Sermon Tone Analysis

The Next Marvel Movie

The storm God is challenged by his brother, the sea God, for dominance as King of the Gods.

With two magical weapons (Driver and Chaser) given to him by Kothar-wa-Khasis (god of wisdom and magic), the God of Lightning is able to cast down his brother, whose name is Yam.

The storm God is challenged by his brother, the sea God, for dominance as King of the Gods.

With two magical weapons (Driver and Chaser) given to him by Kothar-wa-Khasis (god of wisdom and magic), the God of Lightning is able to cast down his brother, whose name is Yam.

With the help of his mom (Athirat, or sometimes called Asherah) and his sister, Anat, the goddess of war, the storm God persuades his father (El, the all-father, the most-high God) to give him a palace.

Kothar-wa-Khasis makes his palace and the storm God is feeling pretty hot.

So he shouts out that he is invincible and even death (Thanos) can’t take him!

Death personified, Thanos (also called Mot) comes up, and fights him and then swallows him.

But now, since the storm God is gone, there is no rain and the land is desolated.

So Anat, his sister, goes down to the Kingdom of death and starts making trouble.

She attacks Mot with a knife, grinds him up into pieces, scatters the pieces far and wide.

And the storm God is resurrected and is able to return and bring rain to the earth once more.

Mot also returns, and he is about to fight the storm God again, but the other gods say that El is on his side now, and sow Mot, death, acknowledges the storm god as King.

That storm gods name?

Not Thor.

Ba’al Hadad.

And this is the story of the Baal cycle, aka, one of the oldest comic books in the world.

The cycle of Baal

These are the gods that Israel discovered in the land they were given to possess by their God, Yahweh.

These are the gods of the surrounding nations.

Some different names, some slightly different worship customs, but surrounded by the great cultures of the world: Egypt and Mesopotamia and Greece… the gods of Canaan (or often called Phoenicia in the study of mythologies) take on all the flavors of the surrounding areas.

Why do we keep chasing after idols?

Try all the different workouts.

What works?

Idolatry

Intro:

God gives them judges again, delivering them from the chaos and bloodshed that followed in the wake of Gideon and Abimelech.

I think the highest praise these judges get is that there isn’t much to say about them.

They did the job God called them to.

No drama, no chaos, no controversy, no crisis.

Not all that much to say about a job well done.

Tactical Repentance

Judges 10:6-9

Judges 10:11-14

Judges 10:10-

Judges 10:15-

Whatever Works For You

Why do they keep doing this?

The text doesn’t flat out say, but we can see some pattern in which gods keep coming up.

Baal - god of storms, of rain, and therefore related to fertility of the land and harvest.

Ashtaroth, also called Asherah, mother of the gods, related to sex and fertility.

Both of these named gods are DIRECTLY related to prosperity in the land.

What do I want after I have peace?

Prosperity.

More crops, more children, more wealth, more of the good life.

They aren’t reaching out to sea gods, they aren’t sailors.

Not merchant gods, they aren’t really traders.

Not

How am I going to get that?

Well, I am watching my neighbors and watching what is working from then.

In the same way that the locals might know the soil, and what crops grow well, and where the good springs are… the locals also know the layout of the local spiritual forces, and how to appease them to avoid negative consequences, and how to please them to gain favor and blessing and gifts.

So, we try it and see what works.

Whatever makes you happy

Whatever floats your boat.

If it makes you happy!

If it makes you prosperous, than who is it hurting?

After you have peace, what do you want?

Prosperity.

More.

Much more.

If your neighbor is trying something new, and it works for him, why not give it a try?

We see this today in the stock market with mutual funds.

Is one mutual fund manager better than another?

No, statistically no better than a monkey with a dartboard.

But it is all really self-worship.

I worship an idol because I hope it will bring me what I want, what I need, my happiness, my desires, me, me, me.

It’s all about me.

If I can manipulate some higher being into helping me do that, than that’s what I will do!

And, “scientific idolatry” or, “whatever