Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as I attempt to read the Bible with fresh eyes, as if I don't know anything about it, and without consulting experts on what it "really" means.. Let's see where this takes us!
I'm reading Young's Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
Deuteronomy 4
Deuteronomy 4 confirms that the first 17 verses of Exodus 20 are The Ten Commandments. I don't think they were specifically mentioned with that phrase before.
Verses 15-20 stand out. The faith of the Israelites is based on hearing, not seeing. The "LORD your God" can't be seen, only understood. To represent the LORD as the sun or a star or a snake or any animal, "things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples everywhere" is to mis-understand. An animal, even an animal represented in a constellation, isn't God.
An image or symbol of such an animal definitely isn't God.
If you give away your power to such idols, believing they have mystical properties or whatever, you're relying on the external world to bring you blessings that only you and the God within you can provide.
This is why the LORD is a "jealous" God. Earth-bound spirits may exist in the forms of mysterious energies and beings (such as goat-demons, or jinn), but they cannot provide what God does. You can, however, enslave yourself to them and let them consume you. Idolatry means placing one's faith in the temporal instead of the eternal. Any pleasures or successes that may come are based on a misplaced faith that brings temporary results.
God speaks to you.
James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!
(Photo credit: TyshkunVictor)
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