YaHuWaH
The Name Above
All Names
"You do not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of that which is in the Shemayim (Heavens) above, or which is in the Eretz (Earth) beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth; you do not bow down to them nor serve them, for I, YaHuWaH your Elohim, am a jealous El (God), visiting the wickedness of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and guard My Commands."
In Exodus 20:4-5 not only are we commanded not to carve such an image, but in case we still don't understand, He tells us not to bow down to them and not to serve them. Since they don't hear or do anything, we are not to make our prayers and requests to them.
YaHuWaH alone is to be feared, served, bowed down to, revered, and honoured. Those objects made by man's hands have no value, except for the value of the material they are made from. Men and women can also make images with their own minds. When we pray or think or talk about YaHuWaH or Yahushua, we should not have a picture in our minds of what They are like.
YaHuWaH constantly forbade idol worship and, throughout scripture, instructed sovereigns to demolish idols and pagan practices. The repercussions of worshipping such idols can be severe, as evidenced by scripture and history, when parents sacrificed their children to Ba'al in exchange for divine favour or became so poor and desperate that they sold or even ate their offspring! It's no surprise that this is one of the ten most important commandments.
Deuteronomy Chapter 12 Verses 2-4
"Completely destroy all the places where the nations that you are dispossessing served their mighty ones, on their high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you shall break down their altars and destroy their pillars and burn their Asherim (Idol pillars/poles) with fire. And you shall cut down the carved images of their mighty ones and shall destroy their name out of that place."
YaHuWaH created all things, and He is jealous when we bow down to a carved image. His jealousy is towards His people and their bad choices to follow a pagan idol into destruction instead of Him, who loves them and wants only the best for them. Anyone who bows down to an idol or image is not of or loving YaHuWaH.
We are also instructed to 'guard/keep' YaHuWaH's commands. The two go hand in hand; if we love Him, we will guard His commands. YaHuWaH shows kindness to those that love Him and guard His commands.
The worship of YaHuWaH in spirit and in truth does not involve the use of images, statues, and idol objects of any kind. It is paganism to the core to practice such an abomination. Yah has forbidden the use of anything that seeks to represent or takes the place of Him.
YaHuWaH is spirit, and no one has seen Him. Therefore, anything that one might use to represent Yah in their worship is rejected and forbidden by Him...