How can we say that the children of Israel had idols even before they made the golden calf? The answer is found in the material used to make the idol, which was from the golden rings worn by the people. Since Moses delayed returning from the mountain, the people became restless and urged Aaron to make an idol for them. Aaron then gathered the golden rings worn by the women and children and then used it to fashion a golden calf. Hence, before the idol was made, the material for it was already being worn by the people. Here, we find a further principle concerning idolatry and breaking the law: that self-beautification leads to idolatry. The gold itself was not sinful. Even having a good appearance was not sinful. However, their desire for beautifying the self led them to idolatry.

Self-beautification pervades our society today. Our culture is filled with products and advertisements that promote self-beautification. People spend much time and effort adorning themselves. Even our homes and the places we go are built with aesthetics in mind. We may not have a lot of graven images around us, but we certainly have the idol of self-beautification within us and around us. We may not think that self-beautification is related to our Christian life, but the principle here clearly shows that it is the stepping stone to replacing God with an idol. May we all be warned concerning this principle of self-beautification.