Idolatry in Smiths Bible Dictionary

strictly speaking denotes the worship of deity in a visible form, whether the images to which homage is paid are symbolical representations of the true God or of the false divinities which have been made the objects of worship in his stead. I. History of idolatry among the Jews. --The first undoubted allusion to idolatry or idolatrous customs in the Bible is in the account of Rachel's stealing her father's teraphim. Ge 31:19 During their long residence in Egypt the Israelites defiled themselves with the idols of the land, and it was long before the taint was removed. Jos 24:14; Eze 20:7 In the wilderness they clamored for some visible shape in which they might worship the God who had brought them out of Egypt. Ex 32:1 ... until Aaron made the calf, the embodiment of Apis and emblem of the productive power of nature. During the lives of Joshua and the elders who outlived him they kept true to their allegiance; but the generation following who knew not Jehovah nor the works he had done for Israel, swerved from the plain path of their fathers and were caught in the toils of the foreigner. Jud 2:1 ... From this time forth their history becomes little more than a chronicle of the inevitable sequence of offence and punishment. Jud 2:12,14 By turns each conquering nation strove to establish the worship of its national God. In later times the practice of secret idolatry was carried to greater lengths. Images were set up on the corn-floors, in the wine-vats, and behind the doors of private houses, Isa 57:8; Ho 9:1,2 and to check this tendency the statute in De 27:15 was originally promulgated. Under Samuel's administration idolatry was publicly renounced, 1Sa 7:3-6 but in the reign of Solomon all this was forgotten, even Solomon's own heart being turned after other gods. 1Ki 11:14 Rehoboam perpetuated the worst features of Solomon's idolatry. 1Ki 14:22-24 erected golden calves at Beth-el and at Dan, and by this crafty state' policy severed forever the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. 1Ki 12:26-33 The successors of Jeroboam followed in his steps, till Ahab. The conquest of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser was for them the last scene Of the drama of abominations which had been enacted uninterruptedly for upwards of 250 years. Under Hezekiah a great reform was inaugurated, that was not confined to Judah and Benjamin, but spread throughout Ephraim and Manasseh. 2Ch 31:1 and to all external appearances idolatry was extirpated. But the reform extended little below the surface. Isa 29:13 With the death of Josiah ended the last effort to revive among the people a purer ritual. If not a purer faith. The lamp of David, which had long shed but a struggling ray, flickered for a while and then went out in the darkness of Babylonian Captivity. Though the conquests of Alexander caused Greek influence to be felt, yet after the captivity better condition of things prevailed, and the Jews never again fell into idolatry. The erection of synagogues had been assigned as a reason for the comparative purity of the Jewish worship after the captivity, while another cause has been discovered in the hatred for images acquired by the Jews in their intercourse with the Persians. II. Objects of idolatry.--The sun and moon were early selected as outward symbols of all-pervading power, and the worship of the heavenly bodies was not only the most ancient but the most prevalent system of idolatry. Taking its rise in the plains...