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Well, you can turn in your Bibles 
to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter five, continuing 
through the 10 commandments, we're in the second part of the 
second commandment. So our focus is chapter five, 
verses eight to 10. We saw the positive aspect of 
the commandment, the emphasis on true worship and the regulation 
of true worship. And then we saw the prohibitions 
of the commandment. It was twofold, the making of 
idols and the worship of idols. Tonight we'll take up the reasons 
given for the second commandment. But I'll read the section just 
to get it in front of us, so beginning in chapter 5 at verse 
6. I am the Lord your God who brought 
you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 
You shall have no other gods before me. 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. You shall not take the name of 
the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless 
who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep 
it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall 
labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath 
of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you 
nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your 
female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your 
cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your 
male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 
And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the 
Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and 
by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God 
commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your 
mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your 
days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land 
which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder, you 
shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not 
bear false witness against your neighbor, you shall not covet 
your neighbor's wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor's 
field, or his house, his field, his male servant, his female 
servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. 
These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain, 
from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, 
with a loud voice. And he added no more. And he 
wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me." Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for the law of God. It does reflect, or it does tell 
us what kind of a God you are, a God of absolute holiness, a 
God of righteousness, a God of justice. And I pray that you'd 
help us to internalize these things and help us, God, to frame 
our hearts aright and our conduct aright, not according to what 
we think, but according to what you have revealed to us. Again, 
fill us with your Holy Spirit, give us understanding into these 
things, and help us, Lord God, to never engage in this wicked 
conduct or practice of idolatry. And we pray this in the name 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. In the first commandment, we 
have a prohibition against worshiping a false god. In the second commandment, 
we have a prohibition against worshiping the true God in a 
false way. So commandment one calls us to 
worship the true and living God. Commandment two calls us to worship 
the true and living God in a way authorized by God. When it comes 
to worship, God is not for us innovating, God is not for us 
creating, God is not for us doing anything other than obeying Him. And as I said, the positive aspect 
of the commandment emphasizes to us that worship is a reality, 
but the way that we worship is as well a reality. We need to 
be mindful of that. In terms of the prohibition, 
we're not supposed to make idols and we're certainly not supposed 
to bow down to or serve idols or worship idols. Now, as I said, 
tonight we'll look at the reasons for the second commandment. And 
there are three of them. The first is the consideration 
of theology proper. The second is a threat of punishment. And the third is the promise 
of mercy. You see how the text moves in 
that direction. Verse 8. 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." So there's the prohibition. Don't make idols, 
don't worship idols, and now the reason comes. Verse 9 in 
the middle, the Lord your God. That's a consideration of theology 
proper. Am I a jealous God, visiting 
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and 
fourth generation of those who hate me? So that's the threat 
of punishment. Visiting the iniquity of the 
fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation, 
and then the promise of mercy is there at the end. in verse 
10, but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep 
my commandments. So those are the reasons built 
in to the second commandment as to why we are prohibited from 
making or worshiping an idol. So let's look first at this consideration 
of theology proper. God says, I, the Lord your God, 
am a jealous God. In the first place, He is our 
covenant Lord. Remember that chapter 5, verse 
6 is the preface to the commandments. And in verse 6, God identifies 
Himself as Yahweh, your covenant God. I am the one who has redeemed 
you. Remember the situation that obtained 
for the children of Israel. They were in bondage. They were 
in slavery. They were in Egypt for a long 
period of time, and the Lord comes powerfully to redeem them 
from that place. And so a consideration of who 
God is, Covenant Lord, the Yahweh of Israel, that ought to affect 
us in such a way that we respond to him with appropriate worship 
and with appropriate adoration. Now the attempt to image God 
is an affront to him. When he says, for I, the Lord 
your God, am a jealous God, that indicates that it is in fact 
something that he despises and something that he detests. I 
quoted Ersinus two weeks ago. He says, with reference to God, 
how offensive it is to make an image. He says, God is incorporeal 
and infinite. It is impossible, therefore, 
that he should be expressed or represented by an image which 
is corporeal and finite without detracting from his divine majesty. When we try to picture or to 
image God, we are explicitly taking him down and trying to 
conceptualize him in a way that is appropriate in our minds. 
