8869. 'You shall not make for yourself a graven image' means no product of self-intelligence. This is clear from the meaning of 'a graven image' as that which does not come from the Lord but from a person's self. A product of one's own understanding is meant by 'a graven image', and a product of one's own will by 'a molded image'. Having either kind as a god or venerating it is loving all that comes from self more than anything else. People who do this do not at all believe that any of their intelligence or wisdom flows in from the Divine; for they attribute it all to themselves. And everything else happening to them which they cannot attribute to themselves they relate to fortune or to chance; they altogether refuse to recognize God's providence in such matters. They suppose that if some higher power is present it lies within the natural order, to which they ascribe all things. They do, it is true, say with their lips that some God and Creator has stamped such things on the natural order; but in their hearts they refuse to recognize any God higher than the natural order. This is what those people are like who at heart attribute everything to their own prudence and intelligence, and nothing to God. And those of them who love themselves venerate their own abilities. They also wish to be venerated by others, indeed to be venerated as gods, openly so if the Church did not forbid it. These are 'the makers of graven images', and the images themselves are what they hatch from their own understanding and will, and wish to be venerated as things that are Divine.

[2] The fact that those things are meant by 'graven images' in the Word is clear from places where they are mentioned, as in Jeremiah,

Every person has been made stupid by knowledge; every metal-caster has been filled with shame by his graven image, for his molded image is a lie; and there is no spirit in those things. Jeremiah 10:14; 51:17.

Because 'a graven image' means that which does not originate in the Lord but is a product of self-intelligence, the words 'every person has been made stupid by knowledge' and 'every metal-caster has been filled with shame by his graven image' are therefore used. And because what is hatched from self-intelligence does not have within it any spiritual life, which comes solely from the Lord, the words 'and there is no spirit in those things' are also therefore used.

[3] In Habakkuk,

What profit is a graven image since its image-maker has graven it, a molded image and a teacher of lies, since the image-maker trusts in the thing he himself has made, when he makes dumb gods? It has no breath in it. ¹ Habakkuk 2:18-20.

Here 'a graven image' stands for what is hatched from self-intelligence and has no life at all from the Lord within it.

[4] In Jeremiah,

A drought on its waters, and they will dry up! For it is the land of graven images, and they glory in idols. ² Therefore the ziim dwell with the iim, and the daughters of the owl dwell in it. Jeremiah 50:38-39.

This refers to Chaldea and Babel. 'A drought on its waters, and they will dry up' stands for truths that have no life at all in them, 'the ziim and the iim and the daughters of the owl dwell' stands for evils and falsities, and so for things which inwardly belong to death This is why the words 'the land of graven images' are used.

[5] In Isaiah,

Makers of the graven image, all are vanity; and their most desirable things are profitless. And they are their own witnesses; they do not see, nor do they know. Isaiah 44:9-11.

'Makers of the graven image' stands for those who hammer out teachings which are not products of truths from the Word but products of self-intelligence, in reference to which teachings the words 'their most desirable things are profitless' and 'they do not see, nor do they know' are used. Verses 12-16 of that chapter go on to refer to the art of conceiving ideas and of using reasonings to hatch them from self-intelligence - ideas which they wish to be recognized as Divine. Regarding these the following is said finally,

The rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He venerates it, bows down [to it]. And yet they do not know or understand; and their eyes do not see, so that their hearts do not understand. Isaiah 44:17-18.

'They do not know, do not understand, and do not see' stands for the absence of truths and forms of good within; for inwardly nothing that is the outcome of self-intelligence has either truths or forms of good in it, only falsities and evils, since it is the outcome of the person's proprium. The fact that the proprium is fundamentally evil, see 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 1581, 3812 (end), 4328, 5660, 5786, 8480.

[6] In the same prophet,

To whom will you liken God, and what image will you compare with Him? The craftsman casts a graven image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it. Whoever is too impoverished to make this oblation ³ chooses a piece of wood that will not rot; he seeks for himself a wise craftsman to make ready a graven image that is immovable. Isaiah 40:18-20.

'A graven image' cast by a craftsman stands for false teachings that spring from the self, and 'a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it' stands for the fact that it uses reasonings to make the falsities in those teachings look like truths.

[7] In the same prophet,

I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, to open the blind eyes, to bring the bound out of prison, out of the dungeon-house those who sit in darkness. I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images. Isaiah 42:6-8.

These words refer to the Lord. They declare that He is Jehovah, that He is the Source of all wisdom, and that none at all springs from man. Their reference to the Lord is self-evident, as is the truth that He is Jehovah; for they declare that Jehovah has called Him in righteousness, and then 'I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another'. The truth that He is the Source of all wisdom which has to do with life is meant when it says that He is to open the blind eyes, bring the bound out of prison, and out of the dungeon-house those who sit in darkness; and the truth that no wisdom at all springs from man is meant by 'My praise I will not give to graven images'.

