No Graven Images
Yesterday I took a bit of time out of my day to try my hand at some serious lake fishing. Earlier this year I taught my nieces and nephews from a dock but was not quite sure if I was using the right bait and weights as I’m used to fishing in the ocean. Out there in the middle of this huge lake brought me right back to my youth of about 7 years old as my friend brought out the small poles using extremely light weights, tiny minnows, fake lures and bobbers. I was pretty spot on in teaching my family, but it is nothing like fishing in the ocean at all. While we were not very successful this time out, the fall season definitely did not disappoint. HalleluYAH to our Abba Father who makes all things good, in all situations.
I’m a bit delayed in writing this devotional for various reasons (not because I played hooky and went fishing 🤪) but because I do not believe in coincidences, I am confident that one of the set backs was due to a message I watched on Mon which is completely in line with the devotional I had planned for this week. This message brought into remembrance information I found out in my late 20’s and while at that time I found it curiously strange, I explained it away and forgot about it. From the title of this message I imagine you realize that I will be going down the path of the 10 Commandments, what they mean to me, and how I apply them to my life. Last week, I discussed the 1st Commandment and this week is number 2, No Graven Images. The message I watched discussed the origins of Halloween and while I already understand its origins, I’m always interested in hearing various points of view. The speaker went into detail regarding the topic however, all the information she provided tied back to the city I grew up in from birth; the city of Pomona. I had a John 14:26 moment: But the comforter, the RUACH HA’KODESH, whom my Father will send in my name will teach you everything, and remind you of everything which I tell you. It all came rushing back to me.
As I indicated before I remembered that I discovered this information well after graduating high school and disregarded it. You see, Pomona is actually the name of a goddess who was worshiped for fruitful abundance in ancient Roman religion. Pomona received its name back in 1875 and this goddess is represented in NY by a bronze statue or graven images which sits atop the Pulitzer Fountain in Manhattan's Grand Army Plaza in New York. Pomona was also very well known for it’s citrus fields and orange groves. There is still a street there to this day called Orange Grove. Pomona was even mentioned on the I love Lucy show where Ethel referenced “Driving down to Pomona” and later discussing how to talk Fred out of purchasing an orange grove. I imagine in 1955 it was much of a farm town with plantation homes with acres and acres of fruit groves and it begs to wonder how the name of a Roman pagan goddess made its way into a small CA city in the US. 🤷🏽♀️ However, fast forward to today it’s a thriving city which has had its ups and downs over the years but there is something else ominously interesting about growing up in Pomona. I graduated from a High School named Ganesha High, whose mascot is The Giants which causes me to think of the nephilim. Ganesha is the pan-Hindu god known as the remover of obstacles. He is the offspring of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction (insert CERN here), and the goddess Parvathi. WOW…While I wasn’t much of a student during my high school years I was definitely a cheerleader; screaming out the name of this pagan el (god) many times, at the top of my lungs unknowingly worshiping him by cheering on our sports teams every game and rally I attended, for 3 years.
So what does the 2nd commandment say about this? Exodus 20:4-6 You shall not make for yourself any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth; 5: You shall not worship them nor serve them: for I YAHWEH your EL (God) am a zealous EL, visiting the offenses of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me; 6: And showing mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Aramaic). Deuteronomy 5:8-10 You shall not make for yourself any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth; 9: You shall not worship them, nor serve them; for I YAHWEH your EL am a zealous EL, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children of to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10: But showing mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Aramaic) It is quite possible that if I had died, mouth wide open in mid cheer back then, I was on my way to an eternity without YAHWEH. I am grateful Father YAHWEH had other plans for my life.
Now how sneaky is that; to name a city and high school after pagan el’s causing us to repeatedly say their names and pledge faithfulness to them? Ganesha even had a school anthem song and our dedication to supporting the school and its sport teams is a form of worship especially when many of us barely knew YESHUA or how to worship Him if we did. Scripture does inform us early on in Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than all the wild beasts that YAHWEH EL had made. And the serpent said to the woman, Truly has EL said that you shall not eat of any tree of the garden? We are told in the very first book the deceptiveness of satan and in his very first appearance in scripture, the first thing he does is plant doubt in the mind of Eve and evoke idolatry. In fact the first essence of idolatry which is what the 2nd Commandment is about deals with satan telling Eve that YAHWEH does not want her to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because they would then become like el’s (gods). Genesis 3:5 For EL knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like els knowing good and evil. So why would Eve then disobey her Creator who has already given her everything; even the ability to be in His presence without dying and still eat the fruit? My guess is because she wanted to be like a god which at the very least is the idolization of self; sound familiar?
Well, it should because this is the epitome of the world we live in today. American Idol, Selfies, YouTube; so much of the world today revolves around idolatry even the way we speak “Do you”, “You are enough”, “You have to put yourself first”. All these kinds of affirmations are straight from the pit because it is the ELOHIM whom we must put first if we are a follower of His Commandments. We have to be careful because just as the example I gave earlier about the City I grew up in and the School I graduated from, idolatry is built in almost every facet of our lives. -leviticus 26:1 says: You shall make for yourselves no idols nor graven images, neither shall you erect obelisks for yourselves nor shall you set up any image of stones in your land to bow down to them or worship them; for I am YAHWEH your ELOHIM. What is an obelisks? It’s this, Washington Monument. It is crucial that we remain alert and vigilant, actively looking for breaches. One would ask “Why do they do this, why do they embed idols into our lives subliminally, and in plain sight?” There are several reasons:
1, America was built on idolatry, utilizing graven images and symbols, with an obvious one being on the back of the 1.00 bill so yes, false deities are worshiped in the US today.