It really is an attempt to recreate God in our image, to recreate 
God in a way that is absolutely positively unthinkable with reference 
to the divine majesty. So by virtue of the fact that 
he is the Lord our God, notice that personal pronoun, I am the 
Lord, your God. As a result of that relationship 
that we have, as a result of that relationship of union that 
we have, don't make for yourself an idol. But then he goes on 
to identify himself as a jealous God. I want to spend just a couple 
of moments here. This is theology proper. When 
I say theology, it simply means the study of God. When we say 
theology proper, it focuses specifically on who God is. And when the Bible 
tells us that God is a jealous God, we need to put our thinking 
caps on for just a moment and realize that this is an expression 
accommodated to us. Jealousy is a passion. It's not 
always a wicked passion. It's a passion, however. It suggests 
movement from one state to another. Now we know from scripture that 
God is unchangeable. We know from scripture that God 
is impassable. We know from scripture there's 
no shadow of turning, there's no variant with reference to 
God. I, the Lord, in Malachi 3, 6, 
he says, I, the Lord, do not change. So when you see this 
language applied to God, that he is jealous, it's applied in 
several other instances in the Old Testament, we ought to understand 
it as what's called an improper predication. Now before you tune 
out, just pay attention for a moment. There are things that are applied 
to God that are accommodations. And this aspect of jealousy is 
one of them. God doesn't move from one state 
to another. God doesn't have affections. 
God doesn't have any passions. God doesn't react. God isn't 
the sort of God that we are, the sort of creatures that we 
are. So it's what's called an improper predication. That means 
it's improperly predicated of God that He's jealous. But it 
does teach us something concerning the truth of who God is. I think 
what we're supposed to understand when it says that God is a jealous 
God, we're supposed to understand something of His righteousness 
and of His justice. In fact, let me just quote two 
brothers in the past that can help us with this. Ezekiel Hopkins 
says, this jealousy is not to be ascribed unto God as if there 
were properly any such weak and disturbing passion in Him, but 
only by way of accommodation and similitude, speaking after 
the manner of men. There are instances in the Bible 
where we see this take place. When the Bible tells us that 
the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth, none 
of us ever, I hope, thinks of a bunch of little eyes coming 
from God and sort of scurrying about in the earth. When God 
says, I'm going to demonstrate my powerful or I'm going to bear 
my mighty right arm, God is spirit. He doesn't have a body like men. 
We call that sort of language anthropomorphism. It's the ascription 
of bodily parts to God. We know he doesn't have eyes, 
we know he doesn't have hands, we know he doesn't have feet, 
because God is spirit. But those things demonstrate 
or accommodate themselves to us. We think of the mighty right 
arm. We think of, you know, an 18 
or 19 inch bicep. We think of strength and power. 
And that's what's supposed to be understood when God manifests 
or demonstrates the might of his right arm. Well, the same 
thing with passions. When the Bible says in Ezekiel 
6, when God says to the nation of Judah, he says, you've broke 
my heart. Well, that is a manner or speaking 
in the manner of men. It is an accommodation for us 
to see the grief that Israel has caused by her sin unto our 
great God. But it's not to suggest that 
these passions are a part of God. It's an improper predication. In the language of Ezekiel Hopkins, 
it's speaking after the manner of men, just like to say that 
God has eyes or to say that God has an arm. It's the same to 
say that God is jealous. It's not the case that He's given 
to these fits and changes the way that we are, but it does 
convey to us, in the manner of men, something concerning God. He's righteous, He's just, and 
He has no truck whatsoever with idolatry. Listen to Spurgeon. Spurgeon says, Not that God is jealous so as 
to bring him down to the likeness of men. See, whenever you talk 
about God, you've got to talk about God in a God-authorized 
way. And if the Bible uses these sorts 
of things, this speaking in the manner of men, it's good for 
us to understand that, it's good for us to recognize that, and 
it's good for us so that we don't bring God down to our level. This is language of accommodation. Back to Spurgeon, not that God 
is jealous so as to bring him down to the likeness of men, 
but that this is the nearest idea we can form of what the 
divine being feels. And then he says, if it be right 
to use even that word toward him. Now, you have to understand 
what Spurgeon is doing. When we talk about God, brethren, 
we're talking about somebody, something, some object, I don't 
mean to sound belittling, something outside of our chain of being. As I've said oftentimes, we have 
this concept that God is man writ large. We have this concept 
that God is just a better version of man, and that's absolutely 
positively not the case. God is the creator. He alone 
occupies that genus or that species, and we are creature. There is 
a vast chasm between us, and there is a great distinction. 
