To Bow and to Serve – The Second Commandment

To Bow and to Serve

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…”

God is jealous of the exclusive worship and obedience of His people, for He knows that He alone is worthy of such devotion. As we have seen, it is perfectly reasonable for those redeemed by the grace of God to channel their primary affections and obedience toward Him Who has redeemed them for Himself as a holy nation. The Lord alone is God, and there is none other; therefore, the people of God must guard against becoming attached to anything that might divert their affections and obedience from the Lord. In our culture we do not prostrate ourselves before, or organize our lives around what we suppose will be pleasing to carved deities resting on our mantles. But the making of idols remains a powerful temptation nonetheless. There is one God only, and He alone is worthy of our worship and service.

How might a person be able to tell when something other than God had begun to control his affections and determine his priorities and actions in life? How can we guard against this?

—

“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.