#second commandment

Is the second commandment relevant today in the 21st century? Our society has advanced way beyond the days of pagans who worshipped idols made of wood or stone. Let us study together and find out!

Let’s turn to Genesis 20:4-6 and read the second commandment together:

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—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 nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,  but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

The most striking part of this passage for many readers is God talking about visiting “the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate” Him. Does this mean that God will punish the children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren of their fathers who commit sin?

Let’s turn to Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 14:12-19; Ezekiel 18:20-24 and read together.

It is clear from these verses that God punishes people for their own sins, not for the sins of others. So how do we reconcile this apparent contradiction with the second commandment? If you study the history of the kings of Israel and Judah, you will see that when a king fell into idolatry, he led the people and his own children astray as well. For example, King Rehoboam led the people of Judah into idol worship (1 Kings 14:22-24). The Bible records that when Abijam succeeded Rehoboam as king of Judah, he “walked in the sins of his father” (1 Kings 15:3).

This passage specifically talks about God proclaiming a judgment upon those who hate Him and insist on worshiping idols. When judgment finally fell upon Israel, the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians and the southern kingdom fell to Babylon. Several generations passed before King Cyrus of Medo-Persia made the proclamation allowing the people of Israel to return to their homeland.

In contrast, while God’s judgment may last 3-4 generations, His love and mercy extend to a thousand generations to those that obey Him! The second commandment reminds us that God’s love is everlasting and eternal!

It is clear from the second commandment that God hates idolatry. The Bible condemns idolatry as a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-20) and encourages us to flee from it (1 Corinthians 10:14).

Yet, have you ever wondered why we are not to make any image or object that represents God? What is wrong with some visual “help” in worshiping God? Why can’t we even bow before a statue of Jesus Christ?

Let’s turn to Deuteronomy 4:15-24 and read together.

Note that God specifically made sure that He did not appear to the people of Israel in any visible physical form. God did not show Himself to the Israelites in the time of Moses for a reason. When you worship an idol, even if it is a statue of Jesus, you are actually taking your focus away from God and putting it onto an object made by human hands (Isaiah 2:8).

Let’s turn to Isaiah 44:6-8 and Jeremiah 10:1-11 and read together.

God reminds us that He alone is God and is worthy of worship. Idols cannot save like He can. Idol worship (even if it is a statue of Jesus) limits who God truly is and ends up as an exercise in worshiping self. How is idol worship a form of self-worship?

Let’s turn to Genesis 4:1-7 and Romans 2:8 and read together.

Cain refused to worship God in the manner prescribed by God. Cain could have easily gotten a lamb from his brother Abel for sacrifice. Instead, he chose to give God an offering of the fruits of his labor. We commit the same sin as Cain when we refuse to worship God the way He want us to.  We put our own desires above God’s desires when we choose an alternate form of worship.

Let’s turn to Ezekiel 8:12; 20:16 and read together.

God showed Ezekiel that the respected people of Israel had hidden idols. If we consider the second commandment in the context of today’s times, an idol could be anything we set up in our heart to meet our internal needs of security, worth, or identity. People today may not bow before idols of wood or stone, but many people worship manmade idols of entertainment, addictions, or the pursuit of wealth.

Jesus wants you to turn away from all internal and external idols. The second commandment promises that you can reflect God as the image made in His likeness.  God values the authenticity of your worship.

By: Gabriela Yareliz They say a picture is worth a thousand words. (“And you have two pictures,” the queen told Mia in The Princess Diaries). Now, in a world of AI, plastic surgery, social media and everything else that can be altered and manipulated, an image often doesn’t even represent an eighth of the real story. Humans are wired for beauty and visual. We often create judgments based on…

By Frank J Casella

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Note: This is a blog series on The Ten Commandments, (unless Bishop Perry has something to say in-between) and excerpts from the Catholic Catechism on how this relates to 'Living the Goodness of a Catholic Man'.  

I hope this blog series will help you reflect on both the commandments and the Catechism so that you may be renewed to grow more in holiness as a Catholic man. 

Frank J Casella

CMCS Co-founder & Executive Director

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The Second commandment: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain"

IN BRIEF:

2160 "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth" (Ps 8:1)!

2161 The second commandment enjoins respect for the Lord's name. The name of the Lord is holy.

Primary Text | James 5:11-20

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Dear People of God,

The Second Commandment is “You are not to make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.” In the former rendering we know it as “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.” God cares very much how is name is used. As with anything God cares about, God’s name is easily thrown to the curb without a care. Whether at school, at the workplace, in the home, or on the computer, phrases like “Oh my God!” or “Jesus Christ!” are a dime a dozen. These widespread practices may appear harmless. In reality, when we use God’s name as an exclamation point it says we don’t respect or care about God. To take God’s name in vain is to treat God’s name as an empty nothing. And God will not let people off lightly for the misuse and abuse of his name.

So why does God care so much about how we use his name? His name is holy, it is unlike other names. But primarily, the reason God cares about how we use his name is because he uses his name to save us. It is because God revealed his name to us for our benefit, as a gracious and precious gift. God’s name is there to help us, and to help us keep in touch with God. St. James, in his letter, points us in the right direction. He says, “Are any among you suffering? You should pray (James 5:13). Yes, so we use God’s name to pray. After all, we do not pray to an empty nothing. We pray to the triune God, the very God who raised Jesus from the dead. He is the one who created heaven and earth. And yet, as majestic and glorious as this is, he stoops down into our lives and gives us his name. His name helps to know who he is, and what kind of God he is. In fact, if you look at Jesus’ name, it means “He will save.” Jesus is indeed the best news there is on earth. If you are sick of listening to the bad news we get all the time on the TV or in social media, you would do well to shut off that TV, or shut off that laptop, and pick up your Bible. There you will find Jesus. For Jesus, whose name means “He will save,” is the good news you need to hear. He is good news for your soul. Which is why James says when you are suffering you should pray. With James, I also encourage you to pray in your every time of need, and regularly. If we are honest, we need to pray to God every single day and moment of our lives. The world is full of troubles, and even the baptized people of God will face many sufferings. But the difference between us and the rest of the world is that we have One who comforts us, who is with us every moment, who promises to hear our cries. And, this same One is the One who will one day wipe away all our tears. In our crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ you have a God who says, “You belong to me. I will heal you. I will keep you from all danger. And I will raise you on the Last Day.”

St. James teaches us another way in which to use God’s name properly. He says, “Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise” (James 5:13). So not only does God want us to call on his name when things aren’t going so well for us, but also when things are going well. Do you have things that make you cheerful? Give God praise. Tell God he’s great. Everything you have, after all, is a gift that comes from God. Do you have clothes? Praise God. Do you have good family and good friends? Tell God he’s to be praised for giving you such things. Do you have food, shelter, an education, a peaceful town to live in? Those are all things for which you can sing your alleluias to God. Admire God for all the things he so graciously gives to cheer your heart. There is much suffering in the world, and we will endure much suffering ourselves, but God still manages to give good things to his children.