seems to me that we live in a day and age where men and women are more comfortable with the two commandments that Christ highlighted than with the Ten. And I suppose that some might say, well that’s a good thing, isn’t it? For the two commandments get to the heart of the issue! Love is what matters! Well, I don’t think that what’s going on. Instead, I’m afraid that men and women are more comfortable with the two than Ten because they do not want to be bothered or constrained by the specifics of God’s moral law. They would rather be free to decide for themselves what it means to love God and neighbor. Are you tracking with me?
Our culture loves to talk about love. Love is what makes the difference, they say. It’s all about love. Love is love. But what does that mean in concrete terms? What does this love look like as it pertains to our relationship with God and man? Pay careful attention to this, brothers and sisters, God has not left that question unanswered. “Love” is not merely a subjective emotion with questions of application left open to interpretation. No, God is love. He has commanded us to love. And he has given us the moral law so that we might know what it means to love, truly and in practice.
The two commandments which summarize the Ten are vitally important because they get to the heart of the matter. To obey God’s law truly, we must love him with all that we are, and our neighbor as ourselves. But the Ten are vitally important too, for they provide us with something concrete as it pertains to the question, what does it mean to love God and neighbor? In other words, the Ten Commandments provide us with unchanging moral clarity.
This relationship between the two and the Ten can be seen in the words of Jesus to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15, ESV). And a bit later he says the opposite: “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” And lest anyone think that Christ’s moral law is different from the moral law which God revealed at Sinai, he adds, “And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me” (John 14:24, ESV).
So then, to love God with all that we are means obeying the moral law which is summarized in the Ten Commandments. And to obey the moral law (through faith in Christ and from the heart) is to love God with all that we are.
Dear brothers and sisters, you must do away with this idea that love is merely an emotion. Furthermore, you must do away with the idea that what love is in action is for us to decide. No, morality is not determined by man. It comes from God. He has given us his moral law, and we must submit ourselves to it if we wish to do what is right and to love truly.
As I have said, the first four of the Ten Commandments have to do with man’s relationship to God. And the first commandment is the first for a reason. If we wish to have a right relationship with God then we must know that YHWH alone is God. We must have him as our God, and give to him the worship that is due to his name. This is what the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me”, requires. It forbids us from worshiping any created thing as if it were divine. It requires us to worship and serve God alone as God.
So you can see that the first commandment tells us who the object of our worship must be: YHWH alone. And notice that the next three commandments have to do with the way of worship. YHWH alone is to be worshipped. The first commandment makes that clear. But how is he to worshipped? That is the question that the second commandment address when it says, in brief, not with idols. The third commandment addresses the attitude of worship, demanding reverence for God’s name. And the fourth commandment says something about the time of worship. One day in seven is to be set apart as holy, for rest and for worship. Again, the first commandment tells us who is to be worshipped. Commandments two, three, and four tell us how God is to be worshipped.
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The Law
Let us now consider the second commandment itself. What is the law? “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any 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 or serve them… (Exodus 20:4–5, ESV). In brief, the second commandment forbids idolatry. So then, God alone is to be worshipped, and he is not to be worshipped through images.
Take special notice of this. Though the first and second commandments are certainly related – they both have to do with the worship of God – they are not the same. No, they are two distinct commandments. The first commandment forbids the worship of any other so-called god. This would obviously include worshipping other gods in the form of idols. And if that was the only thing that God wished to address, then the second commandment would not be needed. Do you see what I mean? The command, “you shall have no other gods before me” certainly includes other “gods” in the form of idols. But the second commandment says more. Not only does it forbid making images of false gods, it also forbids making images of the one true God.
All of the nations that surrounded Israel in the ancient world worshipped their gods through idols. They carved or cast images of earthly material in the form of earthly things and they bowed before them, prayed to them, and offered up sacrifices to them, imagining that they could earn favor from the god that those idols represented. It is not hard to imagine that Israel was tempted to do the same thing. In other words, even if they were to keep the first commandment and have YHWH as their only God, they would still be tempted to make an image of him, for this is how all of the surrounding nations worshipped. This was the way that the Egyptians worshipped, and we know that Israel spent a long time there in that culture. This is why the LORD, after saying, “you shall have no other gods before me”, also said, “you shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any 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 or serve them…” If the LORD did not say this then Israel might think that could worship YHWH through an idol that represented him.
