Sermon Tone Analysis

The first covenant with man.

God made a covenant with Adam.

Adam you can eat of all the fruit in the garden.

The only one you can’t eat of is in the midst of the garden.

If you will eat of all the other trees your life will be sustained.

If you eat of the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” your life will be ended.

“in the day that thou eatest there of thou shalt surely die…”

This was a true statement.

God wasn't lying.

That day Adam died.

No if you know the story He was still breathing at the end of the day.

But he still died.

Let me explain.

I Thessalonians 5:23

• Body - Connects with the World around us.

• Soul - Connects with Others

• Spirit - Connects with God.

Adam could still interact with his world

Adam could still interact with his wife and kids.

Adam could not interact with God.

He had been cut off His Spirit had died.

God’s cure to this was powerful.

His plan was to send his son Jesus Christ to die as a sacrifice.

But just as important is that he rose again.

In fact vs 11 tells us that you and I have access to this same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.

The Holy Spirit moves in.

When the Spirit is restored we call it “being born again”.

In other words the Spirit is coming to life.

But it is not just any spirit that moves in it is the Holy Spirit.

The question for the believer in Roman’s chapter 8 is now that the Holy Spirit has moved in are you living out what Christ had planned for your resurrections

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It doesn’t take an extensive read through of the Old Testament to note the pervasive influence of idolatry in Israel’s history.

Though God had established a covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, instructing His people to separate themselves from the religion and practices of their neighbors, the Israelites frequently turned to other gods and idol worship, including Baal, the supreme deity of the Canaanites.

Who Was Baal?

The name Baal in the Bible is most commonly associated with the Canaanite and Phoenician god of fertility, the rain, the sun, and the storm.

Baal was considered the supreme god and master of all the other gods.

In many instances, various cities would have their own special Baal.

This is where we see the name used in conjunction with a specific locality such as Baal-Peor, Baal-Gad, and Baal-Hermon.

The Baals or Baalim (plural) were considered the lords of their respective lands.

Of course, Baal worship was not exclusive to the Canaanites or those living in the region at the time.

Though the balance of power in the ancient Middle East was in a constant state of flux, with various tribes, nation states, and empires rising and falling, Baal worship would never fully disappear.

Rather, it would evolve and rebrand itself.

Baal worship was popular in Egypt from around 1400 to 1075 B.C.

The Babylonians would borrow from the Phoenicians to worship a similar god of fertility and the sun, who they referred to as Belu or Bel.

The Greeks worshipped a master of the gods and keeper of the sky in the form of Belos, who we know as Zeus, and the Romans had their equivalent to Baal in the Roman god Jupiter.

The Canaanite Baal, however, was often represented in the form of a large bull or ram as sculptures of Baal were erected at various temples and cities where Baal worship was practiced, including, at times, Jerusalem.

- Joel Ryan

Where Is Baal Mentioned in the Bible?

When Baal is mentioned in the Old Testament, most references point to the singular pagan deity.

It is important to note, however, that the word “baal” was earlier used as a common noun that meant “owner” or “lord”.

Proper names could incorporate “baal” in this regard, and the Hebrews would sometimes refer to Yahweh as their “baal” to signify His place as the “master” or “lord” of their life.

In this context “baal” was a term of reverence and respect, not exclusively idol worship.

Over time, though, “baal” became more synonymous with the god of fertility in Canaanite religion.

It was then elevated to a proper noun (Baal) to fit Baal’s cultural status as a “prince” or “lord” of the earth.

Like most things corrupted by sin, even language can be twisted and perverted.

For this reason, the word “baal” became repugnant and abhorrent to the Yahweh, given Israel’s history with Baal worship.

In fact, in the time of Hosea, God instructed His people to remove all mention of “baal” from their conversations:

Following the exodus from Egypt, God warned His people to stay away from the gods of the Canaanites and trust in Him alone.

After all, it was Yahweh who had heard their cries from slavery, delivered them from Egypt in glorious fashion, and provided for them every step of the way.

That didn’t stop the Israelites from supplementing their faith in Yahweh with prayers to local deities.

In some instances, the Israelites outright abandoned God in favor of carven idols.

