The Second Commandment – Is it Different from the First?

It occurred to me that the 1^st and 2^nd of the Ten Commandments are redundant if you do not have the proper understanding of what each one means. Read them and think about it:

Exodus 20:3 – You shall have no other gods before Me.

Exodus 20:4 – You shall not make for yourself a carved image – 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 nor serve them…

Depending on what you believe about how these two commandments are interpreted, they may appear redundant. The 1^st commandment says that you should have no other gods besides the true God. Some mistakenly assume that the 2^nd commandment is exclusively talking about idols. If so, then it is redundant, since an idol is a false god, and is therefore prohibited by the 1^st commandment. This begs the question: is the 2^nd commandment simply an elaboration on the 1^st, or is it addressing a separate issue?

What Does God Want?

Hosea 6:6 

“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” 

We are given record of Christ quoting the first half of this verse on two occasions: both times He was speaking to Pharisees, and both times He emphasized that we need to understand what “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” means. Some people believe that Christ was speaking against the Law in saying this, indicating that God is not (or was not) pleased with observances of the Law, such as the sacrifices and burnt offerings mentioned. This is one of many scriptures that people twist to try to invalidate God’s law.