The idolatry of the Northern Kingdom eventually reaches a breaking point, exposing the absolute powerlessness of false gods in the face of divine wrath and approaching destruction. Although the golden calves were physically placed in the cities of Bethel and Dan, the idol is directly associated with Samaria. As the capital city, Samaria was the seat of the kings who established and entrenched this calf worship among the people [רד״ק].
A central theme of this downfall is abandonment, though commentators differ on who exactly is abandoning whom. The primary approach among commentators is that the calf itself abandons the people. This highlights the mockery of idolatry: the very idol the people worshipped deserts them and fails to offer salvation in times of distress [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This abandonment takes a tangible form when the King of Assyria conquers the land, shatters the calves, and carries off their gold [רד״ק]. Others suggest that God is the one doing the abandoning. Because of the sin of the calves, God rejects the people of Samaria, driving them off their land and bringing about their exile and ruin [רש״י, רד״ק, אבן עזרא]. A third approach suggests that it is the king who abandons the calf, meaning he finally stops forcing the populace to engage in idol worship [מלבי״ם].
Following this grave sin, God expresses burning anger directed both at the calves themselves and at the people who worship them [אבן עזרא, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. According to the view that the king no longer forces the idolatry, God's anger shifts entirely to the people. In the past, God's wrath was directed at the kings who coerced the nation to sin. Now, however, because the people continue to willingly craft idols with their own money and free will, the divine anger is focused directly on them [מלבי״ם].
The situation culminates in a divine outcry questioning how long the people will remain incapable of achieving a clear and clean state of purity [מצודת ציון]. God wonders how much time will pass before the nation finally directs its heart to be cleansed from the filth of idolatry [רש״י, רד״ק]. This refusal to purify themselves is especially frustrating because the people can clearly see that the idol has no real substance [מצודת דוד], and they now possess the freedom to worship God without coercion [מלבי״ם]. God's anger will persist until the people become clean, yet tragically, it appears they are entirely incapable of reaching this purity [אבן עזרא].