So in our talk about God, we need to use the talk that the 
Bible calls us to, and to understand the way that we are to engage 
in such discussion. So he says, this is the nearest 
idea we can form of what the divine being feels, if it be 
right to use even that word toward it, this idea of feeling. So 
again, that's not how God is. feelings on Thursday that he 
didn't have on Friday. The doctrine of divine impassibility 
tells us that's not the case. He's not given to any increase, 
any diminishment. There's nothing whether external 
or internal that moves God to a different spot or to a different 
position or to a different place. He goes on to say, This is how 
we understand what he feels when he beholds his throne occupied 
by false gods, his dignity insulted, and his glory usurped by others. We cannot speak of God except 
by using figures drawn from his works or our own emotions. We 
ought, however, when we use the images to caution ourselves and 
those who listen to us against the idea that the infinite mind 
is really to be compassed and described by any metaphors, however 
lofty, or language, however weighty. In other words, when we talk 
about God, we need to make sure that we understand that we're 
talking about God. We're not talking about a super 
version of man. He then says, we might not have 
ventured to use the word jealousy in connection with the Most High, 
but as we find it so many times in Scripture, let us with solemn 
awe survey this mysterious display of the divine mind. So this aspect 
of God's jealousy, again, it's speaking in the manner of man, 
but the truth that it reveals to us is God's righteousness, 
God's justice, and God's desire for the glory of His name. And 
the reality, as He says through the prophet Isaiah, I will not 
give my glory to another. I will not share my glory with 
another. Now, as we consider this improper 
predication, this speaking in the manner of men, jealousy suggests 
a great deal to us. As I said, jealousy is not always 
wicked. In fact, when your husbands are 
jealous of your honor, ladies, that is a good, consistent image-bearing 
of God. Now, it can degenerate and evolve 
into something sinful, something obsessive, and something vile 
and wretched. But every man in here ought to 
be jealous of his wife's dignity and honor. Every wife here ought 
to be jealous of their husband's dignity and honor. All of us 
should be jealous at the thought of an encroachment in that closest 
of covenantal bonds. It's not the case that it's godly 
to not be jealous. It's godly to be jealous. It 
images God in this aspect of justice and righteousness, so 
long as it doesn't degenerate into sin. In fact, turn to the 
book of Proverbs for just a moment as we illustrate this particular 
figure of speech that God uses to highlight the seriousness 
of the crime of idolatry. And if you happen to miss everything 
that I was saying just in that last few minutes about improper 
predication, I should put the context. We've dealt with that 
sort of stuff in our church. We've dealt with the concept 
of theology proper. We were a part of an association 
that had to deal with the doctrine of divine impassibility through 
Sunday school and through sermons and through a whole host of things. 
We tried to educate persons with reference to the proper and improper 
way, no pun intended, of speaking about God. So that's kind of 
the context. If you're interested or curious 
more about that improper predication, just give me a call or email 
or see me afterwards. But in Proverbs 6.30, we see 
something of this jealousy. On a human level, now again, 
the jealousy of God has some parallel with the jealousy of 
a husband. Not exact, because husbands and 
their jealousy aren't always righteous and pure, but the jealousy 
of God has some analogy or parallel with the jealousy of a husband. 
A husband who loves his wife is jealous of her attention to 
him alone. Again, I think this is all very 
self-evident, but this is the means by which God argues in 
the second commandment. Proverbs 6, 30. People do not 
despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is 
starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold. He 
may have to give up all the substance of his house. Whoever commits 
adultery with a woman lacks understanding. He who does so destroys his own 
soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get, and his reproach will 
not be wiped away. For jealousy is a husband's fury, 
therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will 
accept no recompense, nor will he be appeased, though you give 
many gifts." Notice in verse 33, wounds and dishonor he will 
get. Where does he get that? From the offended husband, because 
the husband's jealousy has been compromised, because this man 
has entered into that covenant bond, and he has dissolved it. Of course the man is angry. Of 
course that justice and that righteousness is going to be 
revealed. Notice Solomon doesn't say, and how dare him ever do 
that? No, this is sort of a no-brainer. 
In God's world, if somebody steals, they have to pay back. If somebody 
engages in adultery, they're going to get whatever they've 
got coming to them, because jealousy is a husband's fury. Then I want 
to quote John Gill here. He says, and issues in dreadful scenes 
oftentimes among men. And as a man that has reason 
to be jealous of his wife, and especially if he takes her and 
the adulterer in the fact, it often costs them both their lives, 
being so enraged at such an insult upon him and such a violation 
of the marriage bed. And thus the great Jehovah, the 
God of Israel, their head and husband, is represented in order 
to deter from idolatry or spiritual adultery than which nothing could 
be more provoking to him. Now, as I've said, there's a 
lot of sins covered in the Bible. There's a lot of sins condemned 
in the Bible. But one that comes up frequently 
and often, and with a special hatred by God, is idolatry. Having another god before him, 
or having him and attempting to worship him in a false way. 
