Êxodo 34:14

For thou shalt worship no other god. — The images, altars, and groves would, if retained, lead on to the worship of the gods to whom they were dedicated — indeed, they could be retained for no other purpose. Thus their destruction followed, as a corollary, from the second commandment.

Whose name is Jealous. — Comp. Êxodo 20:5, and see Note 2 on that passage. Many attempts have been made to show that jealousy is unworthy of the Divine Nature; but that the one Only God, if there be but one Only God, should claim and exact under severe penalties an undivided allegiance is natural, reasonable, and in harmony with the most exalted conceptions of the Divine essence. If God looked with indifference upon idolatry, it would imply that He cared little for His human creatures: that, like the Deity of Epicurus, having once created man and the world, He thenceforth paid no attention to them.