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representing the invisible God

Deuteronomy 4:14-20 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 4:14 At that time Yahveh commanded me to teach you prescriptions and rules for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and take possession of.

Deuteronomy 4:15 “Diligently watch your throats – because you did not see any form on the day Yahveh spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb –

Deuteronomy 4:16 or else you will act corruptly¹ and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of some figure: a male or female form,

Deuteronomy 4:17 or the form of some animal on the land, some winged creature that flies in the sky,

Deuteronomy 4:18 some creature that crawls on the ground, or some fish in the water under the land.

Deuteronomy 4:19 When you look to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars – all the stars in the sky – or else you might be led astray to bow in worship to them and serve them. Yahveh your God has provided them for all people everywhere under the sky.

Deuteronomy 4:20 But Yahveh selected you and brought you out of Egypt’s iron furnace to be a people for his inheritance, as you are today.

representing the invisible God

The mission of the Israelites was to represent the invisible God to a world steeped in idolatry. The fact that God spoke to them from the burning mountain without a form was to remind them to stay away from the images of human and animal bodies that had so thoroughly captivated the nations around them. The Israelites had been slaves to the idolatrous Egyptians. They were to purge themselves of that mania.

Christian, is there a form that fascinates you? Do not gaze at it. Even if it is a gift from God, it can easily ensnare you.

Lord, may the gospel of Christ shine through us clearly, with no hint of idolatry to obstruct it.