Have You Seen God Lately? - Part 1 - Part A

Judaism has been called an iconic religion or the worship system without icons without images. According to Jewish philosopher Martin Buber said the ancient Jews were more dear people than they were five people is an interesting description. They were more auditory than visual images distort who God is. So they were people of the book the revelation that God gave himself they were an iconic without the aid of icons. That's interesting in the light of Romans 1017, which tells us faith comes by hearing, not seeing faith comes by hearing for decades now, experts of work to figure out the different kinds of learning styles is common for us to say that we are auditory learners, kinesthetic or visual learners.

The interesting thing is that when it comes to God, we almost all long for a visual understanding of him. Maybe it's the century's worth of our dedicated to biblical scenes or the strength of our visual culture today, but we all want to see God not just here about 12 trillion correctly Skip weekend edition skip. Isaac continues her in-depth study of the 10 Commandments with a series God's top 10 today were exploring the second commandment we see that we should not make any graven image of God is at me. The pictures were seen depicting him or sinful will find out next year and connect with Skip weekend edition that as we prepare to begin today I want to invite you to add Skip Heitzig to your social media. Regular updates courage went in more like him on Facebook follow them on twitter or adding to your Instagram fee. All those links available and connectwithskip.com you can also find out about this months connect with Skip special offer never walk into a movie like you may never catch up on that one seems to miss the opening but your questions with Genesis is the foundation.

The ground floor. If we don't understand the book of Genesis, we won't understand what follows the book of Genesis that Skip Heitzig reminding Vincent's death and resurrection starts in the book of Genesis, God says to Satan, I will meditate between you and the woman between your seed and her seed, the seed thought of the rest of the Bible rediscover the foundation of your faith and understand the book of Genesis are gifted you give $35 or more today. Request your copy when you get online securely connectwithskip.com/other call 800-9200 92 1888 Spencer timer Skip and his wife when you're in studio after today's teaching. If you have a Bible close at hand.

Exodus chapter 20 verses four through six. As we begin with pastor skip. There were two boys. It seems there were always in trouble in school. Two brothers they were creating so much trouble in their class that their mother decided to bring in the pastor of their church to have a talk with the boys so he came to their house one day, set the boys down and basically the pastor wanted the boys to know the God sees everything that they do and God is not pleased when they misbehave, but he wanted to do it in such a way that the boys would come to their own conclusion. So the pastor started by saying boys where is God in the boys gave no answer is looked at the pastor with blank stares. So the pastor got a little more.

Adam animatedly said boys. The simple question tell me where is God again no answer. No response. Just bright wide eyes. Third time, the pastor raised his voice almost yelling now in said where is God and one brother turned to his other brother and said let's get out of here quick.

God is missing and they think we did it that innocent childlike view of God isn't that much different than some adults view of God that is God is missing from their lives and they think let's make an image to remind us or replace God in our lives. They simply know something about kids there very honest when it comes to how they view the world. I asked very honest questions and parents become sometimes very uncomfortable with kids.

Questions like where does God live will how big is God will what does God look like as it appeared as if a scowl on his face.

What is he like because they want to know. I grew up in a church with lots of images, and I know that I'm speaking to people today who have come out of for become involved with worship systems that include statues and images and icons and so I am very sensitive toward that and I even teach this with some sentimental kind of a feeling because that was my upbringing but it's very simple really. What is allowed in worship and what is not allowed. What about crucifixes and crosses and statutes. What if an image or a painting actually helps me focus on God, what's so bad about that. Why is that wrong. If it evokes those feelings.

Reminds me of God. What about a picture that depicts Jesus, what's the big deal about this commandment let's will actually look at the commandment and then will make some remarks on it, go through it and teach it. The second commandment begins in the fourth verse 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 the fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. I'd like you to complete in your minds. This sentence, I picture God as blank you fill in that blank I picture God as what in your minds, you're upset allowed because that's precisely what people will do and will say I picture God, not as a just judge, but I picture God is a very benevolent warm smiling, tolerant, you can do anything you want. Kind of a being or I picture God is detached and aloof and not really involved in life as we know it or I picture God is some mystical being poor. Still others would say I don't picture God as a him but her I heard that last night on television go said no.

I pray to God. I say to her such and such JI Packer once said mental images are simply the consequence of mental images so people will make images based on what their mental conception is of the God they worship.

So that's why say.

Complete the sentence. I picture God as such and such.

Now let's just by way of review remember the last couple of weeks we've gotten been going to the 10 Commandments.