Just a moment ago I said, it’s not hard to imagine that Israel was tempted to make idols given the influence of the nations around them. In fact, we do not have to imagine. We know they were tempted to do this. We will come to the story in Exodus 32, and so I will not spend much time on it. But do you remember what Moses returned to when he came down from Saini with the Ten Commandments written on stone? The people had convinced Aaron to make an image of a calf out of the gold they had taken from Egypt and they worshipped before it! Moses dropped the tablets and broke them, which was certainly symbolic. The covenant had barely been made and the people had already broken it by violating both the first and second commandments. I say that they violated both because the golden calf did not represent YHWH only, but other gods too, as we will see. But God was merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The first commandment forbids the worship of false gods. It requires the worship of YHWH alone. And the second commandment forbids the making of graven images or the likeness of anything in all of creation for use in worship, whether it be the worship of false gods or the worship of the one true God. In brief, all forms of idolatry are here forbidden.
In just a moment we will go deeper as we attempt to get to the heart of the second commandment. But before we do, let us briefly consider the word of warning that is given starting in the middle of verse 5 with the word “for”. “You shall not bow down to [idols] or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:5–6, ESV).
Some have been bothered by this idea that the LORD is a “jealous God”. But this is only because they have failed to distinguish between jealousy that is sinful and jealousy that is righteous. I’m sure you know that there is a kind of anger that is sinful, and there is a kind of anger that is righteous. Sinful anger is anger that is misdirected. Sinful anger is anger that is out of bounds. Anger that turns to bitterness is sinful. And so too is anger that turns to rage. But it is right for us to be angry at the right things (that which is truly sinful or unjust), and to be moved to do what is right in our anger in a wise and self-controlled way. And the same is true for jealousy. If your jealousy is motivated by envy, greed, and discontentment, it is sinful. And your jealousy is also sinful when it overflows its proper bounds leading you to be consumed by it and to think and do that which is evil. But there is also a righteous kind of jealousy. It is right for God, and for man, to be jealous (or zealous) for what is rightly theirs.
In human experience nowhere is this more obvious than in the marriage relationship. It is perfectly right for a husband and wife to be “jealous” for each other. A husband ought to be jealous for his wife’s loyalty and love. And a wife is right to be jealous to have her husband’s loyalty and love. The thought of disloyalty and unfaithfulness will naturally produce a kind of righteous anger within them.
Jealousy that is evil longs to have things that rightly belong to others, but not to you. Jealousy that is out of control and all-consuming is also evil. Here I am simply observing that there is a kind of jealousy that is right. It is right for us to desire to have that which is rightly ours. It is right that we are angered when something that is rightly ours is taken from us and given to another. And this is that kind of jealousy that God has. Jealousy in God is not a flaw, but a perfection. When the scriptures say that God is jealous they do not mean that he is jealous in a sinful way. Nor do the scriptures mean that God is jealous in the way that humans are jealous. Humans experience fluctuation in emotions, but God does not change. Jealousy in God is an unchanging and untainted perfection. Here in Exodus 20 the human emotion of jealousy is attributed to God to tell us something that is true about him, namely, that God is worthy of all praise, he is holy, and just. And God’s perfect justice and anger will fall upon all who take what is rightly his and give it to another.
We must not forget that here in Exodus 20 and following God is entering into a covenant with Israel. In other passages of scripture, this covenantal relationship between God and Israel is compared to a marriage. God is displeased with all who take the worship that is due to his name and give it to another. But we may say that God was especially displeased with his bride, Israel, when she worshipped idols. This is why Israel is often compared to a harlot or an unfaithful wife in the scriptures. Idolatry is sometimes likened to adultery. When Israel worshipped idols she did not merely violate the moral law of God, she was also unfaithful to the “marriage” covenant that God had entered into with her in the days of Moses. Read Hosea if you wish to see a vivid image of this reality.
