Commentators stress that the Israelites were not trying to replace Yahweh, but to worship Him through a physical symbol. They declared the calf represented the God who saved them from Egypt. Their sin was violating the second commandment by creating a visible image for the invisible God, what John Calvin calls a 'deceitful pretext' that corrupted true worship. This shows that idolatry often begins by trying to control or redefine God on our own terms.