See, I think we all get the first commandment. I think if you ask 
any Christian, what's the first commandment demand? The first 
commandment demands that we worship the true and living God. It's 
the second one that we wanna spin. It's the second one that 
we wanna modify. It's the second one that we wanna 
say, well, it really doesn't matter if we introduce this into 
the public worship of God. It most certainly does matter 
and God has prescribed such in the second commandment. So we 
need to make sure that we're not only worshiping the true 
and living God, but we're worshiping the true and living God in the 
correct manner. The second reason for the commandment 
is the threat of punishment. Going back to Deuteronomy 5, 
he says, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. And then 
he says, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children 
to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. Now, this 
convention is used in several places. We see it in the parallel 
in Exodus chapter 20, we see it in Exodus 34, 7, Numbers 14, 
and then in Jeremiah 32. This idea of visiting the iniquity 
of those generations and then rewarding with mercy the other 
generations. Now, this text is intriguing 
because it oftentimes is associated with what we'll call a transgenerational 
curse. Now, perhaps you've never met 
these people. They typically are in charismatic churches or 
Pentecostal churches or some sort of fringe element of the 
Christian church. They have this concept or this 
doctrine of a transgenerational curse. that if your fathers or 
your forefathers did horrible things, then basically the wrath 
and fury and curse of God is still on you. And they invoke 
this particular passage as the proof text. I mean, isn't that 
what God says? Look at what he says, visiting 
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and 
fourth generations of those who hate me. You see what he's saying 
there? That's a transgenerational curse. 
It's not a transgenerational curse. I think the emphasis is 
that when children observe their idolatrous parents worshiping 
idols, then more often than not, children imitate, children ape, 
children follow that particular train, and they too worship idols. In fact, just so you can see 
that this doesn't teach a transgenerational curse, just in the event that 
you happen to meet these people, you can turn over to Deuteronomy 
chapter 24. Deuteronomy chapter 24. just 
so we can see that this doesn't teach a transgenerational curse 
that abides on persons for the sins of their fathers. Imagine 
getting a great big dose of that. Imagine somebody telling you, 
well, you know, bad things are gonna continue to happen to you 
because of your dad, because of your grandpa, and because 
of your great grandpa. Tough, too bad for you. That's 
a pretty discouraging place to be, isn't it? When you cannot 
fix things because your parents were terrible, Is that really 
what God is teaching in this particular instance? Well, in 
the first place, with reference to civil or criminal activity, 
this principle does not hold. Look at 2416. Fathers shall not be put to death 
for their children, nor shall children be put to death for 
their fathers. A person shall be put to death 
for his own sin. Very simple, isn't it? You're 
not going to be executed because your father is a murderer. You're 
not going to be executed because your father is a bank robber. 
You're not going to be executed because your father is a terrible 
specimen of a human being. In the principle of civil jurisprudence, 
this does not obtain. It's not the case that sons are 
punished for the crimes of their parents. You see a real-life 
illustration of this in the book of 2 Kings. Amaziah executes 
those who had conspired to murder his father, but he doesn't execute 
their children. He only executes them in fulfillment 
of this particular text. And then turn to Ezekiel chapter 
18, just to show that this does not deal with a transgenerational 
curse. Try to show what it does deal 
with and how grave the situation is. In Ezekiel 18, you've got 
to remember the prophet Ezekiel and the particular timeframe. 
What's happening at the time that Ezekiel is prophesying is 
the Babylonian captivity. The Babylonians, along with Nebuchadnezzar, 
or rather under Nebuchadnezzar, had marched upon the city of 
Jerusalem. They had destroyed the city, 
they had destroyed the temple, and they had taken many Judahites 
away into captivity into Babylon. And now in Ezekiel chapter 18, 
the people of Judah are complaining. as they were often want to do. 
And if you look at Ezekiel 18 verse 1, the word of the Lord 
came to me again saying, what do you mean when you use this 
proverb concerning the land of Israel saying, the fathers have 
eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge? See what's 
happening in Judah? They're saying, we're in this 
mess because of our fathers. We're in this mess because of 
our grandfathers. We're in this mess because of 
those who ate sour grapes, but the children's teeth are the 
ones that are set on edge. Now this would be a great place 
for God, through the prophet Ezekiel, to highlight the reality 
of transgenerational curse. You see, he does just the opposite. 
He tells them that that's not the case. You are not being punished 
here in Babylon because of the sins of your fathers. You are 
being punished because of your own sins, too. You're not guiltless. You're not innocent. You're not 
a group of people that only ever did what the Lord God had commanded. 
