Why did God punish the Hebrews when they made a graven image when the commandment forbidding this was not yet given to them?

Answer 1

"Thou shalt have no other gods before

me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any

graven image or any likeness of any thing

that is in heaven above, or that is in the

earth beneath, or that is in the water

under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down

thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, the

Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting

the iniquity of the fathers upon the chil-

dren unto the third and fourth generation

of them that hate me; and showing mercy

unto thousands of them that love me, and

keep my commandments." Man soon forgets the blessings that he has received. The Lords chosen people soon complained at the hardship of being in the wilderness, they wished to return to the bondage that the Lord had brought them from. There they had food and comfort, while in the wilderness they did not have even Moses for a while as he communed with the Lord.

They rejected their true God and went to worshiping one of the idols of the Egyptians. God was rightfully angry and had about three thousand slain by the children of Levi who took no part in their idol worship. From that time only the innocent new born were allowed to enter the promised land. This is a lesson that we can all learn, that not all who are chosen will enter the kingdom of God.

Answer 2

The question is mistaken. The Golden Calf was made after God spoke the Ten Commandments. See also the Related Link.

The complaints, and the Golden Calf