Please turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 20.
We're going through a series in the book of Exodus,
and we're slowing down in Exodus chapter 20
to take 10 weeks to go through the Ten Commandments.
We're on the second commandment today.
I am going to preach on verses 4 to 6,
because we preached on verses 1 to 3 last week,
but I'm going to read from verses 1 to 6.
You get the context of the verses.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father, Your Word is precious to us.
It is more precious to us than refined gold,
because in Your Word, You have revealed Yourself to us,
because in Your Word, we encounter Jesus, our Savior,
who makes us wise for salvation.
Because in Your Word, we have life.
We find Your truth.
So we ask again that You would speak to us this morning.
We humble ourselves before You.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
If you would please stand with me, if you are able,
for the reading of God's Word.
Exodus chapter 20, verses 1 through 6.
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 slavery.
You shall have no other gods before me.
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.
This is God's holy and authoritative Word.
Please be seated.
The saying, a picture is worth a thousand words,
is said to have emerged in the U.S.
sometime in the 20th century in the advertising industry,
pointing out the fact that a single image
can convey multiple ideas at once.
We gravitate toward images,
and images tend to leave indelible marks on our minds.
If you read a novel, for example,
and then you watch a movie version of it,
when you go back to read the novel,
you can't help but conjure up those images
that you've seen in the movies,
no matter how inaccurate they may be
and no matter how unfaithful they may be
to the actual text.
I'm sure many of you can relate to the experience
of seeing images that you wish you could unsee,
whether it's a graphic image that inflames your lust
or a dark, frightening image that gives you nightmares
when sleeping.
And because these images are powerful,
they can also be very dangerous.
They can hijack our imaginations
and control our thinking about people and things.
Images can be very misleading.
Many pictures taken at unfortunate moments
out of context have cost people their jobs and reputations.
Conversely, many airbrushed and carefully crafted images
have shaped perceptions of people
that are far from the reality.
The second word of the Ten Commandments
addresses these concerns about images.
It teaches us that rather than making
and worshipping images of creatures,
we are to worship the word of God,
Jesus Christ,
who is the image of the invisible God.
So first, we're going to look at the command,
the images of creatures,
and the motivation to obey this command,
the jealousy of God.
And third, we're going to see the fulfillment
of this command in the image of God,
Jesus Christ.
It says in verses 4 to 5,
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.
So this is referring to kind of three divisions
of the visible created world in Genesis 1.
The heavens where the birds rule,
the ground where the livestock and the animals rule
and the humans ultimately rule
and the waters below where the fish rule.
And so he's in this command
including all of God's creation,
all created beings.
You are not to make images of them.
However, that doesn't mean that
you need to go and burn your painting of the dog,
of your dog,
or that Michelangelo was an idolater
for making his famous sculpture of David.
The second commandment does not bar
all painting sculptures in stained glass windows
depicting animals and humans.
The Bible is not anti-art.
In fact, later in Exodus 31,
the Lord commissions,
he gifts and commissions Bezalel and Oholiab
to create art inside the tabernacle,
including weaving drawings of the cherubim,
the angels, into the curtains
and making sculptures of cherubim
with their wings spread over the Ark of the Covenant.
Not only that,
in Numbers 21, 6-9,
when fiery serpents were killing the Israelites
due to their rebelling against the Lord,
God himself commanded Moses
to create a bronze serpent,
make it,
and to set it on a pole
so that people might look upon it
and be healed.
So it was a memorial,
and it was kept as a memorial for God's people.
So it's not that all images are forbidden.
The connection is in verse 5,
because verse 4 is joined to verse 5.
It says,
You shall not bow down to them
or serve them.
The point is that
we must not make any image
of anything or anyone
for the purpose of worshipping them.
That is why later in 2 Kings 18, verse 4,
when the Israelites start making offerings
to the very bronze serpent
that God had commanded Moses to make,
King Hezekiah rightly smashes it into pieces
to stop the idolatry.
Unfortunately,
this has been an all-too-common practice
in human history.
The heavens and the earth
and the waters each have great creatures
that have amazed human beings
throughout history,
and they have been tempted to worship them.