[8] Ideas belonging to self-intelligence are also meant by 'graven images' in the following places: In Isaiah,

And there came the chariot of a man (vir), a pair of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babel has fallen; and all the graven images he has broken to the earth. Isaiah 21:9.

In the same prophet,

Then you will judge unclean the covering of the graven images of your silver, and the clothing of the molded image of your gold. You will throw them away like a menstruous rag; a piece of dung it will be called. Isaiah 30:22.

In Jeremiah,

Why have they provoked Me to anger through their graven images, through foreigners' idols? ⁴ Jeremiah 8:19.

In Hosea,

[As] they have called themselves, so they have gone for the sake of themselves. They sacrifice to the baals, and burn incense to graven images. Hosea 11:2.

In Moses,

Cursed is the man who makes a graven or a molded image, an abomination to Jehovah, the work of a craftsman's hands. Deuteronomy 27:15.

Footnotes:

5321. 'And he made him ride in the second chariot' means an outward sign that the celestial of the spiritual was the source of all the teaching about goodness and truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the chariot' as teaching which has reference to goodness and truth, dealt with below, so that 'making him ride in the chariot' is a sign denoting that the celestial of the spiritual was the source of that teaching. This particular matter is connected with what Pharaoh has stated previously, in verse 40,

You shall be over my house, and all my people shall kiss you on the mouth; only in the throne will I be great, more than you.

The reason why teaching that has reference to goodness and truth is meant by 'Joseph' is that 'Joseph' represents the Lord's Divine Spiritual, 3971, 4669, and so Divine Truth going forth from the Lord's Divine Human, 4723, 4727, the celestial of the spiritual being an extension of that Divine Truth. The reason why all the teaching about goodness and truth is derived from the celestial of the spiritual is that in a real sense the Lord is that teaching since every detail of it comes forth from Him and every detail of it has reference to Him. For all that teaching has reference to the good of love and the truth of faith; and since the Lord is the source of these, He is not merely present within them but in a real sense is both of them. From this it is clear that teaching which has reference to goodness and truth has reference to the Lord alone, and that such goes forth from His Divine Human.

[2] No doctrine at all can possibly go forth from the Divine itself except through the Divine Human, that is, through the Word, which in the highest sense is Divine Truth coming from the Lord's Divine Human. That which goes forth directly from the Divine itself cannot be understood even by angels in the inmost heaven. The reason for this is that it is infinite and so surpasses all understanding, even that of angels. But that which goes forth from the Lord's Divine Human is capable of being understood, for such truth refers to God as Divine Man, of whom some idea can be formed from His Human. No matter what kind of idea has been formed about that Human, it is an acceptable one if only the good of innocence has been inspired into it and the good of charity is present within it. This is the meaning of the Lord's words in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

In the same gospel,

You have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

And in Matthew,

No one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. Matthew 11:27.

[3] Chariots are mentioned in very many places in the Word, yet scarcely anyone knows that matters of doctrine concerning goodness and truth, and also factual knowledge attached to those matters of doctrine, are meant by 'chariots'. The reason for such lack of knowledge is that nothing spiritual, only what is natural and historical, enters their thinking when 'a chariot' is mentioned, or similarly when the horses in front of a chariot are mentioned. But in the Word the powers of the understanding are meant by 'horses', 2760-2762, 3117, and therefore 'a chariot' means matters of doctrine and associated factual knowledge.

[4] It has become clear to me from the chariots which I have seen so many times in the next life that 'chariots' means the matters of doctrine and also the factual knowledge which the Church possesses. There is also a place over on the right, around the lower earth, where chariots and horses, together with rows of stables, appear. In that place people who in the world were considered learned, and who thought that life was the end in view of learning, stroll and converse with one another. The origin of such chariots and horses seen by them lies with the angels in higher heavens; when these angels' conversation turns to intellectual concepts, and to matters of doctrine and to known facts, those chariots and horses are seen by the spirits around the lower earth.

[5] The fact that such things are meant by 'chariots and horses' is perfectly plain from the occasion when Elijah was seen riding into heaven in a chariot of fire with horses of fire, and from what both he and Elisha were called - 'the chariot of Israel and its horsemen'. The two of them are spoken of in the second Book of Kings as follows,

Behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire came between them, and Elijah went up in a whirlwind into heaven; Elisha saw this and cried out, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. 2 Kings 2:11-12.

And in a reference to Elisha in the same book,

When Elisha was sick with the illness from which he died, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept before his face and said, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. 2 Kings 13:14.

The reason they were called this is that both of them - Elijah and Elisha - represented the Lord as to the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 2762, 5247 (end). The Word itself is primarily doctrinal teaching about what is good and true, for the Word is the source of all doctrinal teaching. It was for the same reason that Elisha's servant, whose eyes had been opened by Jehovah, saw around Elisha,

A mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. 2 Kings 6:17.

