Exo 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

We have no right in heaven or earth to change this commandment and make it something it should not be. Even through Jesus Christ who redeemed us from the curse of the law, there is no place for images and icons in the worship of God. Through faith in Jesus we now can worship God without any other intercessor. We do not need a priest, a prophet, an image, a sacrifice (Jesus was the sacrifice), or any other intercessor. We can pray to God through the authority of Jesus Christ. Neither do we have to pray at a certain place. No place is any holier than another. We can now worship God in spirit and in truth because the way was made through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ to atone for sins and make the way possible for us to be cleansed from sin and able to pray to God alone.

The only place sacred is a place dedicated as a place of worship where a group of believers worship together in a church, home or an outdoor park of some kind. We show respect at those dedicated places because of why we gather in His name. To seek God on our own though can be done anywhere, any time and any length of time. We now are free to worship, pray and study His word on our own.

As a group we need a good godly leader to guard against false teachers and such, but as an individual we can pray to God without an intercessor. This is made possible by the blood of Jesus cleansing us from all sin. Idols, images, icons are never to be used in worship. Both Old Testament and New forbids this.

Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

It can't be plainer than that. We are not to bow down to statues of Mary, any saint or any image even if its an image of God or Jesus Christ.  It is wrong and it does not represent God.

We can't use the excuse of the ark of the covenant and the use of images in that case. They were commanded by God to make the ark to represent the covenant and the commandments. It was not an object of worship. God did not command the Christian church to make anything like that because Jesus replaced the ark of the covenant. He replaced all things and made a new way of salvation. We no longer need intercessors, priests and sacrifices. He was the final complete sacrifice.

The use of images is in direct violation of the second commandment.

Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Using the name of God in a swear word, in a disrespectful manner or in a way that does not bring glory to Him is forbidden.
Under Jesus Christ, we would not want to misuse His name for by His name are we saved.

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

The Sabbath was made for man to have a day or worship and rest both for the body and the spirit.

We need this rest. However, Jesus actually became our Sabbath of rest when He died on the cross and rose again ushering in a new way to be saved. Whether or not we pick Saturday, Sunday or any other day is not a thing to worry about. Our salvation is through faith in Christ and not on which day we worship. Actually when one is saved and filled with the Holy Spirit they can worship God in spirit and in truth any day of the week and every day of the week. Our bodies are still in need of a rest though so we still need one day to rest physically. If we rob ourselves of this, we hurt our bodies and may have to answer to God if we compel those that work for us to work 7 days without a rest. He made that day for them to rest and be strengthened.

Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exo 20:12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

This literally has been known to be true. My dad always honored and respected his mother and father. He is 91 years old now.

Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

This means another human being, including abortion because they are human. This does not include criminals that have been condemned by the law of the land when they have been judged guilty of a capital crime worthy of death. This power is given to governments that are set up on the earth. Naturally corrupt unfair governments that misuse this power will be judged by God.

Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

This is a commandment so often forgotten in today's world but still just as important as when God gave it. Broken homes and families harm the spiritual well being of children more than anything. Children need stable homes be brought up in. Without that stability they turn out to be unstable themselves and become societie's problems in later life.

Adultery stings and hurts the offended spouse bringing in sorrow and instability. It hurts. God knows this and has made a special commandment to spare families of the hurt and harm that comes when this act is committed. Marriage is holy and made by God to preserve the human race and make families so that none of us have to dwell alone. God made families to give us companionship and have a place of refuge from the storms of this life. We need each other.

Some though through no fault of their own, dwell alone. In this case a loving church can be a family to those who are alone.

Exo 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

Stealing robs someone. We don't even have the right to steal from the rich. God does not sanction Robin Hoods. The rich are responsible to help the poor and will be judged by God if they don't but we have no right to just steal it. I believe in a government welfare system that helps the disabled, the widows, children and such but if a man can work he should work.

Exo 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

All these commandments fall into one or the other category.

Thou Shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, soul, mind.

Thou Shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

If we loved our neighbors we would not commit adultery, we would not steal, we would not kill and we would not lie against them.
The two commandments Jesus gave covers all the commandments. If we loved God with all our hearts, we would not worship idols or have any other gods before Him. We would want to keep a special day of worship set aside just for Him alone. I don't get into legal specifics that require a Saturday as opposed to Sunday. Neither do I get into legal requirements that require a Sunday instead of any other day of the week.

The spirit of the law is what is important.
LOVE is the key.

Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

If one does not covet then they will never be tempted to steal. Also when we covet what someone else has, we are not putting God first. Its easy to get a envious spirit. The fruits of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance which is self control. Jealousy, greed and those type of things are the very opposite of any fruit of the spirit.

Exo 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exo 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

They wanted an intercessor out of fear. This is the normal human reaction to the things of the spirit and the presence of God.
When one meets Jesus Christ and has his sins blotted out, he has access to the things of the spirit without any other intercessor except Jesus Himself.

Still those that are uncomfortable in the presence of God will not want to be where His presence is. Usually it is those that do not want to turn from sin and do not want to be in His presence. They are missing out on a gold mine. To be blessed spiritually is to be happy indeed.

Exo 20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

Imagine having God in their very midst. Once a person is saved by grace and filled with the spirit of God it is usually a desire to walk and stand in the presence of God.

Exo 20:21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exo 20:22 And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
Exo 20:23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

This is a serious offence with God and we never should take it lightly. This has not changed with the coming of Christ. In fact it is even more serious. If God sent His Son to die and suffer for our sins, it would be a serious insult to worship other gods after knowing God and knowing who He is.

I don't even believe we should have likenesses of God for how could we ever know what He looks like and nothing that we could make would even come near His glory.

When we worship God in spirit and in truth, we don't need an image to bow before. We don't need it. We don't need to look at anything or imagine anything. We can pray in the spirit without having any images or intercessors other than Jesus Himself.

Exo 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
Exo 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
Exo 20:26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

Covering nakedness was very important to God then and I imagine He has not changed.
When we love God with all our hearts, we will care what He thinks about things. He will let us know if we seek Him by prayer and through His word.

Exodus 21