IMAGE: tselem. Masculine Noun. (Strong’s 6754).
Root: צֶלֶם
Sounds like: tzelem.
There has been significant controversy regarding the phrase “made in God’s image”. I’m uncertain whether this blog posting will simplify the debate or bring a whole new spin to it, but perhaps focusing in on the Hebrew word for image, tselem, will, at the very least, help clear the muddy waters. Here’s where the debate begins in the Bible:
Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image [b-tsal’menu], according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
God created man in His own image [b-tsal’mow], in the image of God [b-tselem Elohim] He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Many, who have considered this, have come to the conclusion that we look like God, but that is not really what the word image is trying to convey. The fact that this image is in both male and female form, gives us the hint that it’s not just looks we’re talking about here. However, the phrase, “according to Our likeness” is a better point for this argument. The Hebrew word for “likeness” (d’moot), means similar to, or resembling, or in the pattern of. But image is something different.
The Hebrew word for shadow (tsel) comes out of the word tselem, and we certainly don’t look like shadows, but our shadow behaves exactly like we do. If we jump, so does our shadow; if we wave, our shadow must wave as well. It is an exact replica, a mirrored image of who and what we are. We don’t look like it, but we behave like it.
In Genesis 5 we read that man (adam) was created in the likeness of God. When the first man, (unimaginatively named Adam (it’s like naming your cat, “Cat”)), had a child the baby was in his own likeness (similar to Adam), according to Adam’s image:
Genesis 5:1-3
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man [adam], He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male [zakar] and female [u-nekevah], and He blessed them and named them “adam” [human/mankind] in the day when they were created.
When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image [k-tsal’mow], and named him Seth.
Image is a reflection of the whole soul… it’s what is in your heart and your thoughts. We have the gift, if we choose to accept it, to be image-bearers of God, and that means living and behaving like God intended us to.
In Genesis 1 we read that we were intended to be subduers of the earth and rulers over everything that moved. God had hoped for us to be benevolent caretakers of the planet, in His image, just like He would have done. But we monumentally screwed up… oh, what a mess we made!
Rather than accepting the very generous gift of being God’s image bearers on earth, we decided that we wanted to be gods ourselves. We broke away from God’s image. We devised our own plans and made our own definition of good and evil. Instead of gently guiding the planet so it could flourish as God intended it to, we opted to steal from the planet. We took advantage of its resources to bolster our own wealth. We turned on each other and destroyed other potential image bearers to further our own gain.
Not surprisingly, by the time Noah is on the Biblical scene an amendment has to be made to address the issue of murder:
Genesis 9:1-7
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man.”
“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God [ki b-tselem Elohim] He made man.
As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”
In some manner or another, directly or indirectly, we have all shed blood. The Messiah came and died to redeem humanity and restore the image of God to each soul who chose to follow YHWH. This was meant to be a living faith, and although death was part of it, it was never to be taken lightly.
The word tselem highlighted a significant distinction between the living faith of the Hebrew people, and the religions of the cultures that surrounded them.
YHWH announced humans to be His living image. No other religion, at the time, gave humanity such high honour. Pagan religions made stagnant images out of things of the earth, such as stone or wood. Rocks and forests were God’s creation, not gods themselves:
Numbers 33:50-53
Then YHWH spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images [tsalmeh] and demolish all their high places; and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.’”
By the time of the Babylonian threat, the Hebrew people had completely forgotten that they were image bearers of their Creator. Instead they turned to the pagan way of making tactile, home-made, image-bearing gods to worship, just as the Canaanites had. This was despicable to YHWH. The Hebrew people had promised to never worship idols, but over and over they broke that promise:
Ezekiel 7:20-22a
“They transformed the beauty of His ornaments into pride, and images [weh-tsalmeh] they made of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them. I will give it into the hands of the foreigners as plunder and to the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will profane it. I will also turn My face from them…”
Worshipping other home-made gods was bad enough, BUT worshiping other gods while still claiming to worship God was abhorrent to YHWH, and He spoke vehemently against it:
Amos 5:21-27
YHWH: I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not take delight in your solemn assemblies.
