“Didn’t Joshua bow to the ark of the covenant? Didn’t the priests bow to the images of angels on the ark?”
Neither Joshua nor the Israelite people were ever commanded to bow to the ark of the covenant. The creation of the ark in the first place was an act of condescension toward the carnally minded Jews, who were incapable of worshiping without physical objects to look at and touch. And so God met them halfway by giving them the ark and all of the vessels in the temple, but prevented all of the people from looking at them, commanding that they all be veiled instead, and only handled by the priests. This was a brilliant compromise because it invited the infantile Jews to imagine these objects with their mind’s eye instead of looking at them with their physical eyes, inviting them to think spiritually.
But in reality, the Scriptures don’t even say Joshua bowed to the ark of the covenant. That’s what the corrupted Masoretic text says. The actual Bible, the Septuagint (which you should read sometime), says he bowed “before the Lord,” and the Dead Sea scrolls don’t contain this verse, so you’re relying ENTIRELY on the wicked Jews’ satanic bible to make the case for your satanic belief about lifeless objects being worthy of worship. What, do you think Joshua, who was from the tribe of Ephraim (not Levi), would have been allowed to look at the ark unveiled, when it was veiled from the sight of all people at all times except for the high priest alone, who was only allowed to see the ark unveiled one time per year?
Joshua 7:6 – And Joshua tore his garments; and Joshua fell on the earth on his face before the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they cast dust on their heads.
You were banking everything on that ONE example to prove bowing to images is lawful. Don’t you think you should have verified the authenticity of your example before you declared the opposite position to be “categorically false?” You were over-confident and showed that yet again the Cathodox are liars.
But even if anyone were found bowing in front of the ark, it would be because God promised to appear on top of the ark in physical form:
Exodus 25:17-22 – And you shall make the mercy seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half in length, and a cubit and a half in width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold, of hammered work shall you make them, at the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; from the mercy seat you shall make the cherubim on its two ends. And the cherubim shall spread out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. And there I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you of all that I will give you in commandment for the children of Israel.
This word “appear” (ὤφθη) means “was seen” in Greek.
You falsely claim that the angels and the ark were visible objects for the Israelites to venerate. In reality, they were INVISIBLE! God deliberately hid them from their SIGHT. Instead, they were kept underneath veils, so that NO ONE could see them. The only person who got to see them was the high priest, and even he only saw them ONCE a year, and even then, when he got to see the ark of the covenant and the angels on top of it, he saw the angels bowing to God, who appeared ON TOP of the ark! God never once commanded the Israelites to look at the ark with their physical eyes or bow down to it.
Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria agree that the cherubs on the ark strongly discouraged any kind of worship (bowing) to be made toward them. And why is that? Because the cherubs themselves were bowing! No rational person would walk into a room, see other people bowing toward someone else, and then start prostrating toward the other bowing people! And they’re not just bowing to anybody; they’re bowing to God, who promised to appear between the two angels. They’re directing YOU to bow to God. And yet you use the existence of the angels on the ark as justification for bowing to your images, as if the Israelites were EVER bowing to the ark itself. NO Israelite was EVER allowed to bow down to lifeless images in the Old Testament, let alone commanded to. The high priest did not bow down to these angels. How insane is it to suggest the high priest was bowing to the angels, who themselves are directing you to bow to someone else!
They bow underneath God, as a demonstration of God’s superiority, just as it says in the Psalms, “Let all that worship graven images be ashamed, who boast of their idols; worship him, all ye his angels” (Psalm 97:7). The angels were bowing to God. Not to mention the fact that they were veiled at all times and always out of the sight of the Israelites, preventing them from ever admiring them by sight, but only by mind… which was the whole point of the metaphor. Not only did the angels bow to the One who appeared over the ark, but the angels were even crafted to veil themselves with their wings, just as it says they do in heaven in the presence of God, hiding their entire bodies, including their face and feet.
Isaiah 6:1-2 – I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, and the house was full of his glory. And seraphim stood around Him. Each one had six wings; and with two they covered their face, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
Even though the angels on the ark were cherubim, their wings were capable of doing this because wings are much larger than bodies, capable of veiling their entire form (like this). This is why Clement of Alexandria believed the men who fashioned the angel statues didn’t actually bother making their bodies, because their entire form was hidden by their wings. God specifically commanded that the angels’ faces be turned DOWNWARD, toward the ark, and that their wings be spread out ABOVE their heads, covering the top of the ark, which implies their whole bodies were obscured, and thus it was unnecessary to fashion the angels’ bodies when only the wings would be visible anyway.