For example,
if we were to behold the Andean condor,
the largest bird of prey on earth,
spreading out its majestic wings
up to 10 feet 9 inches long
and defying gravity
and soaring as high as
18,000 feet in the heavens
with the Andean mountains
on the backdrop,
imagine that awe-inspiring sight.
It was so inspiring
that the ancient Andean civilizations
in South America
associated the Andean condor
with their sun god
and believed that it ruled
the upper world.
If we were to behold
the African savannah elephant
weighing a whopping 24,000 pounds
and standing over 13 feet tall
and every time it walks,
it's shaking the ground
and that rumble spreads
to four miles away,
we would marvel at it.
So maybe it's not surprising
that many cultures
worshipped gods
and represented gods
as elephants.
Hindu cosmology
says that the earth
is propped up
by mythical world elephants
and Ganesha,
the elephant god,
is one of the most popular gods
in the Hindu pantheon.
If you were to behold
a southern humpback whale,
which can weigh
nearly 200,000 pounds
and stretch nearly 60 feet high
or 60 feet in length,
and then it could still
haul its great body
above the water
and breach the surface
of the Pacific Ocean,
you would stand amazed.
Perhaps that's why
it's used as a representation
of Tangaroa,
the sea god
that controls the tides
and the mythology
of the Maori people
in New Zealand.
Similarly,
the foreign gods
we encounter
in the Old Testament
in Egypt and Canaan
are often associated
with some aspect
of creation
and worship
as some creature,
including Anubis,
a jackal,
Horus,
a falcon,
Pharaoh,
a serpent,
Baal,
a bull or ram,
Dagon,
a fish,
Asherah,
a woman.
That reminds us
that human beings
are also merely creatures
whose images
we must not create
for worship.
We might think
that we're no longer
susceptible
to the worship
of creatures,
but in truth,
we are.
There are people
whose rooms
are filled
with posters,
cards,
and other images
of sports stars,
athletes,
and they spend
hundreds of thousands
of dollars
to collect memorabilia
connected to them.
And they pay thousands
of dollars
to go to all their games,
and after they're inducted
to the Hall of Fame,
they go to Springfield
or Cooperstown
or Canton,
and they literally
go pay homage.
That's what they call it.
Before the bust
or the statue
of the athlete.
Sometimes star athletes
are treated like demigods
of Greek mythology
like Hercules
or Achilles.
I recently saw the trailer
of the movie Elvis.
Have you guys seen that?
I don't know if it's good
because I haven't seen it.
And he's singing
and, you know,
prancing around the stage
and he is playing guitar
and he's singing
and the crowds
are screaming
at the top of their logs
and stretching their arms
to try to reach him
and women are literally
swooning in front of him
and falling.
And it's been over 45 years
since Elvis' death.
But still,
to this day,
thousands of Elvis fans
make what they call
the pilgrimage
to Graceland
every year
to pay tribute to him.
They hold a candlelight
vigil service
at his gravesite,
which looks a lot like
a worship service.
And there's an American
music journalist
named Robert Christgau
who says this about Elvis.
He says,
I know he invented
rock and roll
in a manner of speaking,
but that's not why
he is worshipped
as a god today.
He is worshipped
as a god today
because in addition
to inventing rock and roll,
he was the greatest
ballad singer
this side of Frank Sinatra
because the spiritual
translucence
and reigned in-gut sexuality
of his slow weeper
and torchy pop blues
still activate
the hormones
and slavish devotion
of millions of female
human beings worldwide.
Justin Bieber
Why are you guys laughing?
Has 114.1 million
Twitter followers.
That's more number
of followers
than adherents
of Judaism
worldwide.
And they call themselves
believers.
And some of the more
extreme believers
send death threats
to anyone who dares
to harm Justin Bieber
or criticize him
or refuse to give him
a Grammy.
Korean pop boy bands
and girl bands
are literally known as
idols.
And if you consider
BTS' fanatic fan base,
I think that's an apt description.
So this kind of extreme
celebrity devotion
is so widespread today
that psychiatrists now
actually have an official
term for it.
Celebrity worship syndrome.
CWS.
Which is an obsessive
addictive disorder
where people are
overly invested in the
details of celebrities'
personal and professional
life.
