Exodus 20:4-5
“Do not make idols…Don’t bow down and worship idols.”
Along with not worshiping other gods, God also forbids physical sculptures being made and being worshiped. Like worshiping other gods, God also takes this very seriously, because usually when a physical image is made to be worshiped its usually depicting some type of other god to be worshiped through this physical image (this is called an idol). The main point of an idol is so a human can worship this physical image to worship the god it represents:
Exodus 20:4-6
“You will not make yourselves an image…[to]…bow down to them or worship them;…”
Idol making and worshiping false gods usually go hand in hand together since idol making is strongly connected to worshiping another god. And as covered in the last command “don’t worship other gods” there are many good reasons not to worship other gods, but The Bible reveals there are even more problems concerning idols themselves:
Making idols is a useless practice
Since these idols are physical images representing gods that do not exist, idol making and worshiping is a waste of time since the idol is not even conscious:
Jeremiah 10:3-5
“...the practices of…[of idol makers]…are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel…Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak;…they can do no harm nor can they do any good (they can do absolutely nothing!).”
Deuteronomy 4:28
“… man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.”
Isaiah 46:7
“...Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save them from their troubles.”
Not only that, but idols are also huge burdens to have since these images are not alive, they cannot move so they have to be carried around by humans/animals:
Jeremiah 10:4-5
“…they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter (fall down). they must be carried because they cannot walk.”
Isaiah 46:7
“...They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move.”
Isaiah 46:1-2
“Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden.(Cattle/horses) The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary. They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden,…”
Finally ,if all that was not enough, idols are a pure waste of precious material/talent that could have been used for something else. Notice how much is wasted on making these worthless idols that could have been used for something else:
Jeremiah 10:3-5
“...the practices of…[of idol makers]…are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest (a waste of wood/trees), and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel(waste of talent).They adorn it with silver and gold (a waste of precious medals);…”
Isaiah 46:6-7
“...Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god (a waste of precious metals), and they bow down and worship it…they set it up in its place, and there it stands (the gold/silver just sits there being wasted).”
Not only are idols a big waste of time, energy, and materials, like their false gods they represent they also make God angry like their gods do too!
Exodus 20:4-6
“You will not make yourselves an image…[to]…bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,…”
Deuteronomy 4:23
“...do not make yourselves an idol…[that]…the Lord your God has forbidden. For [because] the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
So there's really no good reason to make a physical statue representing a non-existent god that can’t help you to have to carry it around, waste precious energy, time, and resources. And all that to really only make God angry at you and possibly curse you!
Humans who do this truly are ignorant!
Isaiah 45:20
“...Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,…that cannot save.”
And this does not just apply to already existing gods but also making up brand new gods as well: making up brand new gods that do not exists is just as bad a making idols of the already known gods because God is, once again, the only true God that has proven his existence by demonstrating his power and saving his people Israel:
Exodus 20:22-23
“...the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven [so]…do not make yourselves (new or existing) gods of silver or gods of gold.’’ ”
So, God makes it clear: no other god is to be worshiped or made into a physical idol to be worship, only he is to be worshiped.
However, since God is the only true god what about a physical image representing him to be worshiped admired? Is this okay since it's honoring the one true god? While most idols are representing other gods it is also possible to make an image symbolizing the one true God and worship that in order to worship God: is this also unacceptable?
Even if the idol is meant to symbolize him, God still disproves of making any image to represent him and then worshiping that image to worship him: This is because God cannot be captured in a physical image because his physical look (his form) is not known, and since what he looks like is not known, it's not appropriate to make a physical image representing him:
Deuteronomy 4:15-16
“…You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore (because of this) watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape,…”
So even if a physical idol is made to represent the one true God it’s still wrong: therefore, no physical idol of any kind is acceptable to God, so save your time, energy, and materials and don’t even bother with an idol of any kind.