The Ten Commandments. Idols and Altars. Exodus 20:1-26

Transcription

1 1 Commentary by Ron Thomas Questions by John C. Sewell The Ten Commandments Idols and Altars Exodus 20:1-26

2 2 The Ten Commandments Idols and Altars Text: Exodus 20:1-26, 1. God spoke all these words: 2. I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 3. You shall have no other gods before me. 4. 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 below. 5. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, 6. and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain.

3 Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. 9. For six days you may labor and do all your work, 10. but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. 11. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. 12. Honor your father and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the LORD your God is giving to you. 13. You shall not murder. 14. You shall not commit adultery. 15. You shall not steal. 16. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17. You shall not covet your neighbor s house. You shall not covet your neighbor s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor. 18. All the people were seeing the thundering and the lightning, and heard the sound of the horn, and saw the mountain smoking and when the people saw it they trembled with fear and kept their distance. 19. They said to Moses, You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.

4 Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you so that you do not sin. 21. The people kept their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. 22. LORD said to Moses: Thus you will tell the Israelites: You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. 23. You must not make gods of silver alongside me, nor make gods of gold for yourselves. 24. You must make for me an altar made of earth, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be honored I will come to you and I will bless you. 25. You must make me an altar of stone, you must not build it of stones shaped with tools, for if you use your tool on it you have defiled it. 26. And you must not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness is not exposed. (NET) Introduction: Note: (Much of the material in the Introduction comes from Robert Taylor, The Ten Words, pp , Exodus, ETSOP Lectures, 1997.) I. In the Champaign News-Gazette (04/26/02) an article appeared (written by contributor David Waters) on the Ten Commandments. A. The article focused on people in the southern portion of the U.S. and the insistence of some (many) to use the Ten Commandments as icons for public buildings.

5 5 B. The Ten Commandments are iconoclastic because it is man s way of getting some semblance of God. C. The attempt made is to post them on walls because that will show us as a God-fearing nation. II. Some of the names by which the Ten Commandments are known are:... A. The Ten Words,... B. Decalogue, and... C. The Words of the Covenant. D. A cute saying you hear occasionally is that these are not the Ten Suggestions! III. The list breaks into two major sections:... A. That which is owed God (commandments 1 4). B. That which is owed man (commandments 5 10). C. Of these Ten Commandments two, are positive (commandments 4 & 5), and 8 are negative. IV: Their purpose:... A. Commandments one and two were designed to keep the monotheistic. B. Commandment three guarded the sanctity and nobility of God s name. C. Commandment four provided the day of the week the people were to rest/worship. D. Commandment five brought respect to the home.

6 6 E. Commandment six guarded the sanctity of life. F. Commandment seven guarded the sanctity of marriage. G. Commandment eight guarded and protected property. H. Commandment nine required truth in dealing with others. I. Commandment ten protects against the evil fruit coming from the mind of another. V. The Ten Commandments were given to the Israelites at Sinai following their exodus from Egypt. A. Deuteronomy 5:1 5, Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them! The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. He did not make this covenant with our ancestors but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now. The LORD spoke face to face with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire. (I was standing between the LORD and you at that time to reveal to you the message of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said: (NET) VI. These Ten Commandments, while given to a nation many years ago, have been a major contributor to humanity s ethics. VII. Christians are not under the Law of Moses. A. Matthew 5:17, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. (NET) B. Galatians 5:1-6, For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.

7 7 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight the only thing that matters is faith working through love. (NET) C. Colossians 2:9-17, For in him all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form, and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. In him you also were circumcised not, however, with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal of the fleshly body, that is, through the circumcision done by Christ. Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ! (NET) D. Jeremiah 31:31-34, Indeed, a time is coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt.

