The Second Word: No Images!

(Baal from Ugarit. Image source, http://www.historywiz.com/images/neareast/baal-lg.jpg)

The Second Commandment: No Images!

This week I continue a study of the 10 Commandments at a website dedicated to the purpose: www.10wordstoliveby.com. This is a small group fellowship and discipleship Bible Study designed for use by our church. I am publishing it on the web in draft form to invite public suggestions and comment. The study and the sermon go together, so if you are in the area, you are cordially invited to attend. However, even if you miss the sermon, a quick read of the lesson for the week and the ten accompanying Discussion Questions may be of interest to readers of this blog. I'll be back to my familiar routine of posting after the 10 Commandments series is wrapped up in 8 more weeks.

This week our study groups take on the prohibition against the making of images. This Second Commandment, like the First Commandment, is intended by God to safeguard and preserve our lives. The Second Commandment works by keeping our relationship with God from being stunted and remaining at one stage of development. The Second Commandment provides continued evidence that the LORD our God, the living God, desires a relationship with us that is living and passionate. God wants us fully present in this relationship, not fixated on our own "man-made" ideas and pictures of who God is.