The 2nd Commandment

- You Shall Not Make For Yourself an Idol -

“You shall not make for yourself an idol [as an object of worship]... This is anything that draws and captures your attention and affection and preoccupation away from your Creator YAHveh and your Savior.  In upholding the Commandments YAHshua (Jesus) magnified their meaning when He said, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate (lightly esteem compared to Him) his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). He was saying that anyone and anything, regardless of how beloved they are to you, could become an idol if you esteem or love them more than you love and obey Him.

We are to hate the thought or reality that they could become more important and a detriment to following YAHshua (Jesus).  Hate and be aware of the fact that those natural worldly loves and ties could be so strong that they could hold your affections back from being completely set on loving YAHshua and following Him in obedience at any price. You have to come out of the world and all the relationships closest to you in the world to have all your affections set on your eternal King and His kingdom. We are not to be half hearted. YAHshua (Jesus) wants a whole heart and we are to lightly esteem others compared to Him. And from that is the wellspring of the right kind of love that will love all our family members by Him and through Him and for Him. In the natural relationships the greater love is to be instruments to help them make it into YAHveh’s kingdom with the truth spoken and manifested in love.

Let us use King Josiah (2Kings Chapters 22-23) as an example. In 2 Chronicles 34 it says: “Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of YAHveh (the LORD), …and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. …He began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to go throughout the whole nation tearing down and utterly demolishing by grinding to powder every idol that kept his people from solely and wholeheartedly seeking and worshipping the Holy One of Israel.” (see 2 Chronicles 34:1-5,7). This is what the almighty Holy God has called each of us to do. King Josiah is one of the few kings who did what was right in YAHveh’s (the LORD’s) eyes. It wasn’t from learning, for the book recorded by Moses, of YAHveh’s holy teachings had been lost after years of evil kings and idolatrous people. It was in Josiah’s heart to do right. YAHveh is drawing a remnant because of what is in their hearts. Josiah was being lead by the Spirit of Truth to seek the God of his fathers. He was being wooed and he realized that the pagan and worldly idols were obstacles on his course. His heart was passionate; he wanted the God of his forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob more than anything. The word says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13) and “…He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

It is a heart issue. "So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer” (Deuteronomy 10:16). Love YAHveh with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength—then you will be able to keep His commandments. This is exactly the order Josiah exemplifies: loving YAHveh and having a tender sensitive circumcised heart to seek Him diligently. “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace…for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:6,13,14).

“Before [Josiah] there was no king like him who turned to YAHveh (the LORD) with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might…” (2 Kings 23:25). This equates to “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23) you who do the will of My Father and obey and serve Him. A spiritually circumcised heart, free of idols and earthly preoccupations, longs to do His Father’s will. “I delight to do Your will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8). As born again new creations we will say, "I have been crucified with Messiah; and it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Self is the biggest idol it says, “I crave, I need, I want, I must have, I ask for my good pleasure and it is time for little idols, medium idols, and giant idols (self) to be smashed in our lives. YAHveh (the LORD) is going to ultimately purge this land of our hearts.“ Josiah is foreshadowing what YAHshua (Jesus) our Redeemer is going to do to this world. Everything is going to come down, be smashed, demolished, and destroyed. He will have a purged earth of all sin and all who cause sin. Upon this cleansed foundation, He will establish His home of righteousness that only the righteous will enter. Like Josiah, His called out chosen children are compelled to search their hearts and their lives. They will out of humble repentance remove what the Holy Spirit points out as idols and they will forthrightly demolish them.