We noted that there's two sources of information about God. Number one, Revelation number two imagination and you fall in one of those two camps and one only either we take what God said about himself in the revealed word of God in all that we know about the character and nature of God is derived from biblical revelation or we decide to throw that out and have nothing to do with it and now were left with our imagination. I think God is. I picture God as so it's important as fundamental to go through the 10 Commandments and this is the second one. If the first commandment says the God is to be worshiped exclusively then the second commandment would tell us God is to be worshiped correctly. If the first commandment tells us to whom, then the second commandment tells us the how God is to be worshiped. If the first commandment is against false gods than the second commandment is against false worship of the true God. False worship of the true God. Now I see really the second commandment is dovetailing beautifully with John chapter 4 were Jesus said to the woman at the well of Samaria. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in what spirit and in truth. God is Spirit and if you want to worship God, who is spirit. You worship him in spirit and in truth. Now I've decided that were not gonna take this commandment in one week, but we want to really understand its organ to break it up into this is part one next week will continue it is just a couple of things I like to look at with you today. First of all, that the prohibition itself. The commandment itself. What is it mean exactly. Second of all, the problem that is why do people break this commandment.

Why did God think it was so important that it's number two on the top 10 so we want to look at the prohibition and the problem what it means and why people do it, go back with me to adjust the first section of this verse four and just a snippet of verse five. You shall not make for yourself a carved image so it necessitates a three dimensional image something you can it derive out of Waterstone you shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. What is that mean that's pretty straightforward and it is pretty easy to understand but if you allow me I want to flesh this out by taking you back to the Old Testament just a little bit of something in the New Testament and into the modern era. How this is perceived this prohibition in the Old Testament and were in it. Exodus chapter 20. It's as old as you can get as far as Old Testament. This commandment isn't just given once and thrown out there. It's actually repeated, reiterated and amplified several times throughout the biblical narrative we just read the first instance of that in verse four, five and six but I want to show you some else go with me the same chapter to verse 18 verse 18 of the 10 Commandments are done. God gave all 10 but watch this now it's all over but says verse 18, know all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking and when the people saw it, they trembled and they stood afar off. Then they said to Moses you speak with us and we will hear but let not God speak with us, lest we die and Moses said to the people do not fear for God is come to test you that his fear may be before you so that you may not sin. So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. Watch this. Then the Lord said to Moses, thus you shall say to the children of Israel. You have seen that I talked with you from heaven to get that insight you have seen God, but you have seen that I talked with you from heaven. You shall not make anything to be with me gods of silver or gods of gold. You shall not make for your selves so you saw lightning, and you heard thunder and you heard my voice speaking to sono form okay turn to the book of Deuteronomy and if you don't know what that is. Just keep turning right, go down a few blocks you'll see it. Chapter 4, Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 15 take careful heed to yourselves for use saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb or Mount Sinai, out of the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure likeness of male or female. The likeness of any animal that is on the earth. The likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air. The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground. The likeness of any fish in the water beneath year. Take heed lest you lift your eyes to heaven when you see the sun, the moon, the stars, all the host of heaven. You feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven is a heritage, but the Lord is taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace out of Egypt to be his people and inheritance. As you are this day Kate same book. Go to chapter 27 of Deuteronomy is the last one I returned Deuteronomy chapter 27 limit set it up. Got anticipates are about to go into the new land. The land of Canaan, the land of promise and the first thing he says you do when you get there you go to the middle of the land where there's two mountains and you divide the people up and you read blessings and you read persons watch is verse 12 chapter 27. These shall stand on Mount a reason to bless the people you cross over the Jordan, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin and these shall stand on Mount T-ball to curse Ruben Gadd, Asher, Zebulun, Dan inaptly, and the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel, cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image an abomination to the Lord. The work of the hands of the craftsman and sets it up in secret.

So we see that this second commandment is given and repeated and amplified throughout the Old Testament narrative okay. It's equally important to understand Moses reaction the first time the children of Israel broke this commandment member how he reacted and we came down the mount with those 10 Commandments, all shiny.

His face is glowing and he comes down and the people are doing what they're worshiping a golden calf and Moses and say well to each his own mental Moses did. He broke the commandments let me redo the verse.

