Graven Image

Errant teachers have spiritualized God away into a shapeless, formless, ethereal blob. They dismiss hundreds of scriptural references as figures of speech.

To see God as accurately as possible, we must refrain from drawing a too-simple mental picture of His nature. We must be continually expanding our conception of Him.

Richard Ritenbaugh, reflecting upon the technological and linguistic changes that have occurred in the short span of one century, marvels at the drastic decrease of our attention span and the corresponding degradation of language. The dramatic shift in ori. . .

Nebuchadnezzar's image has always held a fascination with students of Bible prophecy. What do the various parts mean? How does it relate to the end time?

A Bible study on idolatry, concentrating on the subject of the second commandment: the way we worship.

Idolatry derives from worshiping the work of our hands or thoughts rather than the true God. Whatever consumes our thoughts and behavior has become our idol.

The natural mind craves something physical to remind us of God, but the Second Commandment prohibits this. Any representation will fall short of the reality.

Most people consider the second commandment to deal with making or falling down before a pagan idol, but it covers all aspects of the way we worship.

Mike Ford cues in on the narrative about the religious hobbyist, Micah, in Judges 17, who practiced his own self-devised hybrid of religion, amalgamating some orthodox truth with abundant noxious, pagan admixtures, bringing a curse on himself and his commu. . .

Richard Ritenbaugh, referring to an email from someone who had stretched the meaning of the second commandment to condemn the use of all paintings, photographs, or sculpture, shows that Scripture is replete with examples of artistry in both the Tabernacle . . .

Many fail to perceive the difference between the first and second commandments. The second commandment defines the way we are to worship the true God.

Mike Ford, reflecting on the inordinately high casualties of the American Civil War, far more extensive than all of the other wars combined, compares the devastation to another civil war between Judah and Israel, recorded in 1 Kings 14 and II Chronicles 11. . .

The Sabbath is a period of time God purposefully sanctified and set apart for the benefit of mankind, a time dedicated to God's spiritual creation.

To appropriate the name of God means to represent His attributes, character and nature. Our behavior must imitate Christ just as Christ revealed God the Father.

In the the Third Commandment, God's name describes His character, attributes, and nature. If we bear God's name, we must reflect His image and His character.

The Catholic Church places great importance on Mary—to the point that many Catholics, both lay and clergy, are pushing for Mary to be recognized as "Co-Redemptrix"! David Grabbe points out that the Bible makes no such claims for her. She may be "bles. . .

Richard Ritenbaugh reiterates that I and II Chronicles (the last books to be canonized in the Old Testament) were post-exilic documents, created for the sole purpose of analyzing the cumulative thematic lessons Judah and Israel had experienced, namely that. . .

Gideon began his life as a coward, became a conqueror, and ended a compromiser, all the while needing assurances from God to bolster his flagging faith.

Habakkuk learns to look, watch, wait, then respond, realizing that God is sovereign and will rectify all the injustices in His own time.