W. Robert Godfrey

I mean, the golden calf was an image of the Lord God, and the Lord showed his anger about that.

But this is much worse because these are images of false gods.

And you see sort of the comprehensive way in which this is described.

The people did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals and the Astaroth, the male and female gods of the peoples that surrounded him, the gods of Syria in the north, the gods of Sidon in the northwest,

the gods of Moab in the southeast, the gods of the Ammonites in the east, the gods of the Philistines in the west.

You see, they've played the harlot with the gods all around them in every direction.

This is the grossness of the betrayal.

And this is why the Lord says here that he crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year.

For 18 years, they oppressed all the people of Israel.

So they're sent into an oppression by the enemies for this sin for 18 years.

Well, now we turn back, and that's sort of the context in which to read they again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

It must be that again they had become idolatrous.

And we know that this story will end in the temple of Dagon, right?

Well, it doesn't quite end there, but it nearly ends there.

And it's clear that Israel has been going after the gods of the Philistines.

That's what the again means, I think.

This idolatry is back in their life.

And so what happens?

So the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years.

Now think how dramatic that number is for 40 years.