Our True Joy and Pleasure – The Second Commandment

Our True Joy and Pleasure

Exodus 20:4, 5

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…”

The second commandment follows logically from the first. If it is reasonable for us to worship and serve only God, it makes sense that we take precautions to develop our abilities in each of these areas, and that we guard against anything that might distract us from these two great tasks. Fullness of life is found in the Lord, as He guides and teaches us to bow and serve Him.

Let us thank the Lord, that He has given us this warning about idols. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and so He understands where we need counsel and admonition. Look to Him to help you be alert to anything that seeks to capture your mind and heart and draw you away from worshiping and serving the Lord only.

The Lord has promised that in His presence are fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16:11). This is what we want to know, more and more every day. And this is what we can know, as we focus on seeking the Lord and guarding against any created thing that might distract us from worshiping and serving only Him.

Memorize the second commandment today. Take time to meditate and reflect on it as you do, and seek the Lord for the joy and pleasure He alone can give.

Lord, help me to be more vigilant in…

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.