“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or 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.
One of the benefits of a man made god is that it does not speak, does not make demands and leaves them alone to do as they please.
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
Perhaps they created false gods because wood and stone have no power to judge.
Sin without guilt destroys society. These are the lessons of history that have been repeated over and over again. One must not assume that we will not make the same mistakes just because others have done so. While some say that failing to study history dooms us to repeat it, others say we can do better only to make bigger mistakes than their predecessors.
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
How can we serve a god that asks nothing of us? It would seem that there is a class of men that desire to set themselves up as high priests to these false gods and tell others what to do. They speak for those gods that have no voice. Men use men to retain power over others who worship mute gods. They become man followers rather than God followers.
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
Those that do not like to be judged want to be just like everyone else. They do not understand sanctification.
And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.