In The Second Commandment: No Idols, God commands His people, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image… you shall not bow down to them nor serve them” (Exodus 20:4–5).
In part one, The Ten Commandments (Part 1): No Other Gods, I addressed the first Commandment, “You shall have no gods before me.” This presentation will address the second commandment, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.”
Now these two Commandments are closely related in that they both address worship. The first one addresses who we worship, while the second addresses how we distort worship.
The Commandment Explained
Let’s look at the second Commandment found in Exodus 20:4-6
4.You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
- you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
In the first Commandment, God established Himself as the only and true God, and we see in this second that He is the only one to be worshiped.
While we can recognize God as the one and true God on one hand, we can worship another god. How many times have we heard: “I believe in God,” but they don’t accept Jesus and continue living in the world.
Let’s do a quick examination of this Commandment:
Verse 4 says, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;” That means, you shall not make any image—period full stop!
Verse 5 says, “you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” So, nor should we worship any idol whatsoever. God Himself spoke these words as it states in (vs.1).
This commandment also prohibits creating any image of God Himself, as He is a heavenly being. It’s important to note that “no image or form or likeness of anything in heaven is to be made” since God exists in heaven—a spiritual realm or dimension. For this reason, making an image of God is not allowed.
This commandment absolutely forbids the making and worshiping of anything other than God Himself.
Do We Bow to Idols Today?
Now, there are some who will say, “That doesn’t apply to us today; we don’t bow down to idols and statues.” Well, actually, some do, but that is to be discussed another time. But the point I want to make very clear is we don’t have to bow down to statues to serve idols.
Many of us today have idols in our minds. We can believe in God, and that’s a good start. But if we have the wrong mindset—the wrong frame of mind—the wrong way of thinking, we will build idols in our minds. More on that as we move forward.
We may not bow down to idols and statues today, but we certainly do have our idols today. The fact is, idolatry did not disappear. It evolved. Our idols are more sophisticated — but they are idols, nonetheless.
When Moses walked down the mountain after receiving the Law on the tablets of stone, he saw the golden calf that the Israelites had produced and were worshipping. In his dismay, he threw down the tablets of stone and broke them. That was just one idol.
But if Moses walked down from the mountain today, he would be very busy!
In our modern society, money, fame, work, and pleasure can quietly rise to a place they were never meant to occupy. When we rely on them for identity, meaning, or security, they begin to control us.
Although we do not intentionally elevate these elements to a central role, the time and attention we invest in them can lead to disproportionate influence over our thoughts and actions. Maintaining appropriate priorities helps prevent these factors from becoming dominant in our lives.
Today’s Idols
Idolatry is not always loud or obvious. Often, it grows quietly in the ordinary areas of life.
Now let’s look at some of the things we can allow to become idols:
- Money
- Education
- Success
- Politics
- Relationships
- Even ministry
Money—
Money is at the top of the list. The almighty dollar! There are so many individuals, including professing Christians, who worship money. Making money is all they think about. No amount is enough! As the Scripture reads in Ecclesiastes 5:10, “He who loves silver [money] will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.”
We set goals, and when we reach those goals, we set higher ones. I was guilty of this before I was saved. We can be very materialistic, desiring the best that money can buy! They work from sunup to sundown to attain it.
Simply put, it is a dangerous mindset. As the Scripture warns us in 1 Timothy 6:10, “ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Therefore, if we’re not careful, money will pull us right out of God’s reach. Not money itself, but the love of money. The materialistic culture that we live in today makes this love a genuine force.
But we must recognize that God is the source; money is a resource. We are reminded of this in Deuteronomy 8:18, which says,
- “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth,”
The fact of the matter is we forget the source — and when we forget the source, we begin to worship the resource.
Education—
It may be hard to believe that education can be an idol. To some, their degrees are their idol. It becomes an obsession. Their degrees are their god.
Education is great—education is necessary, but it must be kept in its proper place, and not a preoccupation in our souls.
Success—
Success can be another idol. Some individuals can be so wrapped up in their success that it literally goes to their head. In their minds, they are the greatest on earth. And they, too, can never achieve enough. They set goals on top of goals. Success and reputation are their god.
