4 “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 thousands2 of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Footnotes
[1]20:3Or besides [2]20:6Or to the thousandth generation
11 And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. 12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments,1 and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.
Idolatry Forbidden
15 “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.
4 “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 thousands2 of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Footnotes
[1]20:3Or besides [2]20:6Or to the thousandth generation
11 And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. 12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments,1 and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.
Idolatry Forbidden
15 “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.
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Joel Brooks:
So if you have a Bible, turn to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. And as you're returning there, let me ask you some questions. When you close your eyes and you think about God, what comes to your mind? What what picture do you have?
Joel Brooks:
Do you have any picture that pops in your mind when you pray? Do you have a picture of God? He's he a grandfatherly figure, you know, with a white beard that's, you know, often portrayed in movies or in artwork or cartoons? Is he kinda like that celestial Santa Claus person? Or does he more resemble, you know, the God in a country song?
Joel Brooks:
He's the man upstairs. Or perhaps it's CS Lewis's books. You've been influenced by that, and you you picture a lion, like Asland or or a lamb. Or maybe go to Talladega Nights, and it's sweet baby Jesus, chubby cheeks. And that that's that's who you picture right there.
Joel Brooks:
But but what do you think about when you think about God? JI Packer, famous theologian, he said, this is the most important question we could ever ask. And that's what this next commandment is about. But before we read Exodus 20, like I said last week, we're gonna take time to read through all of the Ten Commandments, because I will not have you able to say all the ingredients of Big Mac or all of the family of the Brady Bunch, and not be able to say the Ten Commandments together. And so if you would, read these 10 commandments with me.
Joel Brooks:
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make any graven images. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Honor your father and mother.
Joel Brooks:
You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet.
Joel Brooks:
We'll be looking at the second of these commandments. So turn to Exodus 20, and also we'll be looking at Deuteronomy 4. And God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. 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 below, or that is in the water under the earth.
Joel Brooks:
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 3rd and 4th generation of those who hate me. But showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Deuteronomy 4 beginning in verse 11.
Joel Brooks:
And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but you saw no form. There was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform.
Joel Brooks:
That is the 10 commandments. And he wrote them on 2 tablets of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules that you might do them in the land that you were going over to possess. 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.
Joel Brooks:
Beware, lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves. In the form of any figure, The likeness of male or female. The likeness of any animal that is on the earth. The likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air. The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground.
Joel Brooks:
The likeness of any fish that is in the water under the sea or under the earth. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. Pray with me. Father, we thank you for the family that we have through your son, Jesus Christ, the unity that we have through your spirit.
Joel Brooks:
It's good to be with family on Sunday mornings. Lord, but we've gathered together not just for a time of fellowship and to see friends. We've gathered together because we want to hear from you. And so I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But, Lord, may your words remain and may they change us.
Joel Brooks:
We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. A few years ago, Jeff Hine and I, we got to go and to hear Don Carson preach on Exodus 14. This is the text where, God parts the Red Sea for Moses and the Israelites. Jeff actually alluded to this a while back.
Joel Brooks:
But doctor Carson, he pointed out that the people of Israel, as they were walking through the Red Sea, he's sure that there was a wide range of emotions and faith happening at that time. That there were likely some that were going through this, and seeing these cavernous walls of water on either side, and they were just rejoicing. They're gonna look at this. This is unbelievable. Look at these enormous walls of water.
Joel Brooks:
Our God is amazing. And they were walking through, and there were others that, as they were saying, look at this. Look at this. They're like, I can't. I can't.
Joel Brooks:
And they're looking one foot in front of the other. Scared out of their minds. And the question was this, so who did the Lord save? He saved them both. He saved those that had enormous faith and walked through the that water, walked through with just a heart full of worship.
Joel Brooks:
And he saved those that had very little faith. They could barely get their their legs to move because they were trembling so bad. Both were saved. And the reason that both of them were saved is because the most important aspect of our faith is not how hard we believe, but in whom we believe. It's not the amount of our faith that matters so much.
Joel Brooks:
It's the object of our faith that matters. And there are times that all of us, we're gonna go through where we're like the Israelites looking down at the ground. We're just trying to do one step in front of the other. Just trying to keep upright, Because our faith is so small. And that's okay.
