作者：Timothy W.
Massaro 譯者：駱鴻銘
不可為自己雕刻偶像，也不可做什麼形像彷彿上天、下地，和地底下、水中的百物。 不可跪拜那些像，也不可事奉它，因為我耶和華你的神是忌邪的神。恨我的，我必追討他的罪，自父及子，直到三四代； 愛我、守我誡命的，我必向他們發慈愛，直到千代。（出廿4～6））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. 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, but showing steadfast love to
thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Ex. 20:4-6)
類似這個出現在出埃及記第二十章的命令，聽起來很怪異。上帝竟然會說這種嚴厲的話。若上帝是眼不能見的，為什麼我們不能為上帝繪製畫像、製作雕像或任何圖像呢？我們畢竟是視覺的生物啊！Commands like this one in Exodus 20 sound
strange. What a harsh thing for God to say. If God is invisible, why not have
pictures, statues, or images? We are visual creatures after all.
上帝說明祂這樣命令的理由是祂為以色列人所已經成就的救贖，拯救他們脫離為奴之家。第二誡是從第一誡來的。上主賜下這樣的命令是因為祂是聖潔、公義、良善的。祂配得我們的尊敬、愛、順服，不只是因為祂擁有「更強大的火力」，而是因為祂創造了我們，好叫我們可以愛祂、順服祂。God grounds his
reasoning for this command in what he has done for Israel in redeeming her from
slavery. This second commandment flows from the first. The Lord gives such
commands because he is holy, just, and good. He deserves our respect, love, and
obedience not only because he has the “superior firepower,” but because he has
created us for love and obedience.
古代的宗教Religion in the Ancient World
在古代的宗教裏，法術和迷信往往是互相交織的。透過神秘的稱謂、咒語、偶像，企圖控制一個神明是非常普遍的現象。通過控制神明的能力，你可以獲得更好的收成，更大的家族，而這是宗教的一個基本目的。In the ancient
world religion, magic, and superstition were often intertwined. It was very
common to attempt to control a deity through secret names, incantations, and
idols. Controlling divine powers, so you could have better crops or a large
family, was a primary objective in religion.
上主就是在這個具體的背景下頒布第二誡的。祂不會受任何事物或任何人所局限；祂無法被迫去施恩或去愛人。古代世界就是透過這些形象和偶像來控制他們的神明的。製作神的像就是以暴力對待上帝，對待祂的屬性（申十六22；利廿六1）。這就是為什麼製造偶像會帶來如此嚴重懲罰的原因（詩九七7）。上帝獨特的權柄和超越性，是這個命令適當的基礎，因為唯有祂可以決定要如何受人敬拜。The Lord makes the
second commandment in this specific context. He cannot be confined by anything
or anyone; he cannot be coerced to give grace or love. It was through images
and idols that the ancient world sought to control their gods. To make such an
image is to do violence to God and his character (Deut. 16:22; Lev. 26:1). That
is why creating idols comes with such harsh-sounding punishments (Ps. 97:7).
The unique authority and transcendence of God is a proper basis for his
commands since he alone can decide how to be worshiped.
然而，耶和華俯就人，將自己賜予祂的百姓，作他們的上帝。祂與他們相會，並與我們同住，尤其是藉著祂的話語和應許。祂沒有讓人看見祂的形象，只是讓人聽見祂說話的聲音（申四15～16；約四24；羅十）。Nevertheless, the
Lord condescends to give himself to his people as their God. He meets with them
and abides with us specifically by his words and promises. He does not let
himself be seen but rather is heard speaking (Deut. 4:15-16; John 4:24; Rom.
10).
基督就是神的像The Image of God in Christ
耶和華沒有停在這裏，因為祂已經調動所有的歷史來應驗祂一切的應許，以及祂說過的一切話。在時候滿足的時候，上帝降臨，由童女所生，住在我們中間（約一1～18；加四4～7）。祂告訴我們，當基督的話藉由傳道人的口被說出來的時候，祂就與我們同在（羅十）。祂今天仍然透過所宣講的道對我們說話。The Lord does not
stop here, for he has moved all of history to the great fulfillment of his
promises and of all he has spoken. God comes in the fullness of time and is
born of a virgin to dwell among us (John 1:1-18; Gal. 4:4-7). He tells us that
he is as close to us as the Word of Christ that is spoken (Rom. 10). He speaks
to us even today through his Word as it is proclaimed. This is how God’s Spirit
dwells among us today.
我們只能在耶穌的位格上看見上帝！祂實實在在就是「上帝與我們同在」，耶穌就是上帝的真像（西一15）。上帝的豐富有形有體地住在祂裏面：超越的上帝已經降世為人，以至於我們可以理解祂、抓住祂。上帝從這個團契相通之地，憐憫地對我們說：「小子們哪，你們要自守，遠避偶像！ 」（約壹五21）Only in the person of Jesus do we see God! He is
literally “God with us,” the true image of God (Col. 1:15). The fullness
of God dwells in him bodily: the transcendent God has made himself man, so we
can latch on to him. From this place of fellowship and communion God mercifully
says to us, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5: 21).
上帝在出埃及記裏拯救祂的百姓，脫離罪惡與死亡的轄制，好叫他們可以敬拜祂（出廿1～2）。祂今日仍在作同樣的工作。祂藉著救贖大功與罪人同住，成為我們的避難所，成為我們的生命，而我們只能按照祂的條件來得救。沒有達到這個標準，就是聖經所說的拜偶像。當我們想要控制上帝，讓祂符合我們的需要、想要，以及經常是愚蠢的慾望時，我們就是犯了拜偶像的罪。God frees his
people in Exodus from their slavery to sin and death so that they might worship
him (Ex. 20:1-2). He is still doing that same work today. His redemption makes
dwelling with sinners possible, becoming our shelter and our life, which we can
only do on his terms. Anything less is what the Bible calls idolatry. We commit
idolatry when we attempt to manipulate God to fit our needs, wants, and often
foolish desires.
上帝是忌邪的，祂憐憫祂的百姓，並冀望他們行善，但是祂不會將祂的榮耀歸給一個形象或偶像，無論是古代的還是現代的偶像（賽四二8）。上主給我們這個良善的命令，好叫我們不將我們的眼目轉離祂的愛子，即上帝真正的形象，去敬拜我們自己的手所造的（約十四6；詩一〇六35～37）。若我們已在福音的講道裏看見耶穌，我們就是看見了父神。我們乃是藉著祂所賜給我們的管道與上帝同住，直到那榮耀的大日，那時我們就會看見耶穌的真體，不是憑著信心，乃是憑著眼見。藉著信心，我們等候那面對面看見耶穌的日子。God is a jealous God
who yearns over his people and desires their good, but he will not give his
glory to an image or idol, whether it is ancient or modern (Isa. 42:8). The
Lord gives us this good command to prevent us from taking our eyes off his Son,
the true image of God, to worship inventions of our own hands (John 14:5; Ps.
106:35-37). If we have seen Jesus in the preaching of the gospel, we have seen
the Father. We dwell with God through the means he has given us until that
glorious day when faith shall give way to sight, when we shall see Jesus as he
is. Through faith, we await the day when we shall see Jesus face to face.