Though you offer me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fatted beasts.
Take away from me the noise of your songs; for I will not hear the melody of your harps.
But let justice run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Have you offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Kiyyun your star god, your images [tsal’mekem], which you made for yourselves.
Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, says YHWH, whose name is The God of hosts.
With all this failure YHWH knew that the only way we could be saved from the predicament we put ourselves in, was to send a perfect human to redeem us. A human that would be the perfect reflection of God… and that reflection of God’s image would be sacrificed, as an atonement, so that humans could be free from the burden of sin… so that we could, once again, be the proper image-bearers of God.
Jesus, as this Messiah, was the living sacrifice for our sin of image-breaking. We broke ourselves off from our purpose of being YHWH’s image bearers. Jesus restored our right to bear the image of God. If we were to follow Yeshua (Jesus) and the example he had set, we could once again be YHWH’s reflection on earth. We were made to be stewards of this planet, respecting all living things, and issuing good practises to protect and promote the God-given goodness of this earth. Jesus’ death allowed us to reboot our purpose.
Colossians 1:15-20
He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Yeshua made it very clear that our role as image bearers had nothing to do with the possessive things of this world, but rather everything to do with the spiritual well-being of creation:
Mark 12:13-17
Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Jesus in His words. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and are swayed by no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”
But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect.” So they brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they answered.
Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
And they marvelled at Him.
It wasn’t just Caesar’s likeness, it was Caesar’s image… his behaviour, which included the desire for wealth and power. We were not meant to spend our lives seeking wealth and material possessions. That always comes at the expense of others. Money is just an image bearing idol.
As image bearers of YHWH, we are meant to reflect the glory of God. Yeshua’s death on the cross restored our ability to be a reflection of God. We broke our image-bearing opportunity, but with Jesus’ sacrifice we can, once again, be transformed into His image.
Paul recalled the story of Moses, whose face glowed from seeing God [Exodus 34]. Protecting the people from alarm, Moses covered his face with a veil. Paul noted that Yeshua had set us free, and that alarming the people was perfectly fine. We must remove the veil that covers our hearts, turn to Yeshua, be free, and, perhaps alarmingly, shine God’s glory upon others:
2 Corinthians 3:12-18
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away.
But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
When we accept the Messiah as the One who brings salvation to us, we begin the process of transforming back into His image, once again. We become the unveiled reflection of God. We are His image in Spirit and in truth. Paul wrote that, “Just as we have borne the image of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly” [1 Corinthians 15:49].
We are guardians of the planet, caretakers of this beautiful earth, and we need to take that role seriously. But our main purpose, as God’s image bearers, is to be sharers of the gospel, the good news that we are redeemed through the Messiah. Our bodies will decay from an earthly death, but our Spirit is our true image, and that carries on forever! Being made in God’s image means guiding humanity through this generous world and onwards, into the Promised Land… where we will bear the image of the heavenly, shining like the noonday sun!
Next week: Servant
Hebrew Word Lessons 
I read a word on Quill Scribes post And several prompts from the Spirit; caused me to marvel at how God is going to transform me, make me brand new, like Him ; in the soon outpouring of His Spirit, Joel; I believe He is telling me. It will not just be in heaven, but here on earth. This lesson was so rich, I received much revelation from Him as I read it, very rare, and truthful, may He glorify Himself in you without measure, praise to YHWH ; Yeshua Almighty Creator.
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Praise YHWH indeed! 🙂
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But the word “image” also means “spirit” right? Because when God made us, He made us spirit, soul and body. So on that note, “image” means “spirit”, right???
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Well they are two different words and concepts in Hebrew… but it is true that when when our Spirit is strong and active we reflect God’s Image all the better. And when our Spirit is underfed it becomes weak and ineffectual and we don’t reflect God very well at all. So I would say they are definitely connected!
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It occurred to me that the reason God instructed us to make no images in the form of anything above was that for us to do so would effectively mean we were abdicating our own God-given responsibility to be His image-bearers by creating a remote (and “safe” from the intimacy of being an image-bearer) representation of God.