Joel Brooks:
Jesus said, you only need to have the faith the size of a mustard seed. And as long as that faith is in him, it is enough to save. The image I have is, you know, when I was teaching my girls how to swim, you know, and you throw them in the pool. When they go down and they reach out to you, you grab their hand. I would grab their hand and I'd pull them up.
Joel Brooks:
It did not matter about their grip on me. Their strength had nothing to do with it. It was my strength that pulled them up. They just had to reach out to the right person. They just had to reach out to me, and my strength pulled them out.
Joel Brooks:
It's not the amount of their strength that matters. It was my strength. Who did they trust? This is why the 10 commandments begin not with a call to be sincere. They don't begin with a call to have great faith.
Joel Brooks:
The call for you to be courageous in following the Lord. They begin with a reminder of who the Lord is. God reminds his people at the start. He says, I'm Yahweh. I am the Lord, your God.
Joel Brooks:
I saved you by grace. I rescued from you from Egypt. I delivered you out of slavery. Whom you trust is way more important than how much you trust. It doesn't matter if you believe that there's only one God.
Joel Brooks:
This isn't, the first commandment wasn't a call to just monotheism in general. It doesn't matter if you believe in only one God, if you're worshiping the wrong God. Because the false god cannot save you. Whom you worship is of vital importance. Your amount of sincerity does not matter if you're sincerely worshiping the wrong person.
Joel Brooks:
I go to O'Henry's a lot. It's where I typically write my sermon or at least get started in it. I also I probably met half of you at O'Henry's at some point. But I was, I was meeting a lady there who I had never met before. She had emailed me.
Joel Brooks:
She was going through a number of struggles. Just, she wanted to talk to a pastor, and I said, that's fine. And and, so I went to meet her there, but I had never seen her before. And so I sit down by myself at the table. And, and a lady comes, and she sits down with me.
Joel Brooks:
And so we begin talking. And so I just I'm jumping right in. You know? That's what pastors do. You know?
Joel Brooks:
I'm asking the hard questions. I'm asking all about, where she grew up. Her family. Her struggles. And I'm really just digging deep into her struggles.
Joel Brooks:
After about 30 something minutes, she goes, Wow. I I I honestly, I didn't expect this when I came here. And then she pulled out a folder and she goes, I've prepared the 3 different insurance things for you to look at and sign. I was like, what? We were meeting with the wrong people.
Joel Brooks:
And she had not met her client. I didn't know who I was meeting with, and yet, I mean, she was telling me her sins. Like, she was just, she's just opening up. But then she realizes that she's wasted 30 minutes because I wasn't the right person, and that all of the effort and everything that she had put in didn't matter. It didn't matter.
Joel Brooks:
Whom you talk with, whom you are sincere with is everything. Make sure that when you come and even meet here, you're meeting with the right God. The God who has revealed himself in scripture. Not whatever God you think of or you imagine. So that's what the first commandment is about.
Joel Brooks:
We are to worship Yahweh, the Lord, fully revealed in his son, Jesus Christ. There's salvation under no other name. So the first commandment is about who we worship. The second commandment is about how we worship. But how we worship affects who we worship.
Joel Brooks:
If you worship the wrong way, you will end up worshiping the wrong God. Even if your intentions are good. So how we worship is of utmost importance. Now, a lot of people have a hard time distinguishing between the 1st and the second commandment because they seem so similar. I mean, commandment 1 is that there should be no other gods before Him that you shouldn't worship any other gods.
Joel Brooks:
Commandment number 2 is that you shouldn't worship any idols. Same thing, right? Not quite. It's a reason there are 2 different commands here. Yes.
Joel Brooks:
God, He is certainly saying that we should not create any images of false gods and worship them. But he is also saying that we should not make any visual representations of him. We're to never make any images of God himself. This is how idol worship worked in this day. Most people misunderstand it because they think people actually thought of those, those carvings, you know, the wood or the gold statues, whatever.
Joel Brooks:
They actually thought of them as gods. People didn't actually think of those things as gods. They thought of them as physical representations of gods. And these statues, these idols would help them to worship. Sometimes they would become a vehicle for their worship.