[6] The fact that 'chariot' means matters of doctrine and 'horse' intellectual concepts is also clear from other places in the Word, as in Ezekiel,

You will be filled at My table with horse and chariot, with mighty man and every man of war. Thus will I bring My glory to the nations. Ezekiel 39:20, 11; Revelation 19:18.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. Anyone can see that here 'horse and chariot' does not mean horse and chariot, for people are not going to be filled with these at the Lord's table but with such things as are meant spiritually by 'horse and chariot', which are intellectual concepts and matters of doctrine regarding what is good and true.

[7] Much the same is meant by 'horses' and 'chariots' in the following places: In David,

The chariots of God are myriad on myriad, ¹ thousands of peacemakers; the Lord is within them, Sinai is within the sanctuary. Psalms 68:17.

In the same author,

Jehovah covers Himself with light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, laying the beams for His upper chambers ² on the waters; He makes the clouds His chariots; He walks on the wings of the wind. Psalms 104:2-3.

In Isaiah,

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. Thus said the Lord to me, Set a watchman; let him announce what he sees. He therefore saw a chariot, a pair of horsemen, a chariot of asses, a chariot of camels, and he listened diligently, with great care. For a lion cried out on the watchtower, O Lord, I am standing continually during the daytime, and at my post I have been set every night. Now behold, a chariot of men, a pair of horsemen. And he said, Fallen, fallen has Babylon. Isaiah 21:1, 6-9.

[8] In the same prophet,

At that time they will bring all your brothers in all nations as an offering to Jehovah, on horses, and in chariots, and in covered waggons, and on mules, and on fast runners, to My holy mountain, Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:20.

In the same prophet,

Behold, Jehovah will come in fire, and His chariots will be like a whirlwind. Isaiah 66:15.

In Habakkuk,

Has Jehovah been displeased with the rivers? Has Your anger turned against the rivers, has Your wrath turned against the sea, that You ride on Your horses, Your chariots being salvation? Habakkuk 3:8.

In Zechariah,

I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots coming out from between two mountains; but the mountains were mountains of bronze. The horses coupled to the first chariot were reddish, the horses coupled to the second chariot were black, the horses coupled to the third chariot were white, and the horses coupled to the fourth chariot were mottled. Zechariah 6:1-3.

[9] And in Jeremiah,

There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city will be inhabited for ever. Jeremiah 17:25; 12:4.

'The city that will be inhabited for ever' is not Jerusalem but the Lord's Church meant by 'Jerusalem', 402, 2117, 3654. The kings who will enter through the gates of that city are not kings but truths known to the Church, 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068. Thus 'princes' are not princes but the first and foremost aspects of truth, 1482, 2089, 5044. Those 'seated on the throne of David' are Divine Truths which go forth from the Lord, 5313; and those 'riding in chariots and on horses' are consequently intellectual concepts and matters of doctrine. Chariots are also mentioned many times in historical descriptions in the Word; and since historical events are representative of, and the words used to describe them mean, the kinds of things that exist in the Lord's kingdom and in the Church, 'chariots' have a similar meaning there also.

[10] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary meaning, so too does 'chariots'. In that contrary sense matters of doctrine maintaining what is evil and false, also factual knowledge used to lend support to these, are meant by 'chariots', as in the following places: In Isaiah,

Woe to those who go down into Egypt for help and rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are many, and on horsemen because they are extremely strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 31:1.

In the same prophet,

By the hand of your ³ servants you have spoken ill of the Lord and have said, By the multitude of my chariots I have gone up [to] the height of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon, where I will cut down the tallness of its cedars, the choice of its fir trees. Isaiah 37:24.

This is a prophecy delivered in response to the haughty words spoken by the Rabshakeh, a leader serving the king of Assyria. In Jeremiah,

Behold, waters rising out of the north which will become a deluging stream, and they will deluge the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it. And every inhabitant of the land will wail at the sound of the beat of the hoofs of the horses his mighty ones, at the noise of his chariot, the rumble of its wheels. Jeremiah 47:2-3.

[11] In Ezekiel,

By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust will cover you; by reason of the noise of horsemen, and wheels, and chariots, your walls will be shaken, when he comes into your gates, like the entry into a city that has been breached. By means of the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. Ezekiel 26:10-11.

In Haggai,

I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will also overthrow the chariots and those riding in them; the horses and their riders will come down. Haggai 2:22.

In Zechariah,

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, I will cut off the battle bow. On the other hand He will speak peace to the nations. Zechariah 9:10.

In Jeremiah,

Egypt comes up like the river, like the rivers his waters are tossed about. For he said, I will go up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and those who dwell in it. Go up, O horses; rage, O chariots. Jeremiah 46:8-9.

[12] The horses and chariots with which the Egyptians pursued the children of Israel and with which Pharaoh entered the Sea Suph, when the wheels of the chariots were made to come off, and much else regarding the horses and chariots which forms the major part of the description - Exodus 14:6-7, 9, 17, 23, 25-26; 15:4, 19 - mean intellectual concepts, matters of doctrine, and known facts which maintain what is false. They also mean therefore reasonings which pervert and destroy the truths known to the Church. The destruction and death of such reasonings is described there.

Footnotes: