Pride is an abomination in God’s eyes. Yet, this attribute is closely associated with confidence. How can we overcome the sin of pride and practice humility without damaging the healthy confidence we need to succeed in life?
Eric Rank
Is there evidence that the commandment against idolatry was in effect before the Ten Commandments?
The second commandment describes a prohibition against idolatry. In Exodus 20:4-5, God presents the instruction to Moses, “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.’”
Since God presented this commandment in an explicit way following the Exodus of Israel out of Egypt, does it mean that it began to take effect at that moment? Or was the commandment in effect before that time? The answer to the question of its existence prior to the proclamation of the Ten Commandments is clearly affirmative, as shown by the evidence in the Bible.
Before beginning to cite evidence for the existence of the commandment against idolatry, it is important to clarify the scope of what it means. There is a clear admonition against creating anything that is a physical representation of the true God, or other false gods. It includes the prohibition of using idols in the purported worship of the true God. The creation and use of the golden calf, the cross or the Christmas tree in the “worship” of God are prime examples of this kind of “syncretism”—mixing true worship with pagan elements. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.” In addition, we might think today of pictures purportedly representing the Father or Jesus Christ. To create such pictures is clearly in violation of the second commandment. Also, the creation and worship of statues allegedly representing dead “saints” or the “Virgin Mary” break the second commandment as well.
However, the notion of idolatry expands beyond the narrow concept of prohibiting physical representations. An important aspect of the second commandment also involves worship and the way things are served. For example, if any material possession consumes our attention, such that it becomes more important to us than our relationship with God, it is a form of idolatry. An idol doesn’t need to be a physical object either. If we have a habit or activity in our lives that diminishes the importance of God in our lives and we choose to dedicate ourselves to something else, it is a form of idolatry. For example, a hobby or a job can become an idol if it becomes more important in our lives than God. A person can become an idol as well, if serving him or her gets in the way of serving God. Clearly, this commandment goes further in its application than what it seems on the surface.
Quoting from a recent Q&A, we provide an explanation that covetousness is also a form of idolatry:
“The apostle Paul tells us that we are to put to death covetousness which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Therefore, the tenth commandment is linked to the second commandment. If we covet anything belonging to another person, we are making an idol of what we covet. This would include our neighbor’s spouse, car, house, job, holiday, etc. We would be coveting something that God says is not ours to have because it is someone else’s possession.
“From this we see that an idol is not just a religious symbol or image, but it can be any object, person or animal or even profession for which we have a wrong desire. In fact, anything we put before God basically becomes our idol.”
In the same Q&A, we explain how we can have idols in our minds:
“[I]dols can relate to physical objects and the desire for the possessions of others, but they can also include the belief in things like charms, divination or astrology. They can even pertain to our reliance on our own self-righteousness and integrity. As we read in Ezekiel 14:3-4, idols can indeed be in our minds. And any idol, whether an object or a wrong thought pattern or concept, can lead us away from obeying God and can cloud our understanding as to what and who He is.”
Knowing how to identify idolatry allows us to detect evidence for the fact that it has always been a sin, and a violation of God’s eternal, spiritual law. Idols can take the shape of physical representations of gods, as well as any other object, person, activity, or idea that turn us away from God. The examples in the Bible primarily focus on physical representations of other gods used in false worship as well as their use in the proposed worship of the true God, but as we will see, a broad sense of idolatry is also expressed.
A key Scripture providing evidence that the commandment against idolatry was in effect prior to the reception of the ten commandments can be found when God instructs Jacob to go to Bethel and build an altar to God (Genesis 35:1). In response to this instruction, Jacob hides the idols that he knows are among his people. “And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.’ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem”(Genesis 35:2-4). Not only does this show that idols for foreign gods existed at that time, but it also shows that Jacob knew they were wrong to possess to be used for the worship of false gods or even the true God.
Since Jacob knew that he would go to Bethel to build an altar to God and dwell there, it is apparent that he also knew that it was time to remove the idols that were present in his camp. It is therefore clear that idol worship was understood as being wrong, giving us evidence that the second commandment was in effect before it was presented to Moses.
The Bible expresses another example of the presence of idolatry prior to the presentation of the Ten Commandments and the fact that it was always a violation of God’s commandment when Joshua confronts the same problem and provides the historical context and condemnation of idol worship in describing the behavior of Abraham’s ancestors. “And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods”’” (Joshua 24:2).
This shows that other gods were served in a way that expresses wrongdoing. Joshua goes on to describe the ways in which they served other gods. “‘Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!’” (Joshua 24:14). The ancestors of Israel, going back before Abraham and including ancestors in Egypt, served other gods with idols. This behavior of the ancestors is condemned because it was wrong then, just as it was at Joshua’s time. The reference to the kinds of idols served is not explicit in its description, but as we understand, an idol can be anything that is served in a way that takes away from the true worship of God.
