When God forbids images, he is not merely prohibiting carved statues—he is protecting his own glory and our understanding of who he truly is. In this reading from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2, Chapter 8, Sections 17–21, Calvin explains the Second Commandment (Exodus 20:4–6) as a safeguard against corrupt worship and distorted conceptions of God. Because God is incomprehensible and spiritual in nature, any attempt to represent him in visible form inevitably diminishes him. The commandment therefore restrains our impulse to fashion God according to our senses and imaginations, and instead directs us to the worship he himself appoints—spiritual, obedient, covenantal worship. Calvin then turns to the declaration that God is “a jealous God,” showing that divine jealousy is covenant language: God relates to his people as a faithful husband who will not tolerate rivals. Idolatry is spiritual adultery, a violation of pledged faith. When God speaks of visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, Calvin carefully defends divine justice, explaining that descendants are not condemned for another’s guilt but, when abandoned to the same corruption, walk willingly in the same path. At the same time, God’s mercy is extended to thousands, far surpassing the reach of his temporal judgments. The central lesson is clear: God’s holiness, justice, and mercy stand together. He will not share his glory, he will not act unjustly, and he will not forget covenant faithfulness.

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