GOD’S COVENANT with Israel was conditional, with blessings for obedience to His commandments and curses for disobedience.
Disobedience can be summarized as serving other elohim. The promises of harsh punishment for worshiping other gods may seem extreme to us, but the consequences of following those entities are actually worse than the awful things that God warned would befall Israel if the people failed to heed His warning—because those consequences are eternal.
