"You shall not make for yourself any graven image, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them..."
When God commands Israel not to make and worship a graven image of Himself, what He is commanding?
Do not conceive of Me like the rest of the nations conceive of their supreme god: the most powerful of all the invisible forces to be reckoned with, yet finite, limited, and just one of many influences in their lives. Do not think of Me in such a way. I am not limited and finite. I am not one of many influences in your life; I am the one and only influence. No other forces in reality exist that are even relevant compared to me. I determine everything, control everything, create everything, cause everything.
Furthermore, nothing in the visible realm can adequately capture who I am and what I am like. In one sense, every visible thing reflects My nature and wisdom; for all of it is my handiwork. But in another sense, nothing in the visible realm is like Me; nothing can adequately represent who I am. I am too big to be understood in terms of any finite thing in the natural order. Do not, therefore, conceive of me as a God who can be represented in terms of one finite image. If you do so, then it will not be Me, you worship; it will be some other god of your own imagination. I am a jealous God. I, the all-powerful, transcendent God, am the One you must worship. You must not worship the shrunken deity of your imagination.
So think- when you worship before man-created images or idols... Whom do you worship? God or Idol?
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