Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....May 17, 2021
The second commandment teaches us that there is only one way to worship God the only true God. We are not to approach God through images and neither are we to make images of God because God is infinite and spirit.“The Only Way to Worship the Only True God” Exodus 20:4-6
In our last study we examined the purpose of the Law and the essence of the first Commandment. We saw that it was the right of God by creation as well as redemption that God can give His Law to His People. The Ten Commandments state God’s Covenant Commands for those whom He has saved. It is fitting for man as well as the duty of man to worship the One and Only True God as He has revealed Himself; and it is God’s command to worship Him alone.
Even saved man does not do this perfectly: That is why Jesus came in the flesh from Heaven. He came to live a perfect life of submission and obedience to the Father and then to become the perfect substitutionary sacrifice, taking upon Himself the sin of the world so that those who will believe in Him might graciously receive forgiveness and life by faith in His work.
Today we focus on verses 4-6, the second commandment, but we’ll read Exodus 20:1-6: And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image (an idol), 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; 5 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 on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
The first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before Me”. The Lord alone is to be the ONLY object of our worship (and the most important of our lives!) The second command is, “You shall not make for yourself a carved (or graven) image, or any likeness of anything…nor bow down to them!” Here we understand “HOW” we are to worship God.
Imageless worship
God’s people are set apart to the ONE and Only God so it would stand to reason that God’s people are forbidden to make images of any false gods. There is also the command that God’s people are not to make an image of the One True God because God is infinite. Man could only MIS-represent God in any vain attempt at making a likeness of God, which would also be a gross sin. God is spirit and not made of material. This One God who created and redeemed also commands that there should be NO images or idols made of Him with anything created.
The heathen nations built idols of all kinds and of any and all materials and for all kinds of reasons. Pagans would bow down and worship before these lifeless idols, bringing sacrifices and waiting in vain for answers and help. The Hebrew God, Yahweh was the eternal LIVING God. “I AM that I AM”. He created all things, revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and now came to speak to all of the Israelites, commanding He NOT be worshiped by or through manmade images.
Isaiah 40:17-18 says this: “17 All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. 18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?” In Chapter 44, Isaiah goes on to say how ludicrous it is for man to try and “capture” the essence of the eternal God with either metals or wood. It explains that a person cuts down a tree, carves an image from part of it and prays to it, but burns the rest of the same tree to stay warm. How ludicrous!
We are not to bow down or worship anything that God has created. We don’t need a mediator made from created matter or the created order. We do not worship “through” the created; we worship the CREATOR and Redeemer by faith because He has revealed His greatness through what He has created. Our focus in worship is upon the unseen but Almighty God, Yahweh, who has done all things well. We worship Him by faith but NOT without substance: He has revealed Himself mightily and clearly in Creation, Redemption, by His Word, by His Spirit, and in these last days, by His own Son, the Lord Jesus.
And so the One True God is to be worshiped through “imageless worship”. His greatness cannot be duplicated. The Creator cannot be re-created. Believers worship the God who we believe and worship by faith and we do so as He has dictated in His Word. The only way to worship our Great God is in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23-24); These are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks, worshiping God from your very heart and spirit in and through the Truth of the Lord Jesus Himself and who He is.
The command is also given by God that “you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” Reverence, respect, honor, sacrifice, devotion and worship is due to God, Himself, and to God alone. Worship begins and ends with the One True Yahweh, not with artifacts, statues or images of God as we might imagine Him, and worship of Our God is corporate, that is communal, but it extends into all areas of our lives.
Present-day Idols
In our day there is the temptation to say, “We’re so much more sophisticated in our day. We don’t make” idols” and worship them.” But nothing could be further from the truth. Remember that the Ten Commandments were given to God’s people whom He had redeemed, and throughout Old Testament history, they would continually make and serve idols. When Jesus came and ministered, He spoke of different kinds of idols.
Look at Luke 18:18-24 with me: “Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " 21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."