8 8 For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them, says the LORD. But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land, says the LORD. I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people. People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me, says the LORD. For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done. (NET) A. We are under Christ s law of liberty. VIII. Confusion: We obey its commands. 2. We enjoy its blessings by the Lord s grace. A. The Catholic Bible has a footnote to Exodus 20:1, God spoke all these words: (NET) 1. It says, The precise division of these precepts into ten commandments is somewhat uncertain. Traditionally, among Catholics vv. 1-6 are considered only as one commandment and v. 17 as two. Cf. Dt. 5:6-21 New American Bible, St. Joseph Edition, Catholic Book Publishing Company, New York, 1970, p.78). a. Deuteronomy 5:6-21, I am the LORD your God, he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery. You must not have any other gods besides me. You must not make for yourself an image of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath. You must not worship or serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God. I punish the sons, grandsons, and great-

9 9 grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject me, but I show covenant faithfulness to the thousands who choose me and keep my commandments. You must not make use of the name of the LORD your God for worthless purposes, for the LORD will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way. Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the LORD your God has commanded you. You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother just as the LORD your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he is about to give you. You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not offer false testimony against another. You must not desire another man s wife, nor should you crave his house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns. (NET) B. The Chumash, an anthologized commentary from rabbinic writings, sets the first command as to have faith in God s existence.

10 Though it is stated as a fact, virtually all the commentators reckon this as the positive commandment to believe in the existence of Hashem [God] as the only God (p. 407). C. Protestants customarily understand the first command to be set forth in 20:3 because the language is in the imperative mood. ( You shall ). 1. Exodus 20:3, You shall have no other gods before me. (NET) 2. The nature of the first three commandments are negative, You shall not D. Right off we have some discrepancy concerning what we should understand. 1. It seems best to read verse 1 and 2 as a sort of preamble to all that follows. 2. The Jews have taken the introductory words, I am the Lord thy God, to be the first commandment. a. This mode of numbering, of which we find the first traces in Julian Apostata (in Cyrilli Alex. c. Julian l. V. init.), and in an allusion made by Jerome, is at any rate of more recent origin, and probably arose simply from opposition to the Christians. It still prevails, however among the modern Jews (Keil & Delitzsch. E-Sword). E. God identifies Himself and His recent actions. 1. By this announcement Yahweh declared what he had done for Israel by freeing them from slavery. Now they are free to serve him. He has a claim on them for gratitude and obedience. But this will not be a covenant of cruel slavery and oppression; it is a covenant of love, as God is saying I

11 11 Commentary: am yours, and you are mine. This was the sovereign Lord of creation and of history speaking, declaring that he was their savior (NET footnote, E-Sword). The Ten Commandments Exodus 20:1-17, God spoke all these words: I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. 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 below. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. For six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. Honor your father and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the LORD your God is giving to you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor s house. You shall not covet your neighbor s wife, nor his male servant, nor

12 12 his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor. (NET) The First Commandment Exodus 20:2, 3, I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. (NET) I. Miscellaneous considerations: A. The Chumash interprets 20:3-6 as a single command (the second commandment). 1. They identify this as a prohibition against idolatry. 2. As mentioned earlier, the Catholics interpret 20:2-6 as one commandment (the first). 3. Exodus 20: 2-6, I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. 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 below. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (NET) B. In any event, whether we understand this as the first or second, idolatry is forbidden (cf. Isaiah 45:20-25). 1. Isaiah 45:20-25, Gather together and come! Approach together, you refugees from the nations! Those who carry

13 13 wooden idols know nothing, those who pray to a god that cannot deliver. Tell me! Present the evidence! Let them consult with one another! Who predicted this in the past? Who announced it beforehand? Was it not I, the Lord? I have no peer, there is no God but me, a God who vindicates and delivers; there is none but me. Turn to me so you can be delivered, all you who live in the earth s remote regions! For I am God, and I have no peer. I solemnly make this oath what I say is true and reliable: Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm; they will say about me, Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer. All who are angry at him will cower before him. All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord and will boast in him. (NET) C. The word idolatry is a continuing plague. 1. There is ever in the human mind a craving for visible forms to express religious conceptions, and this tendency does not disappear with the acceptance, or even with the constant recognition of pure spiritual truths (ISBE, E- Sword). II. God is the One True Object of Worship. A. He Thoroughly Demonstrated Himself. Exodus 19: Exodus 19:1-5, In the third month after the Israelites went out from the land of Egypt, on the very day, they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they journeyed from Rephidim, they came to the Desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, Thus you will tell the house of Jacob, and declare to the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I

