Right God, Wrong Way Series

Last week we focused on the first commandment: “You Shall Have No Other gods Before Me.” Last week, we focused on the “what” of worship: You Shall Worship Only God Himself. This week, we focus on the “how” of worship: You Shall Worship God the Right Way.

The first commandment implicitly excludes all idolatry. Yet, what is implicit in the first commandment is explicit in the second commandment.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:4-6).

“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven” (Deuteronomy 4:15-19).

Idols belong in the magazine, National Geographic and in the movies of Indiana Jones, not to us. Americans are not into Buddha statues surrounded by flowers and incense. Every one of us has a battle raging within us over what we love most – God or something else. Idolatry is not the stuff found only in the pages of National Geographic magazine. Instead, idolatry occurs whenever we believe that true satisfaction can be found in anything other than Jesus Christ. Idols are all around us.

Can you spot them around you? Financial security. Hip clothes. Fame and reputation. Power and control.

1. Idols Are Built for Control

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4). The commandment is deliberately comprehensive: “heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” God, through Moses, goes way out of His way to communicate that He commands no idols. There are to be no idols whatsoever.

An idol can be the worship of other gods or the worship of the one true God by forming a physical idol of Him. God doesn’t say, “There shall be no art in my house” but “There shall be no image in my likeness.”

Idols were built for control. Let me show you how.

The words, “You shall not make…” strike some as odd or even offensive. By nature, we enjoy making things. Many of you enjoy making things. There is pleasure in building something. We make a house so we can live in it. We build a boat so we can sail it. Yet, we cannot make a god so we can worship it.

What’s wrong with an image of God? When you build a house, you have the means to control the house. When you build a boat, you have the ability to control when the boat sails and where the boat sails. When you create an image, whether by wood or by an image on the computer screen, you attempt to control God. You control what you build. One reason you might want to control your god is that idols are easier to manipulate than God. You control what you build because it’s easier.

Oftentimes, in ancient days they would provide food for their gods. The people's obligation to their god was to simply bring their god something to eat. They were to appease their gods. While feeding the idol was important; being holy was not. When God reveals the Ten Commandments, He tells us, “There is a certain way to live and there is a certain way not to live.” God cannot be controlled as an idol. He doesn’t want you to place food in front an image of Him and live any way you, please. He doesn’t want you to place money in the plate and be dishonest.