But no matter how
impressive or powerful
an animal might be,
no matter how
accomplished
and authoritative
and successful
or even holy
a man or woman
might be,
the inescapable reality
is that they are all
mere creatures.
And therefore,
it is tragic
to worship them.
We ought to stand
in wonder of
and worship
the Creator
who made them
because the marvelous
works in creation
point to God's
eternal power
and divine nature.
The God who created
nature transcends
nature and therefore
cannot be reduced
to things that are
in nature.
Romans 1, 21-25
hits the nail
right on the head
in its description
of sinful humanity.
It says,
For although they knew God,
they did not honor Him
as God
or give thanks to Him,
but they became
futile in their thinking
and their foolish hearts
were darkened.
Claiming to be wise,
they became fools
and exchanged
the glory
of the immortal God
for the images
resembling mortal man
and birds
and animals
and creeping things.
Therefore,
God gave them up
in the lusts
of their hearts
to impurity,
to the dishonoring
of their bodies
among themselves
because they exchanged
the truth about God
for a lie
and worshipped
and served the creature
rather than the Creator
who is blessed forever.
Amen.
Recall how God created
man and woman
in Genesis 1-27.
So God created man
in His own image.
In the image of God,
He created him.
Male and female,
He created them.
If you examine
Egyptian and Assyrian texts
written around the same time
as the book of Genesis,
they speak of idols
and images of gods
being placed inside
the temples of those gods
and they believe
that these images
were actually inhabited
by the deity,
indwelled by the deity.
But in Genesis,
the Lord,
the Eden,
is styled as a temple,
described as a temple,
but He does not create
an idol.
Instead,
He creates image,
His image bearers,
man and woman,
because they are the ones
that are to represent God
to the rest of creation
because they are the ones
that are to lead
the worship of God.
And so for God's image bearers
who are to lead
all creation
in worship
to instead
worship the things
that are in creation,
to bow before
the creatures themselves
is far below our station.
We are created
to worship the creator,
not creatures.
But this commandment
doesn't merely forbid
the worship of false gods.
It also warns us
against worshiping
the true God falsely.
Later in Exodus 32,
during the prolonged
absence of Moses,
the Israelites
hit the panic button
because they don't think
Moses is coming back
and they think
that they've lost
the mediator
between God and them.
And so they make
a golden calf
and worship that idol.
And it's easy for us
to think that
they were forsaking Yahweh
and turning to a false,
different God.
But if you read
the narrative carefully,
you can see that
they're actually setting up
the golden calf
as an image
or representation
of Yahweh.
Here in Exodus 20,
verse 2,
Yahweh says,
I am the Lord
your God
who brought you
out of the land
of Egypt.
But there in Exodus
32, verse 4,
the Israelites say
of the golden calf,
these are your gods,
O Israel,
who brought you up
out of the land
of Egypt.
They're not saying
this is a new God
that you should worship.
They're saying
this is the old God,
Yahweh,
who brought you
out of Egypt.
And then Aaron
builds an altar
right before
the golden calf
and then he proclaims
a feast to Yahweh,
to the Lord.
So the Israelites
are not rewriting history
by saying that
golden calf
and not Yahweh
brought them out
of Egypt.
They're saying
that the golden calf
represents the Lord.
It is the image
of Yahweh.
So that's a violation
of the second commandment.
They created the image
because they thought
that it would keep them
connected to the Lord.
And when they fear
the absence of God
due to the absence
of Moses,
they reduce God
into something
that they can control,
something tangible,
something that they can see.
But ironically,
the creation of the image
is tantamount to idolatry.
So to rub that point in,
Moses describes
the incident in Exodus 32
as if the Israelites
were creating
multiple gods,
even though they're only
creating one golden calf.
They say to themselves,
these are your gods
in the plural.
So they're actually
resorting to polytheism
when they try to create
an idol to represent God.
Because an idol
cannot rightly represent God.
There are several reasons
why images of God
must not be used in worship,
why they cannot rightly
stand for God.
And first reason
is that they always
misrepresent God.
