BAAL: A Look Into Yahweh's Rival

-
 







If you love reading the Old Testament, most likely you have already encountered Baal. The Israelites often rebelled against Yahweh and chose to worship this pagan god instead. In many passages, Baal is treated as Yahweh’s rival for Israel’s devotion. But wait, who really is Baal?

BAAL AND THE ANCIENT MYTHS

“Baal” is a common Semitic term for “lord” or “owner.” Many references to him exist in ancient literature, proving that Baal was a well-known god during that time. Myths from the Mediterranean world tell us that he is the god of weather and fertility. He was described as a sovereign king, judge, and protector of the land. He had power over clouds, storms, and lightning and revealed himself with the voice of thunder. Baal was believed to be the one who sent rain, dew, and snow. People thought that his rule secured the seasons.

According to a religious text called the Baal Cycle, after sending winter rains and spring vegetation, he would die and descend into the underworld during summer (defeated by Mot, the god of death), and resurrect again in autumn. In other words, he died and came back to life every year. Because of this, he was considered responsible for the fertility of the soil, as well as human fertility. Baal was also called “the healer” because of his ability to resurrect. He was often depicted as a victorious warrior holding a lightning bolt. Aside from Mot, he also fought and defeated Yamm, the chaotic god of the sea, along with sea-serpent monsters like Tannin. His victory over them earned him the title of patron of sailors.

BAAL AND ISRAEL

Idolatry had always been a problem for Israel. Baal was their favorite idol to return to (Judg. 2:13; 6:28–32, etc.), partly because of his popularity among their neighboring nations (cf. Num. 22:41). During the time of the prophet Elijah, King Ahab and Jezebel brought Israel closer to the mainstream religion of the ancient Near East. They tried to replace Yahweh as Israel’s national deity. After Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), Baal’s cult weakened. But it revived later until the time of King Jehu (1 Kings 10). Several cycles of destruction and revival of this idolatry can be read in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.

Israel’s prophets were often sent to preach against Baal worship. Jeremiah, for example, prophesied against it because of its wicked practices, including temple prostitution and human sacrifice (Jer. 19:4–5). Even by the time of Jesus, the cult’s influence was still felt. Beelzebul (Matt. 12:24–25) is the same as Baal Zebub (2 Kings 1:2–3), one of the many local versions of the pagan god. For the Jews in Christ’s day, Beelzebul was associated with Satan, the prince of demons (Matt. 12:24).

Interestingly, there was a time when Israelites also used “Baal” as a title for the Lord, since they saw Yahweh as the owner of the land. Even David referred to the Lord as Baal (2 Sam. 5:20). Later, however, they noticed that this was causing confusion—people were starting to think the pagan god Baal was related to Yahweh, the true God. So the practice gradually stopped. We can see this shift when names containing “Baal” were replaced, like Jerubaal becoming Jerubbesheth (Judg. 6:32; 2 Sam. 11:21).

YAHWEH VERSUS BAAL

Because of the strong influence of the Baal cult in ancient Israel, the Old Testament criticized Baal by attributing his supposed works to Yahweh instead. Writers took well-known descriptions of Baal and applied them to Yahweh to show the people that the God of Israel is the true sovereign Lord and Owner, worthy of their loyalty. The Lord also performed mighty acts to prove His superiority over pagan gods. Some examples include:

  • Yahweh as victorious over sea monsters. In passages like Isa. 27:1; 51:9–10; Jer. 5:22; and Ps. 74:13–14, the Lord is described as having fought and defeated sea creatures. These details, familiar from Baal myths, were used figuratively to show that Yahweh is more powerful than His enemies. An interesting case is in Ps. 89:9–10 and Isa. 59:9–10, where Yahweh is said to have defeated a sea monster named “Rahab.” This name was a mocking reference to Egypt (Ps. 87:4; Isa. 30:7). Ancient peoples believed that for a deity to be considered the greatest, he must defeat the Sea, just as Baal had defeated Yamm. But the Lord defeated the Sea in the Exodus—and so He received praise as greater than all gods (Ex. 15:11).

  • Yahweh as a weather deity. He was also associated with clouds, thunder, lightning, wind, and rain (Ex. 19:9, 16; Amos 4:7; Nah. 1:3; Ps. 18:7–13, etc.). In Elijah’s story, God clearly proved Baal to be a mere invention. When God withheld rain for three years (1 Kings 18:1), He demonstrated that the Canaanite god was powerless. Baal worshippers may have interpreted the famine as a sign that their god had died, failing to secure the land’s seasons. When God sent fire (likely lightning) to consume Elijah’s sacrifice, He showed Himself to be the true victorious warrior with lightning in His hand—making Baal a defeated enemy.

