Exodus 20:4-5 says, "Thou shall 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: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them."
So, is a corollary of this passage that children toys are a form of idolatry? It is so difficulty to deal with/understand idolatry.
It depends on your religious tradition. I am sure there have been many splinter religious groups that saw things this way.
But a graven image is an English translation of the Hebrew פֶּסֶל. It is derived from the root word פסל which means "to carve" or "to cut into shape," and specifically refers to an idol or image that has been carved or sculpted out of wood, stone, or metal for the purpose of worship. In the context of Exodus, the commandment Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (Exodus 20:4) is a prohibition against the worship of idols or false gods.
In the same way, 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. This again was understood from context to relate to making something that one would worship. If this were not true, then you would need to delete all the images on your phone and delete any printed images of your family and others that you might have on display.
The subject of how literally to interpret this particular Scripture especially troubled the Church in the 8th and 9th century during the Iconoclast Controversy. The controversy centered around the question of whether the veneration of icons constituted the idolatry prohibited in Exodus 20:4-5. Some suspected that Islam's conquest of many eastern lands was some sort of punishment surrounding religious images.
John of Damascus, a theologian and monk persecuted by the iconoclasts and ironically living under the protection of the moslem Caliph of Damascus, argued that the biblical prohibition was against the worship of false gods, not against the use of religious images as aids to worship. He pointed out that the same chapter in Exodus also contains instructions for making images of cherubim to be placed on the Ark of the Covenant, which was used in the worship of the God of Israel:
But if the law forbade representation of heavenly things, why did it order the cherubim to be wrought? Moses, the great lawgiver, wrote a book, and in it he relates how God spoke to him and gave him the law. He also made the ark of the covenant, and with his own hands he fitted it with cherubim, saying: Thou shalt make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be (Exodus 25:18-20). If, then, it is permissible to make the cherubim, why is it not lawful to make the image of Christ's incarnation? Is not the cherubim a type, a shadow, an image, of the heavenly things? And did not Moses by means of the cherubim offer a visible worship to God? (Three Treatises on the Divine Images, Treatise I, Chapter 16)
The iconoclast Emperor Leo III was so enraged by his defense that he had his hand chopped off.
Iconoclasm was eventually condemned at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, but it continues to trouble many post-Reformation sects to this day.
We should recall very clearly that there were lots of things in the sanctuary and later, the temple, that were images of things in heaven and on earth such as:
The commandment against idolatry, Ex 20:4-6 is quite clear:
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Thus, there was no prohibition against images and statues of objects - the prohibition was against worshiping such objects.
Therefore, I see nothing prohibiting children's toys as such objects are not worshiped. I note that if an object is worshiped, it ceases to be a toy (= play thing) and becomes an idol and false god.
The context for the prohibition of making graven images is within the greater prohibition of idolatry, and the emphasis of why they shouldn't make graven images is given at the end of the verse you cited; you shouldn't bow down or serve idols.
Exodus 20:4-5 says, "Thou shall 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: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them."
Reading the rest of the chapter for context sheds further light on what this prohibition really means, specifically in verse 23:
22 The Lord said to Moses, “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. 23 You must not make gods of silver alongside me, nor make gods of gold for yourselves. Exodus 20:22-23 NET
When all of these verses are taken together, not as disparate comments but as further instructions expanding upon one topic, namely, that of idolatry, then the understanding is that the prohibition against making graven images is specifically against images made for the purposes of idolatry.
Put in other words, the Israelites are prohibited from making anything with the express purpose of worshipping it; or making anything to be a substitute for God ('you must not make gods of silver alongside me' as verse 23 says).
To quote the Talmudic commentary on Exodus 20:4-5 and the prohibition of making graven images:
כי תניא ההיא לעובדם When that baraita is taught, it is in reference to the prohibition against worshipping them. There is no prohibition against forming a figure in their likeness.
Talmud Avodah Zarah 43b7
Finally, as proof that this prohibition was not against 'art' or 'images' in of themselves, we can look only 5 chapters further in Exodus, when God commands them to make cherubim angles for the arc:
18 You are to make two cherubim[a] of gold; you are to make them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid. 19 Make[b] one cherub on one end[c] and one cherub on the other end; from the atonement lid[d] you are to make the cherubim on the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to be spreading their wings upward, overshadowing[e] the atonement lid with their wings, and the cherubim are to face each other,[f] looking[g] toward the atonement lid. Exodus 25:18-20 NET
In summary, the greater context of the passage teaches that the fabrication of anything for the express purpose of worshipping it; no matter what it is, is prohibited, because God does not want us to substitute other things in his place.
Graven images can be made, but only if their purpose is not for idolatry, nor to replace God.
Notice the emphasis on the "unto thee." In Hebrew, this is "לְךָ֥֣/lə·ḵā", meaning "for yourself." This Hebrew word in that exact form only occurs in Exodus 20:4 and in Deuteronomy 5:8, but in slightly different spellings occurs in many other places, such as in Genesis 6:21 where God tells Noah to "take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten" (KJV).
Reading into it a little, we almost get a sense of selfishness with this expression--doing something for one's own benefit. God is not telling us we cannot make anything. He is saying not to make it in order to worship it, nor to occupy the position that God should have in our lives.
