Thou shall not make

any graven image


Might it be that our advanced societies are not confronted any more with the problem of the idolatry?

Did the second commandment of our Creator become obsolete and with no more value for the Western World "at the top of its technological development"?

Or could it be that the idols are among us and belong to our daily lives while we do not realize it?

If this is the case, we must urgently identify them and invest our time to understand the meaning and the value of the second commandment:

Thou shall not make

any graven image

 

The second commandment will help us to understand how important the time that our Lord has put at our disposal is and this value should encourage us not to use our time to make useless deeds nor lying!

Our lives must be full of values and we must use it to create and build things that will not be predestined to destruction by our Father.

But first of listen to our Creator who is pronouncing the second commandment from the top of the Sinai mount:

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Yehoah thy Elohim am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20: 4-6)

First, pay attention on the fact that this commandment does not ask us to abstain from any work of art representing a landscape or creatures; what it prohibits is to worship them, to bow down to them and to serve them. This is easier to understand if we read the same commandment as it is written in Leviticus, in chapter 26 and verse 1:

"Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am Yehoah, your Elohim."

Meanwhile with regards to pieces of art, Yehoah shows us by many examples that it is good to make paintings and sculptures or to acquire them to embellish our dwellings: indeed, did not He ask to make nice representations of cherubs, fruits, animals to decorate His tabernacle as well as His Temple in Jerusalem! Yehoah took even care to give some of the Holy Spirit, the wisdom and the understanding to the people chosen to create these pieces of art and you are invited to check this in chapters 31 and 36 in the book of Exodus. But remember that all these pieces of art could never be used for worshipping!

Is this commandment still valid for today?

We might claim that this commandment has nothing to do with believers in today's life: who, indeed, will go and worship statues such as the one of the sun, of pagan divinities like Zeus (Jupiter in  Latin), Diane, Aphrodite (Venus in Latin), Mars, Mercury, Semiramis, Horus and many others that I will skip in order to save your valuable time.

Thus with a first and simplistic approach, we could consider that we have the right to state that we are not at all idolatrous like our pagan ancestors and consequently we do not need to take  this second commandment into account as it will not teach us anything new and useful!

However Paul invites us to make exactly the opposite about all the scriptures in the "Old Testament":

"But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16All Scripture is given by inspiration of Elohim, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17that the man of Elohim may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

(II Timothy 3: 14-17)

The Scriptures about which Paul writes to Timothy are the Holy Scriptures which were used for his education when he was a child: it means that it cannot be the New Testament as it did not exist yet during the childhood of Timothy. These Scriptures are those of the "Old Testament" in which we have found the second commandment.

Having said this, we must change our mind and humbly admit that in spite of our first impression, this second commandment has for sure a valuable teaching for us, something useful if we want to become or to remain a man of the Lord.

Then let us examine in depth and seriously the content of this second commandment and let us admit up front that we were missing some knowledge our Father is ready to reveal via His Word. Doing so, we will become wealthier spiritually speaking.

To start with the beginning.

If this commandment requires us not to make any graven image, it implies automatically that we should have already destroyed all the previous idols if any that would have haunted our life before and that were in our field of authority; it should be understood by this that our Lord is not asking us to become iconoclasts with regard to the idols of others!

The Bible is full with examples showing the good ways to proceed about the idols to destroy and we will review few of them with you.

First of all let us read how Yehoah wished his people to act when Israel would enter the Promised Land that He gave them:

11Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images 14(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous Elohim), 15lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, 16and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.
17"You shall make no molded gods for yourselves." (Exodus 34: 11-17)

These Scriptures are giving a good procedure which can be followed by those who want to prepare themselves to enter the Kingdom of our Father. This Kingdom is symbolized by the Promised Land of Israel at the time of Moses and Joshua. The Lord expected the Land to be first cleaned in particular from all its idols. At this point, it is very important to note that, at that time, these idols did not have any meaning for the Sons of Israel; they did not have more significance for them than the Indian totems in the eyes of the European immigrants reaching America in the seventeenth century. However Yehoah insisted on their destruction at each stage in the conquest of the Promised Land.

