-Idol worship (avodah zarah) involves the worship of different deities and angels
-People try to get their energy and needs from these deities.
-The statues involve the drawing down of the spiritual into a physical counterpart, which can then be worshiped.
-The golden calf was not idolatry at all. For they made it into a resting place for the shichina (divine presents) rather then a deity.
-One of the legs of the merkavah (divine chariot) is an ox.
-This is similar to the chruvim that the shichinah did end up resting upon.
-They got punished because after all calculations they were still wrong.
-The two gold oxen of Yerovam ben Nevot were of a similar concept.