SEEING THROUGH WALLS

Then he said to me, "Son of man, dig in the wall." So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, 'The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.'" He said also to me, "You will see still greater abominations that they commit."
Ezekiel 8:8‭, ‬10‭-‬13 ESV

¶We have engravings, images, mantras, poetry, even music that we lift up as "inspired". People who write, draw, carve, sew, etc. who seem particularly wonderful are called a "creative geniuses". The term comes from the Romans, who thought a genius was not just a particularly clever individual, but a magical divine entity who would invisibly assist and inspire the artist with their work. The creative spirit evokes not just a materialistic response. We don't just marvel at their work saying "Wow, think how much that thing must be worth!" Instead, we are touched in our spirit. For me, Michelangelo's sculptures and Bach's cantatas evoke this response. Creative works capture us, and take us on a journey, to the heights and depths of emotional reactions. Hence the power of engraved images to become idols, portals to the divine, objects of worship, media of meaning for our lives. They can even be thought to be endowed with miraculous or mystical powers. These are not out-dated beliefs and practices. The post-modern world believes there is "above us only sky". There are no named deities to which to direct our spiritual responses. There is only Darwinian competition for the top spot. Ezekiel was told the hazard of all this: to believe the Lord does not see us. The owners of valuable objets d'art have to keep them hidden, or at least kept under lock and key. They not only own them, but they are owned by them. We cannot hold idolatrous beliefs and practices from the watchful eye of God. He will see. He will respond. He will be God. He will be worshipped.