Obviously, after having destroyed these idols, it was out of question to make any new graven image for religious purpose.


First destroy the old idols in our previous life!


Always let us have in mind that this commandment must have significance for us today, a significance that we will gradually grasp and understand step by step while reading the Bible discovering its meaning during our meditations.

Moses and the golden calf.

With the Hebrew, we will not have to wait for a long time after they were given the Ten Commandments to see them building a golden calf! Indeed, Moses, coming down from the Mount Sinai with the two tables of the law, is already facing the horrible scandal of this golden calf manufactured by the son of Israel under the leadership of Aaron. Moses has been appointed by Yehoah as the top leader of the Hebrew but in itself the golden calf has no special meaning and value for Moses; it is like a foreign body in the camp and such golden calf would have been in Egypt or elsewhere, Moses would not have paid any attention to it. But here in the camp of the people of Yehoah, this golden calf that was worshipped by Israel in the camp, this is a true abomination and let us read how Moses reacts:

"20Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it." (Exodus 32:20)

Moses did not make any human reasoning to try to recover the gold value from the calf by melting it. He could also have wanted to keep the calf apart outside the camp like a beautiful piece of art. No, he did not do anything of all that, he ordered to have the calf being completely destroyed with no remain and no possible remembrance about it.

Israel and the missed opportunity to enter the Promised Land.

A second example of the good behavior Yehoah is expecting from his people as already told earlier is the destruction by Israel of all the statues and idols of the Promised Land step by step during the conquest under the leadership of Joshua. However even if for the sons of Israel, all these objects did not have any spiritual value since they entered in unknown territories inhabited by people of whom they did not know the habits, they could have started to reason in themselves and decided to keep these pieces of art to admire them or the get the value by selling them: this is what people today would have done!

But Yehoah does not like this kind of reasoning which aims at twisting His law and that brings disobedience and even rebellion against the Lord.

Unfortunately this is the way which Israel took gradually as it settled in its beautiful Land that Yehoah gave to him. At the beginning, they purified with zeal but at the end, they became lukewarm and to lust: the result was an unfinished purification of the Promised Land.

Josias, a king that goes till the end of his duty!

There are also much more encouraging examples like the one of King Josiah:

"4And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. 6And he brought out the wooden image from the house of the LORD, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, and threw its ashes on the graves of the common people. 7Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image. 8And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; also he broke down the high places at the gates which were at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were to the left of the city gate. 9Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren.
10And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. 11Then he removed the horses that the kings of
Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12The altars that were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. 13Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. 14And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men.
15Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image. 16As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the LORD which the man of Elohim proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. 17Then he said, "What gravestone is this that I see?"
So the men of the city told him, "It is the tomb of the man of Elohim who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel."
18And he said, "Let him alone; let no one move his bones." So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came from
Samaria.
19Now Josiah also took away all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD  to anger; and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel. 20He executed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned men's bones on them; and he returned to
Jerusalem. "(II Kings 23: 4-20)

This Scripture shows us how much king Josias had a desire to obey Yehoah in everything even in the little details. Indeed, during his childhood, he could see how far his people had moved away from the Lord, even reaching the unbelievable: the loss of all the Scriptures mentionning the law and the commandments. Let us read about this story in the chapter 22 of the second book of the Kings:

 

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in
Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.


"Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
3 Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the LORD, saying: 4"Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. 5And let them deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the LORD; let them give it to those who are in the house of the LORD doing the work, to repair the damages of the house-- 6to carpenters and builders and masons--and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. 7However there need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered into their hand, because they deal faithfully."
8Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, "Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the LORD." 10Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king."
(II Kings 22: 1-10)

 

Here is the wonderful attitude of Josias once he heard about the finding of the Scriptures mentionning the law:

"11Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 12Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor  the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 13"Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."

(II Kings 22: 11-13)

 

We understand now why the Bible gives us king Josias as an example to encourage us to undertake all the necessary changes that our Creator expects from us during our conversion:

 

"25Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him."

(II Kings 23: 25)

 

Jesus and the Great Cleaning to come to anihilate all  idolatry from Israel!