You have violated and transgressed the covenant just as well as 
they did. And then he gives several illustrations 
of this, but after, having given the principle in verse four. Verse four, he says, behold, 
all souls are mine. The soul of the father, as well 
as the soul of the son is mine. The soul who sins shall die. That's the principle. The soul 
who sins shall die. So those that were dying in Judah 
at the time couldn't blame their fathers, but it was their sin. And then in verses five to nine, 
he says, if a man is just and does what he's supposed to do, 
everything's great. He then says in verses 10 to 
13, if that man, that righteous man begets a son who is a robber 
or a shedder of blood or any of these things, then that son 
will be punished. And then in verses 14 to 17, 
he says, if however, a godless man, a wicked man begets a son 
who sees all the sins which his father has done and considers, 
but does not do likewise, And God essentially says, I have 
no beef with him. The soul that sins dies. But 
when it comes to this principle with reference to idolatry, again, 
I think it's imitation. If we as fathers, if we as mothers 
bow down to something that isn't the true and living God, we are 
teaching our children that. And when they ape or imitate 
that and they rise up, they will be visited with God's punishment 
and judgment. That's what's happening in this 
text. Calvin says, but when God declares 
that he will cast back the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom 
of the children, he does not mean that he will take vengeance 
on poor wretches who have never deserved anything of the sort, 
but that he is at liberty to punish the crimes of the fathers 
upon their children and descendants with the provision that they 
too may be justly punished as being imitators of their fathers. That's What's happening? Not 
a transgenerational curse. You know, my grandfather and 
great-grandfather served Baal, but I so want to serve Yahweh. 
Well, you can't because you're under the curse. That is unbiblical. That is faulty. That does not 
accurately reflect the emphasis in the second commandment. Stuart, 
a modern commentator, says, this oft-repeated theme speaks of 
God's determination to punish successive generations for committing 
the same sins they learned from their parents. So going back 
to the commandment, let us draw out two practical applications. 
First, as parents, we bear a great responsibility to teach our kids 
of the true and living God. That's the identified object 
of worship according to the scripture. It is Yahweh of Israel. through 
the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. That triune 
God who is from everlasting to everlasting, that triune God 
who made the world, who governs the world, that God who redeems 
his elect out of the world, that's the God we need to teach to our 
children. But as well, we need to teach 
them to worship that true and living God in the right way. God is not approving of those 
sorts of things that are according to the imaginations of men, according 
to the suggestions of Satan, according to what we think He 
might like. No, we are authorized to do that 
which God commands in the public worship of God. We are not authorized 
to do that which He doesn't command. We're not authorized to even 
do that, which He doesn't forbid. He doesn't forbid us setting 
a fire right here and warm it. We don't do it. It's not commanded. We're called to read the Word. 
We're called to preach the Word. We're called to pray the Word. 
We're called to see the Word and the sacraments. We're called 
to be about the Word. This is God's emphasis in Deuteronomy 
4. You saw no form. You saw no shape, 
you saw no object. This is why the prohibition against 
idolatry, but you heard the voice of Yahweh, your God. So the first emphasis or application 
at this point is that we as parents bear quite a responsibility in 
teaching our children the true and saving religion. Teach them 
theology proper, teach them how to worship that true and living 
God. But a second observation or application 
at this point is look at what God says in this text. In the 
second commandment, he says, 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. You see 
what God says in terms of idolatry. You see what God says in terms 
of worshiping the true God in a false manner. Not only are 
you not being innovative and creative in a way that God is 
pleased with, but you are actually hating Him. This is an expression 
of detestation. False worship in the presence 
of the true God is an act of hatred on the part of the creature 
to it. That's not a mistake. That's 
what God says. That's his sort of indictment 
on the situation, to those who hate me. to exchange the true 
and living God for that which is created, or to worship the 
true and living God in a manner that we find approvable, but 
not that God authorizes, is an act of hatred against the living 
and the true God. Now, I just want to show a couple 
of illustrations of those who reaped judgment as a result of 
the way they worshiped. Probably the most popular is 
Leviticus chapter 10. Leviticus chapter 10, popular, 
familiar probably is a better way to say it. I doubt we're 
all popularly celebrating the death of Nadab and Abihu, but 
we're certainly familiar with it. But if you remember the situation 
in Leviticus 10, it follows Leviticus 1 to 9. I know that's some pretty 
cutting-edge exegesis. It's like, you know, six o'clock 
on a Sunday afternoon, but there's a reason for that. In Leviticus 
chapters 1 to 9, Israel is taught how to approach a holy God. See, 
that's the problem that we see between Exodus and Leviticus. 
The end of Exodus, God, the Shekinah glory, comes down on the tabernacle. The glory of God descends and 
it's present at the tabernacle. No one in Israel can go into 
that tabernacle, not even Moses. And of the lot, Moses is the 
godliest. You see, Exodus ends with this 
problem. God is in the midst of his people, 
but his people can't approach him. now enters the book of Leviticus. How do we get from this place 
of God dwelling in the midst of us for us to be able to now 
meet with him? And so Leviticus 1-9 is detailed 
legislation on how to approach this God. There's a whole series 
of sacrifices. There's a whole way prescribed 
on how Israel is to come before this holy God. And so in Leviticus 
1 to 9, they get this detailed legislation. At the end of chapter 
9, they put it into practice, and then God sends fire down 
to consume their sacrifice. Notice, in chapter 9, at verse 
22, then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, 
and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, 
and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into 
the tabernacle of meeting, and came out, excuse me, and blessed 
the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared 
to all the people and fire came out from before the Lord and 
consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all 
the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." I don't 
think it was a shout of terror. I think it was a shout of joy, 
a shout of thanksgiving, a shout of rejoicing because God had 
consumed their sacrifice and it was a blessed time of worship. 
