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Graven Images
July 10, 2021

During his visit to Athens, the apostle Paul came across devotions on Mars’ Hill including an altar to the unknown God. In the midst of questioning by the locals regarding his beliefs, Paul took time to point out to the people that God is not dependent upon people for His existence. Paul pointed out that God needed no temple made by people within which to reside. He did point out that God is the creator of all and is not to be thought of as a creation of man. He also shared with the Athenians that God is willing to forgive people of their past ignorance and now expects people to repent.

Acts 17:16-32
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

When God has made His nature known to people and they still refuse to glorify God, this is frequently coupled by attempts to create God after the image and likeness of the person. These people begin thinking of God more in terms of a creation of their own mind rather than the Creator of all. They ascribe to God human characteristics instead of considering we are to assimilate and become like God. Beyond the character issue, people also begin fashioning God to look like man or another animal.

Romans 1:18-23
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

In one of the ten commandments, we are told to not make any graven images as a form of worship. We are to worship God Who can show us mercy.

Exodus 20:4-6
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: 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; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

The commandment against graven images was reiterated to the children of Israel as recorded for us in the Book of Leviticus, along with the commandment to keep the sabbaths when also broadly reminding all to keep the commandments explaining that doing so would lead to blessings, and not doing so would lead to withholding of blessings and add the penalty of curses.

Leviticus 26:1-38
Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.

At many different times, the children of Israel were given warnings about not making graven images as a form of worship. They were told they could not worship God by looking at the likeness of a person or animal. God further told them that if they would worship the creation on earth the next logical step would be to worship the creation in space. In considering the logic of what God told the children of Israel thousands of years ago, when we consider that astrology is accepted and that space with its planets and widely accepted extra-terrestrial life forms are looked at as the future salvation of mankind instead of God and Jesus Christ, it is fair to conclude that mankind worships the creation and has made God and Jesus Christ after our image and likeness instead of pushing ourselves to be formed in the image and likeness of God and Jesus Christ.

Deuteronomy 4:15-24
Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance: But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land. Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

It can be hard for us to consider that we live in an idolatrous society because as a society we are already conditioned to the norms of society. People often have a hard time understanding when there is a need to change and instead accept the status quo. With idolatry in the modern era, those who call themselves Christians often point the finger to followers of other religious faiths. In the Old Testament when God warned of idolatry, God was most concerned with the children of Israel. Today, God would be most concerned with Christians. The warnings against idolatry were then given to the children of Israel. While God would warn about the idolatrous practices of gentiles, the warning was given to the children of Israel, meaning it would be the children of Israel, and not the gentiles, with whom God would be addressing when it came to issues of idolatry. Today with concerns about idolatry, God focuses attention on Christians. This means within the Church of God, we need to be focused against idolatry. When we worship God, we cannot limit God through creations of our mind, because our minds are limited. We cannot limit God through the creations we make with our hands, because what we create with our hands is limited by our minds. We cannot limit God through the creation we see, because what we know about the creation is limited by our mental ability. God is much more than any thought or creation we could ever devise. When we think of graven images, we think of a scene presented to us by the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 44:12-20
The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

We need to remember that graven images also can be virtual creations. A graven image can be anything we see with our eyes, whether a physical object or displayed on a screen. A graven image can also be anything we see with our mind, meaning even a person who is blind must be careful with the commandment against graven images.

In Revelation, we are warned not to worship the beast or the image of the beast. This should tell us that in the end time, idolatry is alive and well. In this case, the beast and the image of the beast are both worshipped. We instead are not to worship either, nor receive the mark of the beast.

Revelation 14:9-13
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

As we live a life focused on keeping the faith of Jesus Christ and the commandments of God, we are to avoid idolatry, the graven image. When we just read the passage from Revelation, what image came to mind about the beast? Did you see a large animal, an animal creation of fantasy, an idea, thought, person, system of government? Whatever you saw in your mind is an image, a graven image, and that is how easy it is for us to be sucked into graven images. Our understanding of the Bible is limited by what we see in the Bible. We need to instead trust God knowing that when it is time for the beast and the mark of the beast, God will let His people know so they can choose to avoid worship of the beast and the image of the beast and not take the mark of the beast.