We see an additional historic reference to the violation of the commandment against idolatry when Ezekiel describes the context of preparing to bring Israel out of Egypt. “‘Say to them, “Thus says the LORD God: ‘On the day when I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, “I am the LORD your God.” On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, “flowing with milk and honey,” the glory of all lands. Then I said to them, “Each of you, throw away the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God”’”’” (Ezekiel 20:5-7). From here we see that there was idol worship in Egypt and among the Israelites before the Exodus, and before God presented the Ten Commandments to Moses. The clear instruction is to remove their idols, which God declares as abominations, at the time when God revealed His intentions. God expected the Israelites to clean up their act by ceasing to serve idols, especially those made for other gods and even the true God, and not to use them in worship of false gods or the purported worship of the true God.
The spiritual law of God against idol worship was clearly in effect prior to the time when God presented the Ten Commandments to Moses. Idolatry was a problem since the very early history of mankind, and it was always considered to be sinful, as the evidence in the Bible clearly shows.
Lead Writer: Eric Rank
Experience Is All We Get
With school sessions completed, days becoming longer, and temperatures warming up, the joy of summertime has picked up momentum in my household. Immediately following our children’s last day of school, my family began spending more time outside and our activities have become more playful. Living in a time of relative peace, safety, and abundance, it’s a joyful time that my family and I have been blessed with the ability to enjoy.
I believe that what has made the time so precious involves the fact that we have simply enjoyed our time together, with one another. The most satisfying moments are the most accessible ones — a walk in the neighborhood; an evening gazing at the stars; an afternoon fishing; sharing stories and bad jokes during dinnertime. All of these experiences have been miniature treasures that cost us only the time it takes to experience them.
Solomon makes comments throughout the book of Ecclesiastes about appreciating the present lives we live. We can see a succinct summary of this notion in Ecclesiastes 2:24, “Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.” Apparently, this most-wealthy king was wise enough to see that the simple pleasures in life are a blessing from God that all of us have the capacity to enjoy.
It is worth noting that Solomon, who was known for the abundance of his riches, mentions that the material he managed to amass was not the source of joy. On the contrary, he expresses the tremendous grief that it caused (compare Ecclesiastes 2:4-11, 2:17-21). The reconciliation he finds is that his joy comes from the appreciation of the inherent experience of work and the simple satisfaction in the most basic of life’s activities. It is the experience of life that he values more than its riches.
There are very few things in life that cannot be taken away from us. Even Solomon laments that our physical possessions are among the easiest to lose. We may lose those who are near and dear to us too. But our ability to experience life’s events, whether good or bad, can never be taken away. Experience is built into being. The relentless pace of time continues forward and accumulates experience, captured in memories that we keep as long as our memory retains them. Since experience is among the most durable of our possessions, it only makes sense to attribute a commensurate amount of value in how we treat it.
By contrast, the physical world that we live in offers us nothing that is materially permanent. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 informs us, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 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.” Not only is contentment with our existence a perspective to nurture, we can see that there are negative consequences when we dedicate our time and attention to the accumulation of the wrong kind of possession. The love of money and material gain lies at the source of the kind of behavior and priorities that lead us away from God. Certainly, if we want to live an eternally good life, we must begin now by placing value in what matters. And what matters is not material.
The time we have to live these physical lives is finite and short. In addition, this age in which we live in relative peace, safety, and abundance is exceedingly short. Knowing that we all have the capacity to experience the events that God prepares for us, and that the time we have to enjoy them is limited, we ought to pay attention and appreciate the moments of our lives. God works to provide us with occasions for growth. It’s up to us to take the time to extract as much as we can from the experience He offers us. For, experience is all we get in this life.
No Other Gods
The first commandment forms the foundation upon which all godly obedience stands. How long has it been in effect?
Who Is Your God?
The gods of this world go by many names and they belong to many religions. They have different origin stories and mythologies surrounding them. They each have purported special powers to allegedly influence the lives of their followers, for better or worse. And each of those gods figuratively competes for the top post, positioned above the others. Yet, there is only one true God, who puts all others to shame.
Since you are reading this editorial, there’s a strong likelihood that you proclaim your god to be the one true God; the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and all that lives upon it; the God who blessed Abraham because of his obedience; the God who is a Family, consisting of the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ; the God whose plan involves increasing His Family to include as many of mankind as will obey Him. If this is the one whom you proclaim to be your God, you do well.
However, merely claiming that He is our God is not enough. Do our actions prove it? The question of who our God is can be answered by observing whom we serve. Is the one we serve the same as the God that we proclaim, or do our actions provide contrary evidence? The way that we behave shows how we set our priorities in deed, and points to the God — or false god — in our life.