Temptations, the things we entertain in our minds, and desires and inclinations of our hearts will grow and grow as weeds until they take over, until they blind and enslave us. We become unable to see YAHshua (Jesus) behind the idols. We can remember Him, talk about Him, refer to Him, give Him lip service, but there is an idol (or 2 or 3 or more), a stronghold, between YAHshua (Jesus) and us. It is best to demolish it while it is still small before it grows so big that it becomes encompassing.  Praise be to our Helper, the powerful Holy Spirit that is mighty to the tearing down of every stronghold and vain imagination and idols that rise up against us knowing our beloved Father and Savior intimately (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). This personal relationship between YAHveh (God) and us will bring ultimate reward and fulfillment, one that our souls were designed to seek and receive. He alone is our exceedingly great reward (see Genesis 15:1)! To know the reality of His presence, that’s our inheritance. But, He will not dwell in the midst of idols, nor will we ever find Him in the midst of grievous unholy mixtures of the common and the holy. He will not be there. We waste our time; we spin our wheels and go nowhere. “Behold, YAHveh’s (the LORD’s) hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

We confess Him with our lips, but our hearts will be far from Him because He will be far from ours. Our sins and idols will separate us and make a chasm between us. If He alone is not our motivating heart’s desire and reward, then there are idols in the way. If you say that you do not have idols, yet He is not all sufficient and you have some form of discontent and are craving and seeking some worldly and carnal satisfaction, then you have idols. He is not enough, because you are not getting enough of Him. You are not getting enough of Him because you have idols. It is a vicious cycle. If you can’t completely forsake some thing to obediently follow YAHshua (Jesus) that makes it an idol.

Purge the land of your heart, prayerfully, relentlessly, mercilessly, not turning to the right or the left when He magnifies idols in your heart. YAHveh (the LORD) is holy His anger will burn in righteous judgment upon a world permeated with rebellion and defiance against Him, His Son, His Spirit of Truth, and the Holy Scriptures. A remnant, like Josiah, is recognizing idols that stand between them and a holy God and they are wholeheartedly confessing their sins and being set free from its consequences by the covering of YAHshua’s (Jesus’s) blood; thus making a way for that intimate, obedient, worshipful, relationship with their Almighty King and Savior. HalleluYAH! What a humble exemplary king. We are called to be redeemed royal children of the Most High King, but it requires our hearts to be humble and obedient to all we know and understand. When we make the commitment to love, seek, and obey YAHveh with all our hearts; we must remember this is a lifetime process of “working out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), we must continually “count and recount the cost” (see Luke 14:28). So don’t loose heart or shrink back—dear ones, may YAHshua’s (Jesus’s) loving grace and spirit, empower you to stay the course.

Our Good Shepherd calls to us, but only His sheep hear and respond to His voice. He calls us to see the idols we cling to and to recognize that they grieve Him.  “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16 NIV).  Peter is quoting the Almighty’s words spoken through Moses to His covenant people then and now.

YAHshua (Jesus) calls us to tear our idols down at any cost by the might and power of His Spirit. Then He consecrates us and covers these idols with His atoning blood and we find more truth. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63).  Then we begin to show forth the fruit of obedience at any cost with humble contrite hearts. YAHveh (the LORD) says, “…to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66:2).

Idolatry is rebellion against YAHveh’s (the LORD’s) Commandments and no idolatrous person will enter heaven (see 1 Corinthians 6:9). Why are we so dense? Idolatry kills eternally. Our hearts have to be laid bare. Every single idol, from the smallest to ultra colossal, must come down, or these idols will be our downfall and we will come down with them. Paul writes, “Do not be deceived, YAHveh (God) is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7), which means if you have idols, you are going to be judged.  “…What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their god, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16).

What could be so important in your life to risk judgment? Like Esau, (referring to Genesis 25:29-34), what is something that you crave so much that you are willing to give up your birthright into eternity? Would you give up your eternal inheritance for a meaningless, fleeting, temporary satisfaction of the flesh and its earthly cravings? Would you give up an eternal inheritance for that? Many have. They were stupid, foolish, insane, and deceived by their idol, by the author and finisher of idols, Satan himself. The enemy is searching relentlessly, for those who will succumb to his deceptive enticements.

