WHAT ARE GRAVEN IMAGES OR
IDOL WORSHIP?
Dr. Elmer Towns
Old and New Testament Mentions of “Graven Images”
The reference to
graven images may be found in several locations throughout the Old and New
Testaments.
The
main prohibition to graven images is found in the Ten Commandments as located
in Exodus 20:4,5 and also Deuteronomy 5:8.
The first
commandment stresses God’s complete uniqueness.
There
is no other God, and no false gods are to have place in our lives.
The commandment
forbidding any graven image specifically demands that thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them.
God is spirit and
cannot be represented by statues or any likeness.
What is Not Allowed?
The
clarification as to what graven images really are does not forbid painting,
sculpture, or other art forms as such, it does, however, forbid selling art as
a point of contact for worship.
All Scripture is
consistent in condemnation of the worship of any created thing in place of the
Creator. Here, the theological truth is that the essence of God is spiritual
and unseen (John
4:24).
The
first commandment therefore forbids the worship of any false god, seen or
unseen, it is here forbidden to worship an image of any sort, whether the
figure of a false deity or one in any way symbolical of Jehovah.
The presence of the
invisible God was to be marked by
no symbol of Himself, but by His words
written on stone, preserved in the arc of the Holy of Holies and covered by the
mercy seat.
Graven Images in Israel
The
actual Hebrew word for graven images means “carved image.”
The Hebrew means
something hacked or chiselled into some “likeness.” These idols were normally
of wood (though the word
The
condemnation of images clearly includes images that were idols.
It may be that
these images were in use among Israel’s ancestors (even Orthodox Jewish
tradition allows that Terah, Abraham’s father, was an idol-maker).
The children of God
– Israel – were monotheistic, that is they worshipped one God.
The Israelites,
however, lived in the midst of a polytheistic world thus the apodeictic
commandments (short, sharp “you must not”) were a prohibition by God to His
people that He would not share their worship with any other God.
Similarly, in the
next verse, the core of the command would seem to have been “you must not bow down to them.”
Christian Application
Christians are not
to divide their devotion time due to God alone with any other object or
activity. “ … Him only shalt thou serve”
(Matthew
4:10).
The Christian life
itself is a life abundant in Christ and a life of liberty to serve God freely
and wholly throughout our daily living.
The Christian is to
be careful, however, not to be a stumbling block
or cause offense in doing anything that could cause someone to reject the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 6:3).
or cause offense in doing anything that could cause someone to reject the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 6:3).
The Christian is to
live a separated life from the ungodly things that would cause difficulty in
their lives as well as in other lives. This could include allowing certain
objects, such as Satan worship objects or other religious symbolic objects, to
influence their lives.
“And what concord hath Christ with Belial?
or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath
the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God
hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and
they shall be my people. Therefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive
you, And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6: 15-18)
God
is commanding you to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
He sent His only
begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for your sins.
Accept Jesus’
finished work at the cross. Tomorrow might be too late.
Salvation is by
grace through faith. All your righteous works are but filthy rags to God.
Say this prayer:
“Father God, I confess I
am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now
want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and
help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your Son,
Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and
hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become
the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank
You that according to your Word, I am now born again.
Please send Your Holy
Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I
promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Please use me for Your
glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”
RELATED
POSTS:
You Shall Not Worship Idols
10 Idols of Your Heart to Remove
. .
Why You Should Not Wear a Crucifix
.
“Just
as I am”
lyrics
Just
as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just
as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot;
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just
as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt;
Fightings within, and fears without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just
as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind;
Yes, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just
as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Has broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Dr. Elmer Towns is a college and seminary professor, an
author of popular and scholarly works (the editor of two encyclopedias), a
popular seminar lecturer, and dedicated worker in Sunday school, and has
developed over 20 resource packets for leadership education.His personal
education includes a B.S. from Northwestern College in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
a M.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a Th.M. from Dallas
Theological Seminary also in Dallas, a MRE from Garrett Theological Seminary in
Evanston, Illinois, and a D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena,
California.He is co-founder of Liberty University, with Jerry Falwell, in 1971,
and was the only full-time teacher in the first year of Liberty’s existence.
Today, the University has over 11,400 students on campus with 39,000 in the
Distance Learning Program (now Liberty University Online), and he is the Dean
of the School of Religion.Dr. Towns has given theological lectures and taught
intensive seminars at over 50 theological seminaries in America and abroad. He
holds visiting professorship rank in five seminaries. He has written over 2,000
reference and/or popular articles and received six honorary doctoral degrees.
Four doctoral dissertations have analyzed his contribution to religious
education and evangelism.
No comments:
Post a Comment