In Deuteronomy 4,
where Moses reiterates
the Ten Commandments,
he says,
since you saw no form
on the day that the Lord
spoke to you at Horeb
out of the midst of the fire,
beware lest you act corruptly
by making a carved image
for yourselves
in the form of any figure.
When God spoke to the Israelites
at Mount Horeb,
he revealed no form
or appearance.
As 1 Timothy 1.17 says,
God is invisible.
Why?
Because as John 4.24 says,
God is spirit.
And those who make images
of the invisible God
are publishing lies about God
because they are representing God
in ways that he has not
himself revealed.
Habakkuk 2.18 puts it pointedly,
What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it?
A metal image,
a teacher of lies.
Images we make
can only be lies
that falsely represent God.
The second reason
why images are forbidden
is that they domesticate God.
The nations surrounding Israel
could not conceive a deity
without the aid of images.
So they manufactured idols
and held special rituals
to attract the presence
of the deity to the idol,
to the image,
at which point the God
became accessible to them
and controllable.
Idolatry is an attempt
to tame God
and to confine God.
Images we make
are deaf and dumb.
They cannot speak.
But as we observed
last week from verse 1,
a distinguishing attribute
of the true God
in contrast with
the false gods of the world
is that God speaks.
It's precisely the point
of Deuteronomy 4.12.
It says,
Then the Lord spoke to you
out of the midst of the fire.
You heard the sound of words
but saw no form.
There was only a voice.
God has chosen
to reveal himself
not through a picture,
not through a form,
but through his word.
A carved idol
or a painted image of God's
can be carried
or carried around
and put to the service
of our own agendas.
If you walk into
Asian restaurants
scattered throughout the city,
you will find that many of them
have mini altars
right at the entrance
with little images
and sometimes
with incense burning
as sacrifices to them.
They believe that these gods
will bring many people
to their businesses
and prosper them.
That's the appeal
of these idols.
They are tangible
and therefore
they seem real to people.
They are static.
They are fixed
in time and space.
And because these idols
don't speak to us,
we're not accountable to them.
We don't have to do
anything they say.
Instead,
we can take them around
and set them up
to endorse anything
that we want them to bless.
We can wear them
around our necks
as good luck charms.
We can put them
on our rear view mirrors.
We can put words
into the mouths
of these idols
because they cannot speak.
In contrast,
the Lord is a person
and not an object.
So he speaks to us
unlike the idols
of this world
and he can interrupt
our lives
and he can intervene
in our lives
by speaking to us.
You get to know things
by looking at them
and using them.
You get to know a person
by listening
to what they say.
Images are not
to be used
in the worship of the Lord
because to do so
would violate
God's sovereignty
and freedom.
You cannot
domesticate God.
A domesticated God
is no God at all.
It's important to note
that we can commit
idolatry
even with good images.
For example,
an image of a dove
to represent
the Holy Spirit
or even a cross
to represent
Jesus or crucifix.
If we treat them
not as reminders
of God
but as representations
of God.
If we start to
attach spiritual significance
and weight to them
as if God
were present in them.
If we hang them
on our view of the mirrors
and thinking that
they'll protect us
from accidents
or put them over our beds
thinking that they would
keep us from nightmares
then we're reducing
God to an image
in violation
of the second commandment.
I still remember
several years ago
when we were still
meeting at Kennedy Longfellow
School
during the Lord's Supper
a guest in our church
walked up
to take communion
and then he pulled out
this huge cross necklace
and then he handed it to me
and he said
hey, can you bless this for me?
And that's
it was really awkward
because it was in the middle
of communion
but it also made me
really uncomfortable
because it seemed to me
like he was treating
that pendant
like an amulet
like a good luck charm.
Let me get this thing
blessed by a pastor
now I can carry it around
and it's going to bring me
good luck
it's going to bring
blessings to my life.
And so I told them
hey, I will not bless
your necklace
but I will bless you
and I just
blessed them
personally.
So
there are many ways
we can
and another example
of this
I can't help but think
of the
adoration of the
or veneration of the saints
in some of the denominations.
I think that falls
under the prohibition
of the second commandment.
The catechism
of the Catholic Church
cites Basil
and says
the honor rendered
to an image
passes to its prototype
and whoever
venerates an image
venerates the person
portrayed in it.