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Fantastic observation, Graham! I agree!
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I once read that in the term “b-tsal’menu” the prefix ‘b’ (be) is referred to “with, by means of “….
Then, the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (which is standard reference for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic) about the word [tselèm] says “something cut out”.
I would think that what the Elohim used to produce the adam species (ha-adam) is their tselèm, i.e. a quid of material where the “image” is being cut out of.
To me, it looks like genetics. I would call it DNA.
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Fascinating… there are so many wonderful and mysterious layers to Biblical Hebrew and the amazing work we call the Bible. Thanks for you insight!
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Image is spiritual. Soul – passion -love: the image.
– plural existence: physical- spiritual-
Adam – from adamah – earth man.
Body is under the imagery of the Tabernacle where Spirit resides.
The image of Elohim is the spiritual image .
1 thessalonians 5
23And the Elohim of peace Himself set you completely apart, and your entire spirit, and soul, and body – be preserved blameless at the coming of our Master יהושע Messiah!
24He who calls you is trustworthy, who also shall do it.
– spirit, body, soul-
1 corinthians 6
19Or do you not know that your body is the Dwelling Place of the Set-apart Spirit who is in you, which you have from Elohim, and you are not your own?
20For you were bought with a price, therefore glorify Elohim in your body and in your spirit, which are of Elohim.
Hebrews 1
3 Yeshua being the brightness of the Father’s glory and the exact representation of His substance, and sustaining all by the word of His power, having made a cleansing of our sins through Himself, sat down at the right hand of the Greatness on High.
Colossians 1
In whom ( In Yeshua) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
15who is the likeness of the invisible Elohim, the first-born of all creation.
16Because in Him were created all that are in the heavens and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or rulerships or principalities or authorities – all have been created through Him and for Him.
17And He is before all, and in Him all hold together.
The image of Elohim. Elohim is Spirit. The image is spiritual.
John 1
14And the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us, and we saw His glory, the glory of the only brought-forth of the Father, complete in favour and truth.
Body is under the imagery of the tent. The Tabernacle of Elohim. Earth also is the imagery of the tent . Adamah. Adam – earth man. The chemical elements that are in the earth – same elements are in human body.
2 corinthians 3
17Now יהוה is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of יהוה is, there is freedom.
18And we all, as with unveiled face we see as in a mirror the esteem of יהוה, are being transformed into the same likeness from esteem to esteem, as from יהוה, the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 5
1For we know that if the tent of our earthly house, is destroyed, we have a building from Elohim, a house not made with hands, everlasting in the heavens.
2For indeed in this we groan, longing to put on our dwelling which is from heaven,
3so that, having put it on, we shall not be found naked.
4For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we wish to put it off, but to put on the other, so that what is to die might be swallowed up by life.
5Now He who has prepared us for this same purpose is Elohim, who has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
6Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Master –
7for we walk by belief, not by sight
8we are of good courage, and are well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Master.
9So we also make it our aim to be well-pleasing to Him, whether being at home, or being away from home.
1 corinthians 15
20But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, and has become the first-fruit of those having fallen asleep.
21For since death is through a man, resurrection of the dead is also through a Man.
22For as all die in Aḏam, so also all shall be made alive in Messiah.
23And each in his own order: Messiah the first-fruits, then those who are of Messiah at His coming,
24then the end, when He delivers up the reign to Elohim the Father, when He has brought to naught all rule and all authority and power.
25For He has to reign until He has put all enemies under His feet.
26The last enemy to be brought to naught is death.
27For “He has put all under His feet.” But when He says “all are put under Him,” it is clear that He who put all under Him is excepted.
28And when all are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself shall also be subject to Him who put all under Him, in order that Elohim be all in all.
33Do not be led astray, “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
34Wake up to soberness, righteously, and do not sin, for some do not have the knowledge of Elohim. I speak this to your shame.
35But someone might say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”
36Senseless one! What you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37And as to what you sow: you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, it might be wheat or some other grain.
38But Elohim gives it a body as He wishes, and to each seed a body of its own.
39All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another of fishes, and another of birds.
