Exodus 34.17

“You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.”

Leviticus 19.4

“Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the LORD your God.”

The pagan peoples around Israel did not necessarily believe that their gods inhabited the cast metal or wood carvings that bore their names. At best, something related to their deities, some aspect of their supposed potency, might be embedded (Charles Taylor) in these idols. Pagan gods lived in trees, on hills and mountains, and in the mysterious places of the skies and earth. The carved images pagans kept in their homes or on their persons were meant to be reminders of their gods and tokens of assurance that they were living within their favor.

But Israel was not to make images, not even of the one true God. God reveals His glory in created things (Ps. 19.1-4). He is present with us always and calls us to know, fear, love, serve, and worship Him by faith, without the aid of anything we might make. We must learn to discern the glory of God all around us so that we see His presence in the things He has made, and in the way He wants to be seen (Prov. 25.2; Hab. 2.14).

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