When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods.

Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?”

But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.

Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing.

Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods.

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.

So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.

“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.

Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”

“You shall have no other gods before me.

Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

“Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.

Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods.

Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”

The Golden Calf

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’

So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold.

“Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.

And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.

“‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods.