Idol worship was a forbidden act among the people of God, the Israelites. God – the God who delivered them from bondage and brought them out of the land of Egypt – required that all reverence, worship, devotion, and sacrifice should be rendered to Him alone. The very first two of the Ten Commandments which God gave Moses denounces idol worship. It is written,
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
(Exodus 20:3-5)
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Unconcerned about these commandments, idol worship was widely practiced and it got a foothold in the land of Israel. This was largely because it was politically motivated and was perpetrated by the kings – the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.
Kings of Israel who practiced idol worship
| Name of king | Reference |
| Solomon | 1 Kings 11:6 |
Kings of the Kingdom of Israel who practiced idol worship
| Name of king | Reference |
| Jeroboam I | 1 Kings 14:8-10 |
| Nadab | 1 Kings 15:25-26 |
| Baasha | 1 Kings 15:33-34 |
| Elah | 1 Kings 16:13 |
| Zimri | 1 Kings 16:18-19 |
| Omri | 1 Kings 16:25 |
| Ahab | 1 Kings 16:30 1 Kings 21:20 |
| Ahaziah | 1 Kings 22:52 |
| Jehoram (Joram) | 2 Kings 3:2 |
| Jehu | 2 Kings 10:28-29 |
| Jehoahaz | 2 Kings 13:1-2 |
| Jehoash (Joash) | 2 Kings 13:10-11 |
| Jeroboam II | 2 Kings 14:23-24 |
| Zechariah | 2 Kings 15:8-9 |
| Shallum | 2 Kings 15:10-15 |
| Menahem | 2 Kings 15:17-18 |
| Pekahiah | 2 Kings 15:23-24 |
| Pekah | 2 Kings 15:27-28 |
| Hoshea | 2 Kings 17:1-2 |
Kings of the kingdom of Judah who practiced idol worship
| Name of king | Reference |
| Rehoboam | 1 Kings 14:22 |
| Abijah (Abijam) | 1 Kings 15:3 |
| Jehoram (Joram) | 2 Kings 8:16-18 2 Chronicles 21:5-6 |
| Ahaziah | 2 Kings 8:27 2 Chronicles 22:2-4 |
| Athaliah | 2 Kings 8:182 2 Chronicles 22:3-4 |
| Joash (Jehoash) | 2 Chronicles 24:17-21 |
| Amaziah | 2 Chronicles 25:14 |
| Ahaz | 2 Kings 16:3 |
| Manasseh | 2 Kings 21:1-2 2 Kings 21:16 2 Chronicles 33:1-2 2 Chronicles 33:6 |
| Amon | 2 Kings 21:19-20 2 Chronicles 33:22 |
| Jehoahaz | 2 Kings 23:31-32 |
| Jehoiakim | 2 Kings 23:36-37 2 Chronicles 36:5 |
| Jehoiachin | 2 Kings 24:8-9 2 Chronicles 36:9 |
| Zedekiah | 2 Kings 24:18-19 2 Chronicles 36:11-12 |