Made in the image of God

The Genesis creation account says that God “created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NLT)

The phrase ‘in the image of God’ has significant importance that over the centuries has lost much of its significance. When Moses, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, wrote what we know as the book of Genesis the world was significantly different than it is today.

In the years that Moses walked the earth and down through the centuries the common practice of people and nations was to make ‘images’ of the gods that people served and of the kings that were in power. There were no newspapers, TV, or Internet. In order that people would remember the ‘god’ that they were to serve people would erect a statue of the ‘god.’ The statues would be found in all kinds of places and they would be all different sizes. The statues were to serve as a continual reminder of who was god.

Kings would likewise erect statues of themselves across the region that they ruled. One of the common artifacts that archeologists find is statues of kings. The statues were scattered throughout the kingdom and served to remind the people in the region who was in charge.

The closest practice that modern Americans have is the portrait of the President, who is in currently in power, which is displayed in many Post Offices across the country. The portrait reminds people, as they walk into the Post Office, who the leader of the land is.

The significance of God creating people ‘in His own image’ is found in these practices. Everywhere a person walks, sits, works or plays there is the image of God. There is a living representation of the God of the universe. There is a living representation of the God who is the king of the land.

The 2nd Commandment that God gave to Moses on the mountain was to make no ‘image’ of God or a statue that would represent any god or power. God commanded people that they were not to worship any image.

Why? God created people – living beings – to be his ‘image’ in the world. God’s intention was that people would look at one another and they would be reminded of God and reminded of who the King is.