 

Jesus-Christ, the magnificent symbol of today's believers, is also the one the believers are waiting here on earth as the future King of the kings and the Lord of the lords! Jesus-Christ will come with the mandate to restore the life on earth so that it will be in harmony with the laws of his Father.

The prophet Ezekiel describes in his book how Yehoah will act with all his power for this purpose by destroying entirely idolatry in the territories of Israel:

 

"Judgment on Israel's Idolatry
1 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2"Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of
Israel, and prophesy against them, 3and say, "O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Elohim! Thus says the Lord Elohim to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: "Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. 6In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the LORD."

(Ezekiel 6: 1-7)

 

A similar and very spectacular message, in its context, is given in the book of the prophet Micah:

 

7All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire; all her idols I will lay desolate, for she gathered it from the pay of a harlot, and they shall return to the pay of a harlot." (Micah 1: 7)

 

All these prophecies are obviously not accomplished yet and an attentive reader will understand this. Indeed, if we consider once again the prophecy of Ezekiel: Ezekiel wrote it during his captivity that started with the first deportation of the Jews by the Babylonians. However this prophecy is addressed to all the tribes of Israel and it includes the Northern Kingdom of Israel, known also as kingdom of Samaria; but remember that this kingdom already disappeared a long time ago when it went into the deportation  carried out by the Assyrians.

Since then, these tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel went underground and  disappeared in the desert of history. But hold on, their identity is always known from the Lord and He will not delay very long the achievement of His prophecy in the same way He is already acting openly these days towards His beloved and chosen Jewish sons. The Jewish people are to some extent the tip of the iceberg of Israel.

 

By the way, please note that Jesus-Christ, at the beginning of His reign, will limit His action of destruction of idols to the only territory of Israel. Just like the conquest of the Promised Land and its purification was to be done gradually in the time of Joshua, the reestablishment of the Father's power on earth will also be done step by step. In a first stage, the cleaning made in Israel from its idolatry will serve as an example for the other nations.

 

There are idols and idols...

 

If we observe the world around us today, we will certainly see idols such as the statues of Boudha, the various totems and graven images so much in use among Indians in America or black tribes in Africa. But closer to us, what about the numerous statues and the decorum in many "Christian churches"?

                          ·          Isn't the mitre of a catholic bishop a representation of Dagon, the fish god mentionned in the Bible? To wear this kind of dressing and let people to bow down unto themselves, isn't it an infringement of the second commandments that strongly prohibits to make any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth to bow down unto it?

                          ·          The tonsure of catholic and  boudhist monks aren't they just like a symbol of the sun that unconsciously people are wearing on their body as a continuation of the paganic traditions of old Egypt? Isn't this practice however condemned by our Lord  throughout his Bible?

                          ·          Aren't the halos of the saints in front of whom so many "Christians" are still going to bow also the same awkwardly dissimulated representation of the god sun? But don't some among you have paintings or statues of Jesus-Christ crucified or of the Virgin Mary or other saints introduced by the catholic authorities and don't they bow unto them? How can this be compatible with  the second commandment?

Paul, already in the beginnings of the christianity, is denouncing such practice:

 

"1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you  as crucified?" (Galates 3: 1)

 

This kind of pieces of art were man made reproductions of the Lord's creatures and religious authoritities have encouraged such production in a way or another to have people bowing unto them.

If you have such pieces of art in your house, you have to follow the way of Moses and Josias: All these representations cannot remain in your property even if it has a tremendous value from the artistic point of view.

If you don't destroy them completely, Jesus-Christ and his servants will do it at the beginning of His reign and you will be confused and very sad.

 

Once the cleaning of idolatry is done, how to start a new daily life with the second commandment in our mind?

 

Now let us try to understand the deep meaning of the second commandment which says: Thou shall not make any graven image.

If Yehoah insisted to have this commandment writen in so many places of His Holy Book, He has good reasons fo this: He wanted to draw our attention to the importance of it in our daily life. Up to us to seek and find  ways that would lead us to a transgression of the second commandment just like Josias made sins, before the law of the Lord was found.

