You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on 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 fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Deuteronomy 5:8-10
Here the ‘making’ of an image had to do with the strict purpose of worship of that image. Certainly the making of images was throughout their own history. Moses made an image of a bronze serpent for the healing of the people by the very direction of God when they were in a disobedient state and being bitten by poisonous snakes (Numbers 21). Solomon had lions before his throne. The Ark of the Covenant had Cherubim on the lid as well as those that were in the Holy of Holies covering the Ark. And I could go on … and this commandment was well known by those who heard it to mean the ‘worship’ of images as it was so pervasive in the culture they just came out of from Egypt. Many were made to bow down before images. I believe this was left-over mandated rituals from the Nephilim practices of establishing different religions throughout the earth.
Another interesting note in this ‘commandment’ was the mention of ‘generations’ and iniquity. Iniquity has to do with character flaws, rather than the obvious apparent ‘sins’. Could iniquities be tied to DNA and genetics? It sure seems that our children have a combination of the genetics of their parents. This could be the reason for the generational statement. But the key isn’t in the generational iniquity but in the statement of “…those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands who love me”. Here it seems …that a love for God will have effect on our generations, and the exact opposite could also be detrimental. Could our traditions that take us away from the real relational intimacy with God be detrimental to the very health of our families and children? Real love doesn’t come through rituals, traditions, algorithms, programs, or Church services. (gasp!) Real love is relational. Sure there is a practicality (doing things) in relationship, but real love has to begin with God and His infusion into a person’s life. We love not because we ‘do’, but because He first loved us, and first gave to us… love, when we didn’t even know it, or understand it, or deserve it. Real love comes from God AND through Him.
What hinders relationship? Sin, selfishness, and self pride. Thinking more of yourself than you ought to. We are led astray by ‘shiny’ things. We are deceived by lies that appeal to our desires, our hurts and fears, and self pride. We believe those lies from the enemy because it is easier than facing the truth about ourselves. The enemy wants you to believe God doesn’t love you, and wants to punish you. The enemy definitely doesn’t want you to know that there are immediate and future consequences for your own decisions and choices. God wants us to repent and understand that He loves us and wants real intimate relationship with us. God wants to guide us in the ‘path’ with Him.
This brings me to the ‘commandments’ statement. Jesus summed it up in one commandment (Matthew 22:36-40). How do we actually ‘know’ the Word? Is it through ritual, memorization, intellectual dissection, academic prowess, or tradition? Do not the ‘fallen’ have all those abilities as well? Certainly there is an aspect of experience involved. But those experiences must be guided and processed through the Teacher rather than through our own machinations and perspectives. The key to really ‘knowing’ God and His Word is only through the Holy Spirit. Otherwise the knowledge is only of our own making. There is NOTHING spiritually revelatory about knowledge without Him guiding and showing us what actually is .. real. Logos and Rhema are the two Greek words used in the New Testament translated ‘Word’. It is worth your study to understand the differences and nuances between the two if you desire a deeper understanding of the Word. Is Rhema part of His commandment(s)? What is the difference between a commandment and His laws? There are lots of deeper questions as one who is hungry to ‘know’ God more intimately. The Holy Spirit will fuel that hunger in us if we let Him.