40And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the esteem of the heavenly is truly one, and the esteem of the earthly is another,
41one esteem of the sun, and another esteem of the moon, and another esteem of the stars – for star differs from star in esteem.
42So also is the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption;
43it is sown in disrespect, it is raised in esteem; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45And so it has been written, “The first man Aḏam became a living being,” the last Aḏam a life-giving Spirit.
46The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
47The first man was of the earth, earthy; the second Man is the Master from heaven.
48As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.
49And as we have borne the likeness of the earthy, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly.
50And this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood is unable to inherit the reign of Elohim, neither does corruption inherit incorruption.
51See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53For this corruptible has to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality.
54And when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall come to be the word that has been written, “Death is swallowed up in overcoming.”
55“O Death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your overcoming?”
56And the sting of death is the sin, and the power of the sin is the Torah.
57But thanks to Elohim who gives us the overcoming through our Master יהושע Messiah.
John 17
26“And I have made Your Name known to them, and shall make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me might be in them, and I in them.” ( I have manifested You to them and will continue to manifest – so that they will be filled to completeness with Your completeness – Your love, and I abide in them)
Ephesians 3
17that the Messiah might dwell in your hearts through belief – having become rooted and grounded in love,
18in order that you might be strengthened to firmly grasp, with all the set-apart ones, what is the width and length and depth and height,
19to know the love of Messiah which surpasses knowledge, in order that you might be filled to all the completeness of Elohim. ( to know love that surpasses knowledge)
To know You is life. Know – as deep calls unto deep – to be His. Not just intellectual knowledge – deep heart cry Teruah knowledge – I belong to my Beloved and His desire is for me- songs of solomon 7:10 – and not my will but Yours be done.( and 1 Corinthians 13:12)
John 17:3
And this is everlasting life, that they should know You, the only true Elohim, and יהושע Messiah whom You have sent.
On the subject of love. It seems to me many people shy away from the word love. “Started with faith and ended with love”. From my personal experience, faith and love were echad. Faith actually was expression of love and given by His love, for Yahuwah Himself is love.
ahav (אהב),
–Love that surpasses knowledge.
love – Chief Yahuwah’s House – Yeshua.
–Destroy this dwelling place and in three days I will raise it.- John 2
18And the Yehuḏim answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You are doing these?”( who do You think You are?)19יהושע answered and said to them, “Destroy this Dwelling Place, and in three days I shall raise it.”
20Then the Yehuḏim said, “It took forty-six years to build this Dwelling Place, and You are going to raise it in three days?”
21But He spoke about the Dwelling Place of His body.
22So, when He was raised from the dead, His taught ones remembered that He said this to them. And they believed the Scripture and the word which יהושע had said. – Yahuwah’s Chief House.
1 Corinthians 6
19Or do you not know that your body is the Dwelling Place of the Set-apart Spirit who is in you, which you have from Elohim, and you are not your own?
20For you were bought with a price, therefore esteem Elohim in your body and in your spirit, which are of Elohim.
1 Peter 2
5you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual house, a set-apart priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifice offerings acceptable to Elohim through יהושע Messiah.
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Songs of solomon 1:4,7
4Draw me! We run after you. The sovereign has brought me into his inner rooms. We exult and rejoice in you. We praise your loves more than wine. Rightly do they love you.
7Make known to me, O you whom my being loves, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who is veiled Beside the flocks of your companions?
Songs of solomon 2:16
16My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies.
Songs of solomon 4:10
10How sweet have been your loves, My sister, my bride! How much better than wine are your loves, And the fragrance of your perfumes than all spices!
Songs of solomon 2
4He brought me to the house of wine, And his banner over me was love.
5“Strengthen me with raisin cakes, Refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.”
6His left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me.
10My beloved responded and said to me, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
13“The fig tree has ripened her figs, And the vines with the tender grapes have given a good fragrance. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!
14“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the covering of the cliff, Let me see your appearance, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your appearance is lovely.”
Songs of solomon 5:2-4
I was sleeping, But my heart was awake – the voice of my beloved! He knocks, “Open for me, my sister, My love, my dove, my perfect one; For my head is drenched with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.”
