The Truth About Images of Jesus
and the Second Commandment
A Study
for the Everyday Christian
Part 3 of 5
By Justin Griffin BSW, MAgth
"The Truth About Images of Jesus and the Second Commandment" by Justin Griffin BSW, MAgth
Copyright © 2006 by Justin Griffin. All rights reserved.
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Scripture quotations marked "KJV" are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge, 1769.
Scripture quotations marked “NASB” are taken from the New American Standard Bible ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from: the King James Version.
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ISBN: 1-5988655-4-4
Published by Permission at IIIM.
The Examination of the Second Commandment
The examination of the facts is essential in any study. Sometimes what appears to be insignificant at the moment may provide the clues that contribute to the final solution. Therefore, before entering any further into the examination of whether or not images of Jesus Christ violate the Second Commandment, it is important to define certain words more clearly. These definitions will help avoid semantic problems and keep all the facts within our scrutiny. The words and a simple definition follow. For extensive meanings of the Hebrew words, see Appendix C.[i]
· Not—lo’—“an absolute prohibition.
· ”Make—taaseh—“to do, make."
· Idol—pesel—"to hew, hew into shape.” (NASB Version)
· Worship, Bow down—tishtachveh—“showing reverence to, or to honor.” (NASB Version)
· Graven—pasal—"to cut, hew, hew into shape."
· Any—kole—“the whole; hence all, any or every”
· Likeness—temunah—"related to kind."
· Bow down—tishtachveh—“showing reverence to, or to honor.”
· Serve—taabdem, from abad—"to work, serve."
· Pillar—masebah—"A stone pillar, pile of rocks.” (An identifier of something significant.).
The art of studying is a skill that requires one to analyze and narrow down the particulars until what remains clarifies what is true. In studying whether or not images of Jesus Christ violate the Second Commandment, John Calvin helps narrow our focus with the following:
In the First Commandment, after He had taught who was the true God, He commanded that He alone should be worshipped; and now He defines what is His LEGITIMATE WORSHIP [sic]. Now, since these are two distinct things, we conclude that the commandments are also distinct, in which different things are treated of. The former indeed proceeds in order, viz., that believers are to be contented with one God; but it would not be sufficient for us to be instructed to worship Him alone, unless we also knew the manner in which He would be worshipped. The sum is that the worship of God must be spiritual, in order that it may correspond with His nature. For although Moses only speaks of idolatry, yet there is no doubt but that by synecdoche, as in all the rest of the Law, he condemns all fictitious services, which men in their ingenuity have invented.[ii]
The examination must make this distinction between the First and Second Commandments so that it does not confuse which commandment most directly applies. Furthermore, we must stay within the context of the legitimate application of the Second Commandment. To either address this issue out of the context of the Second Commandment or to include in its context practices to which it does not apply, will ultimately obscure and confuse the legitimate understanding of what the Commandment forbids and what the Commandment allows.
The First Commandment teaches who the only true God is. However, it does not explain whether or not images may represent God or give instructions on how His children are to worship Him. So God gives the Second Commandment to begin to teach that images can’t represent Him and how His worshipped can not be ascribed to anything else.[iii]
The Second Commandment says, “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.” (Exodus 20:4-5). The whole of the Second Commandment is about God: what God does not want to depict Him and God does not want the honor, reverence and service rightly due Him, ascribed else ware.
In understanding how images are treated in the Second Commandment, it is important to note that the Commandment has two parts. John Calvin again helps narrow our focus even more by stating: "Now we must remark, that there are two parts in the Commandment—the first forbids the erection of a graven image, or any likeness; the second prohibits the transferring of the worship which God claims for Himself alone, to any of these phantoms or delusive shows."[iv] According to Chip McDaniel, former Old Testament professor at Columbia International University, this distinction of parts, or clauses, as they will be called, comprises the whole of the Commandment. They can best be identified in the Hebrew by the use of the word lo, which is an absolute prohibition.[v] The English rendering can be identified by the word, Not.
To further investigate this prohibition, we will compare Biblical translations of Exodus 20:4-5. In comparing the different translations, the focus is to identify whether or not the absolute prohibition, “lo—not” are used consistently with the same understanding.
The English Translation: Exodus 20:4-5
4. You shall not make for yourself an image of any likeness (of that) which is in the heavens above or which is in the earth beneath or which is in the waters under the earth.