It further distinguishes
that the honor
paid to sacred images
is a respectful
veneration
not the adoration
due to God
alone.
But I think
that's splitting hairs.
I think that's
a distinction
without a difference.
You can say
that it's veneration
and not worship
or adoration
all you want
but when you
prostrate yourself
before icons
of saints
when you
pray to these
images as if
they are the
ears of God
when you make
pilgrimages
to admire
and seek healing
from the relics
of saints
like the
Shroud of Turin
or the bones
of deceased
godly men
and women
from the past
when you
parade the
icons of saints
throughout town
for people
to venerate
as they do
every year
in East Cambridge
at the feast
of Saint
Cosmes
and Damien
in Cambridge
how is that
not a violation
of verse 5
you shall not
bow down
to them
or serve them
in fact
the technical
Greek word
that Catholics
used to refer
to the veneration
of the saints
is douleia
which means
service
and this verse
tells us
not to serve
the images
Catholic
apologists
Pope Gregory
for example
who argued
for the preservation
of images
in church buildings
even when people
were appropriately
worshipping them
said this
those who cannot
read may by
looking at the
walls
read what they
cannot read
in books
this is how
church icons
came to be known
as quote
books of the
laity
because much
of the lady
many of the
lady were
illiterate
at the time
however
that's misguided
because
God did not
reveal himself
to his people
in pictures
but in words
the Lord
spoke to you
out of the
midst of the
fire
you heard
the sound
of words
but saw
no form
there was
only a voice
and I don't
think it's
an accident
that God
reveals himself
to his people
in the midst
of fire
and clouds
of glory
because these
things smoke
cloud and fire
they reveal
something about
God
but they also
appropriately
veil God
Deuteronomy
5.22
says these
words
the Lord
God
spoke to
you
to your
assembly
at the
mountain
out of the
midst
of the
fire
the cloud
and the
thick
darkness
with a loud
voice
and he added
no more
this veiling
of God
suggests to us
that while
no creature
is hidden
from God's
all-knowing
eye
no creature
is hidden
from God's
sight
all are
naked
and exposed
before the
eyes of
God
however
God
himself
does not
lay naked
in that
way
before all
men
we cannot
plumb the
depth of
God's
infinite
glory
and so
we are to
teach people
to read
we are to
teach people
the word
that's how
we are to
know
God
so that's
the command
and what's
the motivation
verses 5
to 6
it's the
jealousy
of God
you shall
not bow
down to
them
or to
worship
or serve
them
for I
the Lord
your God
am a
jealous
God
might be
shocking
to some
of you
that God
is described
here as
jealous
the Hebrew
word behind
it is a
word that
combines
zeal or
passion
with jealousy
which is
typical of
a lover
numbers 5
14
use that
same word
to describe
a husband
who suspects
that his
wife has
been unfaithful
to him
the jealousy
that comes
over and
it's the
same word
that is
used
here
if we
we
commonly in
English
use the
word jealousy
and envy
interchangeably
but if we
make a
technical
distinction
jealousy
is what
we feel
for what
is rightly
ours
so when
your spouse
belongs to
you
is unfaithful
it is right
for you to
feel jealous
in that
situation
because he
or she
rightly
belongs
to you
envy
is when
you
desire
something
that doesn't
belong
to you
that's
when you
covet
that's
when you
desire
something
that is
someone
else's
that's
envy
so
God
is never
jealous
of
other
people
what
they
have
but he
is
jealous
for
his
people
he
has
no
envy
but he
has
jealousy
for his
people
because
he
has
redeemed
them
he has
paid
the cost
to make
them
his own
and he
loves
them
and he
is devoted
to them
and so
he wants
to keep
them
for himself
to be
exclusively
devoted
to him
and it's
intense
love of
God
and jealousy
of God
that drives
this
God to
punish
infidelity
it says
in verses
five to
