Deuteronomy 4:16

_LEST YE CORRUPT YOURSELVES, AND MAKE YOU A GRAVEN IMAGE, THE SIMILITUDE OF ANY FIGURE, THE LIKENESS OF MALE OR FEMALE,_ Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image. The things are here specified of which God prohibited any image or representation to be made for the purposes of worship; and, from the variety of details entered into, an idea may be formed of the extensive prevalence of idolatry in that age. In whatever way idolatry originated, whether from an intention to worship the true God through those things which seemed to afford the strongest evidences of His power, or whether a divine principle was supposed to reside in the things themselves, there was scarcely an element or object of nature but was deified. This was particularly the case with the Canaanites and Egyptians, against whose superstitious practices the caution, no doubt, was chiefly directed. The former wo...

1-23 The power and love of God to Israel are here made the ground and reason of a number of cautions and serious warnings; and although there is much reference to their national covenant, yet all may be applied to those who live under the gospel. What are laws made for but to be observed and obeyed? Our obedience as individuals cannot merit salvation; but it is the only evidence that we are partakers of the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ, Considering how many temptations we are compassed with, and what corrupt desires we have in our bosoms, we have great need to keep our hearts with all diligence. Those cannot walk aright, who walk carelessly. Moses charges particularly to take heed of the sin of idolatry. He shows how weak the temptation would be to those who thought aright; for these pretended gods, the sun, moon, and stars, were only blessings which the Lord...

Verse Deuteronomy 4:16. _THE LIKENESS OF MALE OR FEMALE_] Such as _Baal-peor_ and the Roman _Priapus, Ashtaroth_ or _Astarte_, and the Greek and Roman _Venus_; after whom most nations of the world literally _went a_ _whoring_....

EXPOSITION DEUTERONOMY 4:1 ADMONITIONS AND EXHORTATIONS. Moses, having presented to the people certain facts in their recent history which had in them a specially animating and encouraging tendency, proceeds to direct his discourse to the inculcation of duties and exhortations to obedience to the Divine enactments. This portion also of his address is of an introductory character as well as what precedes. DEUTERONOMY 4:1 _Exhortation to the observance of the Law generally_._ _The Law was to be kept as a complete whole; nothing was to be taken from it or added to it; it comprised the commandments of Jehovah, and therefore they were not only to do it as what Moses, thei

LEST YE CORRUPT YOURSELVES,.... And not themselves only, but the word and worship of God, by idolatry, than which nothing is more corrupting and defiling, nor more abominable to God: AND MAKE YOU A GRAVEN IMAGE, THE SIMILITUDE OF ANY FIGURE; a graven image, in the likeness of any figure, an idea of which they had formed in their minds; THE LIKENESS OF MALE OR FEMALE; of a man or a woman; so some of the Heathen deities were in the likeness of men, as Jupiter, Mars, Hercules, Apollo, c. and others in the likeness of women, as Juno, Diana, Venus, c. Some think Osiris and Isis, Egyptian deities, the one male, the other female, are respected but it is not certain that these were worshipped by them so early....

3. HEARKEN, O ISRAEL! CHAPTER 4 _ 1. Obedience demanded (Deuteronomy 4:1)_ 2. The covenant to be observed (Deuteronomy 4:9) 3. Take heed unto yourselves lest ye forget (Deuteronomy 4:15) 4. The warning (Deuteronomy 4:25) 5. Israel, the chosen nation (Deuteronomy 4:32) “Now therefore hearken, O Israel” marks the beginning of the exhortation to keep the law of the Lord. First he had shown the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord and upon that Moses admonishes them to

SECOND PART OF MOSES-' FIRST ADDRESS. This contains exhortations to obedience from motives of self-interest and of gratitude to Yahweh, and forms an apparent logical unity with Deuteronomy 1:6 to Deuteronomy 3:29: but the two pieces had probably a separate origin. The lessons in Deuteronomy 4:1 are not drawn immediately from chs. 1- 3. The writer of 1- 3 has in mind the events which followed the departure from Horeb: that of Deuteronomy 4:1 concentrates attention upon the theophany on Horeb. Deuteronomy 4:27 see

GRAVEN IMAGE. Hebrew. _p_ esl. a sculpture (Exodus 20:4). FIGURE. Hebrew semel. only here, 2Ch 33:7, 2 Chronicles 33:15, and Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 8:5. LIKENESS. form. Hebrew. _tablinith =_ model....

Against Idolatry The truth that is beneath the whole Law: God is revealed not in images, but by words and deeds of redemption. Warned to lay their experience to heart (Deuteronomy 4:9), Israel are reminded of the revelation at Ḥoreb, solely by words and the covenant (Deuteronomy 4:10-14); let them recall they saw no form (Deuteronomy 4:15) lest they make any idol of any living thing in earth, air or sea (Deuteronomy 4:16-18) or worship the host of heaven, assigned by Jehovah to other peoples (Deuteronomy 4:19)

_VER._ 16. _LEST YE CORRUPT YOURSELVES_— God having a just title to their highest love, and religious veneration, their suffering any object whatever to come in competition with him, was a _corrupting of themselves;_ a depravation and perfidious alienation of their affections from that God, whose they were, and whom they were to serve. The Jews have so well understood the force of this exhortation, that, to this day, they found the third article of their Creed upon the _immateriality of God._ Indeed, we must acknowledge, that the most ancient legislators, and the wisest of the philosophers, agreed with Moses in condemning all representations of the Deity by any image or sensible object whatever. Among other excellent institutions of religion, Numa taught the Romans to abstain from all use of images in the worship of the gods; a doctrine, which he is said to have derived from Pythagoras,...