Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 20:4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
Exodus 20:5-6 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
These are the first three commandments. They are relational to God. Notice, how one relates to God comes before how people relate to each other. God is the priority. Then, He defines how we are to relate to each other.
God states the consequence of the “iniquity”. The Hebrew word is `avon. The word can also be translated as perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt, or punishment (Strong’s Concordance). Idol worship and/or worship of other gods will impact your family tree to your grandchildren and great grandchildren. God takes this quite seriously.
Worshiping or bowing down to idols and/or false gods is equated with hating God.
The critic often says, “Well, the 10 Commandments are in the Old Testament and we live during the Church age in the New Testament. Jesus took care of the Law.”
The Law (10 Commandments) has not gone away. Jesus Himself made this very clear. Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Granted if one is a believer in Christ, He has you covered literally and figuratively. To the unbeliever, the Law is in full effect whether they believe it or not with consequences defined by God.
Following and obeying the commandments are equated with loving God. This is the case in both the Old and New Testaments. The message is consistent throughout the course of the Bible.
John 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
See also John 14, 1 John 2, 1 John 5, and 2 John 1.
The reconstruction of the arch of Palmyra is a direct violation. The arch is a gateway to the temple of Bel. There are idols of Bel. People worship Bel and the arch. Granted, this is not Bel specific. It is any other god(s) other than the Creator God of the Bible.
The Palmyra Arch was redesigned on a smaller scale and placed in Trafalgar Square, London on April 19, 2016. The rebuilding of the arch was done in defiance of ISIS. The arts and antiquities crowd is upset with the terrorists for destroying the original in Palmyra, Syria.
A replica was also to be erected in Times Square of New York City. Due to backlash from the Christian community, the arch was not unveiled in Times Square in April 2016. Segments of Christian society are running around with a hollow victory. The arch is still planned to make its way to New York City in September of 2016.
If someone sacrificed themselves to keep you out of Hell…what is your response?
