The Ten Commandments open with God’s gracious act of delivering the Israelites. His gift of freedom is immediately followed by the command to worship Him—and Him alone.
“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” (Exodus 20:2-3).
In Isaiah, God equates His name with His exclusive right to worship.
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols. (Isaiah 42:8)
Isaiah addressed the issue of blending Yahweh’s worship with that of Canaanite gods. God’s name signifies His presence, character, and nature. God will not allow His name to be blended with that of false gods.
This week, Vladimir Putin awarded a medal to an Orthodox priest. In doing so, Putin lauded the priest’s promotion of Russian and Christian values. Putin himself is a prime example of blending the worship of God with the gods of nationalism, materialism, and imperialism.
God will not allow His name to be combined with such a blatant denial of His presence, reputation, and character.
To the extent that American Christians emulate Putin’s behavior, we are breaking the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before the One True God.”
Our best choice is to join with the Psalmist and say:
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.” (Psalm 16:2)
Making Idols
The second of the Ten Commandments is the prohibition of making idols.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth (Exodus 20:4a).
Many churches are filled with images that depict God’s activity in the Bible. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary differientiates these images from idol making.
“The commandment is not meant to stifle artistic talent but to avoid improper substitutes that, like the idols of Canaan, will steal hearts away from the true worship of God. We only need to consider the tabernacle with its ornate appointments to see that making representations is not absolutely forbidden” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary).
Jeremiah is one of many prophets who contended with Israel’s idolatry. In his confrontation with Israelites who had gone to Egypt, the women responded to him about their continued idol worship:
Instead, we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out libations to her, just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials, used to do in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. We used to have plenty of food and prospered and saw no misfortune.
But from the time we stopped making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything and have perished by the sword and by famine.” (Jeremiah 44:17-18).
These women demonstrated the root issue of idol worship: When human need and desire outweigh faith and obedience to God, we turn to substitutes for God instead of remaining faithful to Him.
Reforms under Josiah had removed the idol, the “queen of heaven,” from Israel’s worship. The women wrongly believed that their neglect of this idol led to the destruction of their society by the Babylonians. As a result, they reverted to serving the idol.
Modern-day idol worship is more sophisticated than what took place in ancient Israel, but it is idol worship all the same. Here are some possible examples of modern-day idol worship.
- The worship of wealth and possession.
- Cultural obsession with celebrities, beauty, athletic abilities, and more.
- Striving for personal, business, and national power.
A Jealous God
God’s jealousy is different from the selfish jealousy of humans. God is jealous of idol worship, because He knows how harmful it is to His beloved creatures.
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:4-6).
God’s jealousy has three dimensions.
- God, as a jealous God, refers to an attribute that demands exclusive devotion,
- His jealousy can be seen as an attitude of anger addressed against all who oppose Him.
- God’s jealousy also identifies the energy He expends on vindicating His people.
Idolatry is spiritual adultery. It is the kind of rivalry to the honor, glory, and esteem of the Lord, which brings about substitutes, neglect, or contempt for the worship of God.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 