For the purpose of WORSHIP, not just because they like art.
EXODUS 20:4-5
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness
of any thing that
is in heaven above, or that
is in the earth beneath, or that
is in the water under the earth:
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
Simply making an image wasn't the issue. BELIEVING that image was a 'god' and worshipping it as one, was.
See the 'Golden Calf' and 1 Chronicles 11:15.
