Basic Truth #26 - Images Not To Be Used In Worship

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Littleleslie

Basic Truth #26 - Images Not To Be Used In Worship

Post by Littleleslie »

Basic Truth #26 – Images Not To Be Used In Worship

When Jehovah gave His laws to Israel, He was very specific in how they were to worship Him. In the first ten laws that He gave them, He warned them about using images in their worship. Exodus 20:4, 5 records this: "You must not make for yourself a carved image of a form like anything that is in the heavens above or that is on the earth underneath or that is in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion." Making an image that would represent Jehovah would be impossible as Moses explained to them at Deuteronomy 4:15. He said: "You must take good care of your souls, because you did not see any form on the day Jehovah’s speaking to you at Horeb out of the middle of the fire."

Once they entered the land of Canaan, they were to destroy all of the images that the people who were dwelling there used in their worship. At Deuteronomy 7:25, 26 Moses explains why this command was to heeded when he wrote this: "The graven images of their gods you should burn in the fire. You must not desire the silver and the gold upon them, nor indeed take it for yourself, for fear that you may be ensnared by it; for it is a thing detestable to Jehovah your God. And you must not bring a detestable thing into your house and actually become a thing devoted to destruction like it. You should thoroughly loathe it and absolutely detest it, because it is something devoted to destruction." In order to offer acceptable worship to Jehovah, Israel would not need to have anything before them because their God was invisible and He had given them sufficient evidence of His existence and His sovereignty.

This prohibition against using idols in worship of Jehovah even extended to the first century Christians. Paul wrote at 1 Corinthians 10:14 this: "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." Idolatry was and still is a widespread practice that Satan promotes to keep people from becoming worshippers of Jehovah and also uses it to cause the worshipper of Jehovah to be rejected by Him thus bringing about his destruction. This warning that Paul gave these Christians is still as applicable now as it was then.
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