What kinds of idols are we able to have? Unto whom or which are we able to bow while being, maybe, under the strong influence of somebody else? It is not indeed enough to read the second commandment with lightness and to look around and blame the others. Yehoah is asking us to turn the accusing finger towards ourselves, like Josias, and to scan carefully to find what are our idols! For the same reason, Paul encourages us to flee the idolatry:

 

"7And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play…..

Flee from Idolatry
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. "

(I Corinthians 10: 7 and 14-15)

 

Selfishness

 

The most tempting idol in any human being, is his own carnal nature, not to say himself! We are in many case our most important god, if we do not let ourselves guide by the Holy Spirit that the Father gives only to those who remain obedient to him. Paul helps us to understand this in his epistle to the Galatians:

 

"Walking in the Spirit
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of Elohim.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." (Galatians 5: 16-26)

 

 

Each time that instead of questionning our Father and His word, we follow the ways of our thoughts, we contribute to the building of our idol bowing unto it whereas we had better to destroy it. Such a bad behaviour is a break of the second commandment!

 

In two of his epistles, Paul says what to do with our idol:

 

"17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of  the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of Elohim, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20But you have not so learned Christ, 21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24and that you put on the new man which was created according to Elohim, in true righteousness and holiness."
(Ephesians 4: 17-24)

 

And here again:

 

"Character of the Christian Life and Home
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of Elohim. 2Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in Elohim. 4When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6Because of these things the wrath of Elohim is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
8But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him."
(Colossians: 3: 1-10)

 

 Here is the Elohim that it is necessary for us to destroy and we are the only ones with being able to do it! If not, our new person will not be able to enter the kingdom of Elohim.

 

Here is the Elohim that we must destroy and we are the only ones able to do it! If not, our new man will not be able to enter the kingdom of the Father.

 

Fundamentalist movements

 

Another series of bodies can be as dangerous as our selfishness with regards to idolatry, these are an increasing number of religious, political or philosophical groups to which we could adhere blindly. The experience shows indeed that the goal of most of these fundamentalist movements are to put their hands on your person and to transform you in spiritual slaves.

And these slaves that we can become unconsciously would constitute a good raw material to build a living idol able to make the worst actions against the laws of the Lord. Read in your Bible how the movement of the pharisees managed to push their flock to hate Jesus-Christ and the first Christians, how they could excite people as Saul to participate to the killing by lapidation of servants of our Lord like Etienne.

 

Look also at the powerful catholic church and at what it managed to do with its faithful flock of slaves when they were persecuting and killing so many Jews and other believers during nearly 1500 years, in Spain, in South America, in the east of Europe and let us not forget the huge number of deaths during the crusades!

 

More recently, the world was facing also the Nazism and the Communism with many millions of people exterminated industrially and quickly. Today, this is the turn of Islamism that is contributing to the extermination of so many people.

 

But the true Church and its organization does not seek to be worshipped by her membership. The true Church of the Father knows her   imperfection and she calls her membership to inspect itself to improve its life. The Church's authority will act in an exemplary way for her flock. The true Church will always check in depth and make sure that all her deeds will be according her Lord will . Unfortunately, this kind of attitude will not be the one of the Church of Laodicea as we can read in Revelation 3. No, it is clear that the true Church of the Father will never  become an idol! Paul warns us against the danger of " religious fundamentalism":

 

"8But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1: 8-9)

 

Don't fall into these traps, and always use the imparable method of the Bereans:

 

"10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. 12Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men."