The young man was certain that he had kept the second table of the law, which in itself was a lie. Verse 22 continues: “So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”
Today as in Jesus’ day, people are entrenched in all types of idolatry. For this young man, he served the god of money and wealth. Jesus said that he lacked one thing: “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.”
Romans 1:24-25 speaks of a different idolatry: “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Sinful man’s departure from true worship of the true God results in all kind of sexual idolatry and perversion. Sinful mankind adores and loves the creation but refuses to worship the Holy and Mighty God who created all things.
God is a jealous God
But God is a jealous God and His Holy Jealousy is not something to be tested, and God gives very clear and righteous reasons to obey! God is perfectly passionate for His Holy name; His jealousy is a zeal which demands the undivided devotions of His people.
In part, we can compare God’s expectations to that of marriage. In a marriage, a husband and a wife have a right to expect faithfulness and fidelity between each other. In fact, they have made a covenant to be loyal to each other and forsake all others. God has made a covenant with Israel to be their God alone and they have promised to worship God alone. God’s jealousy warns that Israel guard themselves against spiritual adultery. Those who blatantly “chase after” other gods will suffer the pain of being “divorced” from God and His love.
The words “hate” and “love” used in verses 5-6 were conventionally used in the context of covenants and indicated rejection OF or loyalty TO the Lord’s covenant. Severe punishment is promised for idolaters “to the third and fourth generations.” This would generally pertain to a household at any one time; if you love your children and grandchildren and want them to be blessed in their lifetimes, then commit to worship God alone and teach your household to do the same.
On the other hand, God’s favor, mercy, lovingkindness and blessing is promised to His people who are lovers of God. There is no stronger word used in the Old Testament to express God’s unending devotion than the word for mercy, namely, “hesed”. It is the free and faithful grace of His abiding love.
Fulfillment of the Second Commandment
Ultimately, this mercy is fulfilled in the coming of the Lord Jesus. Jesus is the “husband” of God’s people and God’s people (the Church) are His bride. Listen to the glorious description of Jesus in Colossians 1:15-20; Speaking of Jesus it says:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
Jesus is the only “image” of God to be worshiped because He alone is the exact representation of God but revealed in the flesh. In this sense, Jesus fulfills the second commandment. Throughout His earthly life Jesus was worshiped. The infant Jesus was worshiped by the shepherds and wise men: They bowed down and worshiped Him. Jesus was worshiped after stilling the tempest on Galilee. He was worshiped after the resurrection of Lazarus, and a week later on His own Resurrection Day. Songs of Worship were sung for Jesus a week before His death on Palm Sunday: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ (Matt 21:9; John 12:13) In the book of Revelation the Son of God is worshiped and adored as the Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords.
This is because Jesus came as the only perfect way to the only true God, being Himself God. In John 14:6, Jesus declared this truth: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus reconciled us to God, making peace through His blood on the cross. That is why Philippians 2:9-11 promises this, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Our prayer....Thank you, Sovereign God, for revealing your great love to us in the Lord Jesus. We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. You are the true God and eternal life. Lord God, keep us from idols, to the praise and glory of your name. Amen.
QUESTIONS CHRISTIANS WANT ANSWERED....
This is the second in a long series of questions that I will be answering over the next several months. If the answers give you more questions, please email me, patrick@c4.church and I will do my best to clarify for you....
"Is Jesus the only way to Heaven?"
Yes, Jesus is the only way to heaven. Such an exclusive statement may confuse, surprise, or even offend, but it is true nonetheless. The Bible teaches that there is no other way to salvation than through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He is not a way, as in one of many; He is the way, as in the one and only. No one, regardless of reputation, achievement, special knowledge, or personal holiness, can come to God the Father except through Jesus.
