Exodus 20: 4 Commentary

Angel, you said in post 5 that this verse was not meant for Israel alone. I am sure you are not correct on this. God was addressing the Israelis only. See verse 2 preceding this: “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Who else did Yahweh deliver from Egypt?

And what grounds have you to say this is written in the “past, present and future” (posts 5 and 6)? Are you saying this is NOT a historical account? Is it just a methaphor, then? Some parable to learn from? Something tat never really happened? Is Exodus NOT a true story about something that actually happened in the PAST?

By Charles (wrote 1421 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 10/30/2011 13:25 pm

FOR ONE COULD SAY THAT THEIR PAST, IS OUR PRESENT, WHICH WILL AND SHALL LEAD US TO THE FUTURE. FOR THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS, IS, AND SHALL, BE A SHADOW….. FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT.

By angel (wrote 240 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 10/30/2011 03:30 am

Hello Everyone and GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS:
Now this was not just meant for Israel because there was a mixed multitude there as well. If I remember right a mixed multitude is a variety or a mixture of many different people who were and also involved on this GREAT EXODUS. Even at mount sinai. Also you are right Taft that the bible is written in a past, a present, and a future. GOD IN HEAVEN, GOD ON EARTH, AND GOD IN US. Also others were allowed to worship GOD as long as they were circumcised and gave up all their pagan ways. Couldn’t a stranger celebrate passover and other feasts along with hearing scriptures. For this was also a commandment from GOD. Also if you missed the first passover there was a second passover.

By angel (wrote 240 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 10/30/2011 03:14 am

I think this warning by Yahweh applies only to the people of Israel. God made it clear he was god ONLY of Israel (see e.g. Deut. 7:6) and other people were not allowed to worship him (see e.g. Deut. 23:3).

By Charles (wrote 1421 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 10/30/2011 02:40 am

We are warned by the one who made us in this verse: Not to make a replica of anything & worship that thing that we make!Whether that replica resembles anything that is in heaven, or that replica is on the land, or that replica is under the water.

We make replicas of the moon…like the flourescent lamps which give us light when it is night; we make replicas of birds and fly on those airplanes; we make replicas of fishes and slice the water with our boats and submarines;we make replicas of horses and speed through the land in horsepower!

It is okay to make images but we are told never to let them take the place of our True Creator! We are warned not to BOW DOWN TO ANY OF THESE REPLICAS!For our cars and other man made things could blind us to forget our creator… But the one most important thing God warned us , although we may make a replica of any creature for as long as we donot bow down and let those take away our affection from God; He warned us not to make a replica of Him!

Deuteronomy 4:15-19 Take therefore good heed unto yourselves; for you saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spoke unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest you corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,The likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the air,The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

God is a Spirit so therefore we are warned not to make any graven images of Him! We worship Him according to His Word!

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

By TIUCHE (wrote 2755 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 10/29/2011 16:01 pm

Thanks for your clear Bible Commentary on this verse, Taft! For my weekly Bible reading program I was reading this Chapter and it helped to understand it better… May God bless you!!!

By Diana (wrote 1 Bible Commentary - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 10/29/2011 07:09 am

God has placed a distinct separation in this part of the 2nd commandment explaining how and why we are to properly worship God. The separation between the Creator and the creation is emphasized all throughout scripter (1st John 3:20-21, & 4:4, Hebrews 4:13, Romans 1:22-25). The deceptive lie used by Satan that the creature has life and a purpose in and of them self void of a Devine plan goes against all that God did and has put in place since the beginning of creation (Genesis 3:4-5, 1st Timothy 3:6, Isaiah 2:12, Psalms 24:1-5). The first lie told to man kind sought to trick Eve into believing she was incomplete and could find something better from disobeying, if going outside of what God had supplied. The purposefully fostered mistrust that you aren’t complete as you were created and need to add or take away from God’s word erodes the bond and distinction that should be in place between creature and Creator (Isaiah 14:12-14, Revelation 12:7-12). As Adam and Eve hid in fear after sinning from “the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden” (Genesis 3:8), so do the disobedient souls who would rather cherish sin then obey the Word of the Lord (Revelation 6:16, Luke 23:3o, 2nd Thessalonians 2:8).

In undermining the Creator, the enemy of the cross seeks to erect idols to turn worship from God and to the creature (Isaiah 44:6-19, Revelation 9:20, Daniel 3:9-12, Exodus 32:1, Acts 17-22-25). The omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence of God allow him to opperate outside of the observed norms of science and humanity and leaves only a select few that can truthfully be identified as God that has always been (John 1:1-3, John 17:24, Ephesians 1:4, 1st Peter 1:20). Anything image made with hands or of created materials which worship is projected on can only eclipse the needed focus and dependance that believers are to have to properly mature in faith.

God’s qualifications are always displayed in not only his plan of creation (Psalms 33:6-9, Isaiah 40:25-28, Jeremiah 32:17) but also in the present and future application of all that he calls all to witness. The scripture depicts past, present, and future the beginning of creation right down to the very end when sin and death are abolished (Revelation 21:4).

By Taft (wrote 29 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 10/28/2011 23:00 pm