(Acts 17: 10-12)

 

Please act with extreme prudence in all your decision because the powers against believers are tremendous:

 

"Deceptions of the Last Hour
18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us."
(I John 2: 18-19)

 

"Love for Elohim and One Another
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of Elohim; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of Elohim: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of Elohim, 3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of Elohim. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
4You are of Elohim, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6We are of Elohim. He who knows Elohim hears us; he who is not of Elohim does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

(I John 4: 1-6)

 

Be careful about churches that start to teach to follow other commandments. John, who recommended the greatest prudence, knew very well about what he was speaking since in a last epistle, he says:

 

"Diotrephes and Demetrius
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church."
(III John: 9-10)

 

Diotrephes was already practicing excommunication before this word was invented! Indeed true Christians were driven out of their own assembly by men who wanted, to some extent, to become the gods of their assembly and thus to push the flock under their leadership to transgress the second commandment. This must encourage us to be very vigilant and to act like the Bereans, by crosschecking carefully with the Bible the teachings  of everybody whoever he is, even if he is the pope, the bishop or the reverend of some church. Keep your assembly awake as much as possible because most of the Christian are already sleeping and the devil and his demons are mainly busy to destroy their worst ennemy, the believers. The rest of the world is indeed already under their power!

 

The true believers will only be able to overcome the power of the evil if they are assisted by the Holy Spirit of our Father! The Holy Spirit helps to undertsand the Bible and to act according to it. Without this help, we would be quickly defeated. If you want to be convinced about this, look at most of the apostles and first Christians,  they were reduced to the state of statues or paintings in front of which it became an habit of to bow down and pray according to the current practice of the largest of the sects of the original Church of the Lord, I mean the catholic church.  

This church is today in the greatest confusion and one understands why as her flock does not know any more before what a holyness to bow down ans there are so many!

 

Our Father wishes a completely different attitude in His Church today! His flock must be united and this union must be built in Jesus-Christ and Him only! Then like the evangelist has written:

 

"Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

 

even if you are in front of most respectful people in your assembly. Moreover as it is suggested by the Gospel, screen the fruits of those who are expected to guide you before taking any decision on any topics and if you have any doubts, don't engage yourself at any price; be careful!

 


Why this commandment?


 

1. To avoid any waste of time.

 

As you have read at the beginning, one of the essential reasons of this second commandment is to learn how to save time by avoiding useless deeds: Indeed, to make an idol is useless and moreover completely ridiculous! It is a complete vanity and let us read how the prophet Isaiah describes this:

 

"8Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a god besides Me?         Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one."     

Idolatry Is Foolishness
9 Those who make an image, all of them are useless, and their precious things shall not profit; They are their own witnesses; They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed. 10Who would form a god or mold an image that profits him nothing? 11Surely all his companions would be ashamed; And the workmen, they are mere men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; Yet they shall fear, they shall be ashamed together. 12The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms. Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails; He drinks no water and is faint.13The craftsman stretches out his rule, he marks one out with chalk; He fashions it with a plane, He marks it out with the compass and makes it like the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house. 14He cuts down cedars for himself, and takes the cypress and the oak, he secures it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it. 15Then it shall be for a man to burn, for he will take some of it and warm himself; Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread; Indeed he makes a god and worships it; He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it. 16He burns half of it in the fire; With this half he eats meat; He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire." 17And the rest of it he makes into a god, his carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!" 18They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19And no one considers in his heart, nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, "I have burned half of it in the fire, Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?" 20He feeds on ashes; A deceived heart has turned him aside; And he cannot deliver his soul, Nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?"
(Isaiah 44: 8-20)

 

To produce any idol is a nonsense! At the end it is like if  one is worshipping our own creature, the work of our own hands... The world upside down to some extent!

It would be as if our Father started suddenly to worship human beings, His own creatures; what a nonsense! To manufacture an idol, it is like if we wanted to put our Lord in the jail of a statue, as if we wanted to expell Him from his palace and ask to live in a slum! Indeed we must be humble and recognize that the most beautiful place we would create for our Lord would remain a slum for the One who created our universe. In real value, we are worth nothing to Him. To convince yourself, you may want to know how beautiful and valuable is the Palace of our Father; in this case, please go and read the article entitled "the unexpected introduction to the ten commandments of our Creator". Let us compare ourselves to the Sons of Israel whom our Lord prefers among all the nations and let us read what He says about them  in Deuteronomy 7, verse 7:

 

"7The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples;"

 

Let us also think about what King David has written in psalm 115, verses 3 to 8:

 

"3But our Elohim is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. 4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 5They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; 6They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; 7They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. 8Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. "

 

