Lay Down the Law 2: No Idols.

 Now I mean no disrespect to idol worshipers

It’s just that the vast majority of people in my life would never think of sculpting or purchasing an object in order to worship it.  It’s like Nicky Holt said last night

“If I can make it, shouldn’t it worship me?”

We just don’t “get it.”

So when we read the 2^nd Commandment, “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.   You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”Exodus 20:4-6

Most of us feel relieved.  We feel kind of like Forest Gump after Lieutenant Dan invested in a “fruit company” for them.  Forest knew he didn’t have to worry about money anymore...  “That’s good… one less thing.” 

We read this commandment and think, “That’s one less thing God asks me that I have to worry about… I got this one nailed.”   but

Joy Davidman asks,

What shape is an idol?

Smoke on the Mountain, An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments, The Westminster Press; 1954.

She suggests that early idol makers weren’t trying to blaspheme, and they weren’t so barbaric to think that they could create a god.

        She suggests that they were “doing theology.”

Early man did not have the long history of theological discussion to draw on that we do.  They were pioneers.  We use words to describe God… they used idols.

This god is strong like an elephant… not weak like a mouse… so the idol has an elephant head.

This god sees life from a bird’s eye-view… he is wise like the sight of a hawk.  He is not dumb like a donkey.  So the idol has a hawk head.

They were steps in the right direction.  To realize that god is like this and not like that… it’s a good practice.

But things got bad.

Like some early Christians who lost sight of Christ in worshipping holy artifacts, the idols became the object of worship.  The idols were the source of salvation.

Perhaps it was salvation from drought, or salvation from infertility.  Whatever the salvation, there was likely an idol to supply it.

And the thing about an idol is…

You can hold it in your hand.

salvation can be in YOUR hand.

God said, “no.”

“You cannot hold me in your hand.  I’ll hold you in mine.”

“You cannot contain me in your images or words.”

“I’m bigger than your theology.”

“You will worship me as I choose to reveal myself to you.”

The Hebrews stood dumbfounded.

How do we worship a god, the God, we cannot see. 

                                                                                               (so they screwed up and made a gold YHWH bull)

Again, this commandment changed the way these people saw reality… the One True God was going to lead them step by step… they weren’t going to create an image of Him and practice trial and error, or cut and paste from other religions, to discover how to worship Him…

                                            God is in control.

                               They are in HIS hands.

And so it is with us… right?

At haVen we discussed two ways we may be in breach of the 2^nd Commandment.

1. Set YOUR theology aside

If we can settle our theology once and for all, then we can set the Bible and the Holy Spirit aside.

All we need to do now is to refer to our boxed and packaged systematic theology… it will lead us.

Our theology has become an idol.

If you have enough faith, God will heal you.

WHAT A THEOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH!!!

We used to think that God had His own Will which He was in control of… but now we know that if we can just conjure up enough “faith”, we can make God do whatever we want!!!

He becomes our genie in the sky.

Salvation is in our hands.

God won’t give me anything in life that I cannot handle.

I suppose Daniel was capable of handling the lion’s den?  Israel was in total control between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea?  I guess we don’t really need Jesus’ forgiveness through the cross, because after all, we can handle this sin situation… God won’t allow anything in our lives that we can’t handle.

Our theology can lie.

God warned Israel… I’m bigger than the theology your idols allow for me.  You cannot box me into YOUR theology…

God warns us… I’m bigger than the theology your best thoughts allow for me.  You cannot box me into YOUR theology.

But God has provided us with a standard for knowing Him.  His Word.  Is the theology that guides you through life formulated by what others have told you… or is it founded on God’s revelation of Himself. 

We must immerse ourselves in the Word.

And submit ourselves to it.

We can feel like we own our theology…

God’s revelation defines us and our actions.

what is the shape of an idol?

Your theology may be an idol.

2. Salvation is not in your hands

Do you look to God for your salvation?

That means more than a golden ticket to heaven when you die. 

Is Christ your source of fulfillment?  Is He your security?  Does He define your identity?

