God tells Noah and his family when they get off the ark, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed..."--and I found the reason intriguing: "...for in the image of God has God made man." I thought man lost God's image at the fall.
The People's Bible for Genesis, by Tom Jeske, has a great answer I will highlight here: "God's reason for demanding the murderer be made to forfeit his life is clear from these words: 'for in the image of God has God made man.' The first two human beings were orignally created in the very image of God. Murder strikes at the majesty of God. And since the divine image, lost in the fall, can be regained only during a person's lifetime, to end his life means to cut off his time of grace and, if he has not regained God's image, to doom him to an eternity of separation from God."
What is the image of God? A physical appearance...?
ReplyDeleteBeing created in "the image of God" means that Adam and Eve were created without sin (perfect and holy) and had a perfect knowledge of God.
ReplyDeleteBesides the fact that we were created in God's image (perfect and holy), I believe it means more than that. Out of any other animal on the earth, we are the only one with a soul, with a conscience, with the ability to reason, and with the ability to speak.
ReplyDeleteI've also read that the image of God can also refer to the characteristics of God that he put inside both men and women that reveal who he is. In men: The desire to fight and protect, defend and appreciate beauty etc. In women: tenderhearted devotion, the need to be desired (God doesn't just love us, God also desires our love and devotion).