six
for I
the Lord
your God
am a
jealous
God
visiting
the
iniquity
of the
fathers
and the
children
to the
third
and fourth
generation
of those
who hate
me
but showing
steadfast
love
to the
thousands
of those
who love
me
and keep
my
commandments
these
verses
have
troubled
people
throughout
the
ages
because
they
appear
to
suggest
that
God
imputes
the
sins
of
guilty
fathers
on
innocent
children
and punishes
them
for it
but that's
not the
case
for a number
of reasons
first
it doesn't
say
anywhere
that these
children
are
innocent
the
Lord
speaks
of the
third
and
fourth
generation
of those
who
hate
me
when
scriptures
speak
of the
iniquity
of the
fathers
it usually
couples
it with
the iniquity
of the
sons
as well
and
that's
because
parents
and
children
are
organically
connected
in such
a way
that
sons
fill up
the
sins
of
their
fathers
scriptures
are
very
clear
in other
places
that
God
does
not
punish
innocent
children
for the
sins
of
their
parents
for example
Deuteronomy
24 16
his father
shall not
be put
to death
because
of their
children
nor
shall
children
be put
to
death
because
of
their
fathers
each
one
shall
be
put
to
death
for
his
own
sin
in
Ezekiel
18 20
the soul
who sins
shall die
the son
shall not
suffer for
the iniquity
of the
father
nor the
father
suffer for
the
iniquity
of the
son
so the
punished
children
in this
case
are not
innocent
second
the
expression
the third
and fourth
generation
refers to
the maximum
number
of generations
that may
be alive
at one
time
for example
God's
blessing
on
Joseph
is seen
in the
fact
that in
Genesis 50
verse 23
Joseph saw
Ephraim's
children
of the
third
generation
so to
Joseph's
fourth
generation
that would
be his
down to
his
great
grandson
similarly
Job
42 16
tells us
that Job
was blessed
by God
that he
lived 140
years
and saw
his sons
and his
sons
four
generations
so seeing
the welfare
of your
progeny
down to
the fourth
generation
is a sign
of God's
great
blessing
the welfare
of children
and grandchildren
were
particularly
important
back in
the day
because
children
were seen
in those
times
not as
economic
liabilities
but as
economic
assets
because
they're the
ones that
would help
you to
farm
they're the
ones who
would take
care of
you when
you're old
and unable
to do
manual
labor
and so
when
disaster
befalls
your sons
it's also
punishment
of the
father
so wicked
father
in seeing
the disaster
that comes
upon his
sons
ends his
life in
despair
realizing
that he
has even
brought
his
progeny
to ruin
it is
the mere
opposite
of what
Joseph and
Job
experienced
as
Jewish
scholar
Jeffrey
Teague
notes
quote
this
indicates
that the
suffering
of the
descendants
is
intended
as a
deterrent
to
and punishment
of their
ancestors
not a
transfer of
guilt
to the
descendants
in their
own
right
third
though out
of the
intensity
of his
love
and jealousy
the unfaithful
fathers
see the
punishment
for their
own sins
even in the
welfare of
their children
to the
third and
fourth
generation
this is
contrasted
with the
loyal love
that God
shows
to those
who keep
his
commandments
he says
showing
he shows
steadfast
love
to
thousands
of those
who love
me and
keep my
commandments
because of
the parallel
between those
verses
I interpret
thousands
to mean
thousands
of
generations
that's
why it
says in
the footnote
to the
ESV
that's how
the NIV
and CSB
translate it
so thousands
of generations
God will
remember your
iniquity to
the third
and fourth
generation
if you are
unfaithful to
him you break
his covenant
with him
but he will
remember your
love to him
for a thousand
generations
remember that
the third
and fourth
generations
represent the
maximum number
of generations
that a person
might live to
see so it's
really still
within your
own
lifetime
it is
one
lifetime
that God
remembers
and punishes
your sin
but he will
remember
long after you
are dead
and gone
your faithfulness
your love
toward him