They followed the prescription that God gave. in Leviticus 1 
to 9, how they were to approach God, God shows His approbation 
and receives their sacrifice. And then chapter 10, verse 1. 
Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer 
and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire 
before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. You have 
to get this. You have to hear it when I say 
God doesn't want innovation, He doesn't want creativity, He 
wants obedience. Not just in the Old Covenant, 
but in the New Covenant as well. These things I write to you so 
that if I'm delayed, you may know how you ought to conduct 
yourself in the house of God, the church of the living God, 
which is the pillar and ground of the truth. That's in 1 Timothy 
3.15. In Hebrews 12, we need to come 
to God in an acceptable manner. Well, who defines an acceptable 
manner? Do we let sinners? Well, for 
sinners, they might say an acceptable manner is about a 20-minute service. 
Because I like to go to the lake on Sunday after church, and I 
like to go have some dinner at White Spot. I like to have my 
day sort of tailored around my needs and my desires. So if we 
let sinners pick out how worship is going to be, I guarantee you 
it's probably not going to be preaching on theology proper, 
on the jealousy of God, on improper predication, who God is and how 
God wants to be worshipped. We want to do things that please 
us. And yet, when we find in the 
Scripture, we are to do that which God commands. And that 
is conspicuous, which he had not commanded them. Verse 2 says, 
So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them. and they died 
before the Lord, and Moses said to Aaron, this is what the Lord 
spoke, saying, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as 
holy, and before all the people, I must be glorified." I think 
that'd be a good text to reflect upon on a Sunday morning. When 
we come into the house of the living God, it is to have dealings 
with this living God. And we need to treat Him as holy. 
We need to regard Him with the dignity that the Bible demands. And then one other passage, just 
to show the punishment of God on those who violate His worship 
ordinance. Turn to 1 Samuel 13. 1 Samuel 
chapter 13. I mean, we could trace through 
the history of Israel. There was a lot of violations 
at this very point, but just a couple to show some temporal 
judgment that fell upon those who distorted the very worship 
of God Most High. In 1 Samuel 13, Saul is the king, 
and Samuel tells Saul to wait for him. I'm going to see you. 
And in verse eight we read, then he waited seven days according 
to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, 
and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, bring 
a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me. And he offered the 
burnt offering. Now it happened as soon as he 
had finished presenting the burnt offering that Samuel came and 
Saul went out to meet him that he might greet him. And Samuel 
said, hey, good for you. You took it upon yourself to 
worship. That's not what he said. It was forbidden. This was godlessness. This was lawlessness. Jesus Christ 
is a priest king. The kings of Judah and Israel 
were not priests. He was not authorized to bring 
this sacrifice. Verse 11, Samuel said, what have 
you done? Saul said, when I saw that the 
people were scattered from me, now think about this. It may 
even be with good motivation or good intention. Hey, we thought 
we could entertain and thus get them to ask questions about the 
gospel and bring them into the camp. See, the motivation or 
the intentions might be decent or legitimate. In this instance, 
it sounds like Saul wants to sort of, you know, appeal to 
the people and keep them from, you know, getting unwrangled. 
He says, back in verse 11, when I saw that the people were scattered 
from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, 
and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I 
said, the Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and 
I have not made supplication to the Lord. Therefore, I felt 
compelled and offered a burnt offering. Was Saul right? Saul 
was wrong. I felt compelled. I'm sorry, 
Saul, you can't suspend the proper worship of the living and true 
God because of a feeling that you have. I would suggest that 
it's this that frames and formulates much of what passes for Christian 
worship today. I felt, I felt, I felt rather 
than God has said this is the way we are supposed to worship 
Him. We are not to play games with 
this particular commandment. See what happens in terms of 
God visiting the iniquity of this particular man. Verse 13, 
Samuel said to Saul, you have done foolishly. Samuel doesn't 
say, well, I respect your feelings. I respect this compelling that 
you had, and I'm glad that you... He doesn't do that. He reproves 
him. You have done foolishly. You 
have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he 
commanded you. For now, the Lord would have 
established your kingdom over Israel forever. but now your 
kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for himself 
a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to 
be commander over his people, because you have not kept what 
the Lord commanded you." So it's no joke, and it's no small thing 
to worship the true and living God in a false way. And then 
the third reason, we see the consideration of theology proper, 
the threat of punishment, and then the promise of mercy. And 
what a promise it is. Verse 10 says, but showing mercy 
to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. 