14 14 lifted you on eagles wings and brought you to myself. And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, (NET) B. Though God had demonstrated Himself adequately, It did not stop Satan from making his attempts to get man to worship something other than God. a. Matthew 4:10, Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Satan! For it is written: You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him. (NET) b. Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to person, but its end is the way that leads to death. (NET) 2. Now, if he (Satan) did this with Jesus, what do you think he will do with us? (cf. Luke 23:31). a. Luke 23:31, For if such things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry? (NET) III. What is Idolatry? A. It is the worship of something other than God. 1. It is, essentially, false worship. B. To worship something is to allow that something (or somebody) to control our actions. 1. Matthew 15:1-4, Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said, Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they

15 15 don t wash their hands when they eat. He answered them, And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God said, Honor your father and mother and Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death. But you say, If someone tells his father or mother, Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God, he does not need to honor his father. You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. Then he called the crowd to him and said, Listen and understand. What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person. Then the disciples came to him and said, Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended? And he replied, Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit. (NET) 2. Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death. (NET) C. When God gave this command to the Israelites, He understood quite well what the Israelites were coming from. 1. They came from a polytheistic nation.

16 They included the Egyptian gods with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 3. They were very confused. 4. When they built the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai, they did what was familiar. a. However, they were still guilty. IV. You would think that these words would have resonated with them. A. For some it did; for others it did not. Exodus 6: Exodus 6:6-8, Therefore, tell the Israelites, I am the LORD. I will bring you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD! (NET) B. Israel was plagued by idolatry for 8½ centuries. Judges 10: Judges 10:10-16, The Israelites cried out for help to the LORD: We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals. The LORD said to the Israelites, Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian when they oppressed you? You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. But since you abandoned me and worshiped other gods, I will not deliver you again. Go and cry for help to the gods

17 17 you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble! But the Israelites said to the LORD, We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today! They threw away the foreign gods they owned and worshiped the LORD. Finally the LORD grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. The Israelites cried out for help to the LORD: We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals. The LORD said to the Israelites, Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian when they oppressed you? You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. But since you abandoned me and worshiped other gods, I will not deliver you again. Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble! But the Israelites said to the LORD, We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today! They threw away the foreign gods they owned and worshiped the LORD. Finally the LORD grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. (NET) C. Example after example were given by God to the people, but still there was disbelief. V. That which plagued Israel is always a threat to us. A. Israel was interested in doing things in keeping with their own desires. B. We, too, have a tendency to do the same. C. This is why God has put much emphasis upon what He has said. D. When we worship God we are not only to worship Him, but we are to worship Him with a holy life.

18 18 The Second Commandment Exodus 20:4-6, 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 below. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (NET) I. It is easy to understand how this second commandment can be interpreted singularly with the previous because there is an obvious connection in thought. A. No other god before me and neither make an image of an idol god! B. However, the thrust of this commandment concerns itself with the mode of worship (Davis, p. 211). C. The first commandment focused upon the object of worship and the second upon the manner one worships. II. Clearly we can see the notion behind this commandment is worship. A. God is spirit and no image can be made of spirit so don t try! III. The Jews interpreted this verse as not only a prohibition against worshipping idols, but also the manufacturing of them (p. 408). IV. The reason for this commandment is stated in Exodus 20:5, 6, You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand

19 19 generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (NET) A. God is a jealous God and He visits the father s iniquity upon the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. Cf. Deuteronomy 24: Deuteronomy 24:16, Fathers must not be put to death for what their children do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin. (NET) B. However, He does show mercy to those who love and serve Him. V. The prohibition:... A. No carved Images. 1. This concerns the WHAT of worship, even the HOW of worship. 2. Does not man want something (some image) to REMIND him of God, some AID to help him in his worship of God? 3. Note what Jesus said in John 4:23-24, about who the TRUE worshipper of God actually is. a. John 4:23, 24, But a time is coming and now is here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (NET) 4. The prohibition against an image of God is the prohibition against limiting God.