The idol worshippers of the Hebrews day believed that, in the end, they could control their idols.  Sure they worshipped the idols… but they had a set of rituals that would sway the intentions of their deities…

As they performed their religious activities… as they held their idols… salvation was in their hands.

Tom’s elephant godling will protect Tom from Frank… but it won’t help Frank.  Frank’s turtle warrior god will help him in battle, but it won’t fight for Tom.  Salvation is in their hands…

what is the shape of an idol?

*It’s in the shape of the car I’m going to get when I turn 16… just like Tom’s elephant god gives strength to Tom and not Frank, my car will bless ME with security, freedom, and status… not Joe.

what is the shape of an idol?

*It’s in the shape of my boyfriend/girlfriend who makes me feel good about myself.

what is the shape of an idol?

*It’s in the shape of my next gadget that will entertain me –because real life is so boring; that next gadget that will fulfill my life- I’ll have whatever I need at my fingertips… that next gadget that will bless me with status.

what is the shape of an idol?

*It’s in the shape of me.  Because freedom… salvation… they come when I get to do whatever I want to do.

what is the shape of an idol?

It’s in the shape of whatever takes salvation – fulfillment, identity, hope, security – out of God’s hands, and places them in our own hands.

“Do we, in our hearts, believe that Christ is the Son of God and that we must follow him even at the cost of renouncing this life and all it’s pleasures?  We say little about that, much about our need for Christianity to protect our treasures.  Yet surely Christ was not meant to save the world for us; it was meant to save us from the world…” –Joy Davidman

and perhaps… to save the world from us.

“The real horror of idols is not merely that they give us nothing, but that they take away from us even that which we have.  By the act of imagining power in the thing, we rob ourselves, and the Holy Spirit within us, of that much power.  If our car alone can rush us away from danger, we have lost the power of saving ourselves by our legs.  An idolater is always a spiritual paralytic.  The more we look to material objects for help, the less we can… ask help from the grace of God.  If we are to be saved, it will not be by wood, however well carved and polished, nor by machines however efficient; nor by social planning, however ingenious.  If we are to be saved, it must be by the one power that” built man at his beginning “and that [power] he [cannot] make with his hands –the power of the Holy Spirit, which is God.”

what is the shape of an idol?

Only you

in submitted silence before God

can answer that question.

Lay Down the Law 1: "No other gods."

Duh.

If you believe in God at all you are most likely to believe that there is only one of 'em.  


Even those old toga touting guys like Plato and Aristotle figured the multitude of gods who acted like immature humans were probably just myth.  There could only be one "unmoved mover."  Everything is created except for the One who made it all... and what do you call that volitional essence that exists on his own authority... what kind of perfect power is that!?  
 

We call Him God.

It is old news.

But not to the Hebrews when they trembled at the foot of Mt. Sinai.  

When YHWH fell on the mountain in fire and left it in a cloudy haze... when He answered Moses in thunder and lightning, and the trumpets of heaven grew louder, and louder, and louder... and louder...

As the child peaked around his mother's leg... terrified... but too scared to not look...

A nation held its breath.

And God said.

"I'm it."

it was staggering.

There will be no more offerings to the river gods, the rain gods, the fertility gods, or the unknown god.

"I am your only God.  I am THE only God."

It changed everything.

For Israel to move forward with this belief, they had to conform their minds to a totally different reality than they had ever known... and a totally different reality than the world around them believed in.

but we say, "duh".  

We've got this commandment down.

right?

Joy Davidman says we need to hear the commandment like this:

"Have only Me."

We may not sit up at night convincing ourselves to not run to the Baal temple in the morning, but it is likely that most of us live lives of divided focus.

We say that we believe in God, but besides attending church and an occasional "quiet time" with God, our lives look no different than the lives of the atheist.  It doesn't matter if the atheist is moral or not... he does not see life through the lens that an all powerful God loves him and has ultimate authority over his life.  That is the lens we see through all too often.  

We may pray and ask God to bless our lives... but we still believe the life is ours... We don't hear scripture when it tells us, "You have been bought with a price, you are not your own."

So what are the gods of our age that divide our focus on Him?  Here are a few that I chose to discuss with haVen:

god 1: Cupid

In spite of this picture.. Cupid is alive and well... and in control of many lives in America.

Cupid whispers in the ears of hormonal adolescence... he taunts the lonely adult... he destroys the widow and widower.  

Cupid: "You are incomplete without that special someone." 

He is very convincing.  He has the double power of hormones and hollywood on his side.  With every veggie-vampire movie and romantic comedy his wings' reach expands and the aim of his bow sharpens.

Cupid: "You will be unhappy in life unless you find him/her."  "There is a mystery in life that you will miss out on unless you have sex."  "You can find intimacy in lust."

I wouldn't mind it if Cupid would be found on the street, shot in the back with his own bow.

Joy Davidman: "No pleasure vanishes so soon and leaves so much weariness and heartbreak behind [than Cupid's].  Sexuality can become a lasting joy only by becoming a sacrament in intention, a means to the service of God - a form through which men and women can feel for each other some slight prefiguring of the divine love." (Smoke on the Mountain, Westminster Press: 1954.)

God may have someone special for you... but you cannot pursue that person apart from your pursuit of God.

Otherwise you are breaking the first commandment.

God comes first.

"have only me."

                god 2: iFashion

There he stands in all his glory.  The strength and persuasion of American consumerism is his.  

Richard Foster: "The mass media has convinced us that to be out of step with fashion... [technologically out of fashion, outdated clothing, or listening to the wrong music, etc.]... is to be out of touch with reality."

iFashion: "This new gadget will make you happy."  "Get into this TV show if you want to be 'in'."  "These are the right books to read."  "Look at her clothes!"

iFashion persuades us that happiness is found at the end of a check-out line... or inside a circle of "friends" looking out at the out-dated mob who just doesn't "get it."

In the end, iFashion leads to the worship of stuff and self.

Richard: "It is time we awaken to the fact that conformity to a sick society is to be sick." 

Even though some of iFashion's followers claim to worship the God who left His throne to be clothed in flesh and crucified...

Their "modern hero is the poor boy who becomes rich instead of the rich boy who voluntarily becomes poor." -Joy

Jesus tells us to seek first His Kingdom.

(Matthew 6:25-33)

God may want you to use stuff to further His Kingdom.

But you cannot pursue fashion for fashion's sake.

Otherwise you are breaking the first commandment.

God comes first.

god 3: Progresseos

Science will find a way!

If evolution doesn't get us there first!

Progresseos: "We no longer need God. He was useful to fill in the blanks of our ignorance when we were ancient and uncivilized, but now we can turn to the scientific method to measure and discover all things.  Utopia is on the way.  And human technological advancement along with unconscious evolution will take us there!"

And yet the better our technology gets, the more evident the sickness in the human heart.

We have invented incredible new ways to kill each other.  To rob from each other (Identity theft anyone?).  Lust is digital.

If we put our faith in Progresseos, we will find ourselves progressing along a cycle of human nature... always doomed to repeat history with fancy new gadgets and a head full of knowledge.

Scientific advancement is a gift from God.  If we pursue it as a praise to the creator, we will find joy.  If we pursue it as a replacement, we will be in breech of the first commandment.

God comes first.

god 4: Wirks  

Wirk's mantra is, "God and... "

The "and" is almost always something that sounds good.

"God and Missions."

"God and feeding the hungry."  "God and church."

"God and pacifism."  "God and country."

Wirks' followers forget that the first commandment says, "Have no other gods in my face... in my presence... nothing but me."

Wirks convinces us to marry our faith in God to some other idea... some other spirit... and we burn the candle at both ends.

"God and Country"... to defame the country is to defame God... and so Nazi Germany begins cleansing humanity.

"God and pacifism"... and so we demand submission to Stalin and Hitler and close our eyes to the blood stains on our peace.

"God and insert your cause here"... You are not called to champion a cause, unless your pursuit of that cause falls under you passionate pursuit of God.  

