THEOSISVissarion (Nechaev)
The complete verse states: And furnish your souls with zeal, that is, remember with a sense of urgency, lest you see any likeness on that day, etc. Moses’ words serve as a caution to the people of Israel against sensual interpretations of God and against making images of Him, particularly in light of the peril of idolatry. The subsequent verses in Scripture provide a clear admonition against this risk. This passage is read during the feast celebrating the Incarnate Image to illustrate, through a contrast with the glorification of the Immaculate Image, how the new Israel understands and reveres God more profoundly than the old Israel.
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In the time of the Old Testament, only a select few, like Moses, were privileged to encounter the Lord, the Son of God, in a human form and communicated with Him in that manner. However, with the arrival of the New Testament, the relationship between the Lord and humanity became far deeper. The Son of God did not assume human nature temporarily, but eternally, allowing Himself to be seen, touched, and heard by all. Moreover, through His very being, He made God the Father accessible. To Philip's inquiry, ‘Show us the Father,’ He responded, ‘He who has seen Me has seen the Father. Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?’ While the divine essence remains beyond sensory perception, it is fully present in Christ, revealed to the spiritually attuned beyond the obscurity of the flesh, radiating a divine light far more distinctly than what Moses experienced, who was only allowed to glimpse the back of God. ‘Of God's glory of old, Moses could only see the darkness of Your hind parts, looking for a new Israel as he now sees You face to face. He beholds You, the Redeemer, clearly’ (Service of the Nerukotv. Image, 1st canon, 4th song). Additionally, the people of the old Israel were instructed to avoid any sensory depictions of the divine, thus prohibiting them from representing God through any material image. In contrast, New Testament Israel, clearly understanding that God is Spirit (John 4:24), is safeguarded from this pitfall. Consequently, when they venerate the image of Christ, they do not think that this image embodies the divine essence or equate Christ’s human nature with His divine nature. They are able to depict Christ in a sensory manner and worship before His likeness, recognizing that the image symbolizes the form in which Christ manifested, lifting their spirits toward the God-Man Himself without conflating Him with the representation on the icon.