balance is important

Today we read from 2 Chronicles 4:1-6:11 in the One Year Bible. Solomon is really getting into building all of this beautiful stuff for the Temple. But wait. Didn't God JUST tell the Israelites NOT to make any graven images? But Solomon is engraving all KINDS of images on the parts of the Temple he's making. Why is this OK?

Well, this brings up an important aspect of the Christian life. You never want to take one verse out of context and try to live all of life by it. It's so important that we keep every verse that the Bible contains in context... and balanced with all of the other verses in the Bible. So yes, God DID tell them not to make graven images. The POINT of that commandment, which they unfortunately demonstrated at the base of Mount Sinai WHILE Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments, was that they shouldn't make graven images AND THEN WORSHIP them, like they did with the golden calf.

But. That DIDN'T mean not to ever engrave anything. It didn't mean don't make statues or beautiful decorations for the Temple. God gave David and Solomon the go ahead to make the Temple beautiful. And they did so in obedience to Him.

The same logic goes today. God doesn't condemn our making of statues or paintings or photos of saints and good people in order for us to remember their example and ask for their intercession. He does NOT want us to worship the statues, of course. But taking the Bible as a whole, we can keep things in balance and realize that we don't have to be iconoclasts to be Christians.

Here is an article that gives other good advice on keeping things in balance.

God, thank You for giving us such a great example of Biblical balance.