2. Satan hates us and especially those who follow the one true ELOHIM YAHWEH-YESHUA
3. Satan relies on the fact that people today generally do not read or research.
4. It is a tried and proven successful method of satans to get believers to transgress against YAHWEH. How does he do this, you ask? I will tell you.
When a believer willingly transgresses the laws of YAHWEH, they are no longer under the protection of YAHWEH possessing His RUACH. In the scriptures, Numbers 22 is a chapter about Balak the king of Moab and Balaam a wicked prophet. This historical documentation is a great example of how satan through these two was able to get the children of Israel out from under the blessings and protection of YAHWEH. It is very simple, they caused the Israelites to transgress His laws. I will provide a link below of this story if you are not familiar with it. So you see, building up the world around us full of idols that we are not familiar with, inundating our lives with fame, fashion and baubles causing us to do anything to have them, and put them before our covenant with The Most High eliminates His protection over us and the only way to know the things we engage in are idolatrous is to read scripture. When Moses presented YAHWEH’s 10 Commandments, the Israelites were surrounded by nations and kingdoms steeped in this practice. They were freed from Egypt where there were statues (graven images) of Pharaohs and animals, a half human, half dog el (god) called Anubis, and many, many other el’s who were worshiped for various reasons. YAHWEH made it clear that He was the EL of the Israelites and as described in my previous devotional, He was making a point that the reality is, there are no other el’s, so do not waste your time worshiping what was actually fallen malakim (angels) or demons.
Let’s fast forward again to today, it would seem that celebrities are being idolized much like the pagan deities of those days.. People care about celebrities and sports figures and their personal lives more than they do the ELOHIM. People want to dress like them, wear the clothes they wear, drive the cars they drive and live in the houses they live in. Many people literally make themselves over in the image of who they idolize, which is the same as what YAHWEH commanded us not to do as we are not to bow down and serve them. Serving them today looks like giving them your money to have them perform for you at concerts, on CD’s, in movies, and in theatrical plays. Many of these things cost a lot of money and whether people can afford it or not, depending on their level of idolatry, they will spend whatever or even go into debt to see their favorite artist or celebrity do whatever. Entertainment of all kinds is built into the fabric of our society taking our focus off of what is real and everlasting. The biggest problem we have today regarding graven images and idolatry is that it is becoming more blatantly placed in our faces, being accepted as normal and even celebrated. A good example of this is this year’s opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. It is a blatant mockery and rendition of the what the children of Israel did in the desert in Moses’ absence. Only YAHWEH deserves our worship as He is the only one who can truly bless, and the sacrifice of His Son YESHUA is the only way our transgressions can be completely eliminated or blotted out allowing for eternal life. John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of EL, who takes away the transgressions of the world!”
YESHUA speaks clearly about not putting all of our focus in things of this world and in man in Matthew 7:24-27: Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26: And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. The things we get so caught up in, in this world is nothing but sand. When we die, we will not awaken to our nice homes, cars, vacations, concerts, movies or clothes. It is all sand that gets blown off and away, disappearing into the wind turning into nothing and when we are quickened after death that is what we will awaken to, nothing. I rather see the face of our ELOHIM and hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant” like in Matthew 25:14-30 (linked below).
To conclude, Luke 9:62 says: And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Let’s keep our hand on that plough, continue to look forward and meditate on His commandments and scripture. We are in some dark days right now; so many deaths happened over the weekend and on 10/31/2022. In the midst of celebrating a historically proven demonic day, many people who died, I’m sure believed they were out celebrating a harmless day, in a harmless way dressed as something light hearted and innocent but in the midst of it, died in their transgressions. With the implementation of the internet and the truth now being widely dispersed over the last few years, we are getting to a place where there can be no more excuses of “I didn’t know”. Our mighty ELOHIM is serious about His ways, His laws and commandments, but He is even more serious about loving His own. Search the scriptures now, while there is still time. Let’s get to know Him better, in every way that we can; together.
Shalom & Berekah!
Just a few supporting verses:
But the comforter, the RUACH HA’KODESH, whom my Father will send in my name will teach you everything, and remind you of everything which I tell you.
-John 14:26
You shall not make for yourself any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth; 5: You shall not worship them nor serve them: for I YAHWEH your EL (God) am a zealous EL, visiting the offenses of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me; 6: And showing mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Aramaic)
-Exodus 20:4-6
You shall not make for yourself any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth; 9: You shall not worship them, nor serve them; for I YAHWEH your EL am a zealous EL, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children of to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10: But showing mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Aramaic)
-Deuteronomy 5:8-10
Now the serpent was more subtle than all the wild beasts that YAHWEH EL had made. And the serpent said to the woman, Truly has EL said that you shall not eat of any tree of the garden?
-Genesis 3:1
For EL knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like els knowing good and evil.
-Genesis 3:5
You shall make for yourselves no idols nor graven images, neither shall you erect obelisks (National Monument) for yourselves nor shall you set up any image of stones in your land to bow down to them or worship them; for I am YAHWEH your ELOHIM.
-leviticus 26:1
Balak and Balaam cause the children of Israel to sin
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of EL, who takes away the transgressions of the world!”
-John 1:29
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26: And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
-Matthew 7:24-27
The parable of the Talents
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
-Luke 9:62
For you shall worship no other el (god); for YAHWEH whose name is zealous, is a zealous ELOHIM.
-Exodus 34:14
Mortify therefore your earthly members; immorality, uncleanness, intemperate desires, evil lusts, and covetousness; for these are idolatry.
-Colossians 3:5
Confounded are all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols; worship Him, all his malakim (angels)
-Psalm 97:7
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, Do not do that; I am your fellow servant, and one of your brethren who have the testimony of YESHUA; worship ELOHIM, for the testimony of YESHUA is the RUACH of prophecy. - Even this malak (angel) knows better and refused to accept worship that belongs to YAHWEH alone.
-Revelation 19:10