^“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Deuteronomy 5.8-10

“‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.’”

In the Scriptures we find various descriptions and representations of God in created forms – fire, smoke, mountains, heavens, thrones, weaponry, and so forth. The Lord uses these to enhance our understanding of His greatness and purposes, and to draw out our adoration and worship of His splendor, power, majesty, sovereignty, steadfast love and faithfulness, righteousness, wisdom, grace, and more.

These abstract ideas defy encoding in finite forms, although finite forms can help us in understanding such ideas and the God Who embodies them. Hence, as the Scriptures use such forms to teach us about God, we may use them – and others – for our instruction and edification, as aids to worship and not objects thereof.