Joel Brooks:
And what the people would do when they created these idols is they would use their imagination. And they would imagine what, what a God looked like. And then they would create, through metal or through wood or whatever. They would create an image that resembled whatever they imagined that God looking like. Or perhaps, they could just pick an aspect of that God.
Joel Brooks:
They could be a little more artistic and just pick one of the the God's qualities. Maybe the God's strength. And so, they might make a bull or an ox, because that's a strong, strong animal. So when they saw that, they would be reminded of the strength of their God. Or sometimes, you know, some of the statues there, they would, they would have many enhanced sexual features to them because they were praying to a fertility god.
Joel Brooks:
And they wanted to be reminded of that. I mean, go to the Birmingham Museum of Art and you're gonna look at all of these different idols from around the world. And you're gonna see that a lot of them have these exaggerated features in which they were trying to highlight a certain quality about that God. But this idolatry was everywhere. And God says, you must never worship me that way.
Joel Brooks:
Never. You must not only not worship the false gods that way, you must never try to worship me this way. God is spirit. No physical image can depict him. Any attempt for us to come up with some kind of physical image is only going to distort who he really is.
Joel Brooks:
And so, in other words, we must never try to make the invisible God visible. Over and over again in Deuteronomy 4, I don't know if you noticed this, but God kept saying this. You never actually saw me. You never saw my form. You never saw my appearance.
Joel Brooks:
You heard my voice. He keeps reminding you heard my voice, you heard my voice, but you never actually saw me. Therefore, don't make any carving images, any graven images. Now, of course, as God is giving this commandment to Moses, the people are at the bottom of the mountain actually breaking it. I mean, the ink's not even dry and they are breaking this very commandment as it is even being given to Moses.
Joel Brooks:
And most people assume when the Israelites, you know, they made this golden calf and they created this idol that they were worshiping a false god. But that's not actually what they were trying to do in this moment. It's certainly what not what Aaron had in mind. When he made this golden calf, you'll read it in Exodus 32, he made it and he brought the people together. He says, tomorrow we're gonna gather around this golden calf and we're gonna have a feast to Yahweh.
Joel Brooks:
Says we're gonna have a feast to the Lord as we gather around this golden calf. You see Moses had been up on the mountain for 40 days now, and people were wondering what happened to him? Is he coming back? Did the Lord kill him? And they began to panic because Moses was their mediator.
Joel Brooks:
Moses was the one who told them what God wanted to do and now Moses was gone. They needed to find some kind of replacement, some kind of vehicle for communication. So they went to Aaron. Aaron, you you gotta do something. Aaron said, I'll help you out.
Joel Brooks:
I'll make a physical representation for God. And so, he makes this golden calf. Has everybody bring him their jewelry, melts it all down, and creates this golden calf or it could be a golden bull or an ox would probably be a better translation there. And it says, this is how we will worship Yahweh. But he was not trying to lead people into the worship of a false God.
Joel Brooks:
He was trying to help them actually worship the Lord. You see, the the the golden ox or bull there, was a magnificent creature. And it was to remind them of the strength of Yahweh. And you can kinda picture that that animal there and it's gold gleaming in the sun with its muscles bulging. And Aaron and all the people look out and be like, this is what God is like.
Joel Brooks:
He is strong and it would help focus them in to worship the Lord. And God says, that is nothing like me. That is absolutely nothing like me. That is not helpful. That is a distortion of who I am.
Joel Brooks:
Do you remember when God introduced himself to the Israelites? When He gave His name, He said, okay. I'm gonna tell you who I am. I am. You can almost picture the awkward conversation that this was.
Joel Brooks:
You know, God says, I'm going to tell you who I am. I am. And they're waiting. And you are what? You are what?
Joel Brooks:
And God just says, I am. I mean, this is bad grammar. It's it's you you have to wait. I mean, what what what are you? But God doesn't say what he is.
Joel Brooks:
He just says I am. Because anything that God said after that would have distorted him. If he had said, I am powerful or I am merciful. Alright. What you know, if he had said, I am powerful, we'd have been thinking like this.
