What is a graven image?
Exodus 20:3: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”
If this verse stood alone, we would need to do what the Amish do: refuse to be photographed and refuse to have pictures of any kind in our homes.
But Exodus 20:4-5 explains specifics:
“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God...”
The second commandment and other passages in Scripture warn us against crafting something to worship.
Very few Christians believe that the command prohibits all artwork, but some believe it is a violation of the second commandment to have a picture of Jesus in your house, in children’s books, or in performances, live or on TV or in movies.
We need to respect those who interpret this passage in this way, and they need to respect those of us who interpret it differently (Romans 14).
If our children worship their Jesus picture books or someone watches The Chosen
and starts visualizing Jonathan Roumie when they pray, or someone
starts worshiping a picture of Christ in their home, they’ve violated
this command.
God alone is worthy of our worship.
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Below I’ve shared explanations of this command from a number of commentaries. There are a few of these Bible scholars who believe all images of God are forbidden, but most agree that the sin is worshiping images, not displaying them.
We can’t and shouldn’t make an image of God the Father or the Spirit because no one has ever seen them. But we know that Christ came as a man and depicting Him in his human form is not the same as creating an image of the Father or the Spirit, even though no one can perfectly depict Him.
Now, I’d like to hear what you believe, but I won’t answer or publish any comments that are rude or self-righteous. Rude comments violate Romans 14, Colossians 4:6 and Ephesians 4:29.
And please read these commentaries from various denominational backgrounds, before commenting.
“What the second commandment forbade was the worship of God under a material form.” Ellicot’s Commentary
“It is forbidden to make any image or picture of the Deity, in any form, or for any purpose; or to worship any creature, image, or picture. But the spiritual import of this command extends much further. All kinds of superstition are here forbidden, and the using of mere human inventions in the worship of God.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary
“As the first commandment forbids the worship of any false god, seen or unseen, it is here forbidden to worship an image of any sort, whether the figure of a false deity Joshua 23:7 or one in any way symbolic of Yahweh (see Exodus 32:4).” Barnes Notes
“Thou shalt not make … any graven image … thou shalt not bow down thyself to them—that is, ‘make in order to bow.’ Under the auspices of Moses himself, figures of cherubim, brazen serpents, oxen, and many other things in the earth beneath, were made and never condemned. The mere making was no sin—it was the making with the intent to give idolatrous worship.” Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
“They were not absolutely forbidden to make any images, but only to make them for worship, as may appear by comparing this place with Leviticus 19:4 Deu 4:15 and Amos 5:26, with Acts 7:43; and from Leviticus 26:1, where the setting up of a pillar, or stone, is as absolutely forbidden as the making of an image. And therefore as the former is not forbidden to be done simply and universally, as appears from Joshua 24:20 1 Samuel 7:12, but only to be done in order to worship, so also is the latter. Moreover there were cherubims and other images in the temple, and afterwards the brazen serpent, which because they were not made to be worshipped, neither were indeed, nor were ever esteemed to be, any contradictions to this law.” Matthew Pools Commentary
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,.... An image of anything graven by art or man's device, cut out of wood of stone, and so anything that was molten, or cast into a mould or form, engraved by men, and this in order to be worshipped; for otherwise images of things might be made for other uses and purposes, as the cherubim over the mercy seat, and the brazen serpent, and images and impressions on coin, which we do not find the Jews themselves scrupled to make use of in Christ's time on that account; though they vehemently opposed the setting up any images of the Caesars or emperors in their temple, because they seemed to be placed there as deities, and had a show of religious worship: however, any image of God was not to be made at all, since no similitude was ever seen of him, or any likeness could be conceived.” Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
“The second commandment, against image-worship. The prohibition is general; and includes both images of Jehovah,—who, as a spiritual Being, cannot be represented by any material likeness (see the development of this thought in Deuteronomy 4:15-19),—and also those of other gods, or of deified creatures, or objects of nature. Images were widely used by worshippers of Jehovah till the times of the prophets: on the bearing of this upon the date of the Decalogue.” Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
“Verses 4 and 5 are to be taken together, the prohibition being intended, not to forbid the arts of sculpture and painting, or even to condemn the religious use of them, but to disallow the worship of God under material forms. When the later Jews condemned all representations of natural objects (Philo, De Orac. 29; Joseph. Ant. Jud. 8:7, § 5), they not only enslaved themselves to a literalism, which is alien from the spirit of both covenants, but departed from the practice of more primitive times …superstitious regard for images and pictures, which is not only irrational, but which absorbs the religious feelings that should have been directed to higher objects.” Pulpit Commentary
“The Second Word. - To the prohibition of idolatrous worship there is linked on, as a second word, the prohibition of the worship of images… Deuteronomy 4:15., where Moses lays stress upon the command, not to make to themselves an image (פסל) in the form of any sculpture (סמל), and gives this as the reason: "For ye saw no form in the day when Jehovah spake to you at Horeb." This authoritative exposition of the divine prohibition on the part of Moses himself proves undeniably, that פסל and תמונה are to be understood as referring to symbolical representations of Jehovah. And the words which follow also receive their authoritative exposition from Deuteronomy 4:17 and Deuteronomy 4:18. …It is not only evident from the context that the allusion is not to the making of images generally, but to the construction of figures of God as objects of religious reverence or worship, but this is expressly stated in Exodus 20:5; so that even Calvin observes, that "there is no necessity to refute what some have foolishly imagined, that sculpture and painting of every kind are condemned here." With the same aptness he has just before observed, that "although Moses only speaks of idols, there is no doubt that by implication he condemns all the forms of false worship, which men have invented for themselves." Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament
In addition to these commentaries, I encourage you to read the article below. It looks in-depth at what Scripture teaches:
"Exegetically, it is impossible to derive a condemnation of pictures of Christ from the Second Commandment (unless, of course, someone reverentially worships them). The Commandment is speaking of worship of images." The Aquila Report
And these two videos are also helpful:
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