During the history of the Israelites, a rivalry developed between Baalism and the true worship of the Lord. - Jer. 23:27 - Perhaps the best example of this rivalry was the conflict between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel - 1Kings 18 -

Elijah's challenge to them to bring down fire from heaven was appropriate, because the Canaanites believed that Baal could shoot lightning flashes from the sky. Elijah's mocking of Baal struck at the heart of the claims; he knew that Baal was powerless, that the prophets of Baal had misled the people, and that only the Lord God of Israel was alive and able to answer. In the struggle to the death between true religion and false religion, Elijah knew that Baalism and its prophets had to be destroyed.

In Canaanite mythological texts Baal is sometimes called the son of Dagon. Dagon was the chief god of the ancient Philistines, a grain and fertility god whose most famous temples were at Gaza and Ashdod. - Judg. 16:23; 1Sam. 5:2-7; 1Chr. 10:10 -

With the recent discovery of documents at ancient ELBA in Syria, it is clear that Dagon was a much more ancient and prominent god. These texts show that Dagon was being worshiped before Abraham entered Canaan about 2000 B.C. Dagon continued to be worshiped by the Canaanites up to the time of Christ. In the APOCRYPHA mention is made of a temple of Dagon at Azotus in 147 B.C. - 1Macc. 10:83-84 - Azotus was a later name for Ashdod, one of the five chief Philistine cities.

Like the myths of so many pagan religions, Canaanite stories claim that Baal came to prominence by defeating other gods. One of the Baal's enemies was sea monster known as Leviathan. - Job. 3:8, 41:1; Ps. 104:26; Is. 27:1 - But in the Bible Leviathan is simply a powerful creature in the sea that man cannot control.

Baal's mistress or lover was Anat or Anath, the goddess of war, love and fertility. - Jer. 7:18, 44:17-19,25 - Anat was the patroness of sex and passion; lewd figurines of this nude goddess have been discovered at various archaeological sites in Palestine.

The goddess Asherah was portrayed as the wife of EI in Canaanite mythology. - 1Kin. 15:13; 2Chr. 15:16; Judg. 3:7 - Asherah was a favourite deity of women. Some of the wives of David and Solomon worshiped her, as Ahab's wife, Jezebel, also probably did. King Asa suppressed the worshiped of Asherah, and King Josiah destroyed "the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven". - 1Kin. 15:13; 16:31-33; 2Kin. 23:4 -

Other pagan gods in addition to Baal and his companions were worshiped by the Canaanites.

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -