‘ And the children of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and served the Baalim.'
It was the ‘natural' thing to do. The Baalim were the main god of the land represented in the form of statuettes of bulls, so easily satisfied and demanding nothing in return. They were like good luck charms to many Israelites, but they took them away from faithfulness to the covenant. They took their eyes off God. Others entered more boldly into Baalism, enjoying ‘worship' with the sacred prostitutes, for Baalism was all about manipulating Baal through sympathetic magic by wild sexual orgies. And both equally did evil in the sight of Yahweh. For all that distracts man from his full obedience to God is evil. They failed to love Him with all their heart and soul and might (Deuteronomy 6:5).
So openly, publicly and boldly, in the very face of God, and amidst all the good things that they had received from Him, they trusted to good luck charms, to mascots and to manipulation of the gods and idols, and indulged in sexual orgies, and made men think that these things were the cause of their blessings, and not the God with Whom they had entered into covenant. And this was the very thing that God had known would happen and the reason He had told them to drive the Canaanites out of the land. Now God was being pushed into the background, was being upstaged, and that by clay models, wooden images and man's evil heart.