Ex 20:4: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”

Idolatry is banned by the first commandment, whereas the second commandment prohibits worship of such images. Man can only approach God on God’s terms and there can be no mediation between God and man except that which is ordered by God. As Rushdoony wrote, The purpose of idols is to convey abstract concepts to simple minds. Whenever man begins to establish his own approach to God, he ends up establishing his own will, his own lusts, and finally himself as God. If man’s terms to approach God are defined by man, then the terms of man’s life and direction are dictated also by man. The only way to approach God is by His terms.