Deuteronomy 4:15, commentary and pictures

At Horeb the Lord spoke to Israel out of the midst of the fire, and the people heard His voice but saw no shape or visible form of God. He made known His presence and His words, not a likeness to be copied, so that in the revelation of His glory there was nothing from which an image could be made. Because they saw no similitude, they were to take good heed to themselves and guard against corrupting themselves by making any graven figure in the likeness of male or female, or by worshiping and serving created things such as the sun, moon, and stars. That remembrance was to keep them from representing God by an image and to hold them to worshiping God alone, a safeguard especially urgent as they entered a land where idolatry prevailed. The same charge calls God's covenant people still to heed His law proclaimed at Sinai, to remember the covenant and teach it to children and grandchildren, and to refuse to give to pictures, persons, or earthly things the place and attention that belong to God alone.

What Israel Experienced at Horeb

At Horeb the LORD spoke to Israel out of the midst of the fire, and the people heard His voice but saw no manner of similitude or visible form of God. The warning to take good heed to themselves rested on what they had witnessed there, for God spoke from the fire yet showed no form to them. What was revealed was His presence and His words, not a visible likeness to represent Him. In the manifestation of His glory on the mount there was nothing of which an image could be made.

The word was spoken as Moses' farewell instruction to teach Israel statutes, charging them to take good heed because they saw no similitude on the day the LORD spoke in Horeb out of the midst of the fire. In that charge God declared unto them His covenant, even the Ten Commandments written upon two tables of stone. With them He gave statutes and judgments to be taught and done in the land to be possessed, for Israel to obey as a holy people. The verse thus belongs to the account of God giving His law at Sinai with promises attached to keeping His commandments.

It was spoken to a people who were so thrilled by hearing God's words that they asked not to hear them directly, which shows unbelief.

Warning Against Images and Idolatry

Because they saw no visible form when the Lord spoke to them at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, Israel was charged to take good heed to themselves. That heed meant guarding every point against corruption by making a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female. The absence of any likeness was given to guard them against fashioning images of God and turning to idolatry. The warning was spoken as farewell instruction teaching statutes, declaring the covenant, even the Ten Commandments written upon two tables of stone, with statutes and judgments to be taught and done in the land to be possessed.

The same charge forbade worshiping and serving created things, including the sun, moon, and stars. Though those heavenly bodies are grand and wonderful beings given for blessing, they only testify of God and are not God. The One who created them alone demands all service and the whole confidence of heart, soul, and life, so His law must be respected and His commandments obeyed. His people must serve Him according to His Word and submit to His will, rather than treating created things as God.

The memory of hearing His voice but seeing no form was to prevent representing God by an image and to keep Israel worshiping God alone rather than worshiping created things. They were not to make an image representing God or to worship sun, moon, stars, or other created things. The command was especially urgent as they entered a land where idolatry prevailed, and it was tied to remembering and keeping God's covenant, including the Ten Commandments.

In the manifestation of His glory on the mount there was nothing of which an image could be made. Aaron was with Moses in the mount and beheld that glory with his own eyes, so he knew no visible shape had been given to copy. His making an idol in the similitude of an ox and announcing its feast changed that glory into an ox, which made his sin especially heinous.

Because Israel saw no form of God at Horeb, they were not to enter into making representations of Him. Such image-making over and over takes time and money and amounts to nothing. The time devoted to the Lord's work is to bring souls into right relation to God.

Keeping the Covenant Today

Deuteronomy 4:15 belongs to a chapter calling God's covenant people to heed His law, and the whole fourth chapter is to be carefully studied for what it teaches about the sacredness of that law. The law proclaimed by God at Sinai is to be observed by all who identify themselves with His people. That observance includes keeping the true Sabbath holy. Its warnings call for careful study and heed. Truth is to be treated as a lasting guide, not something to take up only at certain times and set aside at will. The call is to live in the light already given, and failure to act on that light stands as a warning against neglecting what God has shown.

The chapter promises that keeping His statutes and commandments will bring good and prolonged days on the earth. It warns that His word will be vindicated if His people depart from His commandments. That was verified when Israel disobeyed and only two of the adults who left Egypt entered Canaan while the rest died in the wilderness. The warning belongs with remembering the covenant and teaching its lessons to children and grandchildren. It belongs with respecting His law and obeying His commandments. Sacred truth is to be acted out in principle in all religious service toward God and toward one another, in being Christian gentlemen, loving as brethren, doing no injustice, and always showing liberality, tenderness, compassion, and true courtesy.

The same principles expressed in James 3 were spoken by the voice of God from the pillar of cloud, telling what to do and not do. As expressions of the mind of the infinite God they never lose force, so every word is to be cherished and preached and not made a thing of naught. God will not be trifled with, and He will be represented by correct principles while all who depart misrepresent Him. The verse calls for wanting heaven, being brought into right relation to God, seeing the King in His beauty, and becoming in character lawful partakers of His glory through partaking with Christ in His sufferings. This requires not being swayed by what any great person says, remembering that fallen angels were wonderfully educated yet sought Christ's place. It requires not glorifying or lifting up any human being, believing the Word just as given, partaking of the divine nature to overcome worldly lust, and holding a faith that works by love and purifies the soul.

Time devoted to the Lord's work is to bring souls into right relation to God. Diligent study of the commandments and following them to the letter is recorded by angels in the books of heaven, and when each is judged according to deeds done in the body, faithfulness will be remembered and unfaithfulness remembered for punishment. The ancient charge against treating created things as God applies to God's people today, who must serve Him according to His Word and submit to His will. The warning is applied to picture-taking and magazines when they lead to idolizing human beings or earthly things. God's image is to be formed in mind, words, and character rather than represented by images, children are to keep their minds on the living God, and money spent on personal pictures should instead support missionary work.

Because Israel saw no similitude, His people must take good heed and make no pictures or likenesses. In this day of test accumulating pictures and photographs in homes and multiplying faces is displeasing to God and a species of idolatry that unless reformed will increase until God's people become idolaters. Spending so much on pictures consumes means needed for missionary effort. Those in sacred responsibility must not weave selfishness into sacred things by using common fire instead of God's sacred fire. Things of little consequence attract eye and mind and absorb attention when attention belongs to God.