But I think it better to regard the ark, so called from the Hebrew word Thebotha, as signifying something else. It is interpreted, one instead of one in all places. Whether, then, it is the eighth region and the world of thought, or God, all-embracing, and without shape, and invisible, that is indicated, we may for the present defer saying. But it [the ark] signifies the repose which dwells with the adoring spirits, which are meant by the cherubim. For He who prohibited the making of a graven image, would never Himself have made an image in the likeness of holy things. Nor is there at all any composite thing, and creature endowed with sensation, of the sort in heaven. But the face is a symbol of the rational soul, and the wings are the lofty ministers and energies of powers right and left; and the voice is delightsome glory in ceaseless contemplation. Let it suffice that the mystic interpretation has advanced so far. – Stromata, book 5, chapter 6
Clement thinks no image of an angel ever was or should be sculpted, and he’s right. The only part of the angels that was sculpted was their wings covering their entire bodies.
What a wicked thing to suggest the high priest or Joshua were actually bowing TO THE ARK instead of toward GOD who had become visible ABOVE the ark, whom the angels themselves were bowing to! “Oh, I’m not bowing to God. Forget about God! I’m bowing to that ark! God just HAPPENS to be standing right above it. He’s not the focus. The ark is the focus. Could you please get out of the way, God? I’m trying to bow toward your ark here. You’re getting in the way.” Will you survive eternal damnation after saying this?
You must understand that the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant and various ceremonies were inferior, carnal forms of worship adapted to the vulgar mindset of the Jews, who had been steeped in idolatry and had no concept of the divinity, so God had to treat them like the foolish little children they were and communicate with them in a very childish way, adapted to their limited capacity. But as Paul says, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” And yet you use them as the model for worshiping God! You look to the most stubborn Even if God had commanded them to bow to images in the old testament (as you claim he allowed Joshua to bow in the presence of the ark, where God’s presence was), have you not read that God at one time told the Jews to swear by his name alone, but later commanded them not to swear at all? Read John Chrysostom on this point. You wicked Jews! You who are the spiritual Israel, are you now replicating the sins of carnal Israel? Do you worship the God of Israel and worship idols simultaneously? The Jews used to do this as well.
This article, written by one of the most respected Orthodox priests, John Whiteford, is FULL of the most rank heresy! He says adoring objects is justified because the MODERN, CHRIST-HATING JEWS do it! He also makes the case that the ark of the covenant is the footstool of God’s feet, so when Psalm 99:5 tells you to “worship His footstool,” that must mean “worship His ark.” I wonder what his reaction would be if he ever read the Scripture which says, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” Do you worship God’s enemies? Sadly, you most certainly do. You worship the icons of accursed emperors (Constantine, Theodosius, Irene, etc), murderers (Theodosia, Demetrios, Nestor, etc), and even Buddha himself. Or how about when God says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” Do you believe it’s permissible to bow to the earth itself? Or how about bowing to heaven, since that’s His throne? The throne would certainly be superior to the footstool, since it’s where a king sits. So do you believe you’re allowed to bow to heaven? Can we bow to the sun and the moon?
You’re the ones who are always emphasizing the intention of the worshiper when they bow, but you somehow fail to perceive that the Israelites were bowing to God who resided WITHIN the temple, not to the temple itself, and Joshua was bowing to God who spoke from BETWEEN the cherubim, not to the ark itself. But when you Cathodox bow to your images, you make it clear that you ARE bowing to the image, and that “the honor paid TO THE IMAGE passes to the prototype,” and that you consider the images to be full of God’s divine energies, and that they are windows to heaven. Your images don’t just happen to be in front of you when you bow down, but rather, you are consciously participating in the worship of that object.