This is out of Exodus that 32, he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them. He took that calf which they have made, you can turn to it, but I'm a be done by the time you there, he burned it in the fire ground into powder scattered around the water and he made the children of Israel to drink. That's his reaction to the first time they broke the second commandment he had that bowl that image that that any ground to powder pulverizer put in the water to drink up. This is like reverse Alka-Seltzer music Alka-Seltzer settles your stomach. This would have naturally upset them. I think the message was clear idolatry to make you sick to your stomach because it certainly is. Second, God's eyes, he made him drink was time goes on, the 12 tribes of Israel split up 10 in the north to the south and when they break up a guy by the name of Jeroboam sets up not one but two golden calves write one at Bethel 11 miles north of Jerusalem in one of the top of the country at Dan and he tells the people in the North.

These are the gods which brought you out of Egypt. The Bible says this thing became a sin to the people of Israel.

Okay because of all these verses. All of these instances.

Judaism has been called the and iconic religion, or the worship system without icons without images. According to Jewish philosopher Martin Huber said the ancient Jews were more hear people than they were. I people an interesting description. They were more auditory than visual images distort who God is.

So they were people of the book the revelation that God gave himself they were and iconic without the aid of icons.

That's interesting in the light of Romans 1017, which tells us faith comes by hearing, not seeing faith comes by hearing, so that's a thumbnail sketch of the Old Testament's view of this commandment when we get to the New Testament. There's a little bit of difference. Well, you know, in the Old Testament. I counted the word idle idols and idolatry appear hundred and 11 times in the New Testament, they only appear 22 times and it could all be summed up. You might say by John in first John chapter 5 verse 21 is the last verse of that book, he simply says little children. Keep your selves from idols, keep yourselves from idols. When Jesus Christ walked this earth, and he confronted the Jews in Jerusalem. They had their own view of these commandments which was very rigid and you know who was the governor of Judeo. When Jesus was walking around the place. It was Pontius Pilate right will did you know that there were two instances in Pontius Pilate's career based upon him breaking the second commandment that, in part, led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is he had been governor for five years and then he made a couple of dumb mistakes cemetery about first mistake he made was he brought banners ensigns into the city of Jerusalem big signs on poles that had an image of Caesar on the banner and he marched these through Jerusalem when the Jewish leader saw these. They demanded no signs be removed because he violated the second commandment okay Pontius Pilate what Jewish where they care. They care because it was there sitting. Well, there's a lot of history learn about the team commandment Skip will continue with that next time he returns with the second part of this four-part teaching. Have you seen godly. It's easy to listen to this teaching again, or any part of our dynamic study of the 10 Commandments.

Find out how it added to your personal audio library or listen online@connectwithskip.com. Now we have Skip and his wife lingered in studio today to talk a bit more about this let you teaching today is have you seen God lately and people said the Old Testament can be hard to understand. You have any recommendations on how to read the Old Testament for all that it's worth yeah there's a great old saying that says the new is in the old contained the old is in the new explain that is the New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed so if if you read the Old Testament you see shadows once you know the New Testament see shades and shadows and predictions that are fulfilled in the New Testament, and when you read the New Testament. It puts the bow on it you you have a full understanding.

You see what it was all leading to, you know the Bible was given to us in in in in an interesting way to start a systematic theology doesn't open up Genesis 1.

This is the teaching and doctrine of God the father didn't say that. It begins where God speaks and God does and he creates and then you move on. There's stories and narrative in history and poetry, and it's a it's a mix of literature and it it's enough to keep it interesting. I would say it's not just all one style and I think that's there's a magic and a joy in that that the good that God mixed it up, but 66 books by I don't know how many of over 40 authors ran over 1500 years and yet it's cohesive. It's cohesive. It's their own same page.

They all agree on the on the most controversial subjects in the world and there's no book like it because of that, so just saying that it is is important in and of itself, so just get in and start reading it.

But then we have resources as well. One of the best resources and and everywhere I go people always bring this up the Bible and one from Mongolia in Florida that was dealing the Bible from 30,000 feet and it just resonates with people because it gives people in a years time. The ability to go through all 66 books or not a years time he could do it in a much shorter time. That was just what we did on a weekly basis, but it gives an overview it's like flying over the United States in an airplane and looking down at the significant structures that you can see from that level without getting caught in the minutia of it she go through it faster but it gives the overall picture of God's plan from the Old Testament into the New Testament. Thanks M if you can find out all about the Bible from 30,000 feet and other great books and resources from Pastor skip@connectwithscript.com so why was it such a big deal for people to make a statute depicting God.

Find out next time is a series God's talk to and continued by hearing Was to weaken division presentation in connection to God never ever changing time