What was the connection between idolatry and immorality in pagan worship?
Pagan idolatry was inseparably linked with gross immorality; immoral acts were not incidental but were woven into worship itself. In the golden calf episode, the people rose up to play, which involved nakedness and seductive dancing, showing that idol worship drew Israel down into human depravity.
Les explains that paganism and idolatry were always steeped in the most abject immorality imaginable, and that this immorality was part of their worship. In the golden calf incident, after the people offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, they sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Les points out that the Hebrew phrase rendered “rose up to play” indicates they were naked and put on seductive, lascivious dances. He notes this was not merely a Hollywood invention in the movie The Ten Commandments; it reflected what actually happened. The Israelites brought this practice out of Egypt, made the golden calf, and went down into that lower level of human depravity.