The first commandment provides us with a very clear instruction. That is, we are to have one God, who is the Eternal, and serve none other. As simple as this commandment is, we need to fully recognize what it means. It is not enough to proclaim that we are Christians who worship the true God. It is not enough to merely claim that we believe the Truth of the Bible. We have to obey God as well. If we choose not to serve God by obeying His commandments, we choose instead to serve someone or something else, and that in turn becomes our god. Any time we prioritize the desires we have above the obedience to God, we break that first commandment to serve the one true God.
Perhaps the one whom we serve is ourselves. Do we allow our own wants to get in the way of following God’s instructions? Do we choose to interpret the Bible in a way that is convenient to us, and ignore the Scriptures that contradict those interpretations? If we fall into these kinds of self-deceptive traps of pride, it can be very difficult to snap out of them and wake up to the Truth. The only way to protect ourselves from the trap of pride is to dedicate our love to God and His Way of Life, and objectively live by His instructions rather than the desires of our own.
Paul provides a warning about people who do not serve the true God in his letter to the Philippians, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things” (Philippians 3:18-19). Clearly, those whom Paul describes have the wrong focus in their lives. By seeking earthly pleasures of an immediate nature, rather than the spiritual fulfillment of righteous living, they choose the way that leads to death. It’s a grim ending for those who choose to turn from God and serve themselves.
Fortunately, if we are called, we can always correct our path by recognizing that we have gone astray and repent of our sins. If we want our God to be the one true God, we must show it through our willingness to serve Him with obedience.
Sharpening the Ax
When urgency takes all of our attention, our actions take the form of reaction. It is critical in the life of a Christian to dedicate time to meditate on transforming our lives and choose our actions intentionally.
Is It Worth It?
Christianity takes work and personal sacrifice. The question of whether the work and sacrifice is worth the effort is a question most often presented to those who are beginning the Christian journey. However, it is also important to reaffirm our commitment at every point along the way, long after we begin.
Anger’s Grip
One of the most antagonizing emotions of mankind is anger. What can a Christian do to release anger and become immune to its influence?
The Day of Adversity
Last week the longest government shutdown in the history of the United States ended. Hundreds of thousands of people in the country were negatively affected in a direct way, and many more were indirectly affected. The estimate by the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the cost of this historic event approaches $11 billion. It is quite a ridiculous sum of money, especially considering that it was incurred as a result of fighting between political parties over issues that are still unresolved. There is little argument in declaring that this event is an embarrassing failure of the nation’s leaders on all sides to manage the resources they are responsible for governing. Yet, it happened for a reason.
God allowed the shutdown to happen as a manifestation of man’s utter inability to govern. Satan has great wrath towards this country, and at this point, God does not prevent Satan’s evil actions because this nation has to be punished for its many sins. God has decreed the downfall of this country. Sadly, innocent people will be affected in the process, but we can trust in God for His protection.
As damaging as the government shutdown has been, we can be sure that God was involved in allowing it in order to fulfill His overall plan. Solomon writes about God’s involvement during detrimental times in Ecclesiastes 7:14, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.”
Even the times when bad things happen are under God’s control. We understand, of course, that in this day and age, Satan is the ruler of the world, including the USA. But he can do nothing which God does not permit, and God allows nothing which would be against His overall plan and purpose for mankind.
For reasons that we might not always understand, circumstances take place that bring about an effect that can seem to have categorically negative consequences. We may even be directly affected. However, if we trust in God, we have nothing to fear because a wonderful and perfect plan is being worked out.
When we consider the terrible situation of Joseph, when he was sold into slavery by his brothers, it is humanly easy to judge the actions as being unjust, which they were. But even Joseph himself could see the hand of God in the matter. When Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt, he revealed himself to them saying, “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life… So now it was not you who sent me here, but God…” (Genesis 45:5-8). In the individual adversity of Joseph, and in the famine of the entire region of the Middle East, humanly negative events took place to fulfill a greater plan of God.
Is there any reason that we should consider our lives to be any different? Does God allow difficult things to happen in our lives and does He allow the destruction of the nations we live in for no particular reason? Of course not. At scales small and great, God is conducting a symphony of events to bring about His plan. This plan ultimately involves the establishment of the Kingdom of God on the Earth under the rulership of Jesus Christ. But it also involves shaping our own behaviors to become ever-more obedient, following the model of Jesus Christ’s perfect life. Throughout the entirety of history, detrimental events take place, and they will continue to do so. But all of these events are permitted, and sometimes even directly caused by God for His purpose.
Everyone
The plan of God is vastly inclusive in the way that everyone has either had an opportunity, or will have an opportunity to be part of His glorious family and live eternally. The justice built into God’s plan is amazing!