Hello, my name is Deacon Greg Brady, and today I am going to talk about idol worship and the 1st and 2nd Commandments.
Exodus 20: 1-4 - KJV:
(1) And God spake all these words, saying,
(2) I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
(3) Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (1st Commandment)
(4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven 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. (2nd Commandment)
In ancient Egypt there was a family known as the Ennead who were believed to have been produced by Atum during the creation of the world. The Ennead usually consisted of Atum, his children Shu and Tefnut, their children Geb and Nut, and their children Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. These deities along with many others had names/titles (much like a Master or Lord) and played a part in everyday life of an Egyptian from upholding the law to education and developing agriculture. The head of this family of deities whether it be Atum or his Father or Father's Father is their Ruler and most likely who we know today as God. Many other ancient cultures also have similar stories of deities who were on earth close to the time of creation, that nurtured and guided man before leaving.
Long after these deities left earth the Egyptians were still worshiping them in the form of idols and even had statues large and small made in their honour/image, this practice was still in place when the Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt and was something that God the Father wanted the lines of Abraham to avoid (3 Abrahamic faiths) and why the law was handed down to Moses (for the Hebrews). Think of it as a Father correcting the practice of his children on earth worshiping his children in heaven, they were essentially putting the children (god's/deities) before the Father (God). Christ Yeshua even taught us 2000 years ago to worship the Father in his name.
There are similar stories in other cultures were tribes/people worshiped idols and we know these people today as "pagans", this same form of worship was also corrected by messengers of God.
Being Irish I have grown up hearing the legends that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland and introduced Christianity, but today, evidence suggests that there never had been snakes on the island of Ireland to begin with. So what is "driving the snakes out" in reference to? It is known that around the time of Saint Patrick that there was a small Christian presence but for the most part, Ireland was "pagan" so the "snakes" that were driven out were actually the old pagan ways, and Christianity (God the Father, Christ the Son) was spread throughout the land. The Celtic snake is also one of many nature-inspired symbols displayed by practitioners of pagan religions and snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind, so it makes sense that the pagan ways (represented by the snake) are what got driven out of Ireland.
It goes without saying, that putting anything before/above God is a form of a false idol, whether it be a statue, image, money or any material things!
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Written by: Greg Brady, Deacon Ecumenical Order of Christ
References:
[1] https://discoveringegypt.com/pyramids-temples-of-egypt/pyramids-of-giza/
[2] http://www.focusonthefamily.ca/parenting/school-age/teaching-self-control-guiding-your-child-with-discipline
[3] http://www.documentsdelivered.com/saint-patricks-day-explained/
[4] http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2012/03/saint-patrick-druids-snakes-and-popular-myths.html
