Pagans believed statues and images were imbued with the nature of their "god", and thus the object became worthy of worship. What constitutes a violation of the "graven images" commandment? God is not the "top" dog he is the "only" dog. The commandment forbids the worship of any "thing" other than God himself. The Bible merely documents the worship it doesn't say they were actually real beings. Pagans in those times did indeed worships "gods" that didn't exist (Baal, Marduk, etc.). are told not to make “graven images” (which means statues, pictures, etc.) - that is, they are taught that all the priests, ministers, teachers, and other authority figures are liars and hypocrites.ĭoes "thou shalt have no other gods" not endorse polytheism? He self-designated chief of the gods orders not to worship any of the other gods before him: in this polytheistic system, he is top dog.Ģ: What constitutes a violation of the "graven images" commandment? They are told not to make “graven images” (which means statues, pictures, etc.) - that is, they are taught that all the priests, ministers, teachers, and other authority figures are liars and hypocrites.ġ: Does "thou shalt have no other gods" not endorse polytheism? Thus the self-designated chief of the gods orders them not to worship any of the other gods before him: in this polytheistic system, he is top dog. Apart from the obvious questions of establishing a particular choice of religious doctrine within the public school system, have a look at what children are to be taught to believe - on the (admittedly weak) assumption that anyone is expected to take the words seriously. The same newspaper stories showed pictures of the Ten Commandments posted on walls of classrooms (a version of them, at least). Readers are invited to submit their questions to. Columns and audio sermons may be found at the church's website. Tom Lovorn is pastor of God's Storehouse Baptist Church in Richmond [He writes a weekly column on religion for The Progress-Index in Petersburg. Remember: He sets the standards by which we may relate to him, and we must each come to him on his terms - repentance and faith in his Son, Jesus. This Commandment is teaching that nothing should take the place of the personal presence of the Invisible God. Even a cross used as a good luck charm or worn as a popular fad is a graven image if one doesn't know the Christ of the Cross.
He cannot be contained in physical images. God is above and beyond even his own creation. Not only must we not place any imagined god ahead of the Lord, but we must not confine the omnipresent God to an image made with our minds or hands. We usually think of "graven images" as idols, but we can make idols of anything we place before Jehovah. The second Commandment forbids worship of man-made things that represent false gods. Therefore, this Commandment calls for loyalty to the "King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God" (1 Timothy 1:17). Of course, Satan's purpose is to lead us from worshipping his arch Enemy, but men have an innate nature to worship a higher power because they can't handle life alone.
Satan and men have conjured gods of their imagination, specters of man and beasts. Men have invented gods in the stars and the zodiac, mythological gods, gods of nature and beasts, gods of ancestors and saints, and gods of culture and world religions. The Israelites were exposed to many gods in Egypt. It's saying, "Make the only Almighty God your priority." Thoughtfully, we could ask: "Are there really any other Gods?" Of course, the answer is, "There are no other Gods (capitol G)." Isaiah 45:5 says, "I am Yahweh and there is none else, no God besides me." However, there are pantheons of other gods (little g). The first Commandment is predicated on Exodus 20:2 and the revealed power of the True God.
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