20 20 a. To set up an image, by its very nature, is to box the Lord in. b. The condemnation is not against art or sculpture, but against that which would be used in worship. i. Deuteronomy 4:15-19, Be very careful, then, because you saw no form at the time the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire. I say this so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female, any kind of land animal, any bird that flies in the sky, anything that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters of the earth. When you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars the whole heavenly creation you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for the LORD your God has assigned them to all the people of the world. (NET) 5. One of the reasons for the polarity of religious relics, purchased nearly anywhere, is that it is an image to help one reflect and think on that which is divine. B. No Bowing Down to Carved Images. 1. This simply means that anything placed in front of God, with respect to devotion, is forbidden (Judges 8:27). a. Judges 8:27, Gideon used all this to make an ephod, which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family. (NET)

21 21 VI. The for certain promise. A. The result of disobedience. 1. The basis of idolatry is self-will. a. To have an idol of any sort is to rebel against God and against the way HE commands. 2. The Lord uses a word that describes His sensitivity to any disobedience of this command. a. He is a jealous God. b. This makes perfect sense when you consider that the Bible describes idolatry as spiritual adultery. 3. Further, judgment is rendered to following generations as a result of disobedience. a. How can this be? b. Is not each person to be judged as a consequence of his own sin? 4. This is true. a. The point here is how the sin of one will affect the following generations. b. Take Jehu for instance (2 Kings 9-10). i. 2 Kings 9:1-37, Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild and told him, Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of

22 22 Nimshi and take him aside into an inner room. Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, This is what the LORD says, I have designated you as king over Israel. Then open the door and run away quickly! So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there. So he said, I have a message for you, O officer. Jehu asked, For which one of us? He replied, For you, O officer. So Jehu got up and went inside. Then the prophet poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, This is what the LORD God of Israel says, I have designated you as king over the LORD s people Israel. You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the LORD s servants. Ahab s entire family will die. I will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. I will make Ahab s dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried. Then he opened the door and ran away. When Jehu rejoined his master s servants, they asked him, Is everything all right? Why did this madman visit you? He replied, Ah, it s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says. But they said, You re lying! Tell us what he said. So he told them what he had said. He also related how he had said, This is what the LORD says, I have designated you as

23 23 king over Israel. Each of them quickly took off his cloak and they spread them out at Jehu s feet on the steps. The trumpet was blown and they shouted, Jehu is king! Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria. But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. Jehu told his supporters, If you really want me to be king, then don t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel. Jehu drove his chariot to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.) Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu s troops approaching. He said, I see troops! Jehoram ordered, Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, Is everything all right? So the horseman went to meet him and said, This is what the king says, Is everything all right? Jehu replied, None of your business! Follow me. The watchman reported, The messenger reached them, but hasn t started back. So he sent a second horseman out to them and he said, This is what the king says, Is everything all right? Jehu replied, None of your business! Follow me. The watchman reported, He reached them, but hasn t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; he drives recklessly. Jehoram

24 24 ordered, Hitch up my chariot. When his chariot had been hitched up, King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots to meet Jehu. They met up with him in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. When Jehoram saw Jehu, he asked, Is everything all right, Jehu? He replied, How can everything be all right as long as your mother Jezebel promotes idolatry and pagan practices? Jehoram turned his chariot around and took off. He said to Ahaziah, It s a trap, Ahaziah! 4 Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Jehoram s shoulders. The arrow went through his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot. Jehu ordered his officer Bidkar, Pick him up and throw him into the part of the field that once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Remember, you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, when the LORD pronounced this judgment on him, Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday, says the LORD, and that I will give you what you deserve right here in this plot of land, says the LORD. So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the LORD said. When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what happened, he took off up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him and ordered, Shoot him too. They shot him while he was driving his chariot up the ascent of Gur near Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo and died there. His servants took his body back to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his ancestors in

25 25 the City of David. Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab. Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window. When Jehu came through the gate, she said, Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master? He looked up at the window and said, Who is on my side? Who? Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. He said, Throw her down! So they threw her down, and when she hit the ground, her blood splattered against the wall and the horses, and Jehu drove his chariot over her. He went inside and had a meal. Then he said, Dispose of this accursed woman s corpse. Bury her, for after all, she was a king s daughter. But when they went to bury her, they found nothing left but the skull, feet, and palms of the hands. When they went back and told him, he said, The LORD s word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel s flesh. Jezebel s corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel. People will not be able to even recognize her. (NET) ii. 2 Kings 10:1-36, Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab s dynasty. This is what the letters said, You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So

