Calves used as sacrifices on the alter signify, "we are giving God praise."

Hosea 14:2

Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

Therefore, in the Bible, "calves of our lips" means "praising God." This expression equals making a sacrifice to God.

Hebrews 13:15

By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.

            A calf is a sacrifice but when it is worshipped, it becomes an idol. Casting idols from molten brass, copper or silver is a very ancient practice, and the idols found near the temples in the East today may have been formed more than five hundred years ago. Molten images are made of brass, copper and silver. The Eastern people melt the ore and fashion an idol according to their choosing.

II Kings 17:16, 17

And they left all the commands of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

            In the East two brazen calves are often found before the temples as well as around gates and beside the holy waters. Each temple has a small pond called a molten sea, and the surrounding walls are made of brass. Calves are sacrificed with the belief that God will keep His people safe and secure. When the people of the East pray, they point to the calves and say, "Lord, the sacrifice which our forefathers made unto thee in the years gone by – we also make unto thee now. Please, Lord, forgive us."

            Idols are frequently erected in the midst of a grove. In the Bible a grove is usually a small plot of ground higher than the surrounding land, on which there are trees that grow quickly and provide shade. These trees that grow quickly are known in the Bible as "green bay trees". The eastern people believe that the green bay tree indicates God’s presence and is symbolic of God’s prosperity and righteousness. Once every six months, during the full moon days, the women go to these groves to cook food and to call upon God, believing the presence is there in manifestation because the groves are green. The true God instructed His people that they were not to worship Him in the groves, but were to cut down the groves and high places, meaning "Don't worship idols, but rid yourself of them by destruction."

            In Jeremiah we read that the people baked cakes to the queen of heaven, who is supposed to be one of the goddesses in the stars of the sky. Some stars are also called the host of heaven. According to the superstition propagated by the priests, the people will suffer a severe plague if they do not have a grand festival in honor of the queen of heaven. Thus many people in the East are subjugated by fear. One of the foremost idols of the groves in the Bible is Baal.

            The practice of "fire walking" is not new, but as old as history and as devilish as Satan. Only a devil-possessed person could walk white hot coals of fire without getting burned.

           The Mohammedans, who are not supposed to be superstitious or indulge in base practices, have an unusual tradition. Once a year, at the time of the greatest religious festival, they build a special pit 14 feet in diameter and 4 or 5 feet deep, with an elevated wall 2 feet high surrounding the pit. A few days before the feast they build a fire and keep spreading the red hot coals throughout the pit. On the festival day people walk through the fire to prove that they do not get their feet burned. If they have to find out if a man has committed a crime, they compel him to go through the fire. If he gets his feet burned, he is guilty.

            God is not pleased with such ungodly practices, and His people are constantly warned not to participate in such devilish acts. God's people are to be judged by Him and His standards and not according to any of man's ideas. God is a spirit, and they that worship Him are to worship Him in spirit and not according to any image or idol. A spirit has no form or comeliness. The true God is the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Bishop K.C. Pillai, D.D.