The Second Commandment - Intro

The question that has made the rounds as of late in the online Christian art community is, “Can we make/have pictures of Jesus?” Series like The Chosen have also brought the second commandment into view, causing some people to think about the second commandment for the very first time.

As a quick note, it is interesting that I have not seen Christians decrying pictures of plants, animals, angels, or planets. We’ll come back to this point later.

Now obviously as the creator of BibleSketches I draw many sketches of Jesus and other biblical characters so you already know my view—at least part of my view. So yes, I have thought about this issue extensively and I want to share how I arrived at my position. Yet, let me be clear, my opinion has no weight on the truth and neither does yours. God has given us His word as the authority on this issue. Of course this is where the debate arises, “What does God’s word mean?”

Thankfully, I do believe scripture helps us thoroughly on this issue and can eliminate a lot of the noise we find on social media that really only serves to cloud the discussion.

Whatever your view may be, I do hope you find this blog post helpful and that you learn something as you navigate the issue.

The Second Commandment - Images & Idols

For our convenient reference I listed Exodus 20:4-6 and Deuteronomy 5:8 in ESV, LSB, and NASB 1995 translations. The obvious place to start (and end) is God’s word, so let us see what He has said.

Exodus 20:4-6

ESV: 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

LSB: 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, 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 them or serve them; for I, Yahweh 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, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

NASB 1995: 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, 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 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, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

Deuteronomy 5:8

ESV: ‘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.

LSB: ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol—any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

NASB 1995: ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

You will notice the ESV chooses “image” whereas the LSB and NASB choose “idol.” We read that we cannot “bow down” or “worship” these idols or images, and we should worship God alone. 

You will also notice that the parameters for the “form” or “likeness” of this hypothetical image are all encompassing: “what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth” (v. 4). So, from the text it is clear that we cannot make an idol into anything recognizable; not a star, not a moon, not a camel, not a cow, not a tree, not a fish, etc. The rule is point blank: “Do not make an idol out of anything that exists.”

Now consider that all these things already do exist. They are right in front of our faces all day every day. We still see cultures praising and bowing down to live cattle, trees, the sun, and even the stars as some assign them the power to determine their futures—something reserved for God alone. We are unable to get rid of all these things as we see them all the time. This is just a thought to hold onto as we continue.

So, looking at Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 I have two observations; (1) the purpose of the command is to extinguish idol-making such that only God is worshiped, and (2) whatever the definition of an “image” is (statue, picture, or both), all things in heaven and on earth and under the sea are banned from being made into one.

Let’s add in Leviticus 26:1. It reads, “You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God.” (ESV)

Right off the bat, the pentateuch is pushing me in the direction of believing that the second command is meant to ban people from purposefully making physical idols. That does not mean I’m right. We need to do more digging

A huge piece of the question will be answered by how we understand the linking of verses 4 & 5 in Exodus 20. 

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, 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 them or serve them…” (Ex. 20:4-5, LSB)

There are two ways to view the command(s). One group will claim verse 4 is its own separate command unconcerned with the motive or intention of the idol-maker. This would mean making an image of anything that exists is banned 100% of the time—as far as I can see. This would eliminate almost all artwork ever created, but it would theoretically protect us against accidently turning that art piece into an idol at some later point. The second group would claim that verse 5 aids in explaining what an idol/image is—something created to steal worship from the One true God. This would mean the intention of the artisan’s “image” is to create an “idol.” This is most likely why the LSB and NASB ’95 use idol and not image.

Of the two groups I fall into the latter. My reasoning is based on what I see in scripture.

The Bible & The Second Commandment

In Exodus 32 we read that Israel asked Aaron to make gods for themselves due to Moses’ delay on the mountain. 

32:1 “When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

Aaron proceeded to gather gold from them and fashioned a graven image, a molten golden calf (32:4). He strikingly declared to them that this (golden calf) was the very god that brought them out of the land of Egypt. This event could not be a clearer offense of the second commandment.

