- Introduction
- Context
- Commentary
- Crossword Puzzle (✞-word)
- Crossword Puzzle Answers
- Previous Bible Study Stream
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
Introduction
If you want to get some food, what’s a good store to go to? If you want to get some new clothes, what’s a good store to go to? If you want to get some new tech, what’s a good store to go to?
Now, if you go to any of these stores, and you want what they have, what do you have to do? You have to pay them money!
And once you pay them money, can they refuse to give you what you’ve paid for? No, they are obligated to give you what you want.
Brothers and sisters, this is how peoples in the ancient Near East thought of their many gods. Just like we have different stores for food and clothes and technology, they had different gods for fertility, protection, and victory in battle.
And after they bowed down and worshipped and/or sacrificed to an idol of a certain god, in a sense, they thought that they had essentially paid for what they wanted from the god. Therefore, the god was obligated to give them what they wanted.
But the LORD God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, the One who brought Israel out of Egyptian slavery (Ex 20:2), is not to be thought of as some sort of pagan god. And He tells Israel that they are not make or bow down to or worship any idols.
The Second Commandment forbids idle, idol worship.
Context
See the previous lessons on Exodus 20:1-2 (“First Commandment Right: Free To Serve”) and Exodus 20:3 (“The First Commandment: Mountain Marriage Vow”).
Commentary
(forthcoming)
Crossword Puzzle (✞-word)
Crossword Puzzle Answers
- Gold In this context, idols were commonly made of carved wood that was overlaid with silver or ___ (Ex 20:22-23). Yet, idolatry does not have to involve any physical object at all (cf. Col 3:5).
- Idols In order to get what they wanted from a god, people would make, bow down to, worship, and sacrifice to ____.
- Ark In pagan thinking, manipulating idols of gods would therefore manipulate the gods themselves, obligating the gods to show them favor. Israel wrongly exemplified such pagan thinking when they brought the ___ of the LORD into battle (1 Sam 4:2-11).
- Jealous As a loving husband would rightly be ___ if his wife cheated on him, so the LORD is a ____ God (Ex 20:5, Ex 34:13-14; Dt 4:23-24; Eze 16:32-38; cf. Is 9:7)
- Golden Calf (Two words) Though they came to the altar and said, “I do”, though Israel promised to be a faithful wife to the LORD (Ex 24:3-4, 7), they made and worshipped an idol of the “gods… who brought [them] up out of Egypt” (Ex 32:7-8) when they made the ___ ___.
- Worship Israel was repeatedly told not to bow down to or ___ idols and foreign gods (Ex 20:5; 22:23-24; Ps 81:9-10).
- Sex Worshipping and sacrificing to pagan idols often included ungodly ___ and temple prostitution (Eze 16:32-38; 2 Ki 23:5-7).
- Hate Those who reject God’s commandments ___ God (Ex 20:5).
- Love Those who keep God’s commandments ___ God (Ex 20:6; Dt 10:12-13; Jn 14:15; 1 Jn 5:3).
- Generations Both hateful rejection of the LORD and (much more so) loving, loyal obedience to the LORD have lasting repercussions for the ___ to come (Ex 20:5-6).
Previous Bible Study Stream
Conclusion
(forthcoming)
Bibliography
- Alexander, T. Desmond. “Exodus.” In New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, 4th ed., 92–120. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.[NBC]
- Brown, Francis, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs. Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977. [BDB]
- Cole, R. Alan. Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 2. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973.
- Harris, R. Laird, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, eds. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press, 1999. [TWOT]
- Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. “Exodus.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis–Leviticus (Revised Edition), edited by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.
- Koehler, Ludwig, Walter Baumgartner, M. E. J. Richardson, and Johann Jakob Stamm. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000. [HALOT]
- Matthews, Victor Harold, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Electronic ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000. [IVP]
- McGregor, L. John. “Ezekiel.” In New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, 4th ed., 716–44. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
- Osborn, Noel D., and Howard A. Hatton. A Handbook on Exodus. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies, 1999. [UBS]
- Phillips, Elaine. “Exodus”. In The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary. Burge, Gary M., and Andrew E. Hill, eds. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012.
- Stuart, Douglas K. Exodus. Vol. 2. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006.
- VanGemeren, Willem, ed. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997. [NIDOTTE]
- Wells, Bruce. “Exodus”. In Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Vol. 1. Edited by Walton, John H. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.