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Is Idolatry Alive and Well in Your Life?
By Art
Hobba
(excerpts from
Called to War)
What is the big deal
about all of the white space in the Bible regarding
idolatry?
Over a period of more than two
thousand years before Christ, a Baal-type god was worshipped
throughout Northern Africa, the Middle East, and southern
Europe. Baal (Assyrian-Babylonian "Bēl"),
which literally means ?Possessor,? ?Master,? or ?Lord,? had
developed many different expressions over the centuries, as
he was worshipped by diverse peoples4.
For
decades at a time, pockets of Israel (even in Jerusalem) was
often a member of the Baal fan club. There are approximately
89 references to the god Baal in the Old Testament. Baal was
a Canaanite deity whose worship was organized, and
significant temples were constructed in some larger cities.
This deity also had priests and schools of prophets who
would speak in his name.5
In the
history of the nation of Israel, no god or demon came even
close to rivaling the centuries of devotion given to this
deity. From the exodus of God's people from Egypt around the
mid 15th century B.C. where Aaron caved to the
people's cry to fashion a golden calf-idol in the
wilderness, through the years of the twelve Judges, all the
way through the fall of Jerusalem in 597 B.C., this idol was
a constant and compelling attraction for God's people. Prior
to conquering the Canaanite nations as they were about to
move across the Jordan River, God clearly and repetitively
warned His people of the dark dangers of idol worship. Lets
look at Moses' warning to his people in Deuteronomy:
"'and after
they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be
ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do
these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." You
must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in
worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable
things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and
daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.'" --
Deuteronomy 12:30-32
This
cult of Baal demanded the highest level of sacrifice
imaginable, seeded with gross abominations. When paired with
a female deity, worship included ritual prostitution to
symbolize the fruitful "watering of the womb" of mother
earth by the god. This next paragraph is historical, but
graphic. My purpose here is not to shock, but to later draw
important parallels on how proliferations of this deity are
still active in our society today, and unfortunately, in the
church.
The
altar of Baal countenanced the image of a double-horned bull with
the head and shoulders of a man. Later it evolved into a
completely human form but retained the two horns on the
head. Its arms extended outward as a stoked fire belched out
from a hole in the chest. As a requirement of devotion for
each family, and to receive the blessing of the god, the
Priest of Baal would demand one of their children as a
sacrifice. When the child was handed over, it would be
placed on the outstretched arms of the idol, where the child
could then be rolled into the fire. In Baal worship, as the
child raised its final screams, the frenzied priests and
priestesses would openly engage in hetero and homosexual
intercourse. Finally, the balance of the worshippers would
then complete the ceremony by engaging in an orgiastic
ritual.
In
1929, excavations began in Ras Shamra (the ancient port town
of Ugarit) in northern Lebanon.
The remains of a palace discovered in the first year of
excavation yielded a library containing hundreds of ancient
documents that provided a wealth of information about the
Canaanite religion. What did these tablets reveal? The texts
show the degrading results of the worship of these deities,
with their emphasis on war, sacred
prostitution and lasciviousness. Another more recent
excavation of a site of Baal worship contained the remains
of more than twenty thousand children.
As
the Israelites settled into the land, they encountered the
cult of Baal in almost every city of the defeated. However,
scripture tells us that several tribes of Israel did not
thoroughly annihilate the Canaanites from their land, but
cohabitated with them. In the case of Manasseh (Gideon's
tribe), it says in Joshua 17:12:
Yet
the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns, for the
Canaanites were determined to live in that region. However,
when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the
Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out
completely.
Due to
the fact that this religion was much less morally demanding
than their legalistic code given to Moses and the Ten
Commandments, new generations of Israelites began to worship
Baal rather than Yahweh. Baal was more ?practical? with his
lordship over the challenges of everyday life such as rain,
fertility, crops, and livestock. In addition to the name
Baal, he was also called the "Rider upon the Clouds," or the
god of the storm or rain. For this reason, the Israelites
often would worship both Baal and Yahweh throughout the
calendar year. They had become polytheists.
Prophet
after prophet (from Moses to Nathan to Jeremiah) brought
dire warnings of harsh consequences if the people did not
forsake their idols. But in their blindness and rebellion,
they continued to conform to the practices of the pagans
around them. Within this vicious cycle, the pain and
suffering became so intense and the loss of life and
property so debilitating, they would finally repent. Each
time, God would require the pulling down and complete
destruction of the altars (also called high places) and a
full return to the true monotheistic worship of Yahweh, the
God of Abraham, Isaac, Moses.
Throughout the written prophetic accounts, these men would
passionately appeal to wayward Jewish leaders and citizens
to forsake their "adulterous" ways and return to the God who
chose them and loved them with an everlasting love. In this
story, though many hearts were stirred by the prophet who
brought the message of repentance (Judges 6:7-10), it took
the responsive and remarkably courageous faith of a young
man, Gideon, to catalyze and lead a revival to restore
worship and freedom to Israel.
For
many years, I was perplexed by the barbaric diversion of
God's people towards idolatry during this time in history.
It also seemed to me to be mostly irrelevant historical
information, without practical implications for the Church
in todays seemingly monotheistic world and, frankly, a
waste of space and content in the Bible.
However, when Israel invaded and conquered the land of
promise, they did not, per God's injunction, utterly
annihilate the Canaanite races that lived there. These
people were mostly followers of Baal. Many added the
goddesses Asherah or Ashtoreth, which were sometimes
worshipped as a consort, mother, or wife of Baal.
Although the Jews came with the best of intentions and
sought initially to worship only Jehovah, slowly the races
began to intermingle. Shrines to various divinities, which
had been destroyed in the conquest of Canaan, became
tolerated. Some of the Israelites took foreign wives, who
brought with them their household idols. Observing the
blessed and noble life of King Solomon, we can observe how
in less than a single generation, a great and wise man
who had personally experienced the presence and glory of
God, could become utterly corrupted, leading an entire
nation into blended and polluted polytheism.
In the
last eighteen months, after deeper study, I began to see
some alarming similarities between Baal worship and today's
modern world. I also began to see how Baal had infiltrated
my own life and worship as a Christian man. After gaining
better understanding, we began addressing the insidious
presence of modern day Baal's in men's ministry events and
other men's gatherings
As
recorded in the Bible, below are listed some of the more
common names attached to the various Baal's worshipped
throughout ancient world:
Baal-Tamar-
"lord of the palm tree" Judges 20:33
Baal-Gad-
"lord of good fortune" Joshua 13:5
Baal-Hamon-
"lord of wealth" Song 8:11
Baal-Hazor-
"Baal's village" 2 Sam 13:23
Baal-Meon-
"lord of the dwelling" Num 32:38
Baal-ze'bub-
"lord of the flies" 2 Kings 1:3; Matthew 10:25
Baal-Peor-
"lord of the opening" Deut 4:3
Art Hobba is the Founder of
Core 300
a 501c3 men's ministry dedicated to the freedom of Christian
men
Learn
how to win the spiritual war and get
interactive on this an other issues at
Art's blog. Read
more about to see how these might be impacting life around
you Art Hobba's
Called to War
where you can
pre-order
the book at 30% off!
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