Israel made a graven image (statue of a calf), and worshiped that man-made statue instead of Yahweh. They resorted to their depraved inclinations to worship the creation (man-made) rather than the Creator (Who made man). Not only would Egypt, a land of many false gods, instill this thinking into them but it is natural for sinful mankind to turn away from the One true God and worship something else.

So, Israel’s failure in Exodus 32 serves as an obvious breaking of the 2nd commandment, but it does not answer all our questions about what an ‘image’ or ‘idol’ is. For instance, could Israel have drawn a cow on a rock and worshiped it as a god? I don’t see why not. Yet, interestingly they chose the physical (3D) instead of the pictorial (2D). Furthermore, this is what we see all throughout the Old Testament. Ninety-nine percent of the time they are statues or pillars made of some element (rock, silver, gold, etc.). The singular reference I could find to a pictorial image was in Ezekiel 8, and even then the text is unclear if the leaders worshiped the images on the wall or if the images represented the physical idols they had set up outside (cf., Ez. 8:3, 14).

 

Let me list the contextually relevant words that I find in scripture:

Lev. 26:1 - set up, image, sacred pillar, place a figured stone

Deut. 4:16 - graven image, form of any figure

Deut. 27:15 - idol, molten image

Jud. 17:3-4 - silver, graven image, molten image, silversmith

Jud. 18:14 - household idol, graven image, molten image

Jud. 18:30 - set up graven image

2 Kings 21:7 - carved image, Asherah

2 Chron. 33:7 - carved image, idol

Ps. 97:7 - serve graven images

Isaiah 40:19 - idol, craftsman casts it, goldsmith plates it with gold

Isaiah 40:20 - tree, idol, will not totter

Isaiah 42:17 - idols, molten images

Isaiah 44:9 - fashions graven image

Isaiah 44:9-20 - casts an idol, fashions a god, craftsmen, ironsmith, tree, shapes it into figure of a man, an abomination

Isaiah 48:5 - idol, graven image, molten image

Jer. 10:14 - goldsmith, idols, molten images

Jer. 51:17 - goldsmith, idols, molten images

Ezekiel 8 - idols, carved on the wall

Nahum 1:14 - idol, image

Hab. 2:18 - idol, maker has carved it, image, maker, handiwork

When I read the Old Testament it appears the offenses of the second commandment almost always come in the form of statues, or physical objects set up as an object of worship.

Does this mean the second commandment is strictly about physical forms and not about 2D images? Personally, I don’t see why someone could make an idol out of a statue but not make an idol out of a carved relief—or even a drawn picture. I would think both are possible. However, it is interesting to think about cultures around the world and how they form their false gods; almost 100% of the time they will be physical statues, not 2D images. And for Israel, except in the case of Ezekiel 8 (which is up for debate anyway), it appears they had the same default to physical forms.

No matter in the east or west, apparently all of fallen mankind is tempted to worship the creation rather than the Creator; whether it is fashioned to represent physical beings, like a calf (Ex. 32), a fish-man (1 Sam. 5), a womanly meteorite (Acts 19), or material things like money, houses, cars, and people. It does not appear that mankind is sufficiently tempted to worship 2D images as a god. As stupid as worshiping a carved piece of wood or gold plated statue is, humans tend to find deific merit in their physical presence while they find no god-like merit in 2D images.

Nevertheless, my resting position on this issue does not fall on the distinction of the physical (3D) and the pictorial (2D). Let’s look at more examples in scripture.

Bronze Serpent

Interestingly, God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent statue in Numbers 21.

Numbers 21:8-9 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”

So God commissioned what we might think would be dangerously close, if not a blatant, second commandment violation. Yet, God did not call Israel to worship the serpent, it was merely a faint image that mirrored how Christ would be lifted up on the cross (John 3:14-15). Those that were bitten by the sting of the serpents would be saved by looking to the standard, and we who are bitten by the sting of sin are saved by looking to Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

Yet, ironically Israel did later burn incense to the bronze serpent. 2 Kings 18:4, “He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)” 

Again, the original purpose of the serpent was not for idol worship. Once it was worshiped, Hezekiah saw it proper to destroy it. 

Gideon’s Ephod

In Judges 8, Gideon confirms that the Lord will be the One to rule over Israel and instead asks for a share of plunder—gold rings—which he fashioned into an ephod. This ephod was most likely not a linen ephod with stones like the High Priest’s clothing, but a golden statue that held some form of spiritual and ritualistic significance. Unsurprisingly, Israel ended up worshiping Gideon’s ephod and prostituting themselves.

Judges 8:27 “Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.”

It is hard to solidify Gideon’s original intentions in making the ephod, but nonetheless the scripture says it became a snare to him and his family. Like the bronze serpent, it would have been best to destroy it.

The Temple

In the discussion of the second commandment, people bring up God’s commission of Solomon’s temple. Scripture gives us incredible detail of the plans and decor.

The enormous molten bronze pillars had forms of pomegranates on the capitals (1 Kings 7:18), and the top of the pillars had a lily design roundabout (7:22). The sea of cast metal stood on statues of twelve oxen (7:25). There were images of lions, oxen, and cherubim throughout as well (7:29, 36). Most striking was the tall cherubim in the inner sanctuary carved out of olive wood and overlaid with gold (6:23-28).

Yet, with all the carved metal and wood of various plants, heavenly beings, and animals throughout the temple complex there is no recorded instance of someone worshiping them instead of the God of Israel.

However, we do see quite vividly the people of Israel worshiping false idols within and around the temple complex. Ezekiel 8 details the 70 leaders of Israel worshiping false gods. “So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around.” (8:10) Women were found at the gate of the Lord’s house weeping for a god named Tammuz (8:14). Lastly, between the porch and the altar 25 men were bowing and worshiping the sun as it rose in the east (8:16).

So, in light of the bronze serpent, Gideon’s ephod, and Solomon’s temple, does the intention of the carved statue matter? I say, “Yes.” But, someone might still say that it was God who commissioned the serpent and temple forms so it is irrelevant—God can do what He wants. It is true God’s decisions are inscrutable. It is also true that His decisions can give us insight.

The insight I glean from His decisions pushes me to confirm my original understanding of Exodus 20:4-6. I do not see verse 4 as a separate command unattached from verse 5. I believe “image” or “idol” in verse 4 is understood to be something that is purposefully being created to be worshiped—I do not think it is a piece of artwork that merely has the potential to be worshiped. Though we have seen in Gideon’s case how unwise it might be in certain cultures to create something like this.

 

So, before I move on let me summarize some conclusions.

1. The Second Commandment is in reference to images that are specifically made as idols, or false gods, to be worshiped. This is what I see in scripture.

2. It is also true that people can be led astray by images made with innocent intentions.

3. Most instances in scripture and examples in modern-day culture center on worshiping physical (3D) forms, not pictorial (2D) forms. This may not aid in navigating the meaning of what an idol/image is, but it may aid us in how we navigate our artistic decisions.

4. Whatever definition a Christian assumes to the word  “image” or “idol” in Exodus 20:4, they must understand that it is all inclusive—all of creation is banned from being made into an image.

What about images of Jesus?

Some of you may be anxiously wondering, “Well what about images of Jesus?” Again, I think idol is the right word based on how I see the second commandment, and offenses of the second commandment, in scripture. So your question is technically, “What about idols of Jesus?” Nonetheless, some might be holding Deut. 4 in their mind which seems to prohibit any graven image of God—since Israel saw no form of God.

This is where God’s words to us through Paul’s letters can really help. I’ll come back to Deut. 4 in a minute but let’s first cover these principles. We are meant to worship God (1 Cor. 10:31) and use our Christian freedoms to help others worship God (1 Cor. 10:24). Additionally, we need to have full confidence in our decisions so that we don’t go against our conscience (Rom. 14:23). In light of these things I think the issue is very simple to navigate. Here’s some hypotheticals:

Question: “Can I make a statue of Jesus?”

Answer: Are you going to worship it? “No, it’s a rock...” Do you think it’s okay to do it? “Yes!” Will other people be tempted to worship it instead of Jesus? “No.” = Go ahead.

Question: “Can I make a statue of Jesus?”

Answer: Are you going to worship it? “No, it’s a rock...” Do you think it’s okay to do it? “I’m not sure.” Will other people be tempted to worship it instead of Jesus? “No.” = Don’t make it.

Question: “Can I make a statue of Jesus?”

Answer: Are you going to worship it? “No, it’s a rock...” Do you think it’s okay to do it? “Yes!” Will other people be tempted to worship it instead of Jesus? “Maybe or potentially.” = Don’t make it.

Some might find this too simplistic but I think it’s the straightforward pattern Paul lays out in both Romans 14 and 1 Cor. 10. It has helped me navigate many issues in church communities. And relooking at those examples above, I might even add in, “Will it distract people from worshiping God?”

Back to Deuteronomy 4. Some Christians bring up God’s warning to Israel in Deuteronomy 4 that bars them from making any graven image with an additional statement, “since you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb” (Deut. 4:15). God also barred any likeness in the “form of any figure, the likeness of male or female” (Deut. 4:16). I think this is logically included in the Exodus 20 statements, but nonetheless some feel this portion of scripture informs the specific question of making an image of Jesus.

Again, based on the whole counsel of scripture surrounding the second command I believe God barred Israel from making a physical form that represented God, or a false god, because of their corporate prevalence to idol-worship. God does not want His people to have an understanding of Him that is unnecessarily tainted, and allowing Israel to make a representative statue of the Man Abraham saw (Gen. 18:2) would not have been helpful. It was best for them to foster an understanding of God entirely separate from anything they inadvertently learned through the false idol worship in Egypt—which abounded with statues. Had God allowed them to even consider making a representational form they would have slowly and surely merged their base view of the false gods of Egypt with the One true living God. Could Israel be trusted with a statue of a bronze serpent that had no deific essence linked with its creation? Yes, but only for a little while. We see their eventual lack of self-control even with the bronze serpent (2 Kings 18:4).

Let’s glance back to Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:19-20.

“19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.”

He clarifies that food sacrificed to idols is nothing, and idols are nothing. All material things are God’s creation (10:26). The intentions of the evil Gentiles however, are such that they were worshiping demons by worshiping their false gods. So the Saints should not partake in the ceremonies and become sharers in the Gentiles’ idol worship, but afterwards go ahead and buy any meat you want (even if it was used in the past for idol worship) because at the end of the day it is just meat and there would no longer be the association of idols with it (10:25).

So, meat is nothing and an idol is nothing, but using meat to sacrifice and worship an idol is a very bad something. I think Paul is highlighting here that the intention obviously matters because the Saints understand there is no inherent evil in the physical things like meat and stone. How matter is used by mankind is what matters.

Yet, in addition, the Saints also must concern themselves with how their actions and freedoms affect others. We obey our conscience and we forgo our freedoms so as not to cause our brother to stumble (10:32).

At this point, I think I have hit on every point I wanted to address. Maybe the best way to conclude this blog/article, is to answer some questions some of you might have to see how I would navigate certain hypotheticals. This should provide greater clarity to how I view the second commandment.

Questions

“How have you navigated your decision to draw sketches of Jesus?”

A: I believe the second commandment is meant to ban people from making objects of this world into idols, and to secure worship of the One true God. Thus I do not believe there is any issue with drawing a representational 2D image of Jesus. I know the picture is not God and I know that I do not know how Jesus looked. Therefore, I do not think the drawings I sketch affect my worship of God in any negative way, nor do they count as idols.

“Do you see a difference between statues of Jesus and pictures of Jesus?”

A: I do see a difference in how statues and pictures affect/tempt people but I am not sure there is a clear difference in the original command—though there might be. Yet, I am much more cautious with statues because biblical history and modern reality has shown they cause many more cultures to stumble. For instance, I would definitely not make a statue of Jesus in India. I probably wouldn’t even make a statue of Jesus in an area of the United States that had a large Indian population.

But, is making a statue of Jesus inherently sinful? No. A marble statue of Jesus is just a rock. Additionally, we don’t even know how Jesus looked so no rational person should view this hypothetical statue as “This is Jesus.” The best a statue could be is: “This is how Jesus might look, but we have no idea.” Thus, a representational statue of Jesus does not bother me at all among the proper audience. And I think the proper audiences are (1) Saints who are not convicted of it and see the statue as nothing more than what I just outlined, and (2) anyone from a secularized culture that sees no deific value in carved images, nor is tempted by them.

Therefore, there might not be many instances where it makes sense to make a statue of Christ. Humans from certain cultures are too tempted to worship statues, and some Christians might feel that it ruins their ability to worship. This would become a problem if these people cannot avoid it (e.g., in their church sanctuary). Thus, even if I did hypothetically make a statue of Jesus I would probably keep it private in my backyard woods and then destroy it before I died so that it wouldn’t tempt anyone after me. Lest I be like Gideon.

Though let me be clear, I do not think it is a sin to make one. My conscience would be clear. However, my conscience would not be clear if I knew I was tempting others to break their conscience—even if their view on the issue was misinformed.

“What about a carved wooden statue of a bear in Wyoming?”

A: In America I would have no issue with that because no one will be tempted here to make it a god, but I might not make it in other cultures. 

“Should church buildings have pictures of Jesus in them?”

A: I’m not against it, but there are a lot of questions to consider regarding the principles in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 10. It would probably be easier to not have any in the sanctuary in case there are those in the church who are convicted by it or find images of Jesus distracting their worship. Two of the five churches I have been a part of had stained glass portraits of Jesus above the pulpit and it was never an issue for myself. But again, I’m not the only person to consider.

“What are some things you wish more people addressed in this discussion?”

A: Some of those who point to many instances as ‘second commandment violations’ fail to see how they condemn themselves by the logic intimated in the original command if they view it they way they claim—remember, almost all objects would be banned and images of every plant, animal, and heavenly body would be banned in totality. I don’t know anyone who abides by this, though I’m sure they exist.

Another thing to consider is that all these things already exist in front of our faces all day every day. We see cattle, trees, mountains, planets, stars, and great powerful men. Obviously, God does not want us to make idols of these things either—yet many cultures do. What’s my point?

Is creating a statue of a calf for artistic sake the same as letting your cattle reproduce and make a live calf? They are both objects that can be used for idol worship.

I’m not saying the second command addresses both, it is obviously addressing a man-made object. My point is that if we think through both scenarios I think we also start to see the logic undergirding the notion that the intention does matter. If God is fine with mankind helping cattle reproduce to create a calf even though the calf has the potential to be worshiped by humans, would He also be fine with mankind reproducing a calf artistically even though the fake calf also has the potential to be worshiped by humans?

Another question to consider is our position in the New Covenant, not being under the law but under grace (Romans 6:14; c.f., Gal. 5:13-18). This is a topic for you to ponder in regards to the ten commandments.

“Are films like The Chosen, The Jesus Film, and Passion of the Christ second commandment violations?”

A: I don’t think an artistic representation of Jesus is a second commandment violation as long as it’s made clear that the person acting as Jesus is not actually Jesus. Additionally, it needs to be made clear to audiences that we don’t know how he acted, how he carried himself, how he looked, how he spoke, his inflections in his voice, etc, so much is a guessing game. The films should make sure to point people to scripture as their source of truth and eliminate any possibility of people mistakenly assuming that the director’s and actor’s creative decisions are the perfect representation of the historical events.

My main concern for any representation of Jesus is that He be rightly represented as the Son of God. It needs to be made clear that He is truly God and truly man. A director should also make it clear, directly or indirectly, that Jesus is the Jesus of the Bible. He is not the Jesus from Islam’s perspective and He is not the Jesus from the Mormon perspective.

Jesus is God Almighty and there are no other gods but the triune God. There is no other way for men to be saved except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).

Thus, my concern for The Chosen is that I do not believe the director will enforce the idea that Jesus is the Jesus of the Bible. Nor do I believe that The Chosen will ever present the saving gospel. I will be thrilled if I end up being wrong. And if I am right, how sad will it be that so much time and energy was put toward something that muddled the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Thanks for reading.

- Micah Martin - 12.6.24