The Ten Words (2.2)

In the post before the last one,I made some comments on the 2nd Commandment: "You shall not make for yourself a graven 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 upon 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." (Ex 20:4-6).

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I actually commented only on the first part of that Commandment.  So what has the second part got to say to us, today?  It reads: "for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon 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."

The first thing that we must notice is the word 'jealous'.  This does not mean that Almighty God is envious of anything, and certainly not of man-made images.  It's a word that expresses, in context, God's deep love for His chosen people.  It doesn't refer as much to an emotion, as to an activity - in this case a zealous activity that "springs from he rupture of a personal bond as exclusive as that of the marriage bond." (Alan Cole).  This phrase is a reminder that God desires, and expects, the exclusive love of His people.

The other phrase that causes difficulty for some people is the one about "... visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, ..."  However, this is merely the usual Semitic manner of expressing continuity.  It is not saying that God punishes my children, grandchildren, etc for my sins.  It is making the point that sin has long-term consequences.  It is a reminder that children suffer because of what their parents, and even earlier generations, have done.  To take a simple example, if a young woman is addicted to hard drugs, and becomes pregnant, then her unborn child may be born with the same addiction.  If that child is a girl, she too may become pregnant, and her child may be born with the same addiction.  

However, we must also note that this is applied only to "... those who hate Me ..." - in other words, those who refuse to live their lives in accordance with His will; those who 'bow down', and 'serve', idols. 

The other side of all of that is the assurance that, while God will punish those who fail to conform to His will; and while such failure will have long-lasting consequences; those who seek to keep His commandments will know His 'steadfast love'. 

So, this commandment reminds us, also, that we have responsibilities - and that God is the Judge of all the earth.   That judgement, of course, is already over for all who have placed their trust in the Lord Jesus, the Christ - recognising, and confessing, their own sinfulness, and depending solely upon His perfect sacrifice for their salvation.  I trust that all who read this blog are in that company!

True blessing!

In my private devotions, this morning, I was reading the Beatitudes - the passage in Matthew 5 that is often referred to as "the Magna Carta of the Kingdom of God"; "the Manifesto of the King"; or "the compendium of Jesus' teaching".  The word that is repeated in those verses, is the word "Blessed".  It's a word that actually means "Happy", and it reminded me of Sunday evening when, in Wishaw Baptist Church, those of us who had gathered were given a warning that the pastor was going to ask for some 'contributions' with regard to that which had blessed us in 2014!  In other words, he was asking us for examples of what had made us happy in the year just ended.

When the appropriate time arrived, a good number of folk shared an experience.  In my own case, as would not have been unexpected, it concerned my younger daughter and the cancer that was diagnosed in May, 2014.  The blessing was not in the cancer, but in the fact that she discovered it at a very early stage; that she was able to have it attended to very quickly, as her employer had taken out private health insurance for all employees - important because it turned out to be the most aggressive grade of cancer; and that she had coped with the course of chemotherapy that followed the operation (the radium treatment commences tomorrow).  However, having been advised that, had she not been treated as quickly as she was, she might not have survived to see Christmas, the real blessing was, and is, that we still have her with us.

Others had their own stories to tell, but the thing that I noticed was that not one shared about some cash windfall; a flashy new car; a spectacular holiday; a bigger house; or any of the 'material' things that would be considered by "the world" to bring happiness.  Of course, those events, and situations, that were shared could not have been purchased by even all of the billionaires in the world pooling their financial resources!  They were events, and situations, that far transcend any material benefits.   They were events, and situations, that brought real happiness - happiness that lasts, and is not affected by the world's financial markets, and currency exchanges.  They were "true blessings"!  

I trust that you experienced something similar in 2014 - and will, again, in 2015.

Back to the Commandments in the next post!

The Ten Words (2)

The second of the Ten Words - or Ten Commandments - reads: "You shall not make for yourself a graven 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 upon 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." (Ex 20:4-6).

In the First Commandment we learned that it is wrong to allow any created thing, including a human being, to become more important to us than our Creator. The second, while related to the first, is slightly different.  It explains that, in our worship, we must not reduce God to a likeness of any physical object.  We might say that, in the Second Commandment, God tells mankind: “Don't try to tell Me what I am like. I will tell you what I am like! It is important that you correctly understand that I will accept no representations of Me.”

This commandment, then, has to do with idolatry.  It has to do with our attempts to, as it were, change places with Almighty God so that He becomes what we have created!  The prophet Isaiah shows the foolishness of such an attempt when he writes, with reference to both metal and wooden images: "The idol! a workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains.  He who is impoverished chooses for an offering wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skilful craftsman to set up an image that will not move." (Isa 40:19-20).

Mankind, alone, has been created with minds that can reason, analyse, plan, and visualise the future. We are capable of creating literature, art, music, and poetry. We are able to design, and build. We can organise, manage, and supervise things, creatures and people. We are, in certain limited ways, much like God - made in His image (see Gen.1:26-27).

However, in other areas we are far from being like Him. Our character tends to weakness. Our relationships with each other leave much to be desired. Our spiritual understanding is limited; and often flawed and distorted. Our perceptions are often inaccurate. We are biased in our opinions. We harbour prejudices and are quick to engage in conflicts. In all these spiritual areas, we fall far short of being like God.

We are incapable of making any image of the creator because, quite frankly, we do not know what He looks like.  "God is Spirit" (John 4:24), and we do not know how to properly represent 'spirit'!  Of course, we do have a perfect pattern of God's character.  Jesus, the Christ, as a human being, so perfectly represented what God is like that He told His disciples, "He that has seen Me has seen the Father…" (John 14:9); while the apostle Paul describes Jesus as "the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of every creature." (Col. 1:15).   He also describes Christians as those who “have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” (Col. 3:9-10).