The Worship of Baal in the Bible

In the episode with the golden calf (Exodus 32), the Israelites proved how quickly they had forgotten the wonders and promises of God, not to mention His first and second commandments:

Instead of keeping their end of the bargain and following God’s command to remain in an exclusive relationship, the Israelites turned to other gods and idols for guidance and provision (Exodus 32).

This trend would continue throughout the Old Testament.

In Number 25, we find the first mention of Israel being enticed to worship the Baal of Peor.

God had warned His people to avoid the religious practices of their neighbors before entering the Promised Land.

Unfortunately, the influence of Canaanite culture, religion, and idolatry proved too pervasive and attractive to resist.

The Israelites had also not done themselves any favors by intermarrying with Canaanite women and allowing their religious practices to infiltrate their homes.

In the time of the Judges, Baal worship became even more prominent (Judges 2:11).

The prophet Samuel warned God’s people to turn away from their idols or suffer the consequences of foreign oppression at the hands of the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:3-4).

King Ahab was a major turning point… It wasn’t until the reign of King Ahab, however, that Baal worship became normalized and widespread.

Influenced by the religion of his Phoenician wife Jezebel, Ahab allowed Baal worship to become a dominant religion in Israel, as he erected altars, temples, and statues to Baal and Asherah throughout the land.

Ahab and his queen even employed 450 prophets and priests to lead God’s people in ritual worship, prayer, and sacrifice to Baal.

In fact, 1 Kings tells us that…

As a direct challenge to the Israelites’ faith in Baal, who they worshipped as the “god of rain”, God withheld rain and dew from the land for three years to prove that He alone was Creator and Lord (1 Kings 17:1).

In those days, God also sent His prophet Elijah to admonish Ahab and direct the hearts of Israel back to God.

On Mount Carmel, Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of Baal to a showdown to settle once and for all who was God over Israel (1 Kings 18)

In the challenge, Elijah and the prophets of Baal were each to call out to their god to send fire from heaven to ignite the altar erected in their name.

The 450 prophets of Baal called out to Baal all day and night,

Exhausted, the prophets of Baal finally gave up.

Then, in a simple prayer, Elijah called out to God and God swiftly answered with fire from heaven, putting the prophets of Baal and Baal himself to shame.

However, though God’s display on Mount Carmel had demonstrated His power over Baal and His sovereignty over creation, revival in Israel was short-lived.

The Israelites would continue to worship idols and look to foreign gods, influencing their brothers in Judah to the South with their pagan practices.

Unfortunately, it took exile and captivity at the hands of Babylon to finally put an end to Baal worship in Israel and break God’s people of their idolatry (Zephaniah 1:4-6

Temple prostitution and sensual forms of worship were common in Baal worship as was occasional human sacrifice, namely children, who were burnt alive to appease the god of fertility (Jeremiah 18:5).

In fact, King Ahaz of Judah was said to have made molten images of the Baals, burning his own sons alive in fire “according to the abominations of the nations” (2 Chronicles 28:3)

We also see in the showdown on Mount Carmel, the priests of Baal were known for ritual worship that involved loud, ecstatic cries, frenzied behavior, and various forms of cutting and self-mutilation (1 Kings 18).

God, of course, had no love or tolerance for the abominable practices of those who worshipped Baal, demanding that Israel purge these pagan rituals and images from their midst.

When they did, God’s mercy was plentiful.

When they didn’t, His judgment was severe.

I would never fall into Idolatry…

Consider us for a minute.

Christians today may be quick to dismiss Baal worship and other forms of idolatry mentioned in the Old Testament as antiquated or extinct.

It is true that God used Israel’s time in captivity to break His people of the habitual sin of idolatry, and when the remnant of Israel returned to Jerusalem, it seems they had learned their lesson and finally done away with their worship of Baal and other idols.

Furthermore, we would be hard-pressed to find many today who openly worship Baal or any of the pagan gods of the Old Testament by name.

“…As was the case in the Old Testament, various forms of idol worship often evolve and rather than outright disappear.

The same evil and rebellious nature that we read about in the Old Testament has never gone away.

It has simply repackaged itself for today’s generations.

Today, the devil is much more subtle and subversive in luring humanity away from God than we often realize.

Many things can present themselves as substitutes or alternatives to God, including human leaders, government, various forms of technology, pleasure, entertainment, fame, and money, which can all manifest as the gods of people’s lives.