26 26 when this letter arrives, pick the best and most capable of your master s sons, place him on his father s throne, and defend your master s dynasty. They were absolutely terrified and said, Look, two kings could not stop him! How can we? So the palace supervisor, the city commissioner, the leaders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, We are your subjects! Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper. He wrote them a second letter, saying, If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, then take the heads of your master s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow. Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent men of the city were raising them. When they received the letter, they seized the king s sons and executed all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. The messenger came and told Jehu, They have brought the heads of the king s sons. Jehu said, Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning. In the morning he went out and stood there. Then he said to all the people, You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all of these men? Therefore take note that not one of the judgments the LORD announced against Ahab s dynasty has failed to materialize. The LORD had done what he announced through his servant Elijah. Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors. Jehu then left

27 27 there and set out for Samaria. While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds, Jehu encountered the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, Who are you? They replied, We are Ahaziah s relatives. We have come down to see how the king s sons and the queen mother s sons are doing. He said, Capture them alive! So they captured them alive and then executed all forty-two of them in the cistern at Beth Eked. He left no survivors. When he left there, he met Jehonadab, son of Rekab, who had been looking for him. Jehu greeted him and asked, Are you as committed to me as I am to you? Jehonadab answered, I am! Jehu replied, If so, give me your hand. So he offered his hand and Jehu pulled him up into the chariot. Jehu said, Come with me and see how zealous I am for the LORD s cause. So he took him along in his chariot. He went to Samaria and exterminated all the members of Ahab s family who were still alive in Samaria, just as the LORD had announced to Elijah. Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, Ahab worshiped Baal a little; Jehu will worship him with great devotion. So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fail to appear will lose their lives. But Jehu was tricking them so he could destroy the servants of Baal. Then Jehu ordered, Make arrangements for a celebration for Baal. So they announced it. Jehu sent invitations throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was absent.

28 28 They arrived at the temple of Baal and filled it up from end to end. Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal. So he brought out robes for them. Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, Make sure there are no servants of the LORD here with you; there must be only servants of Baal. They went inside to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside. He had told them, If any of the men inside get away, you will pay with your lives! When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard and officers, Come in and strike them down! Don t let any escape! So the royal guard and officers struck them down with the sword and left their bodies lying there. Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal. They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. They demolished the sacred pillar of Baal and the temple of Baal; it is used as a latrine to this very day. So Jehu eradicated Baal worship from Israel. However, Jehu did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had encouraged Israel to commit; the golden calves remained in Bethel and Dan. The LORD said to Jehu, You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel. But Jehu did not carefully and wholeheartedly obey the law of the LORD God of Israel. He did

29 29 not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam had encouraged Israel to commit. In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel s territory. Hazael attacked their eastern border. He conquered all the land of Gilead, including the territory of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, extending all the way from the Aroer in the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan. The rest of the events of Jehu s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. Jehu passed away and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz replaced him as king. Jehu reigned over Israel for twenty-eight years in Samaria. (NET) iii. The effect of Ahab s sinful life permeated most of Israel. iv. As leaders lead, the people follow. v. His sinful life encouraged many others to sin along with him (Sin perpetuates itself). vi. The Lord anointed Jehu to bring judgment upon the house of Ahab (9:7-10). 5. People who hate the Lord are people who refuse to obey His commands. a. Certainly, if there is any expression of love toward God, how can one refuse to obey? b. Since there is no obedience, it must be the case that one HATES the Lord. B. The Result of Obedience.

30 One of the great passages of Scripture is found in 34:6-7. a. Exodus 34:6-7, The LORD passed by before him and proclaimed: The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children s children, to the third and fourth generation. (NET) 2. The Lord s mercy cannot be high-lighted enough. 3. If it were not for His mercy, how could we exist even now? 4. Acts 17:22-31, So Paul stood before the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects. For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: To an unknown god. Therefore what you worship without knowing it, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone. From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move about and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, For we too are his offspring. So since we are God s offspring, we should not

31 31 think the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human skill and imagination. Therefore, although God has overlooked such times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, having provided proof to everyone by raising him from the dead. (NET) VII. The Second Command is Not Difficult to Understand. A. The difficulty is found in application 1. Let us make it a point to not only reflect upon the command, but also obey the sentiment. The Third Commandment Exodus 20:7, You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain. (NET) I. The NET has a note from another source that says this is the forbiddance of using the Lord s name in an idle, frivolous, or insincere manner (E-Sword). A. The consequence of misusing the Lord s name is that the Lord will hold that person guilty. B. The Jews understand this to mean that using the Lord s name with no valid purpose is to bring the Lord s disfavor upon one (Chumash, p. 409). II. What is in view? A. It is Prohibition Against False Swearing and Includes Prohibition Against the Idea of Profane or Vain Swearing.

