The Issue of Calf Worship

In our Bible Study of the Prophecy of Hosea, there are a number of references to the calf worship that Israel established in place of the place of true worship in Judah. This idolatry started back in Exodus 32.  One might wonder why.  Here's an article that gives an explanation:

The Issue of Calf Worship

“Our understanding of the golden calf can benefit from an understanding of the iconography of the ancient world. From the ancient Near East (mostly from the Late Bronze Age), there are pictures of gods standing atop various animals, especially lions and bulls, as well as atop composite creatures. Moreover, there are depictions of bovines (these are generally from the Iron Age)— most likely bulls— that have no rider whatsoever. In the first set of images, the animal clearly functions as the seat or pedestal for the deity. In the second, there is no deity, which may raise possibilities for understanding the use of the golden calf here. One idea is that the calf is still the pedestal, but this time of an invisible deity. The ark within the tabernacle functioned as a seat or footstool (see note on Ex 25: 16) for the divine presence without any object to represent that presence. Perhaps, then, the golden calf functioned similarly. Or perhaps the calf is more in the nature of an emblem or symbol that stands in for the deity. The worship is still directed toward Yahweh (note the festival to Yahweh proclaimed by Aaron in 32: 5), but it makes use of a representative, one that embodies Yahweh’s power and protection and brings reassurance to the people with Moses absent. Regardless of how one interprets the calf, the worship in which the people engage angers Yahweh, in all likelihood because it violates the prohibition on making images (20: 4), which they are supposed to know and to which they have already agreed. In this sense, the calf functions more to replace the absent Moses as a mediator than to replace Yahweh as the one who delivered them from Egypt.”[1]

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[1] HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 21965-21980). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.