God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads
Having completed our examination of the first commandment, we now turn to the second: idols and images.
The connection is important. After commanding Israel to have no other gods before him, YHWH (יהוה) addresses the making of images and the response given to them.
Before deciding how this applies, we need to examine the words and their setting.
Exodus 20:4 prohibits making an idol or likeness drawn from what is in heaven, on earth, or in the waters beneath. Verse 5 prohibits bowing down to them or serving them. The passage then speaks of God’s jealousy, the consequences of iniquity, and lovingkindness toward those who love him and keep his commandments. Read Exodus 20:4–6.
Several details require attention: what is made, what it represents, and how it is treated.
The Hebrew word פֶּסֶל (pesel) is translated as idol, carved image, or graven image. It is related to a verb meaning to carve or hew. Its biblical use includes images made from wood, stone, and metal; the concern cannot be reduced to one material or manufacturing method. See the lexical entry for pesel.
Alongside it is תְּמוּנָה (temunah), meaning likeness or form. This word can describe a form or representation without, by itself, meaning an idol. Its use must be examined in context. See the lexical entry for temunah.
That distinction matters within our God’s Image Study. The English words image and likeness should prompt investigation into the underlying words and their use. We should not assume that every occurrence describes the same thing.
Deuteronomy provides an explanation that deserves careful attention.
Moses reminds Israel that when God spoke from the fire, they heard words but saw no form. He then connects that event with a warning against making a carved image in the form of a male, female, animal, bird, creeping creature, or fish. The warning also extends to being drawn into worshiping and serving the heavenly bodies. See Deuteronomy 4:12–19.
They heard God speak. They were not given a visible form to reproduce.
Notice the connection between what God disclosed and what the people might make for themselves. Moses directs their attention back to the encounter and warns against supplying a representation of their own.
This gives us a starting question for the study:
Am I receiving what God has revealed, or supplying something of my own and treating it as though it came from him?
We will examine that question through the passages themselves. First, we must give the actual objects and actions their full attention. Later comparisons concerning inward loyalties or ideas should grow from that examination.
We also need to keep both parts of the command before us: making the prohibited image and bowing down to or serving it. Focusing on only one part can cause us to overlook the other.
As we continue, we will examine the golden calf, images God specifically commanded, and what happens when an object receives devotion. Those passages will help us distinguish circumstances that an isolated English word cannot settle.
For now, our task is to begin carefully: read the command, identify its words, and observe the explanation Scripture gives.
Threads to Follow
Pesel and temunah: carved image, likeness, and form.
Hearing God’s words without seeing a form at Horeb.
Making, bowing down, and serving.
The golden calf and the claims made about it.
Images God commanded and objects people came to venerate.
Jealousy, consequences, lovingkindness, and keeping the commandments.
The books were opened…
🌿 By Maria Emilia
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