Jesus is the only way to heaven for several reasons. Jesus was “chosen by God” to be the Savior (1 Peter 2:4). Jesus is the only One to have come down from heaven and returned there (John 3:13). He is the only person to have lived a perfect human life (Hebrews 4:15). He is the only sacrifice for sin (1 John 2:2; Hebrews 10:26). He alone fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). He is the only man to have conquered death forever (Hebrews 2:14–15). He is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the only man whom God has “exalted . . . to the highest place” (Philippians 2:9).
Jesus spoke of Himself as the only way to heaven in several places besides John 14:6. He presented Himself as the object of faith in Matthew 7:21–27. He said His words are life (John 6:63). He promised that those who believe in Him will have eternal life (John 3:14–15). He is the gate of the sheep (John 10:7); the bread of life (John 6:35); and the resurrection (John 11:25). No one else can rightly claim those titles.
The apostles’ preaching focused on the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Peter, speaking to the Sanhedrin, clearly proclaimed Jesus as the only way to heaven: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Paul, speaking to the synagogue in Antioch, singled out Jesus as the Savior: “I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin” (Acts 13:38–39). John, writing to the church at large, specifies the name of Christ as the basis of our forgiveness: “I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name” (1 John 2:12). No one but Jesus can forgive sin.
Eternal life in heaven is made possible only through Christ. Jesus prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). To receive God’s free gift of salvation, we must look to Jesus and Jesus alone. We must trust in Jesus’ death on the cross as our payment for sin and in His resurrection. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22).
At one point in Jesus’ ministry, many of the crowd were turning their backs on Him and leaving in hopes of finding another savior. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67, ESV). Peter’s reply is exactly right: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68–69, ESV). May we all share Peter’s faith that eternal life resides only in Jesus Christ.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
We continue this week, with our 7th teaching on the Old Testament.....
Who Wrote the Old Testament?
All of the authors of the books of the Old Testament should be classified as prophets. That term refers to messengers, and that is exactly what these authors were doing—delivering the message of God to the people of God. Some books specifically name the author, other books imply or point to a person as the author, and still other books are anonymous.
One of the most important issues of authorship regards the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. The traditional view is that Moses is the author of these books. This has been held by Jews since the Pentateuch was written and by Christians since the first century. Even though the Pentateuch itself does not directly state that Moses is the author, there is evidence that indicates this is the case. For example, Moses did receive many of the laws recorded in these books directly from God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19ff.). Also, several books begin with the statement that God spoke to Moses and that Moses was to pass the message on to the people of Israel (Leviticus 1:1–2; Numbers 1:1; Deuteronomy 1:1–3). Finally, several times it is said that Moses wrote down what God had told him (Exodus 17:14; 24:4; 34:27).
There is also evidence in other Old Testament books that content in the Pentateuch came through Moses (e.g., Judges 3:4; Ezra 6:18). Most important, Jesus and the authors of the New Testament books also believed that Moses wrote these books (e.g., Luke 24:44; Acts 13:39; 2 Corinthians 3:15–16). These are just a few of the many verses that support the traditional view.
Beginning about 200 years ago, some scholars rejected the traditional view and suggested what has come to be called the Documentary Hypothesis. This theory is that the first five books of the Old Testament were written by a number of different authors living at different times from the ninth century bc (600 years after Moses lived) through the fifth century bc (1,000 years after Moses lived). Furthermore, the theory claims that yet another group (editors) took bits and pieces of what these authors had written and stitched them together to form what we now know as the Pentateuch. This cut-and-paste theory has been much challenged and sufficiently refuted, but it is still held by some biblical scholars and is often simply assumed in popular books on the Old Testament.
The issue here is important, because the idea that Moses did not write these books calls into question the knowledge and integrity of Jesus Christ as well as the New Testament authors. Fortunately, there is strong evidence that Moses did indeed write these books, and the traditional view can be held with confidence.
All of the Old Testament historical books are anonymous. There are no clear references to authorship. The titles do not necessarily reflect the authorship. For example, the death of Samuel is recorded in 1 Samuel 25:1, therefore he could not have written the rest of 1 Samuel or 2 Samuel. Rather, it seems, the titles reflect one of the main characters in the book. It is likely, however, that these main characters may have played a role in the composition of the book in some way. But any conclusion regarding the authorship of these books should be held with a degree of tentativeness, and nothing crucial rests on one’s conclusion (unlike the authorship of the Pentateuch).
Authorship of the books of poetry is a mixed bag. The book of Job is anonymous. Suggestions range from Job himself, Elihu (one of the characters in the book), Moses (according to Jewish tradition), and Solomon (because Job is considered wisdom literature and Solomon wrote other wisdom literature).
Some of the psalms have superscriptions that name their authors. According to these, David wrote seventy-three (nearly half of the psalms), Asaph wrote twelve, the sons of Korah wrote twelve, Solomon wrote two, and Moses and Ethan each wrote one. It seems that Asaph, the sons of Korah, and Ethan were Levites who were responsible for leading Israel in worship. It makes sense that they would write psalms, which is the Greek word meaning “songs,” for that purpose. The remaining forty-nine psalms are anonymous.
The book of Proverbs names Solomon as its author (1:1; 10:1). Solomon is known as one of the wisest persons to have lived, and the proverbs are evidence of that. The last two chapters of Proverbs, however, are authored by Agur (chap. 30) and Lemuel (chap. 31). Not much is known about these two authors, other than that they seem to be Gentiles who probably lived east of Israel. The book of Ecclesiastes is “the words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem” (1:1). Technically, this book is anonymous since no specific name is attached to it. Jewish and Christian tradition is that Solomon is the author; however, some scholars believe that someone later than Solomon wrote it. Since it is anonymous, we should remain tentative regarding its authorship.
Regarding the Song of Solomon, 1:1 could be translated “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.” Therefore, the traditional Jewish and Christian view is that Solomon is the author. He is mentioned numerous times as a character in the book. However, 1:1 could also be translated “The Song of Songs, which is for/about Solomon.” It is possible, then, that this was written by someone else, probably during Solomon’s reign, in order to honor Solomon. Again, the authorship here is ambiguous.
The prophetic books, for the most part, clearly state the author at the very beginning of the book. There are a few exceptions to this general rule. The book of Jonah is technically anonymous. It is also different from most of the other prophetic books in that it is the story of the prophet himself rather than the record of the messages the prophet was given. It may be by Jonah or based on the account as he told it. Lamentations, too, is anonymous. It has traditionally been attributed to Jeremiah, and for that reason it has been placed after the book of Jeremiah and among the prophetic books, even though it is technically a book of poetry.
A few relatively recent challenges regarding prophetic books should be noted, namely the authorship of Isaiah and Daniel. Both of these challenges are due to the amazing predictive prophecy in these books.
Some scholars simply assume that no one can predict the future, and even if God can know the future, he doesn’t tell anyone what it is. Therefore, they feel compelled to “late date” predictive prophecy. That is, they claim that these “predictions” were written to appear as though they were written before the events, when in reality they were written afterward—history in the form of prediction. Specifically, some scholars believe that the latter part of Isaiah, chapters 40–66, was written by someone other than Isaiah. A significant problem with this suggestion is that Jesus and other New Testament authors quote from Isaiah frequently, including from chapters 40–66, and attribute the statements to Isaiah (Matthew 4:14–16; John 12:38; Romans 10:16, 20). The same thing has been done to Daniel, due to his amazing vision of the future in chapters 7–12. Some skeptical scholars claim that this was written by someone about 400 years later. However, if we believe that God knows the future because the future is simply the outworking of his plan, there is no problem in believing that these prophets made these amazingly accurate predictions.
Some of the prophets’ names were significant. Isaiah means “the salvation of God.” This is the main theme of his book; he uses the word twenty-six times, compared to seven in all of the other prophets combined. Zephaniah means “God hides” in order to protect. The latter part of Zephaniah 2:3 says, “Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the lord’s anger.” The name Malachi seems most appropriate for a prophet of God; it means “my messenger.”
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
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