Human beings haven’t changed much in our long history. The Jewish people returning from Babylon in 539B.C. are remarkably like us. So when we hear the lament of the prophets that the people must give up their tendency toward idolatry we should take it personally. One way of thinking about idolatry — looking for happiness is something which is not God. For the ancient peoples it was those forces such as the sun or storms which seemed beyond them. For contemporary people it might be things like attaining lots of stuff, or being famous and talked about, or achieving status and power. The way to battle idolatry is to rely on what God wants to give instead of imagining that I somehow must create my happiness.
