# 2nd Commandment Clarification



## Martin (Dec 23, 2012)

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ. I have recently come to an understanding and conviction that the 2nd Commandment forbids images of Christ. I am just posting this for clarification to make sure I am understanding the text correctly, or hopefully some of you who are better at explaining grammar and such can clarify anything I may be mistaken on.

Exodus 20

King James Version (KJV)

20 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 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.

5 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;

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

The way I read it is such: You shall have no other gods (end thought). You shall not make an image out of anything to represent God (end thought). You shall not bow to said image (end thought). You shall not serve said image (end thought). 

Am I reading that right because sometimes people will run verses 4 and 5 together and say it's okay if you are not worshipping them but when I read it I read verse 4 as one thing and verse 5 as building on the thought, hence forbidding not only worshipping images of God but also the making of such images. Am I correct in this reading, and what does the grammar look like in the original? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thank you.


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## Scott1 (Dec 23, 2012)

As Scripture interprets Scripture, so the systematic theology of the Westminster Larger Catechism, and its Scripture proofs for each statement and/or proposition of doctrine will help us understand. There are many Scripture proofs, but it shows the broad application of the Second Commandment.



> Westminster Larger Catechism
> 
> Q. 108. What are the duties required in the second commandment?
> 
> ...





> [518] Deuteronomy 32:46-47. And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. Matthew 28:20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Acts 2:42. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 1 Timothy 6:13-14. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
> 
> [519] Philippians 4:6. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Ephesians 5:20. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
> 
> ...


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## PuritanCovenanter (Dec 23, 2012)

I am sorry I can't answer the linguistic question. Maybe someone who knows Hebrew will chime in. But...

"Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; *for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure,* the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven." Deut. 4.15-19 

...this passage is very good as God himself expounds his own reasoning on the second commandment. Also you can read J. I. Packer and Fisher's catechism on the topic at hand in the following links. 

http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/p...apter-4-only-true-god-second-commandment-328/

http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/puritancovenanter/second-commandment-pictures-Christ-106/


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## Martin (Dec 24, 2012)

Mr Scott, thanks for posting the Catechism. It is interesting how much the 2nd commandment encompasses. Mr Randy, thank you for your post as well. I found both of your links to be very edifying as well as confirming the belief within me. 

Anything anyone else could add is also appreciated.


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## SolaScriptura (Dec 24, 2012)

That's an enviable beard, my friend!


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## Matthew Willard Lankford (Dec 24, 2012)

To discover the meaning and significance of the commandment, it is helpful to see, not only the wording of the first part, but to see the commandment as a whole. See it in the light of all Scripture (its "macro-context") [i.e. "Scripture interprets Scripture" (cf. Psalm 36:9; 119:105, 130)]. Cited by Turretin are Moses (Deuteronomy 4:12), the idolatry of the Israelites representing God by the image of a calf (Exodus 32) and God "the best interpreter of his own law" (Isaiah 40:18) as proving that the Second Commandment prohibits us from making images of the Lord.

And see it in its own immediate context; see the observation Brevard Childs made concerning the introduction:


> The issue turns on Yahweh's testimony to himself set over against man's. The prohibition of images is grounded in the self-introductory formula, 'I am Yahweh,' which summarizes God's own testimony to himself. The contrast to this true witness, the substitution of an image—regardless of whether spiritual or crass—is judged to be a false witness, hence a delusion."


(Childs, _Book of Exodus_, p. 409)

And see it in its own "micro-context"; see the connection of the last part of the commandment (20:5-6) with the first part. The two parts (complex as they are) are connected by the word "for." The "for" gives the Lord's explanation for the command. (1) God is jealous. (Is he jealous of an image when we give it a name of the Lord? Or is He jealous of us for giving His holy name to an image? In either case, it is in this context about using images that He says He is a jealous God.) He is _jealous_ of the "[made] unto thee" images, indicating that He sees them as other than Himself and competitors for His name and honor and devotion. (2) He sees the images as "iniquity." (Making such images doesn't "keep" His commandments.) (3) He visits this iniquity upon future generations. (This is the law of inheritance: parents give their children their iniquitous concepts and images of the Lord, to be further corrupted by each succeeding generation) (4) He sees our deity images as "hate" for Himself. (even if we use them as "devotional aids.") We "hate" Him as He is revealed to be, so we make Him to be what we want Him to be. (5) Finally, if we love the Lord, let's keep His commandments and remember His promise of "showing mercy to thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments."


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