The Second Commandment

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 shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.


This is the second Commandment that Yahweh handed down to his people who left the land of Egypt. It is really a continuation of the first commandment about having no other gods before Him. It gets into the specifics of what it means to have no other gods before Him. It also gives both a promise of a blessing or a curse depending on your decision as to have no other gods before Him.

In Chicago, out in front of the United Center stand a statue of the great Micheal Jordan. People come to see that statue and honor the man and his achievements. Many of those people remember him when he played for the Bulls. Thousands, yea, tens of thousands of fans would go and cheer for him, hooting and hollering. He was a hero to may young kids who wanted to, as the commercial stated, be like Mike. People adored him, people loved him, people worshipped him, and still do.

Think of the many others, athletes, movie stars, world leaders, who are all worshipped by their many fans. This is the type of thing Yahweh was talking about when he wrote this second commandment on the stone tablet. Yahweh wants us to worship Him and Him alone. He wants the Kids to grow up wanting to be like Him, not like Mike. When we make a statue or other such likeness, we are putting the subject of such before Him. Those who wish to serve the Lord must put Him first and not put any other thing on an equal or greater plane.

This is not a new thing. In ancient times, leaders would have great monuments built in their own honor to be worshipped by the people. Faiths of the day would carve out an image of something to represent their particular god and would worship it. There would be dancing and drinking and sacrifice to the image created. It represented openly an oppositions to Yahweh. The worship of the stars of today, though less religious, are none the less worship of a created being rather than the creator of beings.

Like father, like son, is a common phrase. Science has discovered that many things are hereditary. Take alcoholism for example. It has been scientifically proven that the tendency to be an alcoholic is a trait that is passed down from generation to generation. I don’t think this scientific fact is something that is just coincidence when it is clearly stated here in this commandment. God promises that fact for those who hate him.

On the flipside, God promises mercy to those who love Him and keep His commandments. Yahweh is a God of mercy. He has no desire that any of his creations should perish, but wants them all to have an eternal life with Him. His mercy was so great that He gave his only begotten son so that whosever should believe on Him should have eternal life.

If one wants to truly follow the God of the Bible, one has to take a look at their lives. What things are in your life that you elevate to a level equal to or greater that Him? Do you have posters of your favorite movie star plastered on your walls? Is your house filled with little kitty statuettes? Do you go places just to see statues and carvings of great people? Do you spend more time doing those things than you do worshipping your creator?

I guess, if Yahweh is not who the Bible says he is, what is the difference? Do whatever you want if you don’t believe it. It’s not for me to judge. But, if the Bible is true, you may just be bringing a curse to your family for generations to come, and even more so, an eternity separated from your creator.