Call me ignorant, but I’ve always kind of assumed the second commandment was basically a repeat of the first. After all, the first commandment says not to make other gods, while the second says not to make “graven images.” What’s the difference?
At first glance, there seems to be a pretty generous overlap. But when you define what an idol is, it’s much more internal than we realize. Graven images, on the other hand, are largely external.
Technically speaking, an idol is anything that takes the place (and the glory) of God. It’s what we turn to for comfort, what we focus our attention on, and what we make time for. That’s why Colossians 3:5, for instance, says that greed is nothing more than idolatry. We may not see it as such, but be honest—that’s what it is.
A “graven image” is a physical manifestation of that idol. It’s usually form-specific; a big house isn’t a “graven image” of a greedy, idolatrous heart, per se. But if you carved an image of Plutus, the god of wealth, placed it in your home, and burned incense to it, that would be a graven image.
If these two concepts are so closely linked, why make two separate commandments out of them?
The reason is because they address two separate ideas about God. In the first commandment, God doesn’t want the Israelites to have any other gods besides Him. No Canaanite gods, no Philistine gods, no Egyptian gods. Just Him.
The second commandment applies to physical formations of Jehovah Himself. The people of Israel were not supposed to take the limitless form of God and place it inside a sculpture of a physical being, which would limit Him. The form of the Creator can not take the form of the created.
Later, in Deuteronomy 4:12, Moses recalls this moment at Mount Sinai and reminds the people that when God spoke, they “saw no form—there was only a voice.” Then, in Deuteronomy 4:15-20, Moses warns them against making an image of God that is the form of an animal, human, or celestial being.
The same concept applies: You cannot—and should not—take the form of an unlimited, omnipotent God and place it inside a block of wood. It’s insulting to who He is and the power that He wields.
By keeping the form of God ambiguous, it allows Israel to see God as higher than creation itself. If God allowed Himself to take the form of a bird, then does that mean He’s not Lord of the horses? If He’s made out of wood, does that mean He has no authority over metal?
This is why, at the climax of Stephen’s speech in Acts 7, right when he knows the mob is about to rush him, he claims that the “Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands.” God doesn’t need buildings made with hands—He made those hands to begin with.
That’s the God that we serve, and that’s what God wanted those people to remember. The first two commandments weren’t just about exclusivity (first commandment) but about recognizing God’s power (second commandment). The moment they forgot those two commandments, it all went downhill.
