The question at once arises--is this commandment intended to forbid
the use of drawings and pictures of created things altogether? Some
contend that it does. They point to the Jews and the Mohammedans as a
proof. The Jews have never been much given to art. The Mohammedans to
this day do not use designs of animals, etc., in patterns. But I do
not agree with them. I think God only meant to forbid images and other
representations when these were intended to be used as objects of
religious veneration. "Thou shalt not make _unto thee_. . . . Thou
shalt not _bow down thyself_ to them, nor _serve_ them." In Exodus we
are told that God ordered the bowls of the golden candlestick for the
tabernacle to be made "like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower;"
and the robe of the ephod had a hem on which they were to put a bell
and a pomegranate alternately. How could God order something that
broke this second commandment?
I believe that this commandment is a call for spiritual worship. It is
in line with Christ's declaration to that Samaritan woman--"God is a
spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in _spirit_ and in
_truth_."
This is precisely what is difficult for men to do. The apostles were
hardly in their graves before they began to put up images of them, and
to worship relics. People have a desire for something tangible,
something that they can see. It is so much easier to live in the sense
than in the spirit. That is why there is a demand for ritualism. Some
people are born Puritans; they want a simple form of worship. Others
think they cannot get along without forms and ceremonies that appeal
to the senses. And many a one whose heart is not sincere before God
takes refuge in these forms, and eases his conscience by making an
outward show of religion.
The second commandment is to restrain this desire and tendency.
God is grieved when we are untrue to Him. God is Love, and He is
wounded when our affections are transferred to anything else. The
penalty attached to this commandment teaches us that man has to reap
what he sows, whether good or bad; and not only that, but his children
have to reap with him. Notice that punishment is visited upon the
children unto the _third_ or the _fourth_ generation, while mercy is
shown unto thousands, or (as it is more correctly) unto the
_thousandth_ generation.