  • Yahweh as the God of fertility. He is the giver of fertility for the land (Gen. 27:28; Hos. 2:2–13). He is also responsible for human fertility—He is the one who opens the womb (Gen. 29:31; 30:22, etc.). These functions, usually linked to Baal, were instead attributed by Scripture to the God of Israel. Yahweh also revealed Himself as the Healer (Ex. 15:26). 

______

Although Baal worship is now a thing of the past, it was one of Israel’s greatest struggles for centuries. Today, even though we live in modern times, idolatry among God’s people still remains a challenge. Whenever we place anything or anyone on the altar that belongs only to God, we create our own version of “Baal.” Still, God continues to prove Himself worthy of our worship and devotion. Jesus Himself came to reveal God to us. He is the one who calms the storm and the sea (Matt. 8:26)! Like Baal, Christ also died and rose again. But unlike the false god of the past, He will never die again. Jesus even conquered death itself (1 Cor. 15:54–55), so that we may live. Truly, Christ is victorious. Stay Curious. 

Sources and Studies:

Walton, J.H, and, Keener C., (2016). “Yahweh’s Victory” . 𝘕𝘐𝘝 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (p. 137). Zondervan
Walton, J.H, and, Keener C., (2016). “Baal” . 𝘕𝘐𝘝 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (pp. 600-601). Zondervan
Walton, J.H, and, Keener C., (2016). “Chaos Monsters” . 𝘕𝘐𝘝 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (p. 953). Zondervan
Torn, K. V., Becking, B., Horst, P., (Ed). (1999). “Baal”. 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (2𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯). (pp. 132-138). William Eerdman’s Publishing Company
Douglas, J.D & Tenney M. (Eds). (1986). “Baal”. 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺. (p. 113). Zondervan
McKenzie, J.L. (1965). “Baal” 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (pp. 72-73). Macmillan Publishing



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE LAMB OF GOD (Agnus Dei)

-
Image
  In the Bible, Jesus as the Lamb of God ( Latin , Agnus Dei ) is one of the most celebrated descriptions of Christ, for it reveals so much about Him as our Savior. 𝗟𝗔𝗠𝗕 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 In ancient times, the lamb was indispensable in Israel’s offerings. Priests offered it twice a day (Exodus 29:38–42). On the Sabbath, the number of young lambs doubled (Numbers 28:9). At the start of every month, more lambs were sacrificed (28:11). They were also offered during the entire Passover week (28:16, 19), and in other festivals (28:26–27; 29:1–2, 7–8, etc.). The lamb to be offered had to be perfect and without defect (Leviticus 22:24–25).  Since the lamb was consistently sacrificed as a victim, it came to symbolize innocence. That’s why the prophet Nathan used the parable of the ewe lamb in 2 Samuel 12:1–4 to convict David of his sin. Likewise, Isaiah portrayed the lamb as a picture of the Suffering Servant of the Lord —a prophecy pointing to the coming M...
Read more

THE HALL OF HERESIES: ADOPTIONISM

-
Image
Since then, Christ has remained the most controversial figure in history. Even when He was still on earth, people already had many different opinions about Him (Matt. 16:13–14). Just imagine—He was physically present, yet fake news about His identity was already spreading. How much more now that He has returned to heaven? Looking at history, so many misconceptions have emerged and misled many people. Today, we’re going to talk about Adoptionism—the idea that Christ was merely adopted by God and only became the Son of God. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 For many modern scholars, Monarchianism (from monarchia , meaning “one rule”) refers to certain beliefs from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD that emphasized that there is only one ruling God, even in light of the Trinity. One heresy that came out of this view is called Dynamic Monarchianism , which claimed that God’s power (Greek: dynamis ) was merely given to Jesus—making Him divine only because of that power. This belief was influenced by earlier...
Read more

WHAT IS THE BOOK OF LIFE?

-
Image
In Rev. 20:15 , we read a very sobering statement:  “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”  On Judgment Day, when everyone stands before God to be judged, those whose names are not in the book of life will be punished. It’s terrifying to think that your name might not be registered in that book! You can lose your spot on a government aid list—but not on the list of the book of life!  But what exactly is the book of life ? And how did people in biblical times understand it? Book of Life in the Old Testament First, we should note that during biblical times, books were actually scrolls . The codex—the book format we use today—came much later. So, technically speaking, the “book of life” is a “scroll of life.” The Old Testament already presents ideas related to the book of life. In Exodus 32:32 , when Moses pleaded for the Israelites, he said to God: “If you will not forgive their sin, then erase me from the book yo...
Read more