I’ve been reading in John Calvin’s, book 1 on the institutes. Chapter 11 lends itself to a reflection of Calvin's daily reality, he's a reformer surrounded by contending forces. In the case of this chapter, it's the inclination of all men to use images for God, which Calvin argues, will always lead to idolitry. To me, the broader context is not just these objects, rather the actions and goals which may have a spiritual reference, like a carved idol, that is divergent from the will of God. Anyway, this really bothers Calvin. In chapter 12, Calvin continues this dialog from chapter 11; he feels that when people pervert the true knowledge of God, this also perverts their worship of God. Calvin drops back to the principle that without holly scripture it is a slippery slope away from a true knowledge of, and thus a true relationship with, God. Perhaps this is a good lesson that the people of Israel and Judah provide in the time period between David and Nehemiah?