Again “Thou shalt not have strange gods in my sight; thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing nor any likeness.” (Deut. 5.7) Again: “Thou shalt not make to thyself gods of metal.” (Ex. 34.17) You see that He forbids image-making on account of idolatry, and that it is impossible to make an image of God, who is a Spirit, invisible, and uncircumscribed. “You have not seen His likeness,” (Deut. 4.15) He says; and St Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, says: “Being therefore the offspring of God, we must not suppose the divinity to be like unto gold, or silver, or stone, the graving of art, a device of man.” (Acts 17.29)
Listen again that it is so. Thou shalt not make to thyself any brazen thing nor any likeness. These things, he says, they made by God’s commandment a hanging of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen in the entrance of the tabernacle, and the cherubim in woven work. (Ex. 26.31) And they made also the propitiatory, that is, the oracle of the purest gold, and the two cherubim. (Ex 37.6-7) What will you say to this, O Moses?
Fashion cherubim of woven work
You say, thou shalt not make to thyself any graven thing nor any likeness, and you yourself fashion cherubim of woven work, and two cherubim of pure gold. Listen to the answer of God’s servant Moses: “You blind and foolish people, mark the force of what is said, and keep your souls carefully. I said that you had seen no likeness on the day when the Lord spoke to you on Mount Horeb, in the midst of the fire, lest you should sin against the law and make for yourselves a brazen likeness: thou shalt not make any image or gods of metal.
I never said thou shalt not make the image of cherubim in adoration before the propitiatory. What I said was: Thou shalt not make to thyself gods of metal, and thou shalt not make any likeness as of God, nor shalt thou adore the creature instead of the Creator, nor any creature whatsoever as God, nor have I served the creature rather than the Creator.”
Note how the object of Scripture becomes clear to those who really search it. You must know, Beloved, that in every business truth and falsehood are distinguished, and the object of the doer, whether it be good or bad. In the gospel we find all things good and evil. God, the angels, man, the heavens, the earth, water and fire and air, the sun and moon and stars, light and darkness, Satan and the devils, the serpent and scorpions, death and hell, virtues and vices.
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