The Second Commandment: No Graven Images

The second of the 10 Commandments says, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or 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." (Exodus 20:4). You've probably heard this simply stated as "You shall have no idols." You've also probably been told, "If you worship your money, you're breaking this commandment. If you worship any of your possessions, your sports team, or your car, you're not following the second Commandment!" However, this isn't an accurate meaning of the commandment as given by God. "Idol" isn't the right word to use here since the problem of other gods is addressed in the first commandment. The term "graven image" comes from the term "to cut, hew into shape." It's the same word used in Exodus 34:1 when the Lord tells Moses to "Cut for yourself two tablets of stone…" So, this second commandment should be understood as, "You shall have no graven images."

 In order to test yourself to see if you’re breaking this ethical code, you can say, “I would be unable to worship without…” Whatever the thing is that completes the sentence is your graven image. So is there anything that you have or do that, if lost, would prevent you from worshipping God? Maybe you are financially stable, but wouldn’t be able to bring glory to God without your security. Or maybe you have a high position in your church, but wouldn’t worship the Lord if that position were taken from you. It might even be that your voice is well-heard and people often do what you tell them to, but as soon as your advice or knowledge isn’t respected, you have a hard time worshipping God. All of these are possible graven images that you may have in your life. There are countless possibilities of what a graven image could be in your life, but only introspection and self-examination can tell what prevents you from worshipping God. It’s important to remember that a graven image is not something that you worship; it’s something that you cannot worship without. All too often, we make our worship conditional upon our comfort, power, prestige, financial security, or, perhaps even the color of the carpet. If you want to obey this commandment and honor this ethical code, your worship needs to be completely unrestricted and unbreakable. When personal losses or circumstances force your eyes to leave the Lord, you have made a graven image. To have no graven image, make your worship unreserved and keep your priorities straight and you’ll see God more clearly because of your obedience to this commandment.As I stated in the discussion of the first commandment, each of these statements of ethical conduct are a “tattle-tale” pointing to other ethical problems in our lives. The one who says, “I cannot worship God without…” is one who will also break other codes of ethic. This standard is about the manner in which we worship, while commandment one is about the identity of the One we worship. Are you willing to compromise on these foundational ethical standards? If so, then you will easily be able to cheat, lie, and steal. After all, these two commandments are as foundational as you can get, dealing with the first priority of our lives: our worship of God.