The cause is a tool to honor God... not God Himself.  And you must be sure that God has called you to that cause... or it is not His cause... and you are in breech of the first commandment...

God comes first.

----------------------------------

We may not find ourselves at the foot of a smokey, trumpeting mountain on shaky ground, but the blare of the first commandment is still deafening and terrifying.

It is not given to subtract something from life... we need not hear "Don't have those other gods..." but in our world today we must hear God's words, "Have me.  Have only me." 

Only He is worth the having.

Joy: "Hold to this, and the beast in the heart has no power.  The present loses its confusions, the future its terrors, and death itself is but the opening of a door:"

"Thou shalt have no other gods but me."

"That is the law of life and happiness and courage.  Courage himself, God the Lion, stands beside us to help us live by it.  Whatever we desire, whatever we love, whatever we find worth suffering for, will be Dead Sea fruit in our mouths unless we remember that God comes first."

Lay Down the Law

They are not outdated.  They are not opposed to grace.  Jesus did not divide his original teachings in Torah from his teachings while he walked the earth.  In Matthew chapter 5 he distinguishes between what his teachings in Torah really meant as opposed to the popular interpretations of his day...

So how do we look at these rules and regulations?

Like Joy Davidman in her book, Smoke on the Mountain, I'm afraid we look at these rules like a certain old African cannibal reportedly did.

"You mean I should not take my neighbor's wife, or ivory?  I should not make the war dance and kill my enemy's tribe?"


That's right.  Christians do not do such things.


"I cannot do those things anymore anyway.  Being a Christian and being old... they are the same I think."


Are the Ten Commandments, for the most part, statements of negation... subtracting from what life can be?

The Israelites were descendants from a rugged nomadic people and lived in a brutal time.

How would people react in our day and age if we knew there was an entire race of people enslaved in Egypt?

Working themselves to death.

Even in Jesus' day times were different.  Crucified criminals

would cry out until they lost their voices and hang there...

for days...

rotting pieces of meat 

swarmed by flies and birds.

In our day we expect security.  And as long as it isn't too inconvenient for us... we expect this security for everyone in the world too.

The Israelites did not have this expectation.  Their world was filled with brutality and the worship of many gods... specifically which ever god might help further their immediate purpose (crops, battles, etc).

We read the ten commandments in Sunday School like this

1. Have no other gods.

2. Don't worship images.

3. Don't take the Lord's name in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath.

5. Honor your father and mother.

6. Don't murder.

7. Don't commit adultery.

8. Don't steal.

9. Don't bear false witness.

10. Don't covet.

The Israelites likely heard it this way... and it forced them to change their culture.

1. There is a PRIORITY in life - Yahweh.

2. There is a SOVEREIGNTY in life - Yahweh is bigger than idols.

3. There is SINCERITY in life - worship of Yahweh must be real.

4. There is SANCTITY in life - life is more than material.

5. There is UNITY in life - beginning in the home.

6. There is RESPONSIBILITY for life - respect the lives of others.

7. There is FIDELITY in life - be faithful in relationships.

8. There is HONESTY in life - be trustworthy and trust others.

9. There is INTEGRITY in life - be true.

10. There is SECURITY in life - protect the property of your neighbor (and enemy).

You see... the decalogue (ten commandments) was not given to take away a piece of life... it gave a framework for the best possible life.

We hear the words: "rules"; "laws"; "statutes"; "commandments" - and we want to run!!!

But the Psalmist knew the life embedded into God's Ten Words:

"Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times. You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments. Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies. Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors." Psalm 119: 17-24

May this Psalm ring true in the coming weeks as we investigate how the life-breathing commandments of God call us to radically transform our lives.


What has been your experience of (or thoughts on) the Ten Commandments?

*the Ten Words Priority, Sovereignty, Sincerity, etc. were taught to me by Dr. Ron Lyles at STSCS(.org).  
*much of the above content is summary and paraphrase of Joy Davidman's introduction to Smoke on the Mountain