The Ten Commandments!!! Part 2!!!

Exodus chapter 20




Today we are walking in: The Ten Commandments!!! Part 2!!!!









Today we look to the word- OBEDIENT- H8086 shema'--to listen, give heed; to consent, agree; to grant request







The Torah testifies...............



Deuteronomy 4:30



When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient H8085 unto his voice;





The prophets proclaim..................



2 Samuel 22:45



Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, H8085 they shall be obedient H8085 unto me.





The writings bear witness...........................



Proverbs 25:12





As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient H8085 ear.



Are We Aware — or Ignorant — of What Sin Is? Two Examples from the Ten Commandments

As we look at some practical examples of becoming aware of what sin is, let’s focus on two of the Commandments shown above, the Second Commandment and the Fourth Commandment.
Example 1: The Second Commandment

As our first example, notice carefully the wording of the Second Commandment. Notice that the Hebrew word לא (Lo) has been highlighted in bold type, in the Ten Commandments table above. This is a particularly interesting feature, in that the Hebrew word ‘Lo’ means “You shall not.” Thus wherever we see the word ‘Lo’ in these commandments, we know this is a stand-alone command, which does not depend on any other passage to give further context, to qualify or change its meaning.

The significance of the Hebrew word לא in verses 4 and 5 of the Second Commandment, is that verse 5 does not supply the context for verse 4, but verse 4 is to be understood within its own context. This tells us that one need not ‘bow down’ or ‘serve’ a forbidden object, as seen in verse 5, for that object to be classified as an idol.




In verse 4, The Most High Yah tells us not to make a particular shape of object. Notice however, the Hebrew word translated ‘make,’ Strong’s number, has many additional meanings, including the ideas of “do, make, fashion, acquire, have, maintain, prepare,” and a number of additional meanings.




And because verse 4 is a stand-alone command, it tells us that to ‘make’ [make, prepare, keep, acquire, maintain, attend to] the described object is forbidden, without regard to whether the owner bows down to it.




This stand-alone command feature is especially important as we look at the practical meaning of the Second Commandment, as revealed in verses 4 and 5. Let’s now look closely at these two passages, to see what they are actually saying:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (Exodus 20:4)




Now notice what The Most High Yah tells us next:

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. (Exodus 20:5)




Verse 4 tells us not to make, fashion, acquire, or have a graven [carved or fashioned] image of any living being, which includes art objects, statues, figurines, and toys commonly found in the home or office.




But as it begins to dawn upon us what verse 4 actually says, many would say, “But I do not bow down to it, as verse 5 warns — so perhaps it is acceptable to ‘make, fashion, acquire, or have’ the object in my possession, in my home or office.”




This is a grave error, to think that verse 5 supplies ‘context’ or meaning to verse 4. Instead, as we have noted, each verse, Exodus 20:4 and Exodus 20:5, are separate, stand-alone “Do not” commands, each containing the Hebrew word ‘lo.’ This information sheds new light onto these passages, and reveals to us a further depth of meaning.




Thus in verse 4, we are told not to “make, fashion, acquire, or have” the described object — and in verse 5 we are told not to bow down to them, even if they had been “made or fashioned” by someone else. Each passage is a separate command, each independent of the other for contextual meaning.

Nevertheless, many today will consider their valued objects, think about their expensive collections of figurines and statues, art objects, and decorations, and will hold them too dear to abandon. They will continue to ignore The Most High Yah’s Word regarding the command, “do not make” [or have] these described objects. Instead, many will substitute their own understanding of what this command is saying.




Again, they reason, “But I am not bowing down to this object, so it’s OK to have it.” But this way of thinking is exactly what King Saul did, and this is exactly why The Most High Yah considers stubbornness as the sin of idolatry — when we exalt our own understanding above what The Most High Yah’s Word actually says.




So if we reject The Most High Yah’s simple and clear Word to us in verse 4, and instead choose to follow our own understanding, thinking “But I do not bow down to it, so perhaps it is acceptable to make, fashion, acquire, or have,” then we are in essence, doing as King Saul did. This is idolatry in The Most High Yah’s eyes.