for a thousand
generations
we see an
example of this
in second
Kings 20
when the nation
of Judah
is besieged
by the nation
of Assyria
because of
their sin
and they
deserved
punishment
they deserved
exile
but the Lord
says to
King Hezekiah
who is the
great
grandson
of David
this is much
more than
third and fourth
generation
this is what he
says to him
I will deliver
you and this
city out of
the hand
of the king
of Assyria
and I will
defend this
city for my
own sake
and for
my servant
David's sake
even though
David unfaithful
for so many
generations
God says
I still
remember
David
and so
I will
show you
kindness
I will
show you
mercy
God's
memory
of our
faithfulness
far outlasts
his memory
of our
unfaithfulness
and that's
what this
passage is
teaching us
it's a
testament
not of
God's
vengefulness
but of
his mercy
and grace
and the
ultimate
example of
God showing
steadfast love
to a thousand
generations
is seen
in Jesus
because in
2 Samuel 7
16
God had
promised
the king
David
that he
will rule
his house
will rule
forever
but the
dynasty
humanly speaking
ended
the nation
of Israel
and Judah
were exiled
to foreign
countries
they were not
in the promised
land anymore
and yet
after all
those years
after hundreds
of years
after all
those generations
God brings
Jesus
from the line
of David
to be the
messianic king
who reigns
and fulfills
that promise
to David
he remembers
his faithfulness
to a thousand
generations
and that brings
me to my
final point
the fulfillment
of this
commandment
in the image
of God
Jesus fulfills
the second
commandment
and brings it
to its intended
goal
the reason why
God forbade
the creation
of images
for worship
was because
he intended
from the beginning
to send
Jesus
the son of
God
and Jesus
is his
ultimate image
and we
ought to
worship
him
Colossians
3 15
tells us
that Jesus
is the
image
of the
invisible
God
John 1 14
says that
the word
of God
became
flesh
and dwelt
among us
that's Jesus
Jesus
is the
one
divinely
sanctioned
image
of the
invisible
God
so if
you want
to know
what God
is like
you don't
have to
look to
other things
instead of
paintings
and sculptures
the Lord
gives us
a living
and breathing
person
in
Jesus
Christ
so if
you want
to know
what God
is like
look to
Jesus
his life
revealed
in his
word
look at
his
compassion
and mercy
towards
sinners
in his
life
look at
the love
that Jesus
displays
when he
lays down
his life
for us
on the
cross
and dies
for our
sins
so that
we
might
live
look at
his
resurrection
how he
defeats
sin
and death
and the
demons
and is
raised
over
over it
all
and is
ascended
to the
heavens
at the
right
hand
of the
father
then that
you can
see
God's
authority
and God's
power
and that's
why when
Philip
asked
Jesus
in John
14
show us
the
father
Jesus
says
how can
you
ask me
to show
you
the
father
if you
have
seen
me
you
have
seen
the
father
because
Jesus
is the
image of
the
invisible
that
raises
the
question
however
is it
okay
then for
us to
create
artistic
depictions
of
Jesus
since
he
was
incarnated
and he
took on
human
flesh
he did
have a
physical
appearance
so what
about
the
Christ
the
Redeemer
statue
in Rio
de Janeiro
what about
the
Jesus
film
or the
chosen
series
because
of the
incarnation
I think
it is
permissible
to create
artistic
and dramatic
representations
of
Jesus
however
I still
don't
think
that we
should
create
representations
of
Jesus
to bow
down
to them
and to
serve
them
because
God
gave us
the
living
person
of
Jesus
as
his
image
not
pictures
of
him
I don't
think
it is
a
coincidence
that
no
portrait
of
Jesus
has
survived
to
this
day
there is
nothing
from
the
first
century
handed
down
to
us
New
Testament
never
describes
the
physical
appearance
of
Jesus
except
taken
from
Isaiah
53
no
one
knows
exactly
what
Jesus
looked
like
but
Jesus
passed
down
his
word
Jesus
promised
that
when
the
spirit
of
God
comes
after
his
ascension
that
he
will