5. You shall not bow down to them and you shall not serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, on the grandsons, and on the great grandsons to those who hate Me.[vi]
Exodus 20:4-5 (KJV)
4. 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:
5. 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;
Exodus 20:4-5 (NASB)
4. You shall not make for yourself an idol [graven image], or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
5. You shall not worship [bow down - honor, reverence] them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
In comparing the different Biblical translations of Exodus 20:4-5, the focus was to determine whether or not the absolute prohibition, lo—not was translated consistently with the same understanding. A weighty review and comparison of these translations revealed that the words lo—not are similarly translated with the same understanding, and there are no significant differences between these Bible translations.[1] This helps validate that the Second Commandment’s translation is uniform. In other words, there are no varying interpretations. There are no odd sentence structures, no Hebrew poetry, and no apocalyptic figures of speech that could obscure its meaning. Therefore, what God has written stands confirmed for what God has written. In the first clause, God in essence prohibits people-made images of God. The essence of the second clause forbids serving or ascribing reverence or honor to anything but God.
The Two Clauses
Studying requires a respect for the details. In putting together a puzzle, it is necessary not just to look at the big picture, but also to scrutinize each piece in order to clearly establish its proper place. In studying the Second Commandment, it is important not just to look at the Commandment as a whole, but also to inspect each clause individually to understand its proper place. By presenting each clause with its specific Hebrew words defined and then asking the questions, “What is prohibited?” and “What is acceptable?”[vii] the legitimate understanding of the Second Commandment is more clearly understood.
The First Clause
This is the first clause of the Second Commandment with specific Hebrew words defined. The subject of the clause is God. "You shall not [absolutely prohibited] make for yourself an idol/graven image [an object cut, hewn, hewn into shape] or any [all] likeness [of created beings or objects] which is in the heavens above or which is in the earth beneath or which is in the waters under the earth." (Exodus 20:4).
What is prohibited?
This clause of the Commandment prohibits God's children from setting up anything to depict or represent God. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing…” (Exodus 20:4). The Second Commandment is about what God wants and does not want as it pertains to Himself. Exodus 20:4 indicates that people-made images of God do not represent Him and thus can never honor Him reverence Him, nor serve Him.
By giving this law, God restrains any attempt His elect might make to represent Him by a visible image. Then He lists some ways pagans had attempted to turn His truth that there is only one God and one true religion into a lie that there is more than one God and more than one way to heaven.
The Egyptians and some primitive cult religions tried to represent God using animal figures. The Greeks and Romans, fraudulently believing themselves to be much more enlightened, fancied trying to depict and worship God in human forms like Apollo or Orpheus. However, in giving the first clause of the Second Commandment, God demonstrates that He has no desire for any people-made images of Him. He does not view one kind as more fitting in depicting Him than another. Without exception, God rejects all images by which either His own children or the pagans imagine they can try to depict and thereby reach Him.
At this point in the study someone might ask, “How are pagan images an attempt at trying to depict and reach God?” Since there is no other god than God,[viii] any other god that people proclaim to be real is simply mankind’s attempt at creating something to emulate or counterfeit the true God. So when they counterfeit the true God, their depictions are an attempt at creating God as they want, and those false gods become their sinful conduits to try and reach God in their own ways.
Consider the above examples—were any of the Egyptian gods real? No, they were merely people's sinful attempts at depicting and trying to reach the only true God. Consider the Roman gods like Apollo and Orpheus—were these gods real? No, again they were people's sinful attempt at trying to depict and reach the only true God. Consequently, since there are no other gods than God, then all false gods are simply people’s sinful attempts at trying to depict and reach God. Therefore, any depictions of pagan deities are a violation of the first clause of the Second Commandment because, in essence, they are an attempt to depict the only true God.
Finally, the word “any” is an important qualifier in this clause because “any” means “every, all, the entire.” If phrases like “only some,” “a few,” “many,” “most,” or “almost all” were used instead, then images of God could be acceptable and immune to objections. That is, they could not be considered as violations of the Second Commandment. Why? A paraphrasing of Exodus 20:4, with the word “any” changed, will help point out why. “Thou shalt not make unto thee some graven image, of most of the likeness of some of the things that …” Altering the word “any” nullifies the commandment. The word “any” means exactly what it declares: you shall not make yourself any likeness of anything to depict God.
What is acceptable?
In the setting up of images to represent God, this clause teaches that nothing is acceptable. No people-made image of God is acceptable to depict God.
The Second Clause
The second clause of the Second Commandment reads as follows with specific Hebrew words defined: “You shall not [absolutely prohibited] bow down [show honor or reverence] to them and you shall not serve [do work for] them, for I the LORD thy God ..." (Exodus 20:5).[2]