Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 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 parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

• Exodus 20:4-6

““Q. 49. Which is the Second Commandment?
“A. The Second Commandment is, ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven 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: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, 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.’ ””

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Catechism (Scripture proofs in bold above)

“Q. 49. Which is the Second Commandment?
“A. The Second Commandment is, ‘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 the Lord thy God am a jealous God, 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.’ ”

• The Shorter Catechism (Westminster Assembly)

“Q. 107. Which is the Second Commandment?
“A. The Second Commandment is, ‘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 the Lord thy God am a jealous God, 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.’ ”

• The Larger Catechism (Westminster Assembly)

The Larger Catechism, Shorter Catechism and the Spurgeon Catechism are identical in wording.  I am beginning to believe that the Spurgeon Catechism does not show biblical proofs for the Commandments, maybe being “self-evident” as to the source?

This commandment might seem a continuation of the first, but there is a significant difference.  In making something to worship, we take our eyes away from the unseen God.  We are essentially stating that the true God is not good enough.  We HAVE to see something.  But more importantly, we have to see something that WE made, that WE deem worthy enough to be praised.  How ridiculous!  We are creatures, created by God.  Whatever we make is a thing, not even living, that is formed from things that are created by God.

The key difference is that the First Commandment tells us to have no other gods, but the second expands on that to not “make” other gods and not “worship” what we have made.

This could be all on the subject, but I wonder about how far toward this sin has the church gone.  We do not worship the cross.  The cross is a reminder, but many go to the cross and bow down before it.  Some people leave offerings at the foot of the cross.  When does the cross shift from a reminder of Christ’s love for us to a thing to worship.

The photo is on my coin pouch, poured out onto a cap.  You can see a small wooden cross.  It is the third cross given to me.  One was lost.  One broke into a few pieces, but this one seems sturdy enough to last a while.  Our new associate pastor gave it to me.  But I know people who stop when a problem arises, and they reach for their cross, in their pocket or on a necklace.  They rub it; they clutch it tightly.  Is this a reminder, or do they need something more than the ever-present God who is everywhere?  I rarely empty my coin pouch and as you can see, only pennies, nickels, and dimes.  But when I do, the cross reminds me that the money is God’s.  It reminds me of the debt that I owe Jesus that I can never repay.  And it encourages me to do as Christ commanded, spread the gospel and do things for those less fortunate.

But some denominations have icons.  These icons have special ceremonies attached to them.  There is worship focused on these icons.  Is this a reminder of what the icon represents or worshipping something made by man?

And then there are small statues of the saints.  Do they still teach to stop every time you see the mother Mary and say a prayer before proceeding?  A reminder or worshipping something made by man?

And now let us sing.

The following song is Idols is sung by Jessa Anderson.  It is a little upbeat.  If you have not heard it before, you may want to play it twice and sing along.  The message in the song teaches you about this Commandment.

“I am so like a bird in flight
I try to build my home
I set my eyes on everything that shines
And tells me it will me whole
I stuck the walls surrending me with promises and pretty things
But when I see what winter brings I fly
And as it turn on this fake is hurt my chest
Sometime it beats for everything but what is best
And when I turn down this voice I hear in my head
I give you room to speak and offer life instead
So take all of these idols, all of these idols
An dlay them to rest
Take all of these idols, all of my idols
And lay them to rest
And in this time addicted I, I
Dispperate for more and more
I chase the high but every single time
I came down lower then before
These empty words are on repeat
And I can see they’re killing me
But still I find that I believe in lies
And as it turn on this fake is hurt my chest
Sometime it beats for everything but what is best
And when I turn down this voice I hear in my head
I give you room to speak and offer life instead
So take all of these idols, all of these idols
And lay them to rest
Take all of these idols, all of my idols
And lay them to rest
I am well on the ride, I am a clouded starless sky
Without your breath of life
I will surely die and you gave your life for mine
And as it turn on this fake is hurt my chest
Sometime it beats for everything but what is best
And when I turn down this voice I hear in my head
I give you room to speak and offer life instead
So take all of these idols, all of these idols
And lay them to rest
Take all of these idols, all of my idols
And lay them to rest
And as it turn on this fake is hurt my chest
Sometime it beats for everything but what is best
And when I turn down this voice I hear in my head
I give you room to speak and offer life instead
So take all of these idols, all of these idols
And lay them to rest
Take all of these idols
So take all of these idols, all of my idols
And lay them to rest
So take all of these idols, all of my idols.”

• Folliott B. Pierpoint, For the Beauty of the Earth

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need You.  Sometimes we make something that we think is well-made.  We place it on a shelf for others to see.  But we must never worship it.  When others say that we were highly skilled, we should praise You for the skill and let our friend know that without God making the raw materials for the thing we fashioned with our hands, it could not have been possible.  In everything that we do, we should deflect the praise, and pass that praise and glory over to You, our God, the Creator of everything.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.