With their silver and gold, they made idols, so that they will be cut off.

— Hosea 8:4

There are more denunciations of idolatry than any other sin in the Bible. Though this sin runs deep in the human psyche, and there is a great tendency to idolatry in the human heart, and though this dark stream seems to flow dangerously in the cold subterranean caverns of the fallen soul, it is something that has been followed by a continual stream of condemnation and denunciation by poets and prophets, by preachers and apostles, down through the centuries.

Not only did they worship idols in Moses’ day, but we read further on that Jeroboam doubled the sin by creating a golden calf in Dan and another in Bethel for the people to worship. All over Israel there arose on the high places—on every hill, in every clump of trees—an altar so people could rush up the hills and worship their gods and bring down upon themselves the increasing wrath of almighty God until at length the patience of God was exhausted.

The hordes of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar swept across the plains of Israel, broke down the walls of Jerusalem, and led the people off into captivity. It was in that burning furnace of slavery in Babylon that the last dredges of idolatry were largely burned away.

Question to ponder:
John Calvin said our hearts are idol-making factories. Why is that?