Commandment #2

Commandment #2 Thou shalt not make 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 waters beneath the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thy self unto them, nor serve them: for I Yahweh, 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. Exodus 20:4

It may be hard to distinguish between the first and second commandment, because they both refer to false gods. The first commandment may refer to anything created by Yahweh, such as the sun, moon or stars. The second one refers to images made by man, or graven images.

Not to say that man should not make or create any images for artistic purposes, but they should not be made to “aid” in worship. Absolutely no sign of respect or honor should be made towards graven images, as it is not pleasing in Yahweh’s eyes.

The second commandment can be thought of as idolatry. Here is what Isaiah said about what idols or idolatry is:

Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. Isaiah 2:8

In the book of Daniel there is a story about Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, and how they were supposed to bow down to an idol that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up to worship. They refused, even though they were threatened to be thrown into the fiery furnace, but because of their obedience to Yahweh’s law, they were not harmed.

Ezekiel described an idol as if it was in the heart.

And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face…. Ezekiel 14:2-3

Man has to be careful about what he allows into his heart and make sure that nothing becomes an idol such as money. The Bible describes the love of money to be the root of all evil, but that does not mean that we should not touch it or have any. It just means that we are not to make it an idol or desire to be wealthy above serving Yahweh.

An “idol” is defined as an image used as an object of worship or a false god. A “god” is defined as one that is worshiped, idealized, or followed. These definitions are very similar, and in some instances, they can be substituted for each other.