God isn’t simply authoritative in a place-holding, power-holding sense. God’s authority is performative in nature. To a people surrounded by the empty promises of idolatry, he asks, “To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” (Isaiah 46:5) Idols can only hold a symbolic power that makes you carry them--they are images of our disoriented desire that we project on them and carry out in their name. The God of Israel, however, has real authority that he exerts on behalf of his people for his own glory.