God in a Box

A fab friend of mine with whom I always have amazing discussions brought up the topic of the 10 Commandments the other day.  Interesting, I thought, but not terribly provocative.  I was wrong.  I began reading & almost immediately my mind was blown.
I guess I've always had a pretty basic "Sunday School" understanding of the 10 Commandments which I never felt a big need to push beyond.  I mean, they're just a list of rules, how interesting can they be.  Well, mind-blowing is the answer.
I began reading articles on interpretations of the commandments & only got as far as the first/second commandment (depending on your denominational bent).  The prohibition of images.  I guess I've always glossed over this one as "don't worship little statues" & moved on.  In reading an online article suggested by a friend (which you can find here http://mb-soft.com/believe/text/tencomma.htm ) I've started some serious thinking.
Putting God in a box is idolatry.
God knew back in Moses' time that we humans have a tendency to define, to simplify, to explain away.  We want things we can understand, things we can grasp & examine & essentially master.  We don't like not knowing, we don't like the unexplained or the unknown.  In Moses' time this often showed itself in religion through the creation of manmade gods, idols.  How comforting to have a God you can see & touch.  God specifically banned the creation of His likeness in manmade form for He cannot be captured or known by such human limitations.  He knew He had to be clear about this or people were going to start confining God to an object or an image like the pagans of the time were doing with their gods.  Then they would begin worshiping that thing instead of the Creator, they would begin equating that object with the totality of God.  That's idolatry.
Today in our Western society the temptation is not to worship an image of God in the form of a crucifix or a medieval triptych, but to worship our small finite definitions of an omnipotent God.  We put Him in boxes that we're comfortable with, boxes that help us feel like we've got a handle on who God is, how He thinks, what He wants.  
For some people that's coming up with sets of rules to follow because their box is legalism.  For others it's trying to explain God away by believing they can explain away all He created.  For others it's defining God in simplistic soundbytes that are easy to swallow.
Each of these are forms of idolatry for the god being worshipped isn't the one true God, but the image of Him they've created.  This commandment against graven images isn't about prohibiting rosaries, it's about protecting the boundless mystery & wonder of God.
I've got a lot of thinking to do.