Similarly, when we envision God in our mind, we automatically begin to limit God by what we see in our mind. We trust what we envision rather than the glorious nature of God. Habakkuk wrote about trusting in dumb idols instead of God.

Habakkuk 2:18-20
What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Do we believe that with God all things are possible or do we limit God by the image in our mind we have of God? God the Father and Jesus Christ transcend the human experience and if we want to become like God the Father and Jesus Christ, if we want to be made after the image and likeness of God, we cannot limit God and Jesus Christ to what image we have in our minds. We need to remember we are made after the image and likeness of God. God is not made after our image and likeness.

Genesis 1:24-27
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

To the Galatians, Paul wrote of people who not knowing God worshipped things on earth not worthy of worship. We look at our calling today as if we know God, and Paul pointed out to the Galatians that it would be better to think of themselves instead of knowing God, to be known by God. During the same passage he also pointed out the error in observing day, months, and times, and years. The Greek word for observe that Paul used is paratereo, meaning to inspect insidiously, as if you were auditing the actions of another person. A person whose Christian faith involves insidiously inspecting days, months, times, and years probably would not understand if another person asked, “Who died and made you god?” People who insidiously inspect actions of faith do so because of the image of God they have in their mind.

Galatians 4:8-11
Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

We cannot limit God by having an image of God in our mind, even if we see ourselves as righteous and doing what God would expect. When we limit God and Jesus Christ by having images in our mind, we limit what God and Jesus Christ can do through us. We rationalize our existence and how we observe the faith through this limitation. The limitations we have in our mind of Jesus Christ and God the Father will lead some of us in our actions with Both, to tempt or murmur against. We are to take heed lest we fall.

1 Corinthians 10:1-12
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

When we have limitations of God the Father and Jesus Christ in our mind, when we create any image of God and Jesus Christ in our mind, we make it easier to confuse that image with God the Father and Jesus Christ. We make it easier to worship that image of God and having faith in that image of Jesus Christ instead of worshipping God the Father and having faith in Jesus Christ. We place ourselves in a position where we are more likely to follow commandments and teachings which are also creations of our mind rather than what God commands.

Matthew 15:1-9
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Jesus criticized the scribes and Pharisees for teaching doctrines that are the commandments of men. We need to introspectively review our practices, what we teach to make sure we teach what is in the Bible and not doctrines we have devised. When we trust in ourselves, we will create an image of God in our mind , a graven image that we visualize, that because of our limitation can only be made after our image and likeness. When we create an image of God in our mind, is it God we trust or do we trust our mind more?

It is when we trust God that we can have confidence that God will be our rock and that we will never be moved. Should we err and pursue another god, even a god of our own creation, God will multiply our sorrows.

Psalm 16:1-11
Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

When a person has graven images of God it belies faith. Whether it is a physical object, an image on a video display, or an image of mind, it makes no difference. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Whenever we allow ourselves to visualize God in our mind, we limit faith.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The belief we have is from heaven and not humanly made. As we live our life on earth, we are to walk by faith, not by sight knowing that God the Father through the faith of Jesus Christ is with us.

2 Corinthians 5:1-8
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

We know from the second commandment we are to have no graven images of God. Graven images can appear in many forms, from one that is carved that we look at with our eyes to an image of God we form in our mind. All of these limit the power of God in our lives. All of these lead to the possibility that we will find ourselves like the scribes and Pharisees teaching for commandments that doctrines of men.

God the Father and Jesus Christ transcend the human experience. The Holy Spirit allows us to understand what is beyond the human experience and we cannot limit the power of God in our lives by allowing images of God to exist in our mind as these images are limited by who we are, mortal humans. Instead we need to remember that God the Father is an awesome God who through the faith we have through Jesus Christ can do all things as we walk by faith and not by sight.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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