But to answer this ludicrous argument, Jesus promised to appear above the ark once a year at Passover, just as He told Solomon He would fill the temple with His presence (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). The High Priest is never said to have bowed to the ark of the covenant, anymore than the cherubim are bowing to the ark of the covenant. It would be foolish to suggest he was bowing to the ark itself instead of the one standing on it. That’s like saying people are bowing to the throne a king sits on, or the scepter he holds in his hands. Why can’t you Cathodox provide an example of God’s people bowing toward an object that DOESN’T have God sitting directly on top of it or inside of it? Nowhere in Scripture do holy people ever bow down to lifeless images while under the impression that the worship they pay to lifeless images will pass to their living prototypes. Rather, we only have instances where they bow to the temple, which God resides in, or to the ark, which God sits on. The emphasis isn’t on the objects, but the one ON or INSIDE of them.
How many times does God have to tell you that He isn’t confined to one location? Even before the construction of the temple, God made it clear to both David and Solomon that He is present EVERYWHERE, not just in a temple or on top of an ark!
Isaiah 66:1-4 – Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is a footstool for My feet. What kind of house will you build for Me? And what is the place of My rest? For all these things My hand has made, and all these things are Mine, says the Lord.”
When He says “the earth is my footstool,” he means that EVERYTHING on the earth belongs to Him, and He is present everywhere, available at all times for all people to draw near in spirit, not in a carnal way. Thus, the Jewish way of worshiping God as if He resided in only one place has been completely abandoned, as it was never even true in the first place that God only resided in one location. He simply performed signs in that one place, while being present everywhere:
“… neither is He worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything.” Do you observe how, little by little, he brings in the philosophy? How he ridicules the heathen error?… “Dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” For He does indeed dwell in temples, yet not in such, but in man’s soul. He overthrows the corporeal worship. What then? Did He not dwell in the temple at Jerusalem? No indeed: but He worked therein. “Neither is He worshipped (θεραπεύω) by men’s hands.” How then was He worshipped by men’s hands among the Jews? Not by hands, but by the understanding. – John Chrysostom, Homily 38 on Acts, commentary on Acts 17:25
“Jacob bowed to his staff!”
Another popular and completely insane belief coming from the Orthodox church is the idea that Jacob bowed to his own staff in Genesis 47:31.
“Abraham bowed down to the sons of Hamor, men who had neither faith nor knowledge of God, when he bought the double cave intended to become a tomb. Jacob bowed to the ground before Esau, his brother, and also before the tip of his son Joseph’s staff. He bowed down, but he did not adore. Joshua, the son of Nun, and Daniel bowed in veneration before an angel of God, but they did not adore him” (John of Damascus, On the Divine Images, page 19).
The Orthodox are desperate for ANY examples proving that we can bow to inanimate objects, so they use the Joshua example and this one, hoping it’ll convince you. Do you know how daft you would have to be to actually believe Jacob randomly started bowing to his staff all of a sudden? How stupid do you think we are, you dumb idol-worshipers?
Hebrews 11:20–22 – By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith, Jacob when he was dying blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith, Joseph when he died made mention of the departing of the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones.
You would have to be the most idiotic person to think Jacob was bowing to the staff and not to Joseph. To suggest such a thing is equal to suggesting Esther was bowing to her maid and not to Xerxes:
Esther 4D:1-15 – It came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she took off her servant’s dress and put on her glorious apparel. Being splendidly dressed and having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. She was blooming in the perfection of her beauty. Her face was cheerful and looked lovely, but her heart was filled with fear. Having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king. He was sitting on his royal throne. He had put on all his glorious apparel, covered all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrifying. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger. The queen fell, and changed her color as she fainted. She bowed herself upon the head of the maid who went before her.
I suppose, using this logic, Esther must have randomly been venerating the head of her maid while approaching the king…. Oh wait, she was actually just bowing to the king, and she needed to lean on someone while she did it. Jacob was doing the same thing. He was an old man that needed to lean on something while he bowed.
[2.] “By Faith, Jacob when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph.” Here we ought to set down the blessings entire, in order that both his faith and his prophesying may be made manifest. “And worshiped leaning,” he says, “upon the top of his staff.” Here, he means, he not only spoke, but was even so confident about the future things, as to show it also by his act. For inasmuch as another King was about to arise from Ephraim, therefore it is said, “And he bowed himself upon the top of his staff.” That is, even though he was now an old man, “he bowed himself” to Joseph, showing the obeisance of the whole people which was to be [directed] to him. And this indeed had already taken place, when his brethren “bowed down” to him: but it was afterwards to come to pass through the ten tribes. Seest thou how he foretold the things which were to be afterwards? – John Chrysostom, Commentary on Hebrews, Homily XXVI