We have also created an idol of the heart, by substituting our ‘own understanding’ in place of what The Most High Yah’s Word actually says.

What verse 4 actually says is, “Do not make, acquire, or have” the described object. Period!

And verse 5 actually says, “Do not bow down to, or serve the [above described] objects, even if they were “made or fashioned” by someone else. Period!




Read together in this manner, verses 4 and 5 say, “You shall not make [have, acquire, maintain, etc.] for yourselves a graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Neither shall you bow yourself down to them, nor serve them.”




In simple terms, the Second Commandment is plainly telling us:

The Second Commandment:


Neither make [have, etc.] the object (verse 4);


Nor bow down to it, nor serve it (verse 5).




Now let’s look at another feature of these two passages, the “cause-and effect” relationship seen in these two verses.
Cause and Effect

Not only do Exodus 20:4 and Exodus 20:5 give us two separate, explicit commands, but they are a classic example of a Biblical “cause-and-effect” relationship. “Do not do [Action 1], because it will inevitably lead you to do [Action 2], which you are also forbidden to do.”

The not-so-obvious, hidden cause-and-effect relationship between verse 4 and verse 5 tells us that to make, acquire, or have a forbidden object, inevitably leads to a hidden attachment to them, a bowing down to them [hidden in our heart, not seen or perceived], and a hidden serving of them [hidden in our heart, not seen or perceived].




The Most High Yah knew if we were to make or have these objects, we would become attached to them, and that is a form of worshipping them. Through our natural sentimentality toward an object, we can create an attachment to that object, creating an idolatry of the heart. This idolatry will only strengthen the stronghold of the enemy, bringing into our homes various torments — such as strife, discord, anger, rebellion, sicknesses, troubles, and unbelief.




This stronghold of idolatry is the inevitable outcome of this cause-and-effect relationship seen in the Second Commandment.




What does this mean for Believers today, in a practical sense?




When we consider the truth that many types of art objects, decorations, statues, figurines, and toys are simply fabricated representations of male or female living things, we then realize that these are forbidden objects, and are off-limits to Believers.




Thus if we make, prepare, keep, acquire, have, maintain, or attend to them, we have disobeyed the 2nd Commandment, which according to the apostle John, is sin (1John 3:4).




The Most High Yah does, however, give us a choice. He watches us, to see whether we will follow Him, by careful obedience to what He has said in His Word — or whether we choose to follow our own sentimentality toward an object, thus clouding our own understanding.




Father is also looking for a Bride for His son, and so He is looking for hearts that are soft and teachable, and fully yielded to obedience to His Word. The choices we make reveal our heart.




Here is what Father sees, based on the choices we make regarding the Second Commandment:




The Second Commandment: Choices Reveal the Heart


The deceived heart, in an attempt to justify its own actions, will do everything possible to twist the meaning of what the Second Commandment actually says, looking for a ‘loophole’ that would allow one to have, and to keep, one’s forbidden objects.


The soft heart, however, says, “Whether I am convinced or not, I do not want to gamble on even the slightest odds that I might be wrong.”


The teachable heart then says, “I will not take even the slightest chance, that I might offend the Bridegroom because of a few earthly trinkets, so I will destroy or discard these objects from my home!”


The yielded heart is one that is quick to discard or destroy anything, regardless of its cost or value, that might cause a sin or offense against the Bridegroom, or a stumbling-block to a fellow Believer.

What can we conclude? As the apostle Paul tells us (Romans 3:20b; Romans 7:7b), it is by the Torah [law] that we have knowledge of sin — that we become aware of what sin is — so we can avoid committing sin.




The Ten Commandments form the most basic list of commands that reveal to us what sin is. If we choose to disobey any of these commands, we know we have transgressed the Law — we have committed a sin (1John 3:4).




In this example, we have seen how our heart is revealed, dependent on how we respond to the Second Commandment.




We have also seen how the sin of idolatry is revealed, in anyone who chooses to disobey the Second Commandment.




Now let us look at another practical example of becoming aware of what sin is, as we look at the Fourth Commandment.




https://youtu.be/9erv_FIUdMM