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POSTED 14 SEPTEMBER, 2007

Days of Awe: Day Two

by Mark Huey
mhuey@outreachisrael.net

Psalm 145; Job 1-14; Exodus 20:3-6

Ushering forth from the Divinely inspired hearts and minds of Job, Moses, and David is the connection of the generation—and how a jealous Creator lovingly protects His chosen people. The reciprocal response of love and admiration is certainly present in David’s psalm and Job’s comments to his companions. Providentially, the Second Commandment is one that amplifies the need to have allegiance and worship of the One True God who introduces Himself in the First Commandment. In no uncertain terms He spells out the consequences of idol worship, while declaring His jealous love for Israel and all who worship Him.

However, before getting launched into a diatribe about the great contrast between the iniquitous results of idol worship—versus the lovingkindness bestowed upon those who love God and obey His commandments—let us take the time to reflect on the words of Psalm 145. Hear the heart of one who truly, in spite of his own personal challenges with iniquity, will forever be known as “a man after God’s own heart”:

“A Psalm of Praise, of David. I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness. They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, and Your godly ones shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power; to make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts and the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. The Lord keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever” (Psalm 145:1-21).

The Second Commandment

As the Second Commandment articulates, in order to avoid falling back into the trap of slavery to the lures and temptations of this world, we are forbidden to worship any other gods or idols that have been fashioned in the likeness of things in Heaven, on Earth, or in the seas:

“You shall have no other gods before Me. 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. 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” (Exodus 20:3-6).

It is important to recognize that humanity, while still reeling from the effects of the fallen condition inherited as a result of Adam’s transgression, has an innate predisposition to operate by the power of its carnal or natural nature. This is a serious problem that the Holy One recognizes. Since humans naturally prefer to worship something that they can physically see or touch, the prohibition against fashioning any type of idol is strictly forbidden. As the Lord declares it in absolute terms, He is a jealous God who has determined consequences for those who follow the worship of idols.

At this point, the term “jealous” could perhaps use a little clarification in order to understand just who this God is that requires Israel’s worship. Further on in the Exodus account, the Lord embellishes the reasons why He is a jealous God:

“Then God said, ‘Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you. Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim—for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. You shall make for yourself no molten gods” (Exodus 34:10-17).

As you can read from this passage, the covenant that the Lord makes with Israel is to be the God that will drive the other nations out of the Promised Land, and then requires Israel to destroy any remaining altars and pillars. Otherwise, Israel may comingle with the other nations, and perhaps worship their gods and create idols and images out of metal and other materials. Of course, this is sadly the history of Ancient Israel, and lamentably the reality a few of His people even today in some pagan religions.

The jealous God then goes on to explain that He will be required by His righteousness to visit the iniquity of the fathers on the third and fourth generations. This is a difficult part of this commandment to understand, because what it is describing is what is commonly referred to as “generational curses.” The sin or iniquities of one’s immediate forefathers can have residual effects on their descendants. If our great-grandfathers or grandfathers practiced any kind of idol worship, then the consequences that were brought upon them for their idolatrous ways could somehow brought down to us. In the Book of Job, some of the issues of generational curses are touched upon. In the words of one of Job’s counselors, Bildah the Shuhite, the subject of generational curses is indicated:

“If your sons sinned against Him, then He delivered them into the power of their transgression. If you would seek God and implore the compassion of the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, surely now He would rouse Himself for you and restore your righteous estate. Though your beginning was insignificant, yet your end will increase greatly. Please inquire of past generations, and consider the things searched out by their fathers. For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, because our days on earth are as a shadow” (Job 8:4-9).

Here, the suggestion for Job is to inquire of past generations and to consider the things they searched out, because our days are a mere shadow or reflection of what our fathers did. If they were involved in idol worship, then the curses of following or worshipping molten objects that depict things in Creation could directly or indirectly taught to the next generation. If this has ever happened, then we have the ability to confess the sins of our fathers, and repent for them in order that we can be delivered from the consequences of their sin. A great admonition regarding how this works is recorded for Israel in Leviticus 26:

“So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the iniquities of their forefathers they will rot away with them. If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me—I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land” (Leviticus 26:39-42).

For those of us who are today spiritually “rotting away” in the lands of our enemies because of the iniquities of our forefathers, there is a prescription for relief. We must first confess our own sins and iniquities, and then the iniquities of our forefathers and their unfaithfulness and hostility toward God. Hopefully, with our humbled and circumcised hearts, the Holy One will remember the covenants with Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham, and most especially with the Land of Israel.

This is an awesome act of restoration that has been witnessed since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Can you imagine how much confession took place among the Jewish people during the time of the Holocaust in Europe? With all of the persecution that was taking place, the People of the Book were certainly turning to the Scriptures for answers to this great dilemma. Books like Job were constantly being read, as the sufferings of the Jewish people were beyond imagination. Prayers like Psalm 145 were commonplace as people were crying out for salvation. Certainly, the promises of the curses and the blessings of the Second Commandment were being uttered.

As we read a little further in the Second Commandment, we discover that God will show His lovingkindness to the thousandth generation to those who love Him and keep His commandments. This is an interesting couplet that can be easily linked to what the Tribulation saints will have in common, as another time of great persecution will come upon God’s people. Let us recall the two common denominators that define the end-time saints with whom the beast system will be at war:

“So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yeshua” (Revelation 12:17).

“And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Yeshua” (Revelation 14:11-12).

The end-time saints will have a testimony of salvation in Messiah Yeshua and will be keeping the Father’s commandments. If this description of how you are ordering your life, then you can appreciate the words of King David in Psalm 145:11-13:

“They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power; to make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts and the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations” (Psalm 145:11-13).

You will note that the psalmist David understands the concept of generational blessings, and the requirement we each have to declare to our own generation and those that follow us the mighty acts and glory of God’s Kingdom.

May this be the prayer and meditation of our hearts as we prepare our posterity ever so faithfully, while worshipping and praising the One True God—who is personified in our Messiah Yeshua—and whose love is exemplified in His atoning sacrifice at Golgotha (Calvary)! To Him be all glory and praise! May this be something that our generation is desperately jealous for!

Mark Huey (B.A., Vanderbilt University in History and Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) is the Director of Outreach Israel Ministries (www.outreachisrael.net). He is the author of several books, including: TorahScope, Volumes I & II, and Counting the Omer: A Daily Devotional Toward Shavuot. He is also co-author of Hebraic Roots: An Introductory Study.