before an ultimate authority. If we don’t honor the living God, we’ll bow before some terrible idol, who will devour our souls. A people that keeps the First Word becomes a corporate human image of the one God. Right from the beginning, Israel prefers idols. Yahweh writes the Ten Words on stone tablets, but Moses has no sooner received them than he rushes down the mountain to shatter the golden calf. Already at Sinai, we get a preview of Israel’s history of idolatry, image-worship, blasphemy, and