I think we make a mistake by believing we are keeping this commandment by not bowing down to images. Of course, there are modern controversies that could be discussed, such as the Catholic practice of veneration of saints and the use of icons. There is also the distinction that some have made between religious worship and civil worship. Nevertheless, we should not be too quick to believe that we are never guilty of this ourselves. Human beings are image worshipers.
Exodus 20:4: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [5] You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, [6] but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (ESV)
If the first commandment is remarkable for its brevity, the second is for its length. Yahweh is at pains to make his people understand that, just as there is no place for gods in addition to him to worship, neither is there any room for a physical idol of any sort to receive worship.
The Second Commandment Then
What exactly is being prohibited here? On the face of it, it may appear that Yahweh is outlawing any artistic representations whatsoever. This would mean no carvings, drawings, sculptures, or moldings are allowed. But this is easily exposed as a flawed interpretation. There are multiple instances of likenesses prescribed for the Tabernacle and later the Temple. These exceptions push us to examine our text to determine the command’s delimitations. How far does it extend? What kinds of likenesses are disallowed, and why?
The key becomes clear in verse 5 when Yahweh prohibits bowing down to and serving these likenesses. This means that no likeness may be made which is intended to serve as an object of worship. It must also mean that any likeness already made, perhaps for some other purpose, may not become an object of worship. This means, in effect, that no representation of God may be made to serve as the object of worship and also that no object whatsoever, for any reason, may be worshiped.
The contrast to cultures contemporaneous to the giving of this law is easy enough. Biblical history is replete with accounts and mentions of idols, carvings, images, statues, and the like. From early in the Old Testament through the end of the New Testament and everywhere in between, people from every background, people, and family experience the push toward serving and bowing down to images.
The Second Commandment Now
It is harder to see what the breaking of this commandment looks like today.