Is God a jealous God? Yes! But not in the way that men and women are jealous, for God does not change. He does not experience the ebb and flow of emotions as we do. And his “jealousy” is perfect and pure.
Next, we have the remark about God visiting the “iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate [him], but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love [him] and keep [his] commandments” (Exodus 20:5–6, ESV).
Before I tell you what this means, let me tell you what this does not mean. This does not mean that children may be spiritually cursed because of the sins of their father or mother or previous generations. Have you ever encountered teaching like this? I have repeatedly over the years. It is the doctrine of generational curses, and I must say that it is garbage. Nowhere do the scriptures teach – not here or in any other place – that one generation is spiritually cursed by God because of the sins of the previous generation. It angers me to think that this nonsense is taught even to Christians. Some will say that even those in Christ may experience spiritual bondage after they repent and believe, or be under a curse somehow, because of the sins of their father or mother. In Christ, we are new creatures. In Christ, we are forgiven. In Christ, we have been delivered from the domain of darkness. In Christ, we have been graciously adopted as God’s beloved children. What a dark and damaging false teaching this is to say that some of God’s children are under God’s curse, or that they remain in bondage to the Evil One, even after being united to Christ by faith.
What then does this passage mean? Well, I have emphasized over and over again that the covenant that God entered into with Israel in the days of Moses was earthly. Their redemption was earthly. The blessings for covenant faithfulness were earthly. And the curses for covenant unfaithfulness were earthly too. Israel would be blessed in the land that God would give to them if they obeyed, and they would be cursed in the land if they disobeyed the terms of the covenant. Everything about the Old Mosaic covenant itself was earthly. Granted, the promises entrusted to them were spiritual and eternal, but the Mosaic covenant itself was earthly. It would be hard for me to overstate how vitally important this point is. And it is important here as we seek to interpret Exodus 20:5-6.
In what sense would God visit the “iniquity of the [idolotry of the] fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate [him]…” My goodness, if you wish to know, simply read the rest of the Old Testament and you will see! The fathers would sin, and the children would often suffer the consequences. Not only that, but the fathers would sin, and the children would learn to sin too! (I certainly don’t deny that this happens. The sins of fathers and mothers are often learned and adopted by the children. But that is different than so-called generational curses). This is true of all kinds of sin, but this warning is especially attached to the sin of idolatry. False worship, once it is introduced, is very difficult to root out. And we know that God is very displeased with false worship. He will not share the glory that is due to him with another.
What I am saying is that this is how things go in nations. The fathers act foolishly, or the fathers sin, and the children of that nation suffer the consequences for it, sometimes for many generations. This was especially true with Old Covenant Israel given the terms of the covenant of works which God made with them in the days of Moses. Obedience would bring blessings to the nation. Disobedience would bring curses on the nation. When the fathers sinned, the curses of the covenant would be felt by the children. Think of all of the children who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years because their fathers were faithless and would not take the land. Think of all of the Israelite children who were born and raised in Babylonian captivity and exiled from Israel. Why were they there? It was because of the great and persistent sin of their forefathers. But the opposite was also true. Covenant loyalty would bring covenant blessings upon future generations, and that is what the LORD was calling Israel to. Notice how he says that he will show “steadfast love” [some translations say, “covenant faithfulness”] to thousands of those who love [him] and keep [his] commandments.”
To sum it up, we must understand that this remark about sins of the fathers being visited on the children to the third and fourth generation was made in the context of the making of a national covenant with early blessing and curses being promised to the obedient and disobedient nation. That is something very different from the idea that individual souls may be spiritually cursed because of the sins of their forefathers. That wasn’t true under the Old Covenant, and it certainly isn’t true under the New. Listen to Ezekiel 18:1-4: “The word of the LORD came to me: ‘What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:1–4, ESV)
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The Heart Of The Matter
So we know what the second commandment is. In brief, no carved or graven images – no idols of any kind – are to be used in the worship of God. Warnings are added to that command. But the command itself forbids idolatry. So let us go now to the heart of the matter.
