An Injunction Against Idolatry

To return to our examination of the Ten Commandments we look next at the second of those Commandments.  God’s injunction against idolatry.  For many people this can be a rather tricky Commandment on the surface and some faiths take it to extremes.  God’s actual words were “You shall not make for yourself an idol 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 fathers 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”. 

At first glance the words seem simple and the Commandment clear but there are some who will claim that God is being unfair when He says He will punish the children for the sins of their fathers.  So let’s break this Commandment down into, firstly its context and then, an examination of what it actually means.  We must remember that God was speaking to a group of people for whom idol worship had become as commonplace and as acceptable as breathing.  In the land of Egypt every deity was represented by an idol, there were idols used in annual rituals that were paraded through the streets for the people to worship and there were personal idols and amulets that people had in their homes or on their person.

The Hebrews God was speaking to could not conceive of a world without an idol to represent their god, had no way of grasping the concept of a God that was greater than an image of wood or stone.  God needed the people of Israel to understand that their focus should and must, be on Him and Him alone and furthermore that He could not be confined to an image or an idol.  By creating an idol what we are actually doing is creating a god that we can use, control or even dominate to our own will.  God is not something you can put into a box, He lies far beyond our attempts at containing Him.

So why ‘punish the children unto the third and fourth generations?’   Because God understands, where sometimes we do not, that our behaviour as parents directly impacts that of our children.  There is an old saying ‘monkey see, monkey do’, therefore if we make an idol to worship our children will grow up thinking that is an acceptable practice and thus will suffer the in-built consequences of that sin.  

Just as abuse in families takes generations for the cycle to be broken.  And society shows us many, many tragic examples of abused children who grow up to be abusers themselves, so too do religious practices and rites take generations to change.  God was not being unfair; He simply understood that if we do it our children will believe that is the right way to worship and that it will take generations to correct that kind of wrong thinking.

It is also important not to forget the second part of God’s declaration.  That ‘He will show love to a thousand generations of those that love Him and keep His Commandments’.  It was God’s love of Abraham and Abraham's conscientiousness about living God's way that caused God to ‘show love to all of Abraham's descendants for thousands of generations’ in spite of the fact that those descendants often travelled far away from God.  Make no mistake, God’s wrath is real, He has told us explicitly what is expected of us and so He expects us to keep His Commands but His love and His mercy are infinite.  God WILL, at the end of days, punish the world for our sins but His mercy is always at hand, even to the very, very last second.

The Old Testament is filled with examples where Israel is punished for leaving God’s ways but it is equally filled with examples of God’s forgiveness and restoration of those people.  It is vital that we remember it is never too late to turn back to God, return to His ways and be forgiven for all our sins.  God says that He separates us from our sin as east is to west.  God not only forgives, but He completely forgets.  The story of King David is a classic example of God’s never ending capacity for mercy and forgiveness.

King David was a boy who grew up knowing and loving God and keeping His ways yet over the course of his life David sometimes travelled far from the right path.  He was an adulterer, a murderer, and was disobedient to God’s Commands and yet God still called David ‘a man after His own heart’.  Why?  Because David turned back to God and asked for forgiveness. David understood that repentance and a new obedience to God was all that was required to re-establish a loving relationship with God.

There are many religions today that use idols as a part of their worship, in the form of statues, crosses, relics etc.  Regardless of how faithful the people might be in this practice God tells us clearly this is wrong.  God cannot and will not be confined in a crucifix no matter how well intentioned that object is made and used.  Likewise statues and images of Mary, the mother of Jesus, are equally wrong according to God’s Commandments.  

I doubt, very much, that the majority of people who have used these images are even aware that they are partaking in idol worship and God also understands that fact.  But if you believe in the words of God, believe in the Holy Text He left for us then you must turn away from the practice; ask forgiveness and God’s mercy will be given freely.  For many this will mean changing the habits and practices of a lifetime, changing a practice they learned from their parents, grandparents etc.  But to truly follow God’s Way this is something that must be done because God has Commanded it – ‘do not make and worship idols’ and sadly, that Command includes the cross or crucifix every bit as much as a statue of Jesus or Mary, because God says to 'make NO graven image of Him'. 

God's blessings be on you,

Tracey