speak
and
bring
to
remember
all
that
he
has
said
and
taught
us
the
spirit
speaks
the
words
of
Jesus
he
does
not
produce
pictures
of
Jesus
in
our
minds
I
think
theologian
Edmund
Clowney
gets
to the
right
heart
of
this
dilemma
he
says
in
our
desire
not
to
profane
Christ
but
worshiping
an
image
of
him
we
must
also
be
cautious
that
we
don't
spiritualize
him
into
thin
air
if
we
show
no
pictures
of
Jesus
everyday
life
to
our
children
how
will
they
know
his
reality
let
me
offer
a
principle
that
may
help
us
determine
what
is
a
good
use
of
image
when
it
comes
to
portraying
Jesus
I
suggest
that
portraits
of
Jesus
are
the
problem
many
representations
show
the
reality
of
Jesus
without
offering
a
portrait
which
in
its
very
nature
invites
us
to
worship
so
he's
saying
don't
produce
portraits
that
are
meant
to
appear
like
exact
representations
of
Jesus
here
is
Jesus
this
is
how
you
should
get
to
know
him
a
helpful
example
of
this
is
the
20th
century
portrait
of
Jesus
entitled
The Head
of
Christ
by
American
artist
Warner
Salmon
have
you
guys
seen
this
if
you
google
it
I
bet
you'll
come
up
and
you'll
be
oh
yes
I
know
exactly
I've
seen
this
picture
before
it's
probably
the
artistic
work
that
has
enjoyed
the
greatest
mass
appeal
in
the
modern
age
by
the
end
of
the
20th
century
it
had
already
been
reproduced
over
half
a
billion
times
worldwide
you find
as a
kid
that's
what
I
grew
up
seeing
so
whenever
I
thought
of
Jesus
I
imagined
that
picture
and
I
think
that's
inappropriate
I
don't
think
that's
what
that's
I
think
that's
the
intention
that's
the way
images
should
function
in our
worship
in our
thinking
about
God
and
to
give
an
example
that
some
people
have
you know
attributed
miracles
to this
painting
by
Salmon
and
they
have
made
pilgrimages
to
it
in
Coptic
Orthodox
Church
in
Houston
where
they
claim
that
this
picture
the
portrait
of
Salmon
cured
a
boy
with
leukemia
I
don't
think
this
is
any
different
from
the
cult
of
saints
venerating
images
of
Christians
from
past
ages
while
we
can
honor
Christ
and
represent
him
in
art
if
we
cross
over
to
saying
that
piece
of
art
is
who
Christ
is
if
we
start
paying
homage
to
it
and
venerating
it
and
attributing
supernatural
powers
to
it
I
think
we
are
violating
the
second
commandment
as it
applies
to
us
as
Christians
God
does
not
intend
for
us
to
create
images
of
him
or
his
son
he
intends
for
us
to
be
his
images
as
we
are
sanctified
and
restored
more
and
more
to
the
likeness
of
Christ
remember
God
created
us
in
his
image
even
though
because
of
our
sin
the
image
of
God
in
us
is
defaced
it
is
still
there
and
by
Christ
and
by
the
Holy
Spirit
we
are
being
restored
more
and
more
to
the
fullness
of
God's
image
in
Christ
that's
why
Romans
8
29
says
this
for
those
whom
he
foreknew
he
also
predestined
to
be
conformed
to
the
image
of
his
son
2nd
Corinthians
3
7
and
18
now
the
Lord
beholding
the
glory
of
the
Lord
are
being
transformed
into
the
same
image
from
one
degree
of
glory
to
another
for
this
comes
from
the
Lord
who
is
the
Spirit
so
let's
not
look
around
at
other
images
there's
now
no
longer
a
veil
that
divides
us
and
God
the
veil
has
been
removed
and
we
see
the
fullness
of
God
in
Jesus
Christ
and
so
we
can
behold
him
and
let's
behold
him
in
his
word
and
as
we
behold
him
we'll
be
transformed
more
and
more
to
the
glory
of
Christ
to
the
likeness
of
Christ
and
that
is
our
Christian
calling
that's
why
we
are
here
to
belong
to
Jesus
to
love
Jesus
become
like
Jesus
so
let's
pray
for
that
together
heavenly
father
that is
what
we
long
for
we
seek
no
idols
because
Christ
is
sufficient
for
us
Lord
help
us
to
worship
him
rightly
and
behold
his
glory
every
day
in
your
word
and
as
we
do
that
Lord
we
pray
that
you
would
by
your
spirit
transform
us
make
us
more
like
him
that
we
might
more
rightly
represent
you
to
the
world
and
lead
this
creation
in
the
worship
of
the
triune
God
in
Jesus
name
we
pray
amen