Blog note. The Lord God, Jesus Christ, provides 21 (3×7) Biblical verses instructing mankind to “not build any graven images of false gods.” Do men listen to and respect the word of God? End of note.

Exodus 20:4 … Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Deuteronomy 7:5… But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

Deuteronomy 7:25… The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therin: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

Deuteronomy 12:3… And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.

2 Kings 17:41… So these nations feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.

2 Chronicles 33:19… His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.

2 Chronicles 34:7… And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

Psalm 78:58… For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

Psalm 97:7… Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.

Isaiah 10:10… As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

Isaiah 21:9… And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

Isaiah 30:22… Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

Isaiah 42:8… I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isaiah 42:17… They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

Jeremiah 8:19… Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?

Jeremiah 50:38… A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.

Jeremiah 51:47… Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

Jeremiah 51:52… Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

Hosea 11:2… As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

Micah 1:7… And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.

Micah 5:13… Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.

GANESH CHATURTHI 2018: INDIA MARKS END OF BIRTHDAY FESTIVAL FOR ELEPHANT GOD

BY DAMIEN SHARKOV ON 9/23/18 AT 11:07 AM. Newsweek.com

The 10-day Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi marked in honor of the deity of prosperity and wisdom Ganesha in India.

The annual event takes place on the anniversary of the elephant-headed god’s birthday in the sixth month of the Hindu calendar, which usually falls between August and September. This year the date fell on September 13 and the closing rituals and ceremonies are taking place on Sunday, September 23.

The celebration, which is one of the most significant ones in the Hindu calendar, involves the raising of Ganesha idols at home or outdoors and then commencing a ritual to invoke life in them, called the pranapratishtha . One of the traditions that follows is the offering of food to Ganesha, such as  coconut, jaggery, and 21 sweet dumplings known as modaks, believed to be the god’s favorite food, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The final day of celebration is known as Anant Chaturdashi when groups gather to sing and dance to the beat of traditional drums. The marquee moment of the day is when a procession carried idols to the god in the nearest river or large water body in what is meant to be symbolic of Ganesha’s own legendary journey to the residence of his parents Lord Shiva and Parvati—Mount Kailash. The Himalayan peak is an area of pilgrimage for devout Hindus, though setting foot on its summit physically is forbidden.

The story of Ganesha’s birth explains his instantly recognizable appearance, as the goddess Parvati created him and told him to stand guarding her door while she bathed, according to India’s public broadcaster NDTV. Ganesha took her instructions to heart and when Shiva arrived and asked the boy to let him through, he refused and prepared to fight the god away. In a fit of anger, Shiva struck Ganesha and beheaded him. Parvati discovered what had happened too late. Distraught, she asked Shiva to somehow revive the decapitated Ganesha, prompting the god to scramble in order to find a head as soon as possible. Spotting an elephant, Shiva took its head and placed in on Ganesha, to bring Parvati’s child back to life.
Ganesha is celebrated as a patron of travelling and a remover of obstacles in India, which is why he is often honored whenever people embark on new journeys or enterprises, such as the start of the school year. He is also known by the names Ganapati, Ekadanta, Vinayaka, Pillaiyar and Heramba, worshipped widely across the various regional Hindu traditions, according to BBC.