Molten Gods and Graven Images

Leviticus 19:4 4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.

A molton image is made when a metal is heated up to a liquid state and poured into a cast. The cast is formed by someone to generate an image. Idols were also commonly called 'graven images' in the Bible. An graven image is carved on wood or etched on stone or metal. In either case, man supplies the design.

God designed man. Man was designed to live according to his designer. Man was not made to be loved by a dumb, silent sculpted object on a shelf.

Habbukuk 2:18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

Ideas are casts of mental structures. They too can become idols. Certain ways of thinking can usher the mind in directions that are not what God had in mind for His own. Religion can often fall into this trap by going beyond what God says in His Word.  People pour their whole heart, soul and resources into doing what they have fashioned in their own minds as right instead of enjoying the righteousness God has intended for them.

The world also shapes and molds mental structures continually. The news media, educational systems, arts and culture all contribute to the mold. Ideologies become idolatry and confusion and mayhem abound. It is going on everywhere.

God warned his sojourners in Sinai in Leviticus chapters 17, 18, 19 and 20 to watch out for the pagan ideas that would try to ingrain themselves into their way of life and practice (Leviticus 18:3-6). The same warning is found throughout the New Testament too.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.