After the division of the kingdom into northern and southern states God was not worshiped in legitimate temple in the Israel kingdom but in sanctuaries of golden calf in the towns of Betel and Dan. The illegal cult also spread throughout the Judah kingdom as victims were sacrificed on hills and not in a temple. Those pagan cults were practiced in both kingdoms. Even kings, who were superiors of the cult, set a bad example in this regard. The significant sin was more confidence to external signs of the cult than a moral procedure line in accordance with Yahweh’s law in this period. According to 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles, the sinful behavior of chosen nation brought, at first on Israel and next on Judah, a cleansing punishment of displacement and slavery.
