Exodus 20:4-6
Empty Images
April 26, 2009
SLIDE
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Have I recently mentioned that I love my wife very much? In the time Debbie and I have been married, I am more and more amazed at her love, grace and compassion today than I was when we got married.
SLIDE (cartoon picture of another woman)
But let me ask you a question, how do you think she would like it if she was going to put money in my wallet and she found a picture of another, almost as attractive woman in front of her picture? Do you think Debbie would shrug her shoulders and say, ‘Well, Michael has a right to live his life as he sees fit?’ Or do you think it’s more likely she would walk into the next room and ask me to explain myself?
And how do you think she would like it if I told her that this other woman and I had an ongoing relationship, and that I turned to her whenever I needed support, affection and encouragement? Do you think she would continue to believe me when I tell say ‘I love you?’ Who would blame her if she wanted to tear that photograph and me, into a few hundred pieces. Could you fault her for feeling jealous, hurt and angry over having to share my love and devotion with another?
CLICK (picture of my wife and I; as the other picture leaves the screen)
Debbie is my wife. She has every right to expect and insist that I will keep myself for her and her alone. Debbie should expect that there are no other pictures in my wallet other than hers. She has the expectation that I will be faithful in our marriage. And I expect Debbie to be the same to me.
This, I believe, is the spirit of the second commandment. This is what God is saying to us, “I am your God. I have saved you and redeemed you, I have given my Son to you. PLEASE, do not put anything in the place that belongs to me. I love you with all my heart, and I want to care for you, protect you, provide for you and bless you. Do not have any other gods in your life. I want to be the only One for you, so that I am your God.”
BLANK
Would this statement from God strike you as being too restrictive or legalistic? Is it too much for God to expect us to worship only Him? Of course not. He is our God. And after all, what’s the difference between a carved image and a photograph? In essence God is asking us not to put any other pictures in our wallets in front of His. Don’t turn to a false god for comfort, stimulation, or satisfaction. God is able to meet every one of your needs. You see, it is a love and a relationship issue. Debbie does not want nor expect any rivals for my love, and my Lord does not either.
Most of us know that the second commandment tells us not to make carved images or idols. But did you realize what this whole commandment tells us? Not only are we not to make images or likenesses of God, we are also not to bow down or serve those idols. And we also forget about that last line, that there are consequences for worshiping and serving idols, and there are also rewards for worshiping God.
Martin Luther said, “Whatever your heart clings to and relies on, that is your God.” Is there anything we love more than God, fear more than God, serve more than God, or value more than God? The greatest command is to love God with everything in us. Therefore, it is a sin when we love something more than God. It is a sin because we end up worshiping and serving that god, and that’s idolatry.
Slide
People have been worshiping idols as far back as we have recorded history. Last week I mentioned the Egyptians had 114 gods and goddesses. Scholars believe in the time of the apostle Paul, ancient Greeks worshiped upwards of 30,000 gods. Their homes and cities had monuments to them everywhere, because they wanted none to be offended. They even erected one monument to what they called “the unknown God” to make sure that if they missed any, he or she would not be angry with them.
In the 21st chapter of Numbers there is the account of an attack on the nation of Israel by poisonous snakes. The people were dying like flies until Moses prayed to God. So God instructed Moses to have a brass serpent made and fastened to a pole, so that whoever looked at it, might live. Miraculously everyone who looked at that pole regained their strength. The healing power of the Lord swept through the camp. They thanked and praised God, and that was the end of the story. Right?
Wrong, the next time we hear anything about that brass serpent is in the 18th chapter of II Kings. Over the centuries the people began to look at that snake as something more than simply a reminder of God’s power; they had begun to worship it. It got so bad that King Hezekiah smashed the thing into pieces. It had become an idol. What had started out as a reminder of God became a god.
Slide
You see, even religious things can become substitutes for God. Whether it’s a cross, a statue, or a picture; it must never be granted God-like qualities. On the surface we would say there’s nothing wrong with this picture of crosses on the screen. Of course, the cross of Jesus Christ is central to our faith. We may argue, it reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus made for you and me.
Slide
But crosses often turn up as symbols we wear on bracelets, necklaces or earrings. Do these crosses really represent the pain, sweat, agony, and the blood that was shed for us on Calvary? Most often not! The cross was a horrible and brutal way to kill someone. As long as we utilize the cross and other symbols as representations or reminders of our faith that is acceptable, but when it becomes the focus of our faith, or mere jewelry, we’ve moved in the wrong direction.
The point is, whenever anyone or anything usurps the place that God should have in our lives, we’re guilty of idolatry. There are literally hundreds of things we accept as idols in our lives. It usually happens very slowly, in fact, we don’t even realize that we’re serving another master. It’s a subtle intrusion of something other than God, which we allow to become far too important in our lives. Sometimes we hardly know it’s a problem, until we have to make a choice.
Some of our gods may even be good things. For example, some people worship their family. Their children consume so much of their lives that there is no room for God. In fact, their children and their accomplishments become god. Family is great, it was God’s idea. But we were never meant to worship the family.
Some people worship work. Their careers consume so much of their time, talent and energy that there’s nothing left for God. The company, money, their success have become god. We were never meant to worship at the altar of our jobs.
I have met people who were so active in their churches that they were there 5 or 6 nights a week. They were not worshiping God, they were worshiping the institution called church, the institution became their god.