Look at the difference. In the previous section, visiting 
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and 
fourth generations of those who hate me. Third and fourth, but 
here showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep 
my commandments. Ursinus says, whereas he threatened 
punishment only to the fourth generation, he here extends his 
mercy to thousands, that so he might declare that he is more 
inclined to show mercy than wrath. And this is a provocation to 
his people or an incitement to them to love him and to worship 
him and to adore him. It is the revelation of who God 
is in this very promise. He shows mercy to thousands. And I think generations is probably 
an apt way to understand that. It shows the blessed fullness 
of God's mercy to those who love him, to those who keep his commandments. Again, not innovators, not creators, 
not those who offer up strange fire, but those who take Scripture 
seriously and obey what God says concerning the approach to Him 
through the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The ones justified freely 
by God's grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are 
those who love God, those who keep His commandments. Just a 
few New Testament passages to underscore this. John 14, 15. 
If you love me, keep my commandments. Romans 12, 1. I beseech you, 
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your 
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your 
reasonable service. And then 1 John 5, 3. For this 
is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments 
are not burdensome. Well, thus concludes our exposition 
of the commandment. Let's just finish with a few 
thoughts, and then we'll close. First of all, the sin of idolatry 
in terms of the making of idols. If we engaged in making idols, 
how does that violate? Well, it violates, obviously, 
the explicit teaching of the text, but it also obscures the 
glory of God Almighty. See, when it comes to worship, 
we're supposed to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, not obscure 
His glory, not try to hide it, not try to fashion it in a manner 
that is approved by us, but rather we are to stand in awe at what 
Scripture says concerning God. Secondly, the image misleads 
men. Images do not teach the truth 
of the true and the living God. Thirdly, the image-maker provokes 
the wrath of Almighty God, as we see in this particular commandment, 
and then the image-maker attempts to make the invisible visible. God is invisible. That means 
we cannot see Him with the eye. But when we make images, we are 
trying to make Him visible. So if, definitionally, one of 
the things that God is, is that He's invisible, if we try to 
make Him visible, then you see the problem. We are distorting 
the very image of God Himself. As well, we seek to make the 
incomprehensible comprehensible. When Jeroboam the son of Nebat 
said, these are your gods that led you out of the land of Egypt. It is to try and make the omnipresent 
localized to make the spiritual physical. It is ultimately a 
rejection of the principle enshrouded by Paul that we walk by faith 
and not by sight. But consider the fact that when 
we worship idols, something bad happens, okay? Something really 
bad happens when we engage in idol worship. G.K. Beale, in 
his excellent book on idolatry... That sounds weird. An excellent 
book on idolatry almost sounds like he teaches you how to be 
a good idolater. Basically, it's a biblical theology 
of idolatry. If anybody's interested in this 
in further detail, G.K. Beale's book on this is really 
good, but sort of a central thesis for Beale is what you revere, 
you resemble, either for ruin or for restoration. Listen to 
that one more time. What you revere, what you worship, 
you resemble, either for ruin or for restoration. When we revere 
the true and living God, we are restored or are in the process 
of restoration. When we revere that which is 
an idol, when that which is a creature, we are doing so to our ruin. 
In fact, Psalm 115, that passage that teaches us concerning the 
futility of idols, Psalm 115.8 says, those who make them are 
like them, so is everyone who trusts in them. We take on the 
very characteristics of the idols that we worship. Intriguingly, 
Israel worshiped calves. What was one of the indictments 
of the prophets against Israel? They were stiff-necked. Well, 
isn't that characteristic of a calf or of an ox? You have 
to put a yoke on it to control it. Well, when Israel worships, 
she becomes like that which she worships. It really has a degrading 
effect upon a person. I think you only need to look 
outside, watch the news for about 30 seconds, and see the degradation 
that obtains to those who worship something other than the true 
and living God. When you worship and serve the 
creature, creature rather, vis-a-vis the environmentalism, which has 
become the gospel of liberals and Democrats everywhere, when 
you do that, it has an effect upon you. You are distorted with 
the way that you perceive reality. And if you want further proof 
of that, again, turn on the news for about 30 seconds and watch 
and see what happens. Christopher Wright says, the 
primal problem with idolatry is that it blurs the distinction 
between the Creator God and the creation. This both damages creation, 
including ourselves, and diminishes the glory of the Creator. Another 
observation, we're going to close in just a moment, is the importance 
of corporate worship. In other words, if there is a 
commandment that speaks specifically to how we worship God, that should 
encourage us with the thought that how we worship God is important. And when we look at scripture, 
there is this emphasis on corporate worship and that it must be engaged 
in, and that it must be engaged in properly. Consider a few passages. Psalm 87, 2, Yahweh loves the 
gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Ephesians 
2, 19 to 22. Now, therefore, you are no longer 
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints 
and members of the household of God, having been built on 
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself 