Question 55 and 56 of our catechism are very helpful.
Question 55 asks, “What is required in the second commandment?” Answer: “The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word.”
And question 56 asks, “What is forbidden in the second commandment?” Answer: “The second commandment forbideth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in His Word.”
So the simple and obvious answer to the question, what does the second commandment forbid”, is “the second commandment forbideth the worshipping of God by images.”
So the simple and obvious answer to the question, what does the second commandment forbid”, is “the second commandment forbideth the worshipping of God by images.” Have you ever wondered why idolatry is forbidden? I suppose a case could be made that idols could help facilitate worship by engaging the senses of sight and of touch. Idols can also help to unify a people by giving them something to rally around. But the problem is this: idols misrepresent God, who is infinite, eternal, and unchanging. Idols would tell a lie about God, for God is invisible, a most pure spirit. Idols, no matter how big and impressive, would make God small in the mind of the worshiper. They would blur the distinction between Creator and creature. YHWH cannot be represented by idols.
What does the second commandment forbid? Idols. But did you notice that our catechism picks up on something else that is very, very important? It is a general observation that is sadly often overlooked, and it is this: according to the Ten Commandments, not only is God alone to be worshipped, but he is to be worshipped in the way that he has prescribed, ordained, or appointed in his word. In other words, the second commandment does not only forbid idolatry, it requires (by way of strong and clear implication) that God’s people receive, submit to, and obey God’s word as it pertains to the way of worship. Quoting our catechism again, they are to keep “pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word.” True, the second commandment simply forbids the use of images in the worship of God. But there is obviously something bigger going on here, for God commands that we worship him alone, and he also commands that we worship him in a particular way – not with images, with reverence for his name, observing one day out of every seven as holy wherein we rest from our normal labors and worship. All of this is to be done with love for God in our hearts. The LORD alone is to be worshipped, and he is to be worshiped in the way he has prescribed, not according to the inventions and of man. What I am saying is this: The second commandment is violated, not only when God’s people use images to worship him, but when God’s people ignore what God has said regarding the way they are to worship.
What are the most fundamental principles that God has revealed to us concerning the way of worship? One, no images (form). Two, we are to have reverence for the name of God (attitude). Three, one day in seven is to be observed as holy (time).
Now I ask you, did these principles apply only to Israel under the Old Covenant? Certainly not! These laws are ever abiding. They applied to Adam and to us. They apply to all men at all times and places. Remember, they are three of the Ten Commandments which summarize God’s moral law!
But did God have more to say to Israel concerning the way of worship under the Old Covenant? Yes. As I have said many times before. These Ten Commandments functioned as the foundation or core of all of the laws that God would give to Israel. God would add other laws to these Ten. And those other laws were in fact unique to Israel under the Old Mosaic Covenant. We call these other laws “positive laws” because God added them to his moral law.
Think of it. The natural law (or moral law) was written on Adam’s heart at creation, but positive laws were also added to him under that covenant. He was to abstain from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as he expended and kept God’s garden temple.
Here in Exodus, we see that the moral law was spoken to Israel by God on Sinai. Later it would be written by his hand on tablets of stone. Clearly, this moral law was special. It was revealed differently than all of the other laws. But to this moral law, positive laws were added. In fact, through Moses, many positive were added. Some were civil or judicial. Other were ceremonial, having to do with the way of worship under the Old Covenant. Under the Old Mosaic Covenant Israel was to be led by priests. They were offered very specific sacrifices at the tabernacle and later the temple. That tabernacle was to be constructed in a very particular way according to the pattern revealed by God. Israel was to abstain from certain foods. They were to engage in ceremonial washings. They were to observe many holy days in addition to the weekly seventh-day Sabbath, etc, etc. These positive laws were added to the moral law. The positive laws were for Old Covenant Israel. They revealed the specific way of worship for Israel under the Old Mosaic covenant.