Some people worship themselves. They are so self-indulgent that they cheat God by keeping their lives free from Him. They become their own god.
Slide
We hear different stories about people who do not come to worship. One of them goes like this, “I can worship God on the golf course just as well as I can in a church building.” Oh really? Forget about it! I play golf and I know better. Despite being surrounded by the magnificence of God’s creation, there is not much worship going on the golf course. Thoughts are not of God; they are of pars and bogies. The only praying going on is, “Lord, help me make this putt.” That is not worship and everybody knows it. Golf has taken the place of God, and that is sin.
The same happens when we are always off fishing or hunting or shopping or sleeping in, or even watching worship on television. Watch when you can’t be here, but we don’t choose televised worship over being present at worship.
Slide (picture of Prejean)
Last weekend at the Miss USA pageant, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was asked if she supported same-sex marriage . . . her answer surprised the panel, especially the one who asked the question. She said,
I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you.”
Many believe this cost Prejean the crown and the glory that goes along with it. She was featured on the Today show and said, “I’m so proud of myself, I wouldn’t change a thing. I knew I had a purpose, and I don’t take back what I said.”
When Matt Lauer asked Prejean if she could do it over, would she offer up a more middle-of-the-road response, she replied, “No, I wouldn’t have answered differently. It’s not about being politically correct; for me, it was being biblically correct.”
On the other side, one of the judges, Claudia Jordan said, “The judges were really against her, they were bothered by her answer.”
Perez Hilton who asked the question said, “Prejean had no business offering such an obviously divisive answer to a question she could have easily danced around. I want a Miss USA who is going to be politically savvy, and that means saying things that will make everyone feel welcome.”
Why include this story? Because it refers to who we worship, who will we bow down before? Prejean could have compromised and been selected Miss USA, she could have come up with a more politically correct answer, but if she did, then she would be bowing down to the idols of political correctness, fame and whatever else came her way.
When push comes to shove, are we supposed to have a Perez Hilton type of faith, where we say what everyone else wants to hear? Or do we answer in a way which shows the world who we really worship?
BLANK
Sometimes we are presented with those moments in life, where we have to say what we really believe, we have to act out the part of Christian. Those are the defining moments in our lives. Those are the moments which define what we’re all about. They tell the world there is no other god besides my God, Jesus. That’s what Carrie did with that answer.
Because, you see God tells us He is a jealous God. Now, that is a word we really don’t like. In Othello, Shakespeare calls it the “green-eyed monster.” Jealousy leads us to think about selfishness, suspicion, and distrust, and implies resentment or hostility toward other people because they enjoy some advantage. It is possessive, demanding, and overbearing. It stifles freedom and individuality, it degrades and demeans, it breeds tension and discord, it destroys friendships and marriages. We view jealousy as a horrible trait.
So, how can a God who is holy and just, loving and gracious, merciful and patient be jealous?
You see, God is completely in love with you and I. The power of His love for us goes so deep and is so strong that He wants us to be in love with Him first, not some other number. But part of jealousy in the Bible is the fact that not only does God want you to make Him first in your life, He also wants to protect you, since we are His children. What parent does not want to protect, care and nurture their children?
Just as Debbie expects me to be devoted to her, and I expect that from Debbie, God does not want to share us with anyone else. He expects exclusive devotion from us. When we find a replacement we are committing spiritual adultery.
Part of the reason we do not like the word jealous is because we have a poor understanding of what the word really means.
We often equate jealousy with envy. But these are two totally different words.
Jealousy can be good or it can be bad. We can be jealous for what someone has in terms of their spiritual life; and that may lead us to grow in our spiritual life. . . which is a great thing.
But jealousy may deteriorate into something bad, as when we become frustrated and bitter because someone else has something we want. You see, there is nothing we have that God wants, other than our devotion. God is not capable of displaying sinful jealousy.
On the other hand, envy is always bad. Envy is a feeling of displeasure over the blessings others are enjoying and we want to deprive them of that enjoyment. Jealousy wants what others have, while envy wants to keep them from having it. Envy is never viewed in a positive light in the Bible. It is a vicious and malicious trait which Solomon calls “rottenness to the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).
So, you see, we have a God who wants you and I to give him our undivided attention. He does not want us to make idols of anything to represent Him.
He does not want us to give into ~
SLIDE (as I say each item, a new picture comes up on that slide. The slide ends up being filled with all of these possible idols. The last slide is a picture of Jesus which covers the entire screen)
MONEY
SUCCESS
ADDICTIONS - DRUGS ALCOHOL FOOD GAMBLING
VIDEO GAMES
SHOPPING
FAMILY
CHURCH
SPORTS & LEISURE
or will it be Jesus (Picture of Jesus)
He wants our heart, spirit, minds and bodies to be His. When we do this, He promises blessings will come our way. We don’t always know what those blessings will look like. And they are not always the way we imagine the blessings to be. We expect, health and wealth and prosperity and family and all that is good. Yet, sometimes, the greatest blessing we can receive is to struggle which leads us to a greater dependency upon God, which ultimately leads others to experience the joy of a relationship with God, because they have experienced our faith, hope, belief and trust in action.
This second commandment is not very different from the first, in the end God expects, demands, and commands that when we open our wallets to show pictures of our family, His picture will be first.