2. Blessings during thousands years or punishment during a century only!

 

A little later, psalm 115 will also introduce a second reason to keep the second commandment with love:

 

"9O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 10O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 11You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 12The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. 13He will bless those who fear the LORD, both small and great. 14May the LORD give you increase more and more, you and your children. 15May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 16The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's; But the earth He has given to the children of men. 17The dead do not praise the LORD, nor any who go down into silence. 18But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!" (Psalm 115: 9-18)

 

We have found in this psalm that in the second part of the second commandment Yehoah reveals His love for the mankind. Indeed, the second part of the commandment says:

 

"5you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your Elohim, am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." (Exodus 20: 5-6)

 

Please note that Yehoah says in another place that He punishes only those whom He loves in the same way parents should punish their beloved children for their good and their education; it is also known that any punishment inflicted with love is very quickly forgotten as you can find in the writings of the New Testament.

Worthwhile also to pay attention to the fact that punishment is given only to a limited number of generations (maximum four) as long as they dislike or hate Yehoah. On the other hand, the blessings will continue during thousand generations for those who love their Father and keep His commandments.

 


To Pray!


 

Yehoah is a wonderful teacher and He is teaching us step by step making sure that, before any new step, we understand and practice what He thought us before. He wants us to show Him that we understood His previous teachings otherwise He will not guide us to the next station on the way to His kingdom.

 

Indeed, the second commandment is given to amplify the first one as according to both of them, we are expected not only to eliminate the existing false gods and their pictures but also not to create new ones.

 

But here is a simple and effective mean to obey the second commandment:

 

To Pray!

 

Bear in mind that the prayer is our way to speak with Yehoah our Father.

It is also a mean to be recognized by both of Them.

It forces us to bow down to our Father and to Him only!

But note that, one does not pray the Father or Jesus anyhow as the Family of the Lord is a Family where harmony is important. The Lord has given sets or rules showing how we should prepare ourselves before we speak to Him and what we should say. These rules will bear fruits if we try to follow them with love. For you to catch better what it means, try to compare with the care you would prepare yourselves for an interview about a new employment. Here, there is much more than a new employer, here is the Lord of all the universe, your Creator and Father.

To discover what our Creator likes, let us go through the Bible and  seek indices; let us start first of all with the end by reading Revelation 5,

verse 8:

 

"Worthy Is the Lamb
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."

 

The prayers of the saints are symbolized by perfumes but not any perfume! David, who was a man according to the heart of Yehoah, knew how to offer a pleasant perfume to His Lord:

 

"Prayer for Safekeeping from Wickedness
A Psalm of David.
1 LORD, I cry out to You Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. 2Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice."
(Psalm 141: 1-2)

 

David's prayers are symbolized by the incense of the evening sacrifice which is expected to remain in force  for ever. By the way, Yehoah describes this continual offering in Exodus 29, verses 38 to 43; let us read and understand:

 

"The Daily Offerings
38 "Now this is what you (Moses) shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. 39One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight (note about the precise meaning of twilight, we invite you to read the article in the French version about Passover). 40With the one lamb shall be one-tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; and you shall offer with it the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 42This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you. 43And there I will meet with the children of
Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory."

 

Please continue to read in chapter 30, verses 7 till 9:

 

"7"Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. 8And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. 9You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it."

 

The perpetual incense must be offered in the place chosen by Yehoah as a residence for His name. Today however, there is no more Temple in Jerusalem since the last one was destroyed by the Roman army in 70CE. But Daniel, beloved by His Lord, was also living at a time when the Temple was completely destroyed but he has left us an example on how to behave under such conditions:

 

"Daniel's Prayer for His People
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans-- 2in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3Then I set my face toward the Lord Elohim (about this, read also Daniel
6:11) to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes."

 

The continuation of this chapter reveals us that Daniel had the habit to pray at the precise time of perpetual offerings:

 

"20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my Elohim for the holy mountain of my Elohim, 21yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering." (Daniel 9: 20-21)

 

Despite the ruins of the Temple, Daniel persevered in his prayers, "the encense", at the right time of the perpetual sacrifices.

