Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:3-6, KJV).

Today we consider the second of the Ten Commandments. Akin to the first, limiting worship to one God (“Thou shalt have no other gods before me”), the second one tells us that the God we worship is not to be represented by images. No visual aid or physical likeness of God is to be made. The Creator cannot be pictured by anything which He Himself has created. Jesus clarified this point when he taught: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24). When Moses taught the people about God making His covenant with them on Mt. Sinai, he said, “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain…Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of the words but saw no form; there was only a voice…Therefore, take good heed to yourselves. 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 graven image for yourselves, in the form of any figure” (Deut. 4:11-12, 15-16, NIV). In all the archaeological finds of the Hebrew people, no image of God has been uncovered. The word of the Lord not to make graven images was generally obeyed except when they went after pagan gods.

But what if we make images to worship--not “graven,” or from artistic renderings of what we perceptualize God to be like? God forbids our making anything a god other than Himself. He is a “jealous” God, one who treasures His relationship with believers (His children). That word can also be rendered zealous, meaning He will hang onto us with tenacity as His beloved children. He is so worthy of our worship that there is no need to set up any other representation to worship and obey. He alone is worthy, honorable and “our Father.” If we do replace the one true God, whether by idol worship, putting something ahead of our adoration of God, or through sheer neglect of worship and service to Him, our sins of apostasy will be visited on our children even to the 3rd and 4th generations. Someone has wisely observed that we are only one generation away from paganism if we fail to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If they see us worshipping idols, whether images made by hands or some pursuit which we love more than God, they, too, will follow our ungodly example. We should ever guard against that apostasy. Yet if we are faithful to God, that blessing, too, will benefit our children and point them to faith in Him.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Friday, August 6, 2010

A Samaritan Woman Encounters Jesus

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’” --John 4:10 (NKJV) [Read John 4:4-42]

The woman of Samaria was not well thought of in her own town of Sychar. She went to the well to fetch water at an “off” hour to avoid the crowd. She, according to Jesus, had been married five times, and the man with whom she then lived was not her husband. Why did Jesus spend so much time in the presence of this “Woman at the Well,” instructing her in the Water of Life and that He was the Messiah whom they expected to come?

The Samaritans had a history that made them despised by “better-than-thou” devout Jews. They were a mixed race of people because long ago in the tribal era, descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim who had settled in the central area of Palestine with Galilee to the north and Judea to the south had intermarried with the Assyrian conquerors who had taken over their land. Those among the Samaritans who had intermarried with the foreigners also took up the worship of idols. Ezra and Nehemiah would not allow the Samaritans to help rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. The Samaritans, therefore, set up their own place at Mt. Gerizim for their center of worship. They had the five books of the Pentateuch, and they considered Moses as their prophet. The Jews hated the Samaritans so much they took the long way around in traveling to avoid going through their country. The Samaritans looked for a Messiah and Restorer who would live 110 years. They believed in the resurrection of the dead, judgment and punishment. It was in this context of beliefs that the Samaritan woman met Jesus at the well dug by Jacob, her ancestor and Jesus’ ancestor.

After an unusual exchange of ideas, for women did not talk to strangers then, and Samaritans did not talk to Jews, and vice-versa, Jesus told her, “I who speak to you am He” (v. 26)—meaning the Messiah for whom they looked.

The Samaritan woman was so impressed by the truth of what Jesus told her that she ran to her village and told them. She became an ambassador of the Good News. And the result: “Many believed on Him because of the woman’s word” (John 4:39) But better still, Jesus remained there preaching for two days, “And many more believed because of His own word” (John 4:42). Her life counted, after all.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, March 14, 2010