Lord’s Day 35
Q97. May we make any image at all?
God cannot and should not be pictured in any way. Created things may be pictured, but God says we must not make or keep images if we plan to worship them or use them to worship God.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
Exodus 34:13–14, 17
“But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name Jealous, a jealous God: Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.”
Numbers 33:52
“Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:”
2 Kings 18:4–5
“He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor that were before him.”
Parent Guide
Discuss this question together
Discussion Questions
- 1
Can we make pictures of created things like animals and people?
- 2
What is the specific thing God forbids about images?
- 3
Why do you think people are tempted to use images as part of their worship?
Illustration
Drawing a picture of a sunset is fine. Hanging a photo of your family on the wall is fine. The problem comes when someone makes an image and then bows down to it or uses it as a way to get closer to God. The commandment is about worship, not about art class.
Application
Look around your room and home. Do you have any object that you treat as if it brings you closer to God? God wants your heart directed to him through his Word and prayer, not through objects.