Exodus 20:4

How people yearn to have some visible object to
venerate! Most religions feature statues and images to
which worshipers offer food, drink and precious
objects. Shrines dot the landscape of nations across
the globe and pilgrims make long treks to bow before
these "sacred" relics.

The true God, however, commanded his people not to
engage in such behavior.

   "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"(Exodus 20:4,NKJV).

Though idols were often erected in Israel, God
consistently viewed them as abominations.

Why would God forbid what seems to be such a natural
human impulse? Consider some of the erroneous views
people have had of their "deities" and you'll see the
wisdom of God's orders.

Isaiah challenged the people of his time who ignored
the prohibition on idols. He mocked the man who used
the same tree for different purposes:

   "And no one considers in his heart, nor is
   there knowledge nor understanding to say, 'I
   have burned half of it in the fire, Yes, I
   have also baked bread on its coals; I have
   roasted meat and eaten it; and shall I make
   the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall
   down before a block of wood?'"(Isaiah
   44:19).

Can God be fashioned by the artisans of our time? Whose
representation of the Lord will resemble him most? Will
any of their representations resemble the true God?

Another failed attempt to represent God is found in
Daniel 2:11. Nebuchadnezzar's magicians could not
reveal the king's dreams. "It is a difficult thing that
the king requests, and there is no other who can tell
it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not
with flesh."

These men were partly correct: Only God can reveal
dreams, a truth to which Daniel quickly agreed(Daniel
2:27,28). In saying that God does not dwell with
people, however, they were mistaken. Jesus would
disprove that false view (Philippians 2:5-8).

The wise man will conclude that he can know nothing
about God except what God reveals to him. God made that
very point in Isaiah 55:8,9. Instead of creating an
image of God that we desire, let us learn the lesson of
Habakkuk 2:20: "But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let
all the earth keep silent before him."

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted
among the nations, I will be exalted in the
earth!"(Psalm 46:10).

 

by Tim Hall