1 Kings 12:28, 30 Whereupon the king took, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt….And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
King Jeroboam of Israel was set upon keeping his people from going up to Jerusalem in Judah for worship, for it was outside the territory of the Ten Tribes. So he set up two calf idols in two places within Israel. This thing became a sin. All of the succeeding kings of the Northern Kingdom did evil in following the sin of Jeroboam. Blatantly disobeying the First Commandment, he made idols like the golden calf of Aaron in Moses’ day, and attributed to them the Salvation that the Lord alone had granted.
This gross sin was done for political reasons to maintain control, for selfish reasons to secure power, and for the sake of convenience. For continuing in this sin, the kingdom of Israel was destroyed and national identity lost forever.
The demon gods of this world seek our worship and devotion, tempting us to believe that good things come to us from them, not from the one and only true God. For the sake of power, riches, and convenience we begin to believe the lie that good things come from self and the world. It is too easy to forget God.
Our response is to single-mindedly and whole-heartedly worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and thank God for everything always.