​At first glance, the second commandment seems to prohibit any creative activity.

“You are not to make…”

God sounds unreasonable at the beginning of this commandment. But if we read the commandment in its entirety, we get a better understanding.

“You are not to make…”

“…you may not give them worship…”

The second of God’s commands does not condemn art, imagination, or creativity. It condemns the worship of what man’s hands have made.

The worship of created things is idolatry. Idolatry elevates created things to the level at which only God belongs. Idolatry replaces the Creator with the created.

Idols come in varying forms. They can be manifested in the traditional sense as images made of wood or metal. They may appear in less subtle forms such a person, a material possession or a worldly position of status. But idols can also be manufactured within our hearts and minds. They can be thoughts and desires. It is sometimes these internal idols which are the most difficult to notice. Whether obvious or hidden, idols are those entities to which we bow down rather than God Himself. They are that which we hold as more precious than the Almighty.

Implication
God is a jealous God. He does not allow His honor and glory to be given to anyone or anything else. The Lord Jesus calls us to leave that which we value over Him and to worship only the Creator.
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Questions to Ask Yourself
1. What is it that I value over Jesus Christ?
2. What things am I more devoted to than Jesus Christ?
3. Do I have an unquenchable desire for Christ or for other things?

First delivered to a fledgling Hebrew nation; the Ten Commandments established an Israelite’s duty toward God. They were the covenant made by God with Israel (Deuteronomy. 5:2). The commands, also known as The Decalogue, instructed the Hebrews how to live in respect to both God and man. Within these ten commands, lay the whole moral law. 

Jesus summarizes the ten commandments as loving God and one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). By looking at the Decalogue, these two great commands can be clearly seen. The first four of the ten commands instruct how to love God (Exodus 20:3-11). The last six of the ten commands instruct how to love one’s neighbor (Exodus 20:12-17). 

The ten commandments are not just for the Jews. They also apply to all men. But, under his or her own strength, no person can perfectly keep these laws. This inability to keep the ten commandments is due to the sinful nature which resides within mankind (Romans 3:23; 7:15). 

The Church, those people who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, are now enabled to obey the ten commandments. This is because believers are dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:11). Therefore, Christians should seek to live in obedience to the Lord’s ten commands, not to merit His favor, but because He has freed them from slavery to sin. 

The Church, when she lives in obedient submission to the Lord, is the Church at worship. Biblical worship occurs when believers, individually and corporately, present themselves as a living sacrifice and conform to godliness (Romans 12:1, 2). The ten commandments guide the Church in true worship.
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If the Decalogue guides believers into worship God (which I am convinced the do), they are worth our time to examine. Let us study, meditate upon, and obey them.