This Second Commandment reminds us that our Almighty, Creator God, Who dwells "in light inaccessible, hid from our eyes", is far greater than anything we can see, or even imagine. We must never let that knowledge be pushed aside by the use of some image or likeness in our worship of God.

The Ten Words (1)

My latest book (currently at the proof-reading stage) has the title "Foundations of the Faith".  It is based on what is known as The Apostles' Creed but, when I started writing it, I planned to add two other sections to it.  One of these was to be on The Beatitudes, and the other on what are usually referred to as The Ten Commandments.  Regretfully, my self-imposed limit of 50,000 words was reached with the Creed, and a couple of appendices!  I may, at some future date, produce a volume on those two important parts of the written Word of God but, for now, they have been placed on the 'back burner' - where a good chef will place something that needs to simmer gently while other culinary preparations are made.

However, at the beginning of a new year, I thought that it might be helpful to look, albeit briefly, at The Ten Commandments or, as they are known in Hebrew, The Ten Words (also known as The Decalogue).  These, as many will be aware, are recorded in the Old Testament book of Exodus, in the 20th chapter.   This chapter begins:

"And God spoke all these words, saying,  'I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me'."   

"You shall have no other gods before Me."  I wonder how you understand those words?!   Basically, they are a command to recognise the one true God, and they are a reminder to the Children of Israel of the authority behind these words.  Moses isn't reporting some celestial suggestions, or providing some alternative opinions.  He is is stating ten commands being given - initially to the Children of Israel but, by extension, to all of mankind - by the very Creator and Sustainer of all that is.

This first command has to do with our relationship with Almighty God.  Jesus gave us the same commandment, in slightly different words, when He was asked: "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" (Matt 22:36).  He replied: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment." (Matt 22:37-38).  In other words, Jesus - Himself, God - is confirming that this command is that nothing, and no-one, else should receive the honour that belongs to God alone.

Some, of course, will claim that they do not believe in the existence of any 'god'.   However, I would contend that all of us have at least one object of our worship.  It may be nature itself; it may be a prized possession; it may even be 'self!   You see, whether we like to admit it, or not, we are 'hard-wired' to be worshipping creatures.  It is, in modern parlance, "in our DNA"!   Romans 1:18ff may have been written almost 2,000 years ago - but it is as up-to-date as tomorrow's newspapers!  A key statement is that people "... exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed for ever!" (Rom 1:25).   That is, quite simply, breaking that first commandment.

So, who or what are you putting before God?  It's not a rhetorical question!  It's a question that each of us must answer - if not now, then later!  If we are breaking that commandment; if we are placing anyone, or anything, before Him in our lives, then we are already guilty in His sight.  James writes: "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it." (James 2:10).

It's a sobering thought!  

The next post will look at the second commandment.

A new year.

Perhaps you didn't actually notice the "deliberate mistake" in the heading to this first post of 2015!   You have probably looked, now, and realised that I missed out the word 'happy' in the greeting.  This is not because I do not wish all of my readers a happy, peaceful, and prosperous 2015.  I do!  However, I am also something of a realist, and am aware of some of what is happening in the world around me.

As we begin this new year, it is certainly possible - and understandable - that we would do so with a certain trepidation.  Here, in the UK, we face a little over four months of electioneering for the May General Election.  It could be one of the closest-fought, most unpredictable, elections of a generation and, as such, will almost certainly lead to a lot of 'dirty campaigning'.  The economy, in the UK, may be improving (as we are assured by some), but it is still fragile.  Most of the people with whom I associate are still feeling a lot of economic pressure.

Further afield, there is the ongoing threat from Islamic extremists.  The so-called 'Islamic State' has shown itself to be one of the most cruel, and violent, groups since Attila the Hun.  In Nigeria, Boko Haram is not much better; nor is Al Shabbab in Somalia.  Of course, such groups could have been mentioned in the previous paragraph as they have, not just the UK, but the whole of western Europe, in their sights.

One could go on, but anyone treading this is more than capable of adding to the list.

However, stepping into 2015 with anything but confidence is the wrong attitude for those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus.  Our Lord warned us: "In this world you will have trouble."  We can all instantly relate to that!  However, He continued: "But take heart!  I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).  Hallelujah!  Father God assures us: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10).  The Psalmist testified, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You." (Psalm 56:3).  Peter invites us to "... cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." (I Peter 5:7).

Why do we fear the future?  Because it is unknown, and the unknown can be frightening.  And because we feel ourselves inadequate to the challenges that may lie ahead.  But, amazingly, the future is known to God (more on that in my first book - Great Words of the Faith, in the chapter on Predestination!).  And God promises to meet all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

Even for those who are "in Christ Jesus" (Gal.3:28, inter al), the year ahead may not always work out in the way that we had hoped.  However, we may have the confidence that all is in His will and purpose, and that as we walk with Him, He will continue to lead us - even if it is, as with so many of our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church,through storm and tempest.  

So, "take heart" indeed.  The heavenly Father knows your every need (see Matt.6:32), and He has promised never to leave you,nor forsake you. (Heb.13:5).

Of course, if you are not already His, then you need to make that transition from darkness into light.  There are a number of useful links towards the bottom of this page (right-hand-side) and, of course, I will be delighted to be of whatever assistance I can.  Please feel free to contact me using the e-mail address at the top of the page.

Blessings, and shalom, throughout the coming year.