Joel Brooks:
Okay. Power. We get power. We instantly, we have these categories for power. And we think you're like an ox or you're like an army or you're like a hurricane.
Joel Brooks:
Those are powerful things. You're just even more powerful. And God says, that's not at all what I'm like. Not at all. You cannot fit me into any of those categories.
Joel Brooks:
My power is nothing like how you conceive power. And my mercies nothing like you conceive mercy. My love is nothing like you can conceive love. I don't fit into any one of your categories. This is why He told Isaiah, to whom will you compare me?
Joel Brooks:
To make an image of God is to compare God. That's what the Israelites were doing. We're comparing your strength to the strength of this ox. To make an image of God is to compare God, but no one compares to God. This image that Aaron made fell woefully short and it should be discarded.
Joel Brooks:
And this doesn't include just metal images. It includes mental images of God. Before this ever became a metal image, it was first a mental image. It was first a picture that someone had imagined as to what God should look like. I mean, how often have you heard someone say, you know, when I imagine God, he's like this.
Joel Brooks:
Oprah Winfrey will say something like that. Or recently, a Dolly Parton will say something like this. When I imagine God, He's like this. But an imagined God is an imaginary God. It's not the real God.
Joel Brooks:
I realized that this second commandment is is is hard for us to keep because we think in images. Often, we do. You know, I think of of my wife and an image comes to my mind. I think my children, an image comes to my mind. But we must not do that with God.
Joel Brooks:
Even if we think we're being helpful, even if we think it gives us a vehicle for worship, God says, you will not make any image of me. I've heard some people say, you know, that a common image they have is perhaps God is father. God does reveal himself as our father. He says that. But we must not actually try to picture a father because that will distort him.
Joel Brooks:
If we actually try to picture and I've heard this, you know, picture God as your father, he's your father right now and he's hugging you and he's holding you. Just keep that picture. Well, we might think that's helpful, but God says that is actually harmful because you're distorting who I actually really am. When we try to focus on God by creating a image, even if we think it's helpful, God becomes very jealous. Remember how last week when I was talking about the first commandment and I said, you know, when God uses that language, you shall have no other, that was the language I was using weddings.
Joel Brooks:
It's what a husband and a or a bride and a groom would say to one another, you shall have no other. God was essentially saying, I'm married to you. We've entered in this covenant relationship together. And and I gave you that, you know, scenario of the reason that God says, you shall have no other gods before me. It's just imagine if in a marriage, the husband were to go to his wife and say, hey.
Joel Brooks:
I'd like you to meet this lady here. She's going to be kind of part of our relationship. You know? You're first. Make no mistake.
Joel Brooks:
You're first. You're best. You have a special place in my heart, but gonna kind of bring her in as well. And then I'm gonna bring this other woman in as well, and you keep bringing women. How's God gonna feel about that?
Joel Brooks:
Or how's the the wife gonna feel about that? Absolutely not. We'll be jealous. We'll be angry. It's an appropriate response.
Joel Brooks:
We don't bring other people into the this marriage relationship. Idolatry is very similar. Making an image is very similar. If I could give you a a a slightly different version of that story. Imagine, this time, a husband.
Joel Brooks:
He's caught by his wife. His wife, walks in, and the husband is actually kissing another woman. Just like, what what are you doing? And he just breaks up with the woman. He says, it's not what you think.
Joel Brooks:
I might've been kissing her, but I was thinking of you. I mean, yes, I was embracing her, but the entire time I was just thinking of you. Her arms helped me think of your arms. Her lips helped me think of your lips. I was thinking of you the whole time.
Joel Brooks:
And wife would say, but she's not me. And that's what God says. To any helpful image that comes in our mind, no matter how helpful we think it is, this helps me think of God. He says, but it's not God. That's not who I am.
Joel Brooks:
And I am jealous anytime you go to that image as a way of trying to come to me. And anytime you imagine that, actually, that imaginary imagination becomes an imaginary god. Alright. So how exactly should we worship God then? If we're not supposed to even be thinking of these images, how do we worship Him?
Joel Brooks:
I mean, what are we supposed to think about when we pray to Him? When we worship? And the answer is we are to think of his word. Once again, look at Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 12. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire.