being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being 
fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you 
also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in 
the spirit. Do you ever come to church conscious 
of the fact that when we gather here, it is the dwelling place 
of God in the spirit? Man, I think if we came to grips 
with that reality, it would probably invigorate our worship. It would 
vitalize our worship. When we understand that we collectively, 
the people of God, the blood-bought children of God, are the dwelling 
place of God in the spirit, and that we see not the building, 
but the church is the people, believers, the blood-bought children 
of God, is the temple or dwelling of God. This would hopefully 
encourage us in terms of David's report, I was glad when they 
said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. And then that 
section in Hebrews 12, it's a good place to end. You can turn to 
Hebrews chapter 12. It's an emphasis on new covenant 
worship. If there is a commandment given, 
prescribing acceptable worship to the living and true God, then 
that should reinforce in our minds how important the worship 
of the true and the living God is. If I were to ask you, and 
I'm not, so don't raise your hand and don't call out, but 
what's your favorite commandment? Do you have a commandment you're 
really looking forward to in this series? Maybe you haven't 
even thought of that. Some people might say, oh, the 
fourth commandment. That kind of makes us different than everybody 
else. We actually believe that there's 
a fourth commandment. Or we might think of the seventh 
commandment, because not only is environmentalism sort of being 
pushed on us, sexual perversion is sort of being pushed on us. 
a good recovery of that. Do any of us ever say the pure 
worship of God, the glory of God, the exaltation of God, the 
majesty of God? I think I've shared with you 
in the last several years, we saw a particular Christian leader 
basically have fellowship with what's called a modalist, a man 
who denies the Trinity. And a few Christians grumbled 
about that, but no one was really bent out of shape. But when that 
self-same man found out to be guilty of plagiarism, I mean, 
that was scandal of scandals. That was the most horrible thing 
in the world. Now, I'm not suggesting plagiarism's okay. I'm not suggesting 
go out and steal material and put your name on it and turn 
it into your teacher's. I'm not saying that. But what 
I am suggesting is that when he's sitting with a man who denies 
the Trinity, and just a few voices grumble about that, but then 
he plagiarizes, and everybody freaks out about that, it shows 
something concerning our priority structure. It's not that the 
second table is unimportant, but it is the case that the first 
table is first, and God should always come first when it comes 
to the thinking of his people. Hebrews 12, verse 22. But you have come. Now, he's 
talking to believers who were physically alive. He's not talking 
about when they die and then this takes place. He's talking 
about new covenant worship in what follows in this section. 
You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, 
the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 
to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn who are registered 
in heaven. to God, the judge of all, to 
the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator 
of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks 
better things than that of Abel. See that you do not refuse him 
who speaks, for if they did not escape who refused him who spoke 
on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from 
him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth, but 
now he is promised saying, yet once more I shake not only the 
earth, but also heaven. Now this yet once more indicates 
the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things 
that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Now notice the implication in 
verse 28. After having talked about new covenant worship, the 
glory of it, he says, therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom 
which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve 
God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is 
a consuming fire. The second commandment calls 
us to that. And as the church of Jesus Christ, 
we should be about that. We should guard against profane 
fire. We should guard against innovation 
in worship. We should guard against anything 
that would be an affront to the true and the living God. He is 
the object of worship and he prescribes the manner in which 
we are to worship. And it's centered on his word. Well, I hope that that will be 
an encouragement to us to guard our hearts, to guard our minds, 
and to seek, by God's grace, to have an approach to Him that 
is in accordance with what He authorizes. And the primary way 
of approach to God, obviously, is faith in Jesus. If we're not 
believers, we will not worship in spirit and truth. The way 
to worship in spirit and truth is, first and foremost, to look 
unto Jesus Christ, to believe on Him who lived in obedience 
to the Father's law, who died as a sacrifice and a substitute 
on the cross, and who was raised the third day, so that everyone 
who, by God's grace, looks to Him in faith will have everlasting 
life, and it will be their reflex, it will be their default setting 
to want to worship that God in the manner that He prescribes. 
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word and we thank you for these commandments. We know, 
God, we're not saved by keeping them, but we have been saved 
by your grace in order that we may walk according to these things. Jesus prayed, sanctify them by 
thy truth, thy word is truth. And I pray the very same thing, 
that your Holy Spirit would write these things in our hearts, that 
you would cause us to reflect upon them and cause us to appreciate 
not only who you are, but how we are supposed to worship you. 
And we pray now that you would go with us, watch over us in 
this coming week, and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.