Graven Images

Hello ladies,

Today we’ll be looking at the 2nd commandment, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” Modern translations say, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, 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.” You will find this in Exodus 20:4. The second commandment simply prohibits idolatry as in the worship of such things.

What exactly is a graven image? In the Hebrew language, it referred to carved or sculpted idols. But it can also refer to pictures, paintings and photographs. It’s any physical depiction created for the purpose of worship.

So, is all art and sculpture prohibited? I don’t believe so. Even in Scripture there is mention of carvings on the Ark of the Covenant of cherubim and they were not considered idols. It really comes down to intentions. I have my wedding picture on the wall as well as my kids’ senior pictures, but I’ve never prayed to them. I have some crystal animals displayed in a curio cabinet, but we haven’t built them an altar or worshipped them in any way.

Last year we took a trip to Greece and since the trip was called “In the Footsteps of Paul” we saw some churches and monasteries over there. The Greek churches didn’t have any statues in them because they would be considered graven images. However, there were paintings and mosaics everywhere in the churches. They called them “icons” and saw nothing wrong with them. I saw people going in and kissing those icons and praying by the icons. That seemed like it was straddling the fence if not crossing the line in my mind. They were still making these icons in a shop located where Lydia once lived. These icons were mostly of religious figures and saints, and they all had the gold leaf halo around their heads. And they were found supposedly in most homes.

There are many debates out there about whether pictures of Jesus or saints are considered idols (graven images) or merely religious art. I will leave that to your individual preferences and convictions.

Scripture gives accounts of idol worship. Probably the one that most often comes to mind is in Exodus 32. While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the ten commandments, the Israelites were creating a golden calf to worship. When he returned, he found all sorts of worship, dancing and sacrifice going on. When asked about it, no one wanted to admit to creating it. Moses’ own brother Aaron was the one who made it, and he tried to tell Moses that when he melted the gold, the calf somehow jumped out. Now that’s a whopper of a lie and Moses didn’t fall for it.

1 Kings 18 talks about the worship of Baal and how the prophet Elijah challenged the priests of Baal and God showed His power to them. This is also a great story to read. Elijah soaked the wood for the altar with water and God burned up the wood, the offering, the water, everything. Elijah even mocked the priests of Baal, asking if their god was on a journey, sleeping or perhaps “relieving himself”. The priests of Baal were crying out and cutting themselves, but nothing happened because their god was false.

Jeremiah 7:18 describes the Israelites making offerings to the “Queen of Heaven”. There is no queen of heaven. It may be a term used in some churches, but Scripture doesn’t tell us about a queen of heaven.

Even Solomon, the wisest king ever, built high places for foreign gods such as Chemosh and Molech, which involved rituals that were detestable. I guess even a wise king can fall when he takes up the pagan practices of his outrageous number of wives and concubines.

When Scripture talks about bowing to idols, they mean kneeling before them, praying to them, and putting trust in these items rather than the one true God.

I think in today’s world, idols come in many forms, and we talked about those last week. Anything we put before God in our lives can be considered an idol. Today’s commandment focuses more on created things becoming idols. I don’t believe having photos or paintings in your home is breaking any rules and even knick-knacks aren’t necessarily anything evil. When we decide to have religious art in our homes, we really should check ourselves to make certain we aren’t putting our focus into the picture of Jesus rather than the person of Jesus. It’s His love and sacrifice that is important.

Please feel free to comment or question anything I put on this blog. Conversations are good!

Have a great weekend and if you haven’t visited our little church on the hill, join us this week. It’s worth the drive!

Lori Hug