As we study the operation of the spirit of Baal in the Bible, one can see the fruit of its operation in the USA.. Theoretically, the Israelites did not believe in idols, but in reality, they did. Dig into the illuminating world of the Bible with a BAS All-Access membership. They believed by their actions they could control and manipulate the Gods. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered!only to go on doing all these abominations? However, God still holds them responsible because the truth is available. Alternate titles: Baal Shamen, Baal Shemin, Baalim. In the Judeo-Christian tradition Asherah is considered a false Canaanite deity and a major source of temptation to the Israelites. The Semitic original of this name has been recognized in one of Baal's names in Ugaritic: (The name is to be connected with the root dmr, "be strong, brave," and is probably the same as that of Abraham's son Zimrn (damarn), the -n afformative being preserved in the genitive case of the Greek form Demarountos). Besides the names Baal and Haddu, the Ugaritic texts furnish a variety of other titles, such as "Mighty Baal" (aliyn bl) and "Prince, Lord of Earth" (zbl bl ars). (the Iron Age). Worshipers of Baal Killed. Most of the information they gave turned out to be wrong, to be lies. Join the BAS Library today. At Shittim they attached themselves to Baal-Peor, ate sacrifices for the dead, and indulged in sacred sexual orgies (Num. In the Ugaritic mythological texts Balu (bl) is the name of the god which is used more than twice as often as his next most frequent name, Haddu (hd). He began to prophesy in a time of immediate crisis, one that would become far worse before it ever improved. Baal was a cruel, sensuous, and revolting false god whose worship involved sexual degradation and lewdness. Thus, they developed a syncretic religious system, a blending of the truth of God and outright paganism. What the Bible says about God's first command to destroy any forms of idol worship came early in the Bible in Exodus 34:13. . II Kings 17:7-17 catalogs the sins of Israel: Widespread idolatry. Baal Peor, or the Baal of Peor, was a local deity worshiped by the Moabites. The Bible is full of colorful characters, from Noah to Moses to Jesus. "like a bird in a tree. 1:711). 10:25, 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18). Our god is what we give our lives over to. Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. ed., 1965); H.B. What made the very name Baal anathema to the Israelites was the program of Jezebel, in the 9th century bce, to introduce into Israel her Phoenician cult of Baal in opposition to the official worship of Yahweh (I Kings 18). 57:310), perhaps including copulation with animals (Hos. (II Kings 17:35-38). Adad roughly equates with the later Phoenician storm god Baal, the worship of whom is championed by the nefarious queen Jezebel in the Bible. Figs and grapes ripen during the dry season and the grain harvest also takes place before the rains resume. Various forms of Baal worship are still going on in the Catholic church; even though these pagan idols were incorporated into Catholicism centuries ago, the worship of the sun still exists to this day. He was to be an aid in getting them from their state of being merely "churched" to that of being truly religious and servants of the Most High God. The Israelites rejected the law of God and relied on the traditions of Gentile nations. (the Middle Bronze Age). With Baal's functions accredited to YHWH, it was natural and fitting that some of Baal's titles would also be taken over. Horrendous and repulsive aspects of the worship sexual excesses and perversions (Isa. The first mention of Molech is in Leviticus 18:21 in which the . That afon designated the "north" in Hebrew is presumably due to the fact that Mount Casius lies directly north of Palestine. Burning incense, worship of the sun, moon, astrology, and ancestor worship are all earmarks of the Baal religion. John W. Ritenbaugh John W. Ritenbaugh A general understanding about the bamah and . In Canaanite religion her primary role was that of mother goddess. ), from an original Baal-Zebul, which is preserved in this form in the New Testament (Matt. The association of the name Baal-Zephon with Israel's exit from Egypt (Ex. Child sacrifice was a fundamental aspect of Baal worship. It disturbed them. