By His Word
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath.” — Exodus 20:4, NIV, excerpt.
I have noticed how quickly I can fill in the blanks when I’m waiting to hear from someone. A friend grows quiet, and before I’ve asked what happened, I’ve already decided what the silence means. Then we talk, and I discover that the person I know is quite different from the one I’ve been carrying around in my head all afternoon. I can do something similar with God. When a prayer goes unanswered, I may assume He has withdrawn. When a decision feels right to me, I may assume He has approved it. Exodus 20 invites me to set those assumptions before the Lord who speaks. Before giving Israel a command at Sinai, God reminds the people that He brought them out of slavery. Then He calls for their exclusive allegiance and forbids them to make an image to bow down to or serve. The Hebrew word pesel refers to a carved image. In his Truth For Life devotional, Alistair Begg draws attention to what these first commands ask of us. They concern both whom we worship and how we approach Him. Israel already knew the Lord by what He had done in Egypt. Now they were learning to trust what He said about Himself.
Moses returns to that day in Deuteronomy 4. He reminds Israel that they heard God’s voice from the fire and saw no form. That detail helps us understand what happened when Moses stayed on the mountain longer than the people expected. They asked Aaron for something that could go before them, and he made a golden calf. He even announced a festival to the Lord (Exodus 32:1–6). I find that detail unsettling. The people could use God’s name in worship while putting their confidence in something they had made. Consider what God had actually provided for Israel’s worship. In the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle stood the ark, with the tablets of the covenant inside. God promised to meet with Moses above its cover, between the cherubim, and speak to him there (Exodus 25:16–22 and 26:34). The same God who forbade the idol made provision for His people to hear Him. God took the initiative to make Himself known, and Israel’s part was to listen. That is a good posture for us when we open our Bibles with a question we would prefer to answer for ourselves.
When I want to know what God is like, I turn to Jesus. Paul calls the Son “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15, NIV). The Greek word for image is eikōn. Paul goes on to say that all things were created through the Son and for Him. The One who shows us the Father is Lord over the very creation from which Israel was tempted to fashion its idols. Think of Jesus with Peter in John 21. Peter had denied Him three times, and the risen Lord met him on the shore, fed him breakfast, asked him whether he loved Him, and entrusted him with the care of His people. I need that whole scene. If I imagine God as eager to discard me, I miss the breakfast and the renewed trust. If I imagine Him as indifferent to what I do, I miss the questions Jesus asks Peter. Christ’s mercy gives Peter room to face what happened and a responsibility to carry forward. The Jesus we meet in Scripture is free to correct the picture of God we have carried for years.
Exodus 20:4–6 forbids making and worshiping idols. Read alongside Deuteronomy 4:12–19 and Colossians 1:15–20, it also gives Christians a way to examine the assumptions that shape their worship. If you find yourself thinking, “God must be tired of hearing from me,” bring that thought to John 21 and spend a few minutes with Jesus and Peter by the water. If you are sure God approves of how you’ve treated someone, read Matthew 5:23–24 and consider whether you owe that person a conversation. Read the passage slowly enough to hear its comfort or its correction. Then name one response you can make today. It may be a candid prayer you have been putting off, or a phone call that begins, “I’ve been thinking about how I spoke to you.”
If you know a teenager or young adult who enjoys honest questions about everyday life, invite them to visit Keaton Talks on Facebook.
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