If you are guarding an idol, do not hold on to it just because you’ve invested a lot of time and energy into it. It will destroy you from the inside out, from the inside out into eternity. “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world [and all its camouflaged idols], yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36 NIV). Regardless what you call it; anything that captures your love, time, energy and affection can easily become an idol. “Unrighteousness will block your entrance into heaven,” says YAHveh the Holy One. “The fear of YAHveh (the LORD) is the beginning of wisdom…” (Proverbs 9:10). For the most part the problem is that we have been immersed for years in a diluted, ear tickling form of religion; therefore, we can’t believe that we have a sovereign God who would be so harsh. No, He is not harsh, “God is not a man, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). He has given us the gift of free will and He admonishes us saying, “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants…” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

 “Behold, now is "the day of salvation"— (2 Corinthians 6:2), "today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15) “Find out what pleases YAHveh (the LORD)” (Ephesians 5:10) and do it from a heart of utmost loving obedience.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

In the midst of this Second Commandment YAHveh (the LORD) says: “You shall not worship them (idols) or serve them; for I, YAHveh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Deuteronomy 5:8-10).

Those who love YAHshua (Jesus) obey Him those who hate YAHshua (Jesus) serve idols and disobey Him. The iniquities of the ancestors, the seeds of darkness and Satan, are operating and manifesting in the fertile soil of our carnal, self-centered, self-pleasing natures. All of our children have inherited curses from the iniquities of us, the generations of our mothers and fathers, and their forefathers. These iniquitous curses travel from generation to generation. This is something that is very rarely dealt with and it is ravaging humanity. “So while these nations feared YAHveh, they also served their idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day” (2 Kings 17:41).

Self is the god that YAHveh detests the most, because self-serving people do not serve YAHveh (the LORD). We have to start praying for our families. Everyone has different iniquities, when you really cover it thoroughly, we all have the same sin nature—it is wretched to the core. "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) May each one take this to heart that right in the middle of the Commandments YAHveh is saying there are issues that are not just yours—they came to you from your family line and they have already gone to your children. There is only one way they can be broken—through the blood of our Lamb who became a curse for us, "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13).

YAHshua (Jesus) bore the burdens for us upon the tree of Calvary but we have to repent for the curses from the sins that were never confessed by our ancestors and are not covered in His blood. Because they were not confessed, or dealt with, they have perpetuated. 'If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me--… or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant…” (Leviticus 26:40-42).

May YAHveh show us what is in us that He wants to deliver and set our families free from (this will be a cleansing process).  If we ask Him with right motives to search our heart He will answer. By His Spirit, He will magnified these sins of idolatry and we must then bring them to our Father and repent for the iniquitous sins and incurred curses to be removed from each one of us and our children that have traveled down generation, after generation, after generation.

Want to learn even more about Yahveh's holy Ten Commandment? Check out Terrye G. Seedman's book "Redefining the Feasts of Israel Through the Ten Commandments." The Holy Days pivot around the Ten Commandments, these were appointed times to meet with Him that would help them to walk by His spirit’s leading in these Commandments.  Indeed, there would be no feasts if it was not for the Ten Commandments and the penalty of sin for not upholding them and there would be no need of Messiah.  The Ten Commandments point us to Him and YAHshua the schoolmaster points us to the truth so we can walk in a way worthy of everything that He has taught us to be.  “Not of the letter but of the Spirit.  For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6) This book unlocks truths from Yahveh's divine Ten Commandments to redefine the true meaning and fulfillment of the holy Feasts of Israel. Simply, the divinely appointed times, the feast days, pivot around the blood on the altar of sacrifice—on the mercy seat, for the forgiveness of sin and sin points us back to the Commandments. Therefore every feast is exalting the Commandments of YAHveh, exalting our Lamb who came and died because we can’t uphold the Commandments without His help.  They are inextricably linked. You can’t separate the feasts from the Commandments and you cannot separate the Lamb of God who is the ultimate fulfillment of the holy temple, priesthood, and the sacrificial system’s substitutionary sacrifice for our sin nature. Learn all of this and more in this powerful book about Yahveh's divine commandments and holy feasts.

The Ten Commandments