Problem: Paul affirms here that “an idol is nothing in the world.” Yet the Bible repeatedly condemns idolatry (cf.Ex. 20:4), and even Paul said there are demons behind idols (1 Cor. 10:19). Is he then claiming that demons are nothing?

Solution: Paul does not deny the existence of idols, but simply their ability to affect mature believers who eat meat that has been offered to them (cf. 8:1). It is not the reality of idols, but their divinity which Paul denies. The devil does deceive idolaters (1 Cor. 10:19), but he cannot destroy the meat which God has created and pronounced good (Gen. 1:31; 1 Tim. 4:4), even if someone else has offered it to an idol.

PROBLEM: God clearly commanded in Exodus 20:4: “You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath.” Yet here Moses is instructed by God to “make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work” (v. 18). If making images of any heavenly object is wrong, then why did God command Moses to make some on the ark of the covenant?

SOLUTION: The prohibition against making graven images was distinctly set in the context of worshiping idols. There are, then, several reasons why making the cherubim does not conflict with this command not to bow down to graven images. First, there was no chance that the people of Israel would fall down before the cherubim in the most holy place, since they were forbidden to go in the holy place at any time. Even the high priest went only once a year on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16).

Further, the prohibition is not against making any carved image for religious art and veneration, but of those used as idols to replace God. In other words, they were not to worship any other God or any image of a false god. These cherubim were not given to Israel as idols of false gods; they were angels. Nor were they given to be worshipped as God (latreia), though they were honored. Hence, there is no way in which the command to make them violated the commandment in Exodus 20.

Finally, the prohibition in Exodus 20 is not against religious art as such, which includes things in heaven (angels) and on earth (humans or animals). Rather, it was against using any image as an idol. That idolatry envisioned is evident from the fact they were instructed not to “bow down to them nor serve them” (Ex. 20:5). The distinction between proper religious use of images and idolatry is important:

THE USE OF IMAGES OR REPRESENTATIONS OF GOD

Even language about God in the Bible contains images. God is both a shepherd and a father. But each of these is appropriately qualified. God is not just any father. He is our Heavenly Father. Likewise, Jesus is not just any shepherd, but the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep (John 10:11). No finite image can be appropriately applied to the infinite God without qualification. To do so is idolatry. And idols are idols whether they are mental or metal.

Numbers 21:9—Wasn’t making this bronze serpent a form of idolatry?

Problem: God commanded Moses not to make “any carved image” (Ex. 20:4), lest it be used as an idol. Yet here Moses was commanded to “make a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole.” Later, the people worshiped this very image (2 Kings 18:4). Does not God command Moses to violate the very command He gave him against idolatry?

Solution: First of all, the command against making “carved images” was a command against making idols. God did not command Moses to make an idol for the people to worship but a symbol to which they could look in faith and be healed. Later, the people made this symbol into an idol. But this does not make the symbol wrong. After all, people have worshiped the Bible. This does not mean that the Bible was intended by God as an idol.

Further, not all “images” are idols. Religious art contains images but is not thereby idolatrous. God also instructed Moses to make cherubim (angels) for the ark, but they were not idols. There is a difference between a God-appointed representation or symbol (e.g., the holy icons) and a man-made idol .