But the Old Covenant has passed away, and the New has come. This is why the positive laws of the Old Covenant have passed away, for they were attached to the Old. Why are we not commanded to eat of the tree of life and to abstain from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Doesn’t the Bible teach that? Well, no. Adam was commanded to do that, but those positive laws are not for us. And why are we not required to circumcise, to abstain from pork to ceremonially wash, and to offer up animal sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem? Answer: those were all positive laws added to Old Covenant.
But tell me, brothers and sisters. Has God’s moral law changed? No, it remains the same. God alone is to be worshipped. And how is he to be worshipped? Not with images. His name is to be revered. And one day in seven is to be honored as holy as a day for rest and worship. The moral law does not change. But the New Covenant, like the Adamic, Abrahamic, and Mosaic covenants, does have positive laws of its own. The New Covenant people of God are to baptize those who profess faith in Christ. We are to read, preach, and teach the word of God. We are to pray and sing. We are to observe the Lord’s Supper. These are the elements of New Covenant worship. As it pertains to the government of the New Covenant people of God, elders and deacons are to lead, and the church is to be disciplined according to the scriptures.
So you can see that the moral law remains. God alone is to be worshipped. And how are we to worship? Not with idols, with reverence, and by observing the Sabbath day. And to this moral law, positive laws have been added for the New Covenant people of God. As you can see, it is as true for us today as it was for Adam, Abraham, and Moses – the way of worship has been revealed to us. It has not been left for man to determine. No, “the second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word”, and this with love in our hearts for God.
Brothers and sisters, have you kept this law perfectly? Answer: No, we have violated this law in thought, word, and deed.
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The Gospel
So you have heard the law, now hear the gospel.
Unlike Adam, and unlike Israel, Jesus the Messiah kept the law of God perfectly.
He worshipped God alone. Never did he bow down to or serve idols. He had perfect reverence for the name of God. He honored the Sabbath day and kept it holy.
And not only did Jesus obey the moral law with perfection, he also kept the positive laws of the Old Covenant too, for he was a Hebrew, born under the Old Covenant and law of Moses which governed it.
Jesus kept the Ten Words. He kept all of the positive laws of the Old Covenant which were added to them. And he kept them from the heart. In his human nature, and upheld by his divine nature, his love for God and neighbor was perfect and without flaw.
Jesus Christ was righteous, therefore. He was guiltless and without sin. Death, which is the price that must be paid for sin, was not owed by him. But he died for sin. Not for his own, but for the sins of those given to him by the Father in eternity (see John 17), in obedience to the terms of the eternal covenant.
Christ has his righteousness to give, therefore, along with the forgiveness of sins, as a free gift to all who will believe in him. As Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, ESV). This salvation has been made available because “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV).
These indeed are the greatest blessings of salvation – the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. But these are not the only blessings of the New Covenant. In Christ, we are made new. In Christ, the law of God is written anew and afresh upon our hearts. In Christ, we are filled with the promised Holy Spirit. And God, by his word and Spirit, not only makes us willing and able to believe upon Christ, he sanctifies us too. Those in Christ will learn God’s law, they will love God’s law, and will be empowered to keep God’s more and more with the passing of time. All of this is by the grace of God. But it is also something that we must choose to do, not in our strength, but in the strength which God provides.
Brothers and sisters, the gospel is this. Though it is true that we have violated God’s law in thought, word, and deed. And though it is true that we, by nature, are under God’s wrath and curse. It is also true that God has provided a Savior, Christ the Lord. The forgiveness of sins and the life eternal is available through faith in him. And we know that all who come to him have been renewed by the Spirit, have been freed from bondage to sin, and have been born again to walk in newness of life as God’s beloved children.
Let us pursue holiness, brothers and sisters, being moved by our love God out of gratitude for all that he has graciously bestowed upon us in Christ. Let us pursue holiness being empowered by the Helper, the Holy Spirit of Promise. In particular, let us be careful to worship God alone in the way that God has prescribed in his word so that we might do what the second commandment requires, and avoid what it forbids.
