I've been reading The One Year Bible reading plan on YouVersion this year. In the Old Testament part, I'm at the part where Israel is in its latter days with king after king being listed. The Biblical writers view the kings of Israel and Judah through one lens- how faithful they were to God.
There is no mention of the economy, of military might, of what they did for the people, etc. The Biblical writers didn't seem to think that was very important. The only thing that mattered about the kings was how faithful they were to God. Did they worship the God of the Bible, or did they go after other gods?
One of the "gods" that appears quite a bit in this section is a god named Baal. Baal was a half-bull, half-man god of fertility that was worshiped by many of the neighboring tribes and nations around Israel. Israel took on their customs and began to worship him as well.
What does this have to do with us today? Well, a lot, actually.
The pillars of Baal worship were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both homosexual and heterosexual), and pantheism (reverence of creation over the Creator). Ritualistic Baal worship looked like this: Adults would gather around the altar of Baal. Infants would then be burned alive as a sacrifice. While the children were being burned alive, men and women would then engage in both heterosexual and homosexual orgies hoping to bring rain and fertility.
There are strong forces in this nation that, while not mentioning Baal, still engage wholeheartedly in the worship of him.
Abortion is our means of child sacrifice.
Sexual immorality, both hetero and homo, is promoted and pushed to the point that anyone criticizing it is labelled an extremist and is mocked and ridiculed, just like God-worshipers in the Bible who condemned Baal worship.
The religious fervor of the global warming/climate change pushers, the militancy of some radical environmental groups, where the creation is worshiped rather than the Creator, is alive and well.
In other words, 3000 years later, it's the same old story.
It's time that the church recognizes the current trends as more than just passing fads or "changing times." Truth is, times HAVEN'T changed. They've been given a new name. Baal worship is now called "pro-choice," "marriage equality," and "climate change/environmentalism." However, what went into Baal worship hasn't changed at all. At its heart, the pillars of Baal worship are alive and well- child sacrifice, sexual immorality, and worship of creation over Creator.
The scary part of this section of the Bible is that the nation of Israel was at one point extremely devoted to God. However, over time, things changed so radically that there were altars to Baal everywhere- even in the Lord's temple. The nation did a complete 180 to where it not only tolerated Baal worship; it actively persecuted those who condemned it. The nation actively persecuted those whose faith was in God- in a nation that once dedicated itself to God and received His blessings.
3000 years later . . . . it's the same old story.
We like to think we have evolved so much as a society and as people. We like to think that we are so much more advanced than those "primitive societies" of thousands of years ago. The truth is, we aren't. The human heart still struggles with the same sins. The human heart still desires the same things. And the human heart still rebels against God to the same extent that it did 3000 years ago, choosing any god but God.
When I see the clear parallels between modern America and Baal worship, I also take note of the consequences faced by Israel for their rejection of God and their embracing of Baal. Do we, as a country, think that we will not see the same consequences?
There is no mention of the economy, of military might, of what they did for the people, etc. The Biblical writers didn't seem to think that was very important. The only thing that mattered about the kings was how faithful they were to God. Did they worship the God of the Bible, or did they go after other gods?
One of the "gods" that appears quite a bit in this section is a god named Baal. Baal was a half-bull, half-man god of fertility that was worshiped by many of the neighboring tribes and nations around Israel. Israel took on their customs and began to worship him as well.
What does this have to do with us today? Well, a lot, actually.
The pillars of Baal worship were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both homosexual and heterosexual), and pantheism (reverence of creation over the Creator). Ritualistic Baal worship looked like this: Adults would gather around the altar of Baal. Infants would then be burned alive as a sacrifice. While the children were being burned alive, men and women would then engage in both heterosexual and homosexual orgies hoping to bring rain and fertility.
There are strong forces in this nation that, while not mentioning Baal, still engage wholeheartedly in the worship of him.
Abortion is our means of child sacrifice.
Sexual immorality, both hetero and homo, is promoted and pushed to the point that anyone criticizing it is labelled an extremist and is mocked and ridiculed, just like God-worshipers in the Bible who condemned Baal worship.
The religious fervor of the global warming/climate change pushers, the militancy of some radical environmental groups, where the creation is worshiped rather than the Creator, is alive and well.
In other words, 3000 years later, it's the same old story.
It's time that the church recognizes the current trends as more than just passing fads or "changing times." Truth is, times HAVEN'T changed. They've been given a new name. Baal worship is now called "pro-choice," "marriage equality," and "climate change/environmentalism." However, what went into Baal worship hasn't changed at all. At its heart, the pillars of Baal worship are alive and well- child sacrifice, sexual immorality, and worship of creation over Creator.
The scary part of this section of the Bible is that the nation of Israel was at one point extremely devoted to God. However, over time, things changed so radically that there were altars to Baal everywhere- even in the Lord's temple. The nation did a complete 180 to where it not only tolerated Baal worship; it actively persecuted those who condemned it. The nation actively persecuted those whose faith was in God- in a nation that once dedicated itself to God and received His blessings.
3000 years later . . . . it's the same old story.
We like to think we have evolved so much as a society and as people. We like to think that we are so much more advanced than those "primitive societies" of thousands of years ago. The truth is, we aren't. The human heart still struggles with the same sins. The human heart still desires the same things. And the human heart still rebels against God to the same extent that it did 3000 years ago, choosing any god but God.
When I see the clear parallels between modern America and Baal worship, I also take note of the consequences faced by Israel for their rejection of God and their embracing of Baal. Do we, as a country, think that we will not see the same consequences?