32 This is a warning against: profanity, falsehood, irreverence, and hypocrisy. It prohibits all forms of vain worship (Bunch. P. 64). B. The Name of God is HOLY. 1. The English word God is a catch word for a number of Hebrew words. 2. These words are not necessarily holy. a. The context makes it clear how, in what way, God is to be understood. b. Those Hebrew words are: el; elyon, el elyon; elohim; eloah; Jehovah; Yahweh elohim. c. Not all of these Hebrew words are translated God. d. Some have further descriptive ideas like, the most high God, or Almighty God. e. Sometimes the English word Lord is the translation of a corresponding Hebrew word that refers to God. 3. The NBD says, [s]trictly speaking, Yahweh is the only name of God. Further, The name is no mere label, but is significant of the real personality of him to whom it belongs (pp ). C. In the model prayer, we are instructed to hallow the Lord s name. 1. Why? Well, The Scriptures attests some significance to the qualities/character of God. 2. For instance, in Genesis 1:1 we can see the English word God is the translation of elohim.

33 33 a. Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (NET) b. This is a word, in the plural, that lets us know that more than one is referenced. i. There is ONE God, but in the GODHEAD there are more than one. ii. This is made clear to us in John 1:1-3. iii. John 1:1-3, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. (NET) 3. Further, within the context of Genesis 1, we learn that God is all-powerful because He is the originator of all that exists (cf. Revelation 5:13). a. Revelation 5:13, Then I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them singing: To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power forever and ever! (NET) 4. Again, when you consider the English word Jehovah (a translation of the Hebrew consonants YHWH), what is in view is that God is eternal, of the Self-Existent One. D. So, in summary, we are to have some understanding of the why there is reverence due to God.

34 Understanding this keeps His name holy in our thinking - because He IS! 2. We are to have such reverence for the Lord s name that we ll do what we can to avoid even getting close to misusing it. III. The frivolous nature in which God s name is used. A. To use the word God (or name with little to no thought is to use it frivolously. 1. If we regard the Lord as holy, why would we misuse His name? B. Isaiah 8:13, You must recognize the authority of the LORD who commands armies. He is the one you must respect; he is the one you must fear. (NET) C. Exodus 34: 6-7, The LORD passed by before him and proclaimed: The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, 7 keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children s children, to the third and fourth generation. (NET) D. Some of us attempt, with a great deal of effort, to avoid misusing the Lord s name that we have now begun (have been for a while) using euphemisms (a substitute). 1. For instance, we use the phrase, Oh, my gosh! 2. Look in any dictionary and you ll see the word gosh is used as a substitute for God.

35 35 E. While profanity is not the primary point of the command, it might well be included. 1. Why? 2. To honor the holy name of our Lord is to reflect His glory. 3. How can we be reflecting His glory when we speak in a disrespectful way? IV. The Lord s name is reverend. Psalm 111:9. A. Psalm 111:9, He delivered his people; he ordained that his covenant be observed The Fourth Commandment forever. His name is holy and awesome. Exodus 20:8-11, Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. For six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. (NET) I. Miscellaneous considerations:... A. It has been brought out by critical commentators that the word remember is not actually a command, but an infinitive verb. 1. Durham says it is the equivalent of an emphatic imperative (WBC, p. 289). 2. In any case, it is clear what the Lord wanted understood.

36 36 B. They were to remember and they were to do no work. 1. This applied to all males, females, servants, and livestock. 2. The command given to the Israelites has its origin in the creation week. 3. However, there is no command to observe the Sabbath until Exodus 16. a. Exodus 16:21-30, So they gathered it each morning, each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt. And on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers per person; and all the leaders of the community came and told Moses. He said to them, This is what the LORD has said: Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Whatever you want to bake, bake today; whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning. So they put it aside until the morning, just as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Moses said, Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the area. Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any. On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing. So the LORD said to Moses, How long do you refuse to obey my commandments and my instructions? See, because the LORD has given you the Sabbath, that is why he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day.