ROOTED - Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Exodus 20:4-6
4-6 … You shall not make for yourself any graven image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Reflection: Question #44, Part 1
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro
Question: What is the Second Commandment?
Answer: Exodus 20:4-6
I was 18 years old when I went on my first mission trip to Guatemala. I remember a lot of things about the trip, but I will never forget going to the city of Chichicastenango. It is famous for the Iglesia de Santo Tomas (Church of Saint Thomas, a Catholic Church). We went there, to the church, and it had a dark sense to it (I remember distinctly feeling uncomfortable in my spirit entering the building). It smelled strongly of incense and burning candles… dim and eerie. Bear in mind that most of Catholicism in Central America is mixed with the native Indian culture and practices. Chichicastenango was no different. The Catholicism was riddled with the Mayan religious tradition. Ernie Adkins (our youth pastor) was invited by people there to go with the Catholic Priest to the top of the mountain, a short hike. I went, along with three or four other guys. We would soon witness the priest slaughter a chicken and pour the blood, mixed with honey, over a rock carved idol, not taller than 2 feet. Bees were everywhere, along with a sense that what I was witnessing was wrong in every conceivable way. Never before had I seen anything like it… an animal sacrifice… idolatry under the guise of Catholicism.
Surely the Second Commandment prohibits this unambiguously. No carved images! No idols! You and I have never (I suspect) violated this command in the way I observed as an 18-year-old in Chichicastenango. I would never dream of it. Neither would you. Our idols are more subtle, are they not? They are carved out of lava rock, or graven from cedar. They are carved out, our idols, in our hearts… idols that take the place of God as objects of our worship. Obviously, Commandment #1 is akin to the Second Commandment. They, in fact, are essentially saying the same thing: don’t worship anything except God. Neither carved nor uncarved things. No idols. No other gods before me. I wonder if God takes this seriously. I imagine he does! I suspect that God hates the practice of the priests in Guatemala who would sacrifice to a graven image. But I think he hates my subtle worship of things other than God just as much!
Prayer
Lord, may we take seriously our charge, your command, to worship you, and you alone. Help us to see our subtle worship of other things as seriously as you do blatant idol worship.