The Ten Commandments: A Deeper Dive Commandments 2 & 3
Good day to each of you reading this column on the Ten Commandments as it is my hope that we explore the complete brevity of each Commandment for this is God giving his people which includes you and I as Christians to obey each command from God.
God is not asking you but he is commanding you to observe, follow and walk in accordance to these ten commands as you live out your daily life.
God has given each of us a path with guide markers or commands to follow in our daily living to help us grow spiritually. Please do not take each of these commands lightly for you will either receive the blessings or curses when you break one of these commands.
Before I begin, we need a bit of humor from https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-life/christian-jokes-stories.html
A man gets on an airplane and sees a nun praying fervently beside him.
“Are you afraid of flying?” he asks.
“Flying, no. Crashing, yes.”“A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar. The bartender says, ‘What is this, a joke?’”
Need a boat? I Noah guy.
How many of each animal did Moses bring onto the ark?
None! Moses was never even on the ark!
Come on, didn’t you Noah that?And, what kind of plants didn’t Noah want on the ark? Leeks.
I do hope you enjoyed these jokes for we need some humor in our life and a smile to put on our face as we face the world daily.
The second commandment is found in Exodus 20:4 (NIV) “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
After reading this, I am reminded of Daniel 3: 4-7 where King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had made these 9 feet high and 9 feet wide image of gold where he placed it in Babylon for all to bow down and worship.
The kicker was that anyone who did not was to be thrown into the fiery furnace immediately for burning. At this time some astrologers or Chaldeans came forward and denounced the Jews which included Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego, who were in the King’s court and would not bow down nor worship the image the king made.
As you read Daniel 3, notice that the king offers a way out of the fiery furnace by giving each of them the ultimatum and their response—they did not argue or try to defend themselves, but to rely upon their faith in God to either deliver them or be burnt. Regardless, their position is found in verse 18, 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Never wavering from their faith that God would deliver them, they obeyed the second commandment completely. Here is the true testament of faith and not breaking the commands of God for deliverance. Later in the Old Testament, we see what happens when the Israelites bowed down to other gods.
Yes, we have religions who make idols and have those who bow down to these lifeless, man-made pieces of wood or metal and we have temples today that have those idols in place for their religion and for their people to bow down.
This is what sets us apart for we have a living God, not made from stone or metal who is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
It is with great interest as found in Howard Rand’s book, Digest of the Divine Law that on page 54-55 he says that we know that the heathen custom of worshipping images was accompanied by revolting licentious acts and scenes. (This was found with the Egyptians worshipping Molech and sacrificing their children). This fact accounts for the statement of visiting the iniquity of the fathers unto the children as a result of this sin; however, mercy will be shown to them that love Him, and keep his commandments. Thus, iniquity follows those who hate Him, while mercy is shown to those who love him.
In today’s society, we are tempted not by just wood or metal images but by idol worship when it comes to making money or to become gorgeous vainly.
We have seen or read about those who are “drunk with power”, crave working 7 days a week to have the finest material things in life, or making their beauty a vain aspiration into a reality.
Status in a society is shown by the “haves and have nots” where the haves vainly flaunt their wealth to any and all watching for, they love being looked at, or those who execute their power on the poor or the employer who looks down on his employees only to want more for his personal gain.
Men and women who promote “vain beauty” and flaunt their images for others to follow. Yes, these are the loves of those who love themselves and those who worship and serve their own interests, their own looks and their own love of money and self at the cost of honesty and virtue.
