" The gods’ needs were not cared for just so that the people would be graced with good harvests. The temple was the control center for order in the cosmos and that order had to be maintained. The deity needed to be cared for so that he/she could focus his/her energies on the important work of holding forces of chaos at bay. The rituals, therefore, served not simply as gifts to the deity or mechanical liturgical words and actions. The rituals provided a means by which humans could play a role in maintaining order in the cosmos. "

― , Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible