If we worship anything other than God we are idolatrous the worship of deity made visible, whether of truth or false ideas, in images, pictures, stars, fire or ideal statements as shown in business pursuits or pleasure or for honor where the self is preferred above the honor and glory of God. To worship something or someone we must love or pursue devotedly. Idolatry is the worship of idols, blind or excessive adoration or devotion. The Bible indicates that worship graven images is committing idolatry. A person or thing blindly or excessively adored. Idol – An image regarded as an object of worship. Graven Image – A idol carved in wood or stone. Whenever graven images are mentioned the majority of people would consider it to be a painting or a statue they rarely think of a person such as themselves or their loved ones or their possessions. Throughout time man has always worship either God or the god of brass, stone, gold, silver, and even nature. Graven images have always been restricted for the believer or the born-again Christian because it takes our faith and hope in God and places it with a person or an object. 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 – Exodus 20:3-5. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images or 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. Or any likeness that is in heaven above Īny form, figure, portrait, or picture of anything or creature whatever, whether in the supreme, starry, or airy heaven as of angels, which some have gone into the worship of and of the sun, moon, and stars, the host of heaven and of any of the birds of the air, as the hawk by the Egyptians, and the dove by the Assyrians:Īs oxen, sheep, goats, cats, dogs such as were the gods of Egypt:Īs of fishes, such as were the crocodile of Egypt, the Dagon of the Philistines, and the Derceto of the Syrians: this is the second command, as the Targum of Jonathan expressly calls it that is, the first part of it, which forbids the making of graven images for worship the other part follows, which is the worship of them itself: Clemens of Alexandria F4 observes, that Numa, king of the Romans, took this from Moses, and forbid the Romans to make any image of God, like to man or beast.Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven imageĪn image of anything graven by art or man's device, cut out of wood of stone, and so anything that was molten, or cast into a mould or form, engraved by men, and this in order to be worshipped for otherwise images of things might be made for other uses and purposes, as the cherubim over the mercy seat, and the brazen serpent, and images and impressions on coin, which we do not find the Jews themselves scrupled to make use of in Christ's time on that account though they vehemently opposed the setting up any images of the Caesars or emperors in their temple, because they seemed to be placed there as deities, and had a show of religious worship: however, any image of God was not to be made at all, since no similitude was ever seen of him, or any likeness could be conceived and it must be a gross piece of ignorance, madness, and impudence, to pretend to make one, and great impiety to make it in order to be the object of religious worship on which account, not any image or the image of anything whatever was to be made:
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