Some individuals let success go to their heads, becoming puffed up and prideful, which God hates and judges. Proverbs 16 :18 says “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Politics—
When it comes to leadership of our villages, towns, states and country, we forget about God and focus on man—through politics. Our society today has turned further from God to the government. But notice that the government has become increasingly dysfunctional.
A few years back, a politician said on national television that the nation is depending on the government more and more, and that’s a problem. Now imagine that—from a politician! Now, let’s look at what God says about it in His Word in Jeremiah 17:5 NKJV
- Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.
One thing about God—He pulls no punches!
Now the Scripture says, “cursed is the man.” But think about this, if enough men, and enough women, and enough children trust in man instead of God, the whole nation—is cursed.
Relationships—
Boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, and children can all become idols—if we allow them to. But Jesus said this in Luke 14:26 NKJV:
- 26. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
The Lord is very direct. If an individual desires to follow Him, he must hate father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even his or her own life. The meaning of “hate” carries a proportional weight here. The idea is that, regarding Jesus, if we are forced to choose, the winner in that choice must be Jesus.
Ministry—
Yes, even the ministry can become an idol. We can get so caught up in ministry that we forget who we are serving, thus becoming an idol. Pride can overtake us, and we end up serving ourselves.
Ourselves—
We can make ourselves an idol. By focusing on our own survival, provision and comfort to the point that we can forget all about God—the one who can help us the most! This is an easy trap to fall into due to the narcissistic culture that we live in.
Six mindsets have been addressed that can lead us down the road of idolatry. None of which are idols themselves, but if handled inappropriately, can become one. We must realize that these things are resources, but God, and only God is the source—of all things.
There are more, and anything that takes the place of God’s authority in our lives becomes an idol. God is to be first in all aspects of life.
Taking this further, sin itself is idolatry. The fact is, every time we choose our will over God’s, we bow to self and become idolaters.
Scripture addresses this in Ephesians 5:1-6 NKJV
1.Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
- And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
- But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
- neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
- For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an IDOLATER, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
- Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
This broadens the umbrella; this Scripture casts a big net.
Since this is New Testament Scripture, the question must be asked: Is the second Commandment only for Israel? Is it out of date? It doesn’t appear to be the case. And notice — the New Testament speaks just as clearly about idolatry as the Old Testament. Therefore, this second Commandment is in full force as long as sin exists!
Understand that sin promises pleasure, power, identity, or control, and when we believe that promise, we’ve bowed.
Bottom line: sin is idolatry, and anyone who is disobedient and lives a life of sin and rebellion is an idolater. Period—full stop!
The Remedy for Idolatry
So, what must we do to fall in line with the second Commandment? What’s the remedy? Well, of course, the prescription is in the Scriptures. 1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV reads:
- Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
To be sober is to be alert, serious. Lions typically prey on sick, young, or isolated animals, often targeting individuals who appear vulnerable or inattentive.
To be vigilant is to be watchful, observant—on the lookout for the enemy who is in this case, Satan the Devil.
Satan is crafty, and idolatry can be a very insidious condition. We can be in an idolatrous state without realizing it.
Verse 9 says, “resist him,” being “steadfast in the faith.” We must resist him (the devil) by being steadfast in our faith, knowing that if we do, we will be victorious. As the Scripture says in James 4:7-8 “ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
While we may not physically bow down to Idols and statues these days, we bow to them in our minds. When we allow this, they become strongholds in our minds. Because this isn’t physical, we can’t fight this battle on our own. It is a Spiritual one—this is Spiritual Warfare, and we can’t fight it in the physical—tanks, guns, or fighter jets mean nothing in this war. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NKJV
- For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
- For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
- casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Our weapons for this battle are not carnal or physical, for the pulling down of strongholds.
We must use our Spiritual armor.
The bottom line is, there’s competition for worship, and a battle for souls between God and Satan, and we’re in the middle.
I’m not going to address Spiritual Warfare any further. There is a whole series on this website that addresses it.
The Battle for Worship
So, to close: we must be sober, vigilant, and resist.
The Scripture says, we are to cast “down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself” against God.
To repeat—the second Commandment:
4.“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.
We may not bow to statues…but if something controls us more than God does, we have built an idol.
Therefore, we must be sober and vigilant, paying attention to where our focus is and directing it to God.
As Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-38, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first and great commandment.
We must worship God only!
Amen!
Please leave your questions, comments, and concerns below.
Blessings!
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