“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.” Exodus 20:4-6
How relevant is this scripture? It is the second of the ten commandments and it deals with idolatry, the worship of objects representing God or the “gods” of the pagan world. Other translations of the Bible render “graven image” as “carved image” or even bluntly as “idol.” There is little dispute over what the commandment says though how to apply it has been conversational at times.
Living in a “Christian” nation one might be tempted to think this command a relic from the ancient world. We can easily see its relevance in Moses trying to keep Israel from retaining the customs of Egypt or the reforms of Josiah. But what about us? Despite a rise in neo-paganism, relatively few have been tempted by such foolishness and those who have are likely driven by rebelliousness rather than belief in these so-called “gods.” How then do we apply this commandment?
Some have taken it as a ban on works of art “or any likeness of any thing,” even as decoration. This cannot be the intent. God’s plans for the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle included likenesses of Cherubim, almond branches, flowers, and pomegranates (Exodus 25 & 27). In Solomon’s day, the large brass “sea” for the priests to wash in was supported by 12 oxen (2 Chronicles 4). These objects themselves were not worshiped despite their place in the rituals ordained by God. This helps us come to a better understanding of “graven image” in the context of idolatry.
Not that overlap is impossible. There is an instance in Numbers 21 where the Israelites spoke against God and were attacked by poisonous snakes. When they repented, God told Moses to make a brass serpent and put it up high on a pole. Visible from all over the camp, those bitten were told to look at it and live. In John 3:14-15, Christ compares this episode to our faith in Him, with belief in God’s power being necessary for salvation as it was for healing in the historical episode. While the record of this may strike us as odd, the serpent was crafted at God’s direction.
Apparently, it was preserved for hundreds of years and is mentioned again in the time of Hezekiah. It is said that the children of Israel were burning incense to it, worshiping it as an idol, but the practice is thought to have been a recent development rather than dating back to the time of Moses. Hezekiah called it Nehushtan, meaning “brass snake” in the sense that it was nothing more than that, and destroyed it as recorded in 2 Kings 18:4.
Why do men debase themselves by serving objects rather than God, worshiping “the creature more than the Creator” as it says in Romans 1:25? Even attempts to commemorate God’s greatness are often perverted. Consider the story of Gideon in Judges chapters 6-8. God called him to deliver the land from the oppression of the Midianites. After the notable victory he took a portion of the spoil and made a golden ephod, a type of priestly garment (Judges 8). It came to be idolized (verse 27) though it is extremely unlikely this was Gideon’s intent. He both refused to become a king (verse 23) and restrained idolatry in Israel during his life (verse 33).
The tendency to place tangible items between ourselves and the Eternal is not absent from modern Christianity, it rather permeates the most popular sects. The acceptance of Christianity by the Roman empire in the fourth century caused an explosion of the practice. Disputes over the use of icons contributed to the split between the Orthodox and Catholic faiths in the eighth century and figured heavily in the Reformation of the sixteenth century.
Catholicism has always considered the use of icons as essential, though they claim this “veneration” of objects is different from outright worship. Foremost among their arguments in defense of the practice is the idea that Christ superseded or overruled the ten commandments. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yet Catholic influence is still plainly visible in Protestant practice, despite claims of relying on “scripture only.” You will find few churches without steeples and fewer still without crosses, not to mention myriad other traditions. The prevalence of these and the use of icons varies dramatically in practice around the world.
Islam is typically regarded as hostile to idolatry in any form or fashion. Some allege its holiest site, the Kaaba in Mecca, was integrated from earlier forms of worship though most believers hold to the idea it marks the location of Adam and Eve’s first altar or the location where Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 21). The black stone, set in a corner of the Kaaba, is kissed or pointed at (the quantity of worshipers being too great for all to approach) as the structure is circled during the Hajj but clerics maintain its importance as an historical rather than holy object.
Many of the traditional religions, from Africa to Asia traveling west, are far less scrupulous. The veneration of ancestors and lesser deities are manifested in countless images and icons. Even in ostensibly atheist China such practices are common and widespread to the point of not being considered religion. Shrines of shared superstition have even been avenues of intrigue to re-assimilate Taiwan.
India, now the world’s most populous nation, is overtly idolatrous. The Prime Minister, Modi, recently consecrated a temple to the Hindu deity Ram. Reportedly purifying himself for 11 days, he inaugurated the temple amidst massive public celebrations, bowing himself before an idol depicting Ram as a child. Modi is up for election this year and leads a coalition empowered by the idea that India is being retaken by Hinduism. Such oddities as mobs intervening to rescue cattle destined for slaughter have colored recent years, though cows are legally protected in many states. This is reality in one of the most up and coming nations of the world, whose favor has been increasingly courted by east and west.
Is this commandment not relevant? Which portion of the world may we not apply it to? This is true of its literal application, there is no end if we consider it spiritually. No idea, and certainly no object or practice, should be substituted for the worship of God in spirit and truth (John 4:23). He does not condemn children for the sins of their parents (Deuteronomy 24:16) but, as with many bad decisions, the effects can be felt for many generations. We all stand guilty before God, but let us repent and He will give, “mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments (Exodus 20:6).”