 

In the same way, a little after the rise of Jesus-Christ, the apostles kept  also the habit to go to the Temple at the time of perpetual offerings and  they called  this time the hour of prayer:

 

"1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer (read also Luke 1: 8-10), the ninth hour. "  (Acts 3: 1)

 


Today already, the second commandment can be your life buoy that could save you against the misdeeds of the beast that will soon rule the whole world with the full power it will receive from Satan!


 

To understand this, let us go back to the exemplar attitude of Daniel because he used to live under similar conditions to the ones that will be imposed in the near future on the believers and the  Christians:

 

"7All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter." 9Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.


Daniel in the Lions' Den
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward
Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his Elohim, as was his custom since early days.
11Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his Elohim."
(Daniel 6: 7-11)

 

The power ruling the world at that time wanted to force all the people, including the Lord's servants, to bow down to an idol, in this case, Darius the king of kings. To impose such a law meant to put an end on the perpetual sacrifice of that time that was the prayers of the saints! And if you read again this passage in its context, you will be surprised to discover that this new law was imposed to the whole Persian Empire simply to put an end to Daniel's life.

 

Daniel had a vision of the similar event which will come soon; we can read it in the book of Daniel, chapter 8, verses 1, 9-17 and 23-26:

 

"Daniel's Vision of the Ram and Goat
1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me--to me, Daniel--after the one that appeared to me the first time…

9And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. 10And it grew up to the host of heaven (note: it means the saints of whom the Church is part); and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host (note: Jesus-Christ); and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. 12Because of transgression (note: this occurs to purify the Church from her sins), an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
13Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, "How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?"
14And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed."


Gabriel Interprets the Vision
15 Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision." 17So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end."…

23"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. 24His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. 25"Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means. 26"And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; Therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future."

 

This second vision of Daniel on this topic is completing the one in the  previous chapter and we will read a short passage of it, in chapter 7,  verses 23 to 25:

 

"23"Thus he said: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. 24The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. 25He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time."

 

In Matthieu 24, verses 14 to 21, Jesus also draws the attention of all the readers about what they should do during this most confused period of time that will strike the whole world in the near future, if it did not start yet:

 

"14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.


The Great Tribulation
15 "Therefore when you see the "abomination of desolation,"  spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place"

 

(whoever reads, let him understand),

 

16"then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be."

 

For those who wish to understand this prophecy, we invite you to read our article entitled " Whoso readeth this article, let him understand!"

 

The book of Revelation reveals even more the significance and the danger of the hour of temptation that will strike the whole world. Indeed, mankind will be forced to choose between death or the worship of an idol just like it was the case for Daniel. Only those who will understand the true importance and significance of the second commandment will fight to avoid its transgression. Will we have the same success as Daniel? But let us read in chapter 13 of the book of Revelation, verses 5-10 and 13-18:

 

"5And he (note: the beast rising up out of the sea and ruling the world with the power of the Devil) was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against Elohim, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.

7It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

 

8All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints…

13He (note: the beast from earth that has the whole religious power from the Devil on earth) performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."


May you all be courageous!


 

Here we are at end of this beautiful tour offered by our Creator while meditating His second commandment. Like all His commandments, the second one encourages us to choose a life rich in freedom and blessings not only for us but also for future generations.

 

But the way to freedom is paved by tests to prove our choice. Soon will come what the Bible calls the hour of temptation and it will strike the whole world. Like in the days of  Daniel, this short hour will be  organized by the Devil only to try to put an cruel end to the saints. This hour will appear as a temptation to break the second commandment under the threat of the power of the beast. The efficient prayers of the believers will be one of the most valuable tools to overcome this plague. Paul and Peter  gave us many exhortations to encourage us to continue in the good direction towards the eternal life.

 

"18praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- 19and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." (Ephésiens 6: 18-20)

 

"7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers." (I Peter 4: 7)

 

"4Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5Let your gentleness be known to all men.

 

The Lord is at hand.
6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to Elohim; 7and the peace of Elohim, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

 

 (Philippiens 4: 4-7)

 

 

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