Idolatry

I've been reading Hosea closely lately, and its reaffirmed my conviction that Israel's predominant sin in the Biblical times is that of having other gods--the breaking of the 1st commandment. In Hosea, all the other injustices and perversions that are mentioned seem to be fallout from this cardinal vice. Many of the sins themselves are associated with Baal worship. But besides pagan worship practices, it also seems that the worship of other gods leads to other sins. Hosea 4:13 "They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery." So, here, the worship of foreign gods leads to prostitution and adultery.

A key hermeneutical step is needed in order to apply these passages to our time. But is the breaking of the first commandment the primary sin of our time? Do we have other gods? Are we like Israel of old, or do we have other problems? What, if any, gods do we have besides God? I'm going to dig up some old seminary notes and get back to this. I think it's important to answer this question. Preaching the latter prophets makes no sense unless we can understand how the law continues to have applicability in our time.