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. A complaint is made to Bull El, father of the gods, that Baal has no house like other gods. Baal Worship Baal-Berith Berbers Bet (Ha)-Midrash Bet Din Bethar Bibliophiles Bloodletting Chronicles of Kings of Israel Episcopus Judaeorum Essenes Exile Fable Flood Forced Baptism Garden of Eden Glass Golden Calf Goliath Great Revolt Great Synagogue Hannah and her Seven Sons Hasmoneans/Maccabees Hebrew Printing Hekdesh Herod Herodian Dynasty Indeed, throughout its history, the most important god at Sidon was the storm godknown during the Phoenician period as Baal or Bel. But it could have existed long before that, when God established the law, including laws against eating pork, since pig slaughter and sacrifice were a hallmark of Baal worship. None of the foolish practices of the heathen could bring the rains; only YHWH could and did (Jer. They become "settled on their lees," as it says in Zephaniah 1:12. In Canaan, however, when the solar theology had absorbed the older beliefs, Baal, passing into a sun-god and the goddess who stood at his side becoming a representative of the moon--the pale reflection, as it were, of the sun- -Ashtoreth came to be regarded as the consort of Baal and took the place of the solar goddesses of Babylonia. But what was its real effect on the participants and the nation? Israel's false religion, represented by the altars of Bethel, is at the root of her problems. 106 a ). He is deceived into thinking that his material prosperity proves that God approves of his conduct and attitudes. Actually, there were two gods which were essentially worshiped the same way, Baal and Ashtoreth. So it was that, about 250 years after it was established, the ten-tribed northern kingdom became extinct as a sovereign nation. This describes to a T what Israel did then and their descendants are continuing to do today. No doubt, we cant cover the breadth of verses on Baal here, but we should note that Baal becomes a big player in the book of Judges and during the time of the kings when Israel appears to succumb most to the foreign pantheons. Who were the Sidonians of the Iron Age (c. 1200586 B.C.E.)? Yet Sidon was a significant site before this period, too. The myths also tell of Baals struggle to obtain a palace comparable in grandeur to those of other gods. Its prosperity played a part in corrupting the Israelites' hearts, which is why Hosea mentions the divided or disloyal heart in context with its bountiful fruit. Their commitment went one way, and then it went the other way. Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have . In the Bible, Baal (also rendered Baal) was an important Canaanite god, often portrayed as the primary enemy of the Hebrew God Yahweh. Canaanite Religions and Baal Worship by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson Audio (12:51) Free E-mail Bible Study Grace: Favor for the Undeserving. Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. But church is where we come to have our minds stretched and measured against Christ's standard. We are seeing the same thing today, but at times, it is harder to recognize because we are accustomed to it, and it is not happening overnight. In the Bible, the followers of the one true God encounter other gods, or previously worshipped idols themselves. He awakens them to their spiritual and moral responsibilities. In spite of the fact that the word is used as the theophorous element in personal names, such as Eshbaal, Merib-Baal, Jerub Baal, it was long believed that the term remained an appellation and did not become a proper name, except in the case of the Mesopotamian Bel and in late theological speculation. Combine a one-year tablet and print subscription to BAR with membership in the BAS Library to start your journey into the ancient past today! Not only do the Jews have to deal with the abomination of Zeus and Antiochus Epiphanes IV (Daniel 8), but the Greek pantheon later gets repeated in the Roman pantheon, and practices from both the Greeks and Romans still exist today. The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11). To become moral, we must kill our selfish egos through the use and guidance of God's Holy Spirit. And she has taken over many so-called churches. Baal was a god of prosperity, god of harvest, sex and fertility. Dated to c. 1750 B.C.E. you didnt even mention her horrible daughter Athaliah, the only killer queen All through the Old Testament, the people of Israel fell into Baal and Asherah worship, and it is no different for us today. Ugaritic texts tell of other fertility aspects of Baal, such as his relations with Anath, his consort and sister, and also his siring a divine bull calf from a heifer. This life-and-death struggle pitted the worship of Baal against the worship of Jehovah. 3:8; Ps. Elijah's work was to reveal the true God to Israel in a time of growing national crisis. 