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
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
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
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
"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
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.
A second example of the good behavior Yehoah
is expecting from his people as already told earlier is the destruction by
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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
1 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2"Son
of man, set your face toward the mountains of
(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
(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
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
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
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
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
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
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)