Youth Bible Study 2009

The Ten Commandments

“You shall not make for yourself a graven image”
Exodus 20:4-6

Particulars of the Text

-The second commandment is one of the longest commandments (along with 4th commandment) but is a
commandment that is most debated in the church today.
-A literal reading of verse 4 in English suggests that the commandment forbids the making of ANY image
at all, of anything.
List Images Found In Churches

____________, ____________, ____________, ____________, ____________, ____________

-This passage rather teaches that we should not make images for the purpose of bowing down to them and
serving them….Hebrew word pesel used and is translated “carved image”. In Scripture pesel is never
used of artwork, rather it is always used for idolatrous purposes.
-It is the misuse of an image that god condemns, not the existence or presence.

What About Images of God

-The Bible doesn’t say anything about specific images of God; it only mentions images of things in the
creation—such as heaven, in the earth, or in the sea.
-Does the problem lie in the image or the image’s representation? Could you worship an image if it was
an image of God?
Idolatry = Earthly objects used to represent the supernatural.
Therefore, idolatry involves both the image itself and what the image represents
Commandment forbids the worship of images representing ANY god whether false or true.

Why Can’t I Worship Images of the TRUE God?

Invisibility “Builds Our Faith”

-Belief than an invisible god should not be worshiped under a visible form, for the visible form changes
the nature of the invisible God and therefore cannot represent Him fully.
“How do you paint a picture of something invisible and claim that is what it looks like”
-Actually not a good argument…or biblical
-Is true that God is invisible (Rom 1:20, Col 1:15, 1 Tim 1:17, Heb 11:27)
-God has revealed Himself through Scripture and through Christ (Jn 14:9)
-Mange created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27)
“Simply wrong to claim that God cannot be imaged”
However Read 1 Peter 1:8-9
God As The Living God
-Idols are impersonal things made of impersonal materials…Not talking bad about the material but who
are we to say that something WE MAKE is a god or even a representation..God made the material to
begin with.
-Our God is a living God (Deut. 5:26, Josh. 3:10, 1 Sam 17:26)
-Idols cannot see, hear, smell or speak. They are “dumb” 1 Cor. 12:2
-People become like the gods they worship...why would you want to become like a statue?
-Idols are lies, not because God is invisible or cannot be pictured, but because idols fail to picture what is
most important about Him-His personality, His ability to see, hear, speak, and interact with His creatures.