Some skeptics question why God punished the Israelites in Exodus 32:35 for worshipping the golden calf, arguing they didn't realize it was wrong and were just following Aaron's orders. However, Moses and Aaron clearly acted as brokers for God, to whom the Israelites knew their freedom was owed. Furthermore, God had already given them explicit instructions to make no graven image (meaning a point of presence for the manifestation of deity) prior to the golden calf incident. The judgment was permitted to curb a rapid descent into destructive idolatry.