Deuteronomy in its entirety is one big review session, with Moses going over with the people their history and God's commands leading up to their entrance into the Promised Land. This week, we look at God's prohibition against idolatry:
"You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below" (Deuteronomy 4:15-18).
God gave the people their ability to carve, sculpt, paint, and mold. If the people's hearts weren't right toward the Lord, they would begin to worship other gods and use their imagination and creativity not only to create those gods, but also to make and fashion images of those false gods so they and others could worship them. In a sense, God was warning them if they weren't totally committed to Him, the creativity He had given them would go awry and be used to draw themselves and others after non-gods.
How are you using your creativity? Are you using it to glorify God and to portray His love, grace, and majesty to those who come in contact with your creativity? Or has your creativity gone awry, used for other means, even just to earn your living with no spiritual expression in service to others? In a broader sense, are you taking your creativity seriously and using it as a means to true worship (yours and others) or idolatry?
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