Exodus 20:23
“‘You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.”
This is something new, no idols. I’m not sure if they had any images of God. We do know that they had been in Egypt for 430 years. They were slaves for 400 of them. By being enslaved, they made the Egyptians very wealthy. Signs of Egyptian wealth was everywhere. The great pyramids and structures didn’t serve a practical purpose other than a grave memorial. But that could have been dug in a few hours. It was overdone by the hundredth power. It provided a sign of the greatness of that pharoah along with decorating the landscape. There were images of Egyptian gods everywhere. It also was done in an opulent manner. Having idols wasn’t unique to the Egyptians. All cultures had them. The Hebrews would have been unique to not have them.
First off, God put a yearning for Him in us all. Darwin and an attempt to claim there is no god is new in the entire context of history. This is done to give people license to do whatever they want. However, this doesn’t erase that god yearning. Just wishing it away won’t make it happen.
We are sensory beings. Our five senses help us take in data from the world. We want to see and touch and so on. This is part of what the desire for an idol is. We also are social beings. We grow sad is we’re alone to long. We are reassured when we can see the object. Having an object to be present with us also satisfies a need. There is probably more to it than that, but it’s a start.
Why can’t we have an idol that represents God? I don’t know for sure, but here are some thoughts. God is so great that an image can’t capture Him. I’ve heard it said that if we were able to understand God, He wouldn’t be big enough to solve my problems. The more we know about life, the more we see it’s complexity. We see how the organs in the body work together, with each having it’s own purpose. We can look at the molecular level and discover a world there. The cells all have their purpose. There are many threats in this small world. Some cells exist to destroy germs and anything harmful. We can look at space and marvel at how grand it is. Isaiah 40:12 says that the heavens are measured by the span of His hand. To have an idol of God instantly limits Him.
An idol is inanimate, while God is living. He is intertwined in every aspect of life. Paul said in Acts 17:28, “in Him we live, move and have our being”. He is every where and in every thing. A statue takes away much from the reality of Him. The Louve is full of religious art. Many of these pieces are very inspirational. Much of this was commisioned by the church. How is this permissable? I would say something for the sake of art is different than worship. We aren’t to bow before statues or pictures. God is so much more. Our understanding of Him is a very limited fraction of the reality. God is dynamic and He wants our faith to not be limited.
Thank You God, for Your presence. Help us to keep idols, actual or symbolic, far from us.
First off, God put a yearning for Him in us all. Darwin and an attempt to claim there is no god is new in the entire context of history. This is done to give people license to do whatever they want. However, this doesn’t erase that god yearning. Just wishing it away won’t make it happen.
We are sensory beings. Our five senses help us take in data from the world. We want to see and touch and so on. This is part of what the desire for an idol is. We also are social beings. We grow sad is we’re alone to long. We are reassured when we can see the object. Having an object to be present with us also satisfies a need. There is probably more to it than that, but it’s a start.
Why can’t we have an idol that represents God? I don’t know for sure, but here are some thoughts. God is so great that an image can’t capture Him. I’ve heard it said that if we were able to understand God, He wouldn’t be big enough to solve my problems. The more we know about life, the more we see it’s complexity. We see how the organs in the body work together, with each having it’s own purpose. We can look at the molecular level and discover a world there. The cells all have their purpose. There are many threats in this small world. Some cells exist to destroy germs and anything harmful. We can look at space and marvel at how grand it is. Isaiah 40:12 says that the heavens are measured by the span of His hand. To have an idol of God instantly limits Him.
An idol is inanimate, while God is living. He is intertwined in every aspect of life. Paul said in Acts 17:28, “in Him we live, move and have our being”. He is every where and in every thing. A statue takes away much from the reality of Him. The Louve is full of religious art. Many of these pieces are very inspirational. Much of this was commisioned by the church. How is this permissable? I would say something for the sake of art is different than worship. We aren’t to bow before statues or pictures. God is so much more. Our understanding of Him is a very limited fraction of the reality. God is dynamic and He wants our faith to not be limited.
Thank You God, for Your presence. Help us to keep idols, actual or symbolic, far from us.