by D.P. Brooks
When church members today are asked, "Who was Baal?" they may answer that "he was a false god" or "he was an idol." This is like answering the question, "Who is that man?" by saying, "He is a human being." Certainly Baal was a false god, but the question is, what kind of a false god? What was the picture of Baal in the minds of his ancient worshipers?
We must remember that nearly all ancient peoples believed in polytheism (many gods). Indeed, the Hebrews were not cured of polytheism until the Exile, beginning in 587 B.C. For example, Joshua says, "Put away the foreign gods which are among you" (24:23).
Different functions of nature were assigned to different gods. Each god had his area of power and had to be appeased if one wanted to secure his favor or escape his wrath. It is clear from a reading of the Old Testament that many Hebrews who were true to Yahweh still considered other gods to be real.
in 2 Kings 3:26-27 we have these words:
When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom; but they could not. Then he took his eldest son who was to reign in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there came great wrath upon Israel; and they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.
The god of the Moabites was Chemosh. It was to this god that the king offered the crown prince as a burnt offering. The Hebrews felt that they had incurred the wrath of this god, and they retreated. The prophet declared that men would walk, "every nation in the name of their god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord [Yahweh] our God" [Micah 4:5]. Jephthah reminded the Ammonites that Yahweh had given territory formerly owned by them to Israel. Then he said: "Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess?" (Judg. 11:24).
Many people picture the inhabitants of Canaan as a primitive, savage people when the Hebrews overran their country. The culture of Canaan was far superior in many ways to that of the Hebrew nomads who overcame them. Canaan's was an old culture, and it included a developed language and system of worship. The people of Canaan were skillful farmers, and their religion was concerned with the dynamics of an agricultural society.
The supreme god in the pantheon of the Canaanites was El, who was king and father of years. Remember that some of the biblical names of God were Elohim, El Shaddi, and El Elyon. The people of the fertile Crescent possessed a common heritage, including ideas of God. It was to Moses that God appeared, not as Elohim or El Shaddi, but as Yahweh.
But the people of Canaan evidently felt that El was too far removed to be very much concerned with everyday affairs. The next god in rank was Baal, the storm god, who was celebrated as lord of gods and creator of man. The chief role in Canaanite religion was assigned to Baal, the god of rain and fertility. He took the form of a bull, the symbol of strength and fertility.
Remember that the Hebrews tried to represent Yahweh in the form of a bull also. Jeroboam I set up bulls at Dan and [Bethel] so that the people of the Northern Kingdom would not go back to Jerusalem to worship [1 Kings 12:25ff]. Also, the experience described in Exodus 32:1-29 tells of Israel's worship of "the golden calf," or the bull. This was supposed to represent Yahweh. The degrading nature of image worship is revealed in the fact that the "worship" ended up as a primitive sex orgy (see 1 Cor. 10:7-9), with 23,000 slain as a result of this debauchery.
Canaan was Baal country. Baal was thought to be the lord or owner of the fields. The Bible often speaks of "the baals." Some people thought each field had its Baal, or lord. At other times Baal is represented as one powerful god. The success of farm and herd was dependent upon Baal's favor, for only he could send the rains. [In his book, The Ancient City, Fustel de Coulanges shows that the political and social religion underlying Greek and Roman culture was much the same as this ancient Baal worship. Each home had a "god" that depended on the faithfulness of the family. The home fire, or hearth, was kept burning all day and night, not for warmth or cooking, but for the continuing existence of the god. The fire was the responsibility of the wife and if she neglected the fire and let it go out, she could legally be put to death. Hence, the saying "keep the home fire burning" is not as much of a compliment as one might think. —Ed.]
Does this begin to throw light on the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, as described in 1 Kings 17-18? Baal was supposed to control the rain, but Elijah declared that there would be neither dew nor rain except by his word (under Yahweh's direction). During a three-year drought the prophets of Baal were unable to bring rain. Following the contest of Carmel, Elijah prayed to God for rain. The floods which followed take on a new significance in the light of the almost universal belief that it was Baal, not Yahweh, who controlled the rain.
(From D.P. Brooks, The Bible—How to Understand and Teach It [Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1969], 47–49.)
Recommended further reading:
John Owen: Biblical Theology
James Freeman: Manners and Customs of the Bible
Richard Pratt: He Gave Us Stories
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Who was Baal? Baal was also an Idol, a kind of false god such as: Wadd, Suwa, Yaguth, and Yauq which idolators used to worship during Noah's time before the flood. "Because of their sins they were drowned (in the flood), and were made to enter the Fire and they found-in lieu of God-none to help them. "And Noah said: "O my Lord! Leave not the Unbelievers, a single one on earth!" (Qura'n, 71:25,26,27)
Baal was exactly same kind of false god. Not just that there have been false goddesses Lat, Uzza and third (goddess) Manat. But those whom they have been invoking or invoke besides the true God create nothing but are themselves created (which included Baal).
Posted by: Zack | 08 February 2010 at 01:33 PM