Joel Brooks:
You heard the sound of words, but you saw no form. There was only a voice. We worship a God who speaks. And although we cannot see God, God has chosen to reveal himself to us through words. That is how God decided to reveal himself to us, through words.
Joel Brooks:
And then God has given us these words. We have them right here in our bible. God's revealed word to us. This is how we get to know who he is and how we can worship him. This is why the word of God must be central in Christian worship.
Joel Brooks:
This is why God, he tells us not only to memorize the word, to hide the word of God into our hearts, but he tells us that when we lie down, when we rise up, when we walk, when we, every waking moment we're to be thinking of his his word, we're to be teaching them to our children. The word of God is to ever be before us. It should shape how we pray. It should shape how we sing. This is why at Redeemer, we begin every service with we begin our service with a reading of God's word.
Joel Brooks:
So we start. And then, of course, we're gonna go on to pray. We're gonna go on to sing, but praying and singing at its best are bathed in scripture. Because without god's word, we cannot know him because this is how he has chosen to reveal himself. This is why preaching is of such importance in a church.
Joel Brooks:
Have you ever actually thought about what preaching is? I'm a preacher, so I probably think about a little bit more than you. But have you ever wondered, like, what what is preaching? Why do we give preaching such a prominent place in our worship services? Well well, preaching preaching is this.
Joel Brooks:
Preaching happens when a living image of God proclaims and expounds on the written word of God. When a living image of God proclaims and expounds on the written word of God. You see, as we're going through the 10 commandments, God did not say that you shall not have any images. He didn't say that. He didn't say we shouldn't have any images of him.
Joel Brooks:
He said, we should not create any images of Him. We're not to create any images of Him because He has already created images of Him, Us. That's that's what men and women are. Genesis 1 says that we were created in His image. He's already made little living statues as a representation of Him all around the world.
Joel Brooks:
Now, of course, through sin, through the fall, this has been tainted. This has been stained, this image of God. But yet, we are the living images of God that He has created. And what preaching is, is when a living image comes forth and proclaims his written word. It's why it's so powerful.
Joel Brooks:
It's why us gathering together is so important. It's because we together, as we proclaim God's word, as we sing and we pray, we remind one another of who God is. Gathering together as his church is of vital importance. Hearing the word of God proclaimed is powerful. And then, of course, all good preaching needs to lead to Jesus.
Joel Brooks:
One of the reasons that God prohibits any images to ever be created of him is because only one image would ever truly suffice. And that would be his son, Jesus. There is only one person who fully reflects who God is. Colossians 1 15, Paul says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
Joel Brooks:
That in Jesus, the fullness of God dwells. In John 14, Jesus had a conversation with Philip. And Philip, he says, Jesus, would you just show us who the father is? And that would be enough. That's all we ask.
Joel Brooks:
Could you just show us who the father is? And Jesus looks at Philip and says, if you've seen me, you've seen the father. If you've seen me, you've seen the father because I am the image of God. God, the Father, fully manifested in the Son. And so, I want to end our time together just by saying this.
Joel Brooks:
If you want to know who God is, you look to Jesus. You see His beauty. You see his strength. You see his majesty. But don't stop there.
Joel Brooks:
Don't start with just a stop with just a part of him. You have to fully take in who Jesus is. See His hatred of sin. See His justice. See His woes to the Pharisees.
Joel Brooks:
See Him holding children in His lap and blessing them. See Him feeding the 5,000. See Him telling the woman, go and sin no more. See how severe He is in sin saying, I tell you, you know, if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
Joel Brooks:
But then also see Him appealing. Come to Him for forgiveness. See all of Jesus, and you see all of God. So take a good look at Him. And so I wanna end this sermon with the way I began it.
Joel Brooks:
And that's with a plea for you not to just have a sincere faith, but to have a sincere faith in the right person, Jesus Christ, our lord, for he alone saves. Pray with me. Our father, we thank you that you have not left us in the dark as concerning who you are. You've given us your word, which we understand through your spirit. And you've given us your son, Jesus, who perfectly displays who you are.
Joel Brooks:
And I pray that we would trust him and we would trust him wholly. Jesus, we pray this in your strong name. Amen.