3I have taken off my robe, should I put it on? I have washed my feet, should I dirty them?
4My beloved put his hand by the latch, And my feelings were deeply moved for him.
Songs of solomon 7:10
I belong to my beloved , and his desire is for me.
Songs of solomon 8:4,6,7
I have put you under oath, O daughters of Yerushalayim, Do not stir up or awake love until it pleases.
6Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as unyielding as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, a flame of Yah! ( most vehement flame of יהוה )
7Many waters are unable to extinguish love, And floods do not wash it away. If one would give all the wealth of his house for love, It would be utterly scorned.
Hosea 2
Therefore, see, I am alluring her, and shall lead her into the wilderness, and shall speak to her heart,
15and give to her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Aḵor as a door of expectation. And there she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Mitsrayim.
16“And it shall be, in that day,” declares יהוה, “that you call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Ba‛al.’
17“And I shall remove the names of the Ba‛als from her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
18“And in that day I shall make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping creatures of the ground, when bow, and sword, and battle I break from the earth. And I shall make them lie down in safety.
19“And I shall take you as a bride unto Me forever, and take you as a bride unto Me in righteousness, and in right-ruling, and kindness and compassion.
20“And I shall take you as a bride unto Me in trustworthiness, and you shall know יהוה.
21“And it shall be in that day that I answer,” declares יהוה, “that I answer the heavens, and they answer the earth,
22and the earth answer the grain and the new wine and the oil, and they answer Yizre‛ĕl.
23“And I shall sow her for Myself in the earth, and I shall have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion. And I shall say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people,’ while they say, ‘My Elohim!’ ”
Jeremiah 31:3
Our יהוה appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love ( eternal love ); I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
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Luke 10:27
You shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbour as yourself.’ ”
Psalm 42
1As a deer longs for the water streams, So my being longs for You, O Elohim.
2My being thirsts for Elohim, for the living Ěl. When shall I enter in to appear before Elohim?
Psalm 63
O Elohim, You are my Ěl; I earnestly seek You; My being has thirsted for You; My flesh has longed for You In a dry and thirsty land without water.
2Therefore I have had a vision of You In the set-apart place, To see Your power and Your esteem.( glory)
3Because Your love is better than life, My lips do praise You.
4Therefore I bless You all my life ; In Your Name I lift up my hands.
6When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.
7For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing.
8 I cling to You; Your right hand upholds me.
Isaiah 26:9
My soul yearns for You in the night;
in the morning my spirit longs for You.
When Your judgments come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.
(With my soul have I desired You in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek You early: for when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.)
Psalm 116
12What shall I return to יהוה? All His bounties are upon me.
13I lift up the cup of deliverance, And call upon the Name of יהוה.
Luke 7:47
..her many sins have been forgiven, because she loves much. But to whom little is forgiven, he loves little.”
Romans 13:10
….Therefore, love is completion ( fulfillment) of the Torah.
Deuteronomy 6:5
And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might.
Exodus 20:3
Do not have other gods besides Me
Hosea 13
4 I am יהוה your Elohim since the land of Mitsrayim, ( Egypt) and an Elohim besides Me you shall not know, for there is no Saviour besides Me.
5“I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.
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Great post, Sarah, Appreciated the connection between Caesar’s image and behaving in Caesar’s likeness. Also thought God intended us to be sub-doers not just subduers. Thanks for your good work.
Shayne
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Oooh… sub-doers vs subduers… I like that! Thanks Shayne.
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Hi Sarah,
This is one subject that has always been on my mind when I read the Bible. It has been one of the most confusing issues for me. Once again, you have clarified much for me. It puts a new light on to how we need to see how we should be reflecting God in ourselves, for if we truly are a reflection of God’s image, likeness, etc…we must act on all the things that he is asked of us, so that we can be more like Him and Yeshua.
I hope I’ve got this right, but you’re writings and clarifications our gift to me. Thank you
Blessings
Dennis
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You got it absolutely right Dennis!! Be God’s reflection and shine on!! 🙂
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