57 Bull Baal. Usually the storm god is illustrated as a striding human figure, but sometimes he is represented by one of his symbols, such as the bull or leonine dragon. Baal, of course, could not talk to them, but if he could, he would probably have said basically the same thing, so the people were in a very uncomfortable situation. guilty of adopting the ghastly Canaanite practice of child sacrifice. . Does that way of life conform to the God of the Bible, or does it spring from the mind of men? How could you worship Baal? But if we dont exercise extreme discernment, we may find ourselves doing the same with modern-day baals. The right remedy, according to Israel's prophets, was to repudiate Baal completely and to seek and return to Israel's true God (Isa. 22:816). God sends a prophet to people who are cold in their relationship with Godspiritually freezing to deaththough they want to stay that way. In contrast, the church has had periods of strength and weakness all throughout its historyit goes through cycles of rallying around truth and then gradually letting it slip. The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. Either you are going to be committed to Him or not. 6:30; II Kings 16:3233) are associated with him. Learn more about Biblical Sidon and Sidonian religion in Claude Doumet-Serhals article SidonCanaans Firstborn in the July/August 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. Baal is also referred to about 12 times as "the Rider of the Clouds" which undoubtedly testifies to his control over the rain and storms. This viewpoint was developed as the basic and final argument against Baalism. The Canaanites often worshipped her via trees (Asherah poles) because of her association with the tree of life. The Baal-worship so often alluded to and described in Holy Writ might, perhaps, be better styled, id-worship, moon-worship, Melek (Moloch)-worship, or Hadad-worship, according to places and circumstances. Moffatt renders this, "They worshipped the Eternal, and they also served their own gods.". Photo: Courtesy of Claude Doumet-Serhal. (The suggestion that Jer. Through the window, a cleft in the clouds, Baal gave forth his holy voice which convulsed the earth and sent his enemies scurrying to the hills and woods. Some become discouraged with the church because we are always being toldto some measure anywaydisturbing things about ourselves. The god of arts and crafts, Kothar, then proceeded to build for Baal the most beautiful of palaces which spread over an area of 10,000 acres. In an Akkadian catalogue of Ugaritic deities Baal apn is listed as dIM be-el hurn a-zi, "Storm-God, Lord of Mount azi" (see above; az [z] i being the Hurrian name of Mount apn which survives in the Greek and Latin Kasios/Casius as the name of the storied mountain of the gods). The sequel to this action is furnished by the group of texts which recount Baal's confrontations with Mot. Essentially, the Phoenicians were the Canaanites who survived from the Bronze Age into the Iron Age and who were not supplanted by new people groups (Philistines, Israelites, etc.). Does the Bible Mention What to Give Up for Lent? Baal transformed into Zeus, who transformed into Jupiter, etc. Apostasy is a defection from trutha forsaking of one spiritual approach in favor of another. If anyone could get an award for Having the Worst Neighbors, it would most likely go to the ancient Israelites. They think that what they are doing is right, but they are deceived. Elijah was sent by God, and he was fulfilling the responsibility of a prophet, to prod the people to whom he was sent to their responsibilities. All rights reserved. Baal's objection to the window somehow concerned his three daughters and the sea-god (Yamm), but the text is broken at this point. They also worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. The triumph of Baal recounted in the myths and perhaps reenacted in ritual drama gave assurance of help in the present and the future as in the past. I prefer transliterating the sheva with [*] rather than any other English vowel letter, so I prefer Y*HWaH to YuHWaH or to YaHWeH, for that matter. Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. In the Bible, Baal is spoken of in a negative light, as an idol and a false god, and is associated with idolatry and paganism. In another room was a round base that likely supported a wooden pillar. In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens. The Sovereign Creator is not a God who allows His favor to be bought with crumbs. Valimai means strengh, or force or weight. As a Semitic common noun baal (Hebrew baal) meant owner or lord, although it could be used more generally; for example, a baal of wings was a winged creature, and, in the plural, baalim of arrows indicated archers. Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 demons.