His second commandment. His standard for worship and adoration as well as His intolerance for man building foundations upon men or worse… what do we worship?
Exodus
20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
God does not call for us to create and worship graven images of His likeness; He is Spirit AND He has no need for man to worship things made by man.
Do you know who needs graven images, etched into stone or gold to be a pillar of power and hierarchy, a place of refuge for the lost who have no hope in God?
Man does.
The man who has fallen so far away in faith, who cannot bring himself to fall short of the glory of God, the man who would rather put his trust in man because accountability for his life to a living God is simply too much a burden to bear.
What a sad realization.
God does warn man time and time again, He will not stand for such indignation and He does tell us the cost of those moments we choose to worship any other than Him alone.
Leviticus
26:1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.
26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
Isaiah
42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
God is all Spirit. He has no desire to watch His children worship physical objects erected by the hands of man, in His name or in the name of any other.
God asks us as spiritual beings first, to show our worship, our adoration and commitment to Him in many ways, save for bowing down to images conjured up by man.
John
4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Psalm
132:7 We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.
God loves His children to worship, to sing praises and to give thanks to His Mighty Hand, amen. He calls us to walk in His way, follow His commandments and to love Him alone.
To live righteously in our walk, with the will of our LORD as our only desire, this is worship, this is how we show our Father that He is our hearts desire.
There is a word we all know called vanity, being vain. This word, as we think of it, means selfish, ego, considering one's value to be higher than others. Do you know what it means in the language of God's chosen?
Emptiness.
Everytime we stand as God's creation and bow down to graven images made by man, we do surely test the merciful limits of God and we do so in vain.
Deuteronomy
6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
6:17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
6:18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers.
Remember, graven images are not just golden statues and temples. Money, material items, the earth itself and MAN all become “images" we worship when we adore the created and not our CREATOR!
Bow down for the LORD alone, live in His righteousness and sing His praises, on your knees and with your spirit…
so He can hear you.
Be blessed xo
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