Deuteronomy 5:9, commentary and pictures

The verse forbids bowing down to or serving any graven image or likeness of anything in heaven, earth, or water, because the Lord alone is God and He is a jealous God who visits the iniquity of fathers who hate Him upon the children to the third and fourth generation while showing mercy to thousands who love Him and keep His commandments. It repeats the law first spoken at Sinai, which Moses recapitulated in solemn assembly at Horeb and at the Jordan to the new younger generation before they entered Canaan, calling all Israel to hear, learn, keep, and do these statutes as the condition of prosperity in the promised land. It demands loyalty to God with sanctified mind, soul, and body and perfect obedience kept without alteration, with no excuse accepted for disobedience, and the same God who spoke face to face out of the fire is speaking the same requirements, cautions, and restraints now to be studied and practiced in principle. Its warning that parental sin reaches descendants is seen in perverted appetite and intemperance, where harmful eating and intoxicants and narcotics pass mental and physical decline to later generations, and transgression of God's law brings a curse upon the earth with suffering among human beings and beasts, for violating the laws of physical life is sin just as breaking a commandment is. It stands with the command to keep the seventh day holy by God's authority, and belongs to the instruction in Deuteronomy 4-8 showing what God required that His people might be holy unto Himself, to be read with profit and studied now in preparation for God's great final review when all must stand before the Judge of all the earth.

Historical Setting and Wording

The prohibition was first spoken from Sinai and then repeated by Moses to Israel at the Jordan when the time to possess Canaan had come. It was recapitulated to a new and younger generation in solemn assembly at Horeb as a renewal of the covenant, that they would listen attentively and bind themselves to observe God's law. Because few of that generation had been old enough to comprehend the solemnity of Sinai, Moses rehearsed their deliverance from Egypt and their wilderness journeyings. He recapitulated the Ten Commandments and the laws given to Israel so they would understand the need to obey them and remember the circumstances in which they were given. God thus presented the claims of His law before the people as they were about to pass over Jordan, enjoining obedience as the condition of prosperity in the promised land.

Moses called all Israel to hear, learn, keep, and do these statutes and judgments, repeating the covenant the Lord made at Horeb with those alive that day after speaking face to face from the fire. The command forbids bowing down to any graven image or likeness of anything in heaven above, in the earth beneath, or in the waters beneath the earth, and serving them. This is because the Lord God is a jealous God who visits the iniquity of the fathers who hate Him upon the children to the third and fourth generation. At the same time He shows mercy to thousands who love Him and keep His commandments.

The prohibition belongs to the first four commandments, which state obligations to God. In its immediate setting presenting the commandments to Israel in the wilderness, it stands with the command to keep the seventh day holy. The seventh day is the Lord's Sabbath by God's authority, and its observance is required and not left for priests, rulers, or human preference to change.

Meaning and Required Obedience

The command forbids bowing down to other gods or serving them, because the Lord alone is Israel's God and He demands exclusive loyalty. His declared jealousy is a warning that turning to idols brings judgment upon those who hate Him. It calls for the whole person to be sanctified in mind, soul, and body in perfect obedience to His will, with no excuse accepted for disobedience. It is to be kept without alteration, so that obedience is bound up with life and blessing while transgression brings its sure consequences.

The God who talked with Israel face to face out of the midst of the fire is speaking the same words now. Every requirement, caution, and restraint in the chapter, including this prohibition, is recorded to be studied and put into practice in principle. Kept in this way, these commandments make the path plain and shield from the temptations of the enemy, while disregarding them brings the sure result of disobedience and unsanctified works. Keeping this command is part of reverencing God, and such obedience is the condition for expecting the Lord to cooperate and bless. Disregard shows minds clouded by unbelief and without reverence for God, and it exposes professed servants who refuse to obey the precepts of His law.

The prohibition stands as part of the Ten Commandments and belongs to God's law. For that reason, violating the laws governing physical life is sin just as breaking a commandment is, because both involve breaking God's law.

Consequences and Present Application

The iniquity of fathers is visited upon children to the third and fourth generation, so that parental sin reaches descendants with lasting effect. This holds true for perverted appetite and intemperance, where harmful eating and the use of intoxicants and narcotics transmit injury onward. The result appears in mental and physical decline passed from one generation to another.

Transgression of God's law brings as its sure result a curse upon the earth. That curse brings suffering among human beings and among beasts.

The command stands within the instruction of Deuteronomy 4-8 showing what God required of His ancient people that they might be a holy people unto Himself. Those words are to be read with profit and studied now in preparation for God's great final review. That day is near when the people of this world must stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for their deeds. The present is the time of investigation, when every character will have been investigated and every case decided for eternity.