God created each of the commandments for he knew the way of man and the pitfalls that we would embrace in our existence. Today’s society is based on status, self, keeping up with the Jones, materialism and greed for it was carried forth for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Again, we have a choice, love and mercy or punishment to be carried on for we want to Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
A wonderful example of those bowing down to multiple gods is found in Zephaniah 1:5-6 (NIV) those who bow down on the roofsworship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek,[a] those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”
My Bible text for verse 5 says the following that the people had become polytheistic, worshipping the Lord and all the other gods of the land. They added the “best” of pagan worship to true faith in God. But God commands that he alone be worshipped and NO OTHER GOD (Exodus 20:1-5); thus, the people committed a horrible sin. One of these other gods was Molech, the national god of the Ammonites. Molech worship included child sacrifice, an abominable sin. From the time of Moses, the Israelites had been warned about worshipping this false god (Leviticus 18:21; 20:5), but they refused to take heed. Because of their sins, God would destroy them.
The cause and the effect of bowing down to other gods along with believing in and worshipping other gods in order to meet the demands of all the people instead of following the command in Exodus 20:3-6 that YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. To add injury to insult, the Israelites worshipped Molech and the use of child sacrifice—Fellow Christian has America become polytheistic and is following Molech and child sacrifice by use of abortion?
Let’s turn to the third commandment– 7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. Exodus 20:7 (KJV)
When reading this verse, reverence comes to my mind for God is to be honored and revered. Let me illustrate, by using Howard Rand’s Digest of the Divine Law on page 57—What is meant by taking His name in vain? It’s far more than is generally understood. To use that name unworthily, to pretend to believe in Him, using or acting in His name while inwardly denying His power; to pray in His name yet not believing in prayer, is to take His name in vain. In fact, any use of His name in word, act or deed, without sincerity of purpose, is taking His name in vain.
God is to be revered, his very presence before us is to be hallowed and we are to be in awe of his greatness and humble before Him so to be frivolous using his name is a very serious sin and not to be taken lightly.
Turn to Leviticus 24:10-16 for this is the first case of taking His name in vain and the result:
10 Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so, they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) 12 They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses: 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. 15 Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God will be held responsible; 16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name, they are to be put to death.
Note: My text says this punishment for blasphemy (cursing God) seems extreme by modern standards. But it shows how seriously God expects us to take our relationship with him. Often, we use his name in swearing, or we act as though he doesn’t exist. We should be very careful on how we act and speak, treating God with reverence for God will have the last word.
Here is a question for you to ponder—why does man use the Lord or Jesus Christ name in vain and not that of someone else such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Caesar or even Satan? Here is where Satan enters the picture for Satan is using every tactic on evil men to drag God’s name in the ground as they curse and swear in their anger.
James 3:9 (NIV) says 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.
1 Peter 3:10(NIV) says 10For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.
Again, I use the words cause and effect for we are to guard our mouth from swearing and cursing for our speech will be reviewed on day with God and we will be accountable for things we said as well as things we did.
Yes, America we have free speech, but how many times have you been out in a public place only to be offended by talk coming out of another person’s mouth or how about the talk on the radio or on the television set or on the internet where people use derogatory words to make their point. Have you been to comedy shows to watch the comedian make you blush as he or she uses cursing or swearing to get a laugh.
Jeremiah 23:10 (KJV) says 10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.
Moral responsibility which includes your speech and how you conduct yourself in public is a focus in today’s society. “Anything goes” or “free speech” is pushed to the limit to see when man says enough is enough and then boundaries are drawn.
Cursing and swearing have become normal speech for all so many Americans along with the seven dirty words that you can’t say on TV and yet, some of them or most of them are said whether it be on the major networks or various app networks.
Have we become a contemptuous society where we act with deep disdain, am haughty, arrogant and have combined an intense dislike for someone or something? Does this not describe pastors who support homosexual and lesbian pastorship in the church, legalized abortion, saying that God’s laws, statutes, ordinances and commandments were for the Old Testament only and they were destroyed when the New Testament came along.
Is the above a slap in the face to God? Has God not said that his word does not change nor does he? Where will all this end? Simply, at the time of judgement where we will be accountable.
Fellow Christian, I am not here to scare but to inform and to be aware and be ready for soon our Lord will come and so, let us be prepared to be one with Christ.
Stay tuned for the fourth commandment on the Sabbath day.
