Baal worship today?

"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD. "I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, `I had a dream! I had a dream!' How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the LORD. "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:23-29)

A whole generation of Israelites grew up in the desert. They lived in tents and Moses was their leader. Their diet was sweet bread in the morning and desert quail in the evening. They wore the same clothes every day. They worshipped at the Tent of Meeting, where priests told them that their sins were forgiven. They followed a pillar of smoke by which God led them through the wilderness.

Then they arrived in Canaan, fields and mountains which are known today as Israel. Canaan was filled with farmers and ranchers; it also had many cities and towns. The people of this land had different beliefs than the Israelites—instead of one God, they worshipped a group of gods. Their favorites were Baal and Astoreth. Baal was the Thunderer, the god of rain; his wife Astoreth was the goddess of fertility. Baal was the peoples’ champion, fighting against the god of death. He did this by sending rain to end the dry season; Canaanites believed that Baal made the harvest possible. Astoreth was his helper; she was responsible for calving season and for blessing families with children.

The Canaanites were devoted to their religion; shrines dotted the countryside. On the top of many hills you could find an altar to Baal and an Asherah pole dedicated to his wife. These were places of prayer and worship. But the temples found in the cities offered a service the country shrines did not—they had temple prostitutes who served on staff. You see, the Canaanites felt that the best way to honor the gods of fertility was to offer them the gift of sex. And there was one other way that the people honored Baal and his wife; they practiced human sacrifice. To show their gratitude for being blessed with offspring, the people would return some of their children to the gods by burning them alive.

God hated these worship practices. The people of Baal took sex out of the marriage bed and offered it to prostitutes. They took the lives of children that God had given them and ended those lives prematurely. Their religion was based on a lie—that there are many gods and many ways to please them. And so God ordered the Israelites to be ruthless in exterminating worship of Baal and Astoreth—they were to destroy the altars, cut down the Asherah poles, and put to death those who practiced this vile religion.

But the Israelites were ambivalent about God’s stern command. Some Canaanites were rich; others had beautiful daughters and handsome sons. And so accommodations were made, intermarriages took place, business partnerships were created, and in time the worshippers of God started offering their prayers to Baal. This struggle for the hearts of God’s people went on for hundreds of years.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God speaks of the danger posed by Baal worship: my people forget my name. It all comes down to a hard but important truth spoken by Jesus: No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24). It is impossible to love both Baal and God. Nor is God willing to share our hearts with another; through Isaiah God says, I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols (Isaiah 42:8). In the Ten Commandments, God lays it on the line: You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:4-6). To people who want to have it both ways, Jesus says this: He who is not with me is against me (Matthew 12:30).

You might be thinking, “Okay, so Baal worship was bad—but what does that have to do with me? No one has worshipped Baal for thousands of years.” This is true—Baal worship is dead. But it has been replaced by other false religions that are just as dangerous, ways of thinking that can make you forget the name of the Lord your God. Let’s consider just a few.

The biggest false religions in the world today are Hinduism and Islam. Hinduism is a religion that sees gods everywhere. It claims that the religions of the world are just different expressions of the same eternal truth; as a result, Hindus believe there are many ways to heaven. Islam is just the opposite—Islam believes that there is only one God, and that no one has understood Him better than the prophet Mohammed—not even Jesus, who was a wise man but not the Son of God.

Echoes of Baal worship can be heard in Hinduism—the notion that there are many gods and many ways to please them. This dangerous teaching is opposed by Jesus who said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). We feel the influence of Hinduism all around us—the notion that there is no such thing as absolute truth, that what is true for you might not necessarily be true for me. As a result of such thinking, many people treat religion like a buffet line, picking and choosing what they want to believe from many different faiths, coming away with nothing but a mixed-up mess on their plates.

Echoes of Baal worship are also heard in the teachings of Islam. Allah welcomes the sacrifice of lives in his service; dying while killing unbelievers guarantees a place in paradise. Islam is so committed to the truth that there is only one God that it is unwilling to accept Jesus as God’s Son; yet this rejection is damning because Scripture says, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life…Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3:16, 18). God offers heaven as a gift freely given to all who trust in His Son; it is not a place that must be earned by rigid adherence to rules of conduct. And while God hates sin, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Islam ignores God’s offer of mercy through His Son, and actively persecutes those who would share the Good News.

But spiritual thoughts typical of Baal worship are found in more places than just organized religion. False religious teaching is offered by psychics and by the science textbooks found in our classrooms. Psychics claim to be able to see the future through casting horoscopes or speaking with the dead; science claims to know how the universe came to be by making educated guesses about the past.

Baal worship involved doing things to influence future events—please the gods, and they will reward your devotion with children and a good harvest. Psychics offer a look into the future so that you can maximize the good and hopefully avoid the bad. But God forbids such behavior—He says, Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). The reason God forbids trying to get a peek into the future is because it shows that we do not trust Him to take care of us. Jesus said, don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need (Luke 12:29-31). And yet in spite of these words, countless newspapers and magazines tempt their readers to check a daily horoscope instead of asking God to guide them through the coming day.

Even though prayer is banned from school, religion is still taught in the classroom—it is taught whenever the topic of evolution comes up. Make no mistake—evolution is taken on faith alone, with no way to prove that it is true. That makes it religion, not science. And it is dangerous because it offers a false god in place of the true God. Evolution is the belief in the laws of nature as the creator of all that is. Like Baalism, evolution suggests that a different god is in control of the universe. But Paul writes in Romans chapter three, Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Evolution suggests that there is no god, and without God there are no standards for right or wrong conduct, nor is there any risk of eternal punishment in hell. But evolution is a poor god, because it offers no hope for life after death, no comfort of eternal rest in paradise.

But the reach of Baalism doesn’t stop there. We hear its call from Hollywood celebrities, from New York City journalists, and from Washington politicians. These people try to shape our opinions through television programs and theatrical movies, through newspaper stories and radio talk shows, through press releases and public speeches. We are told that if it feels good, do it. We are told that there is nothing wrong with doing whatever we want, so long as nobody gets hurt. We are told to keep our mouths shut if we don't agree with what someone else is doing.

Baalism made sex an act of worship, and our society certainly holds sex in high regard. You can’t watch TV for an hour without seeing ads for products that are supposed to enhance sex or relieve some sexual problem. Celebrities and politicians are constantly getting caught in scandals, which become lead stories in the news. But sex isn’t the only pleasure making the headlines; people also find themselves trapped by alcohol, drugs and gambling. Celebrities go to rehab centers, often for multiple visits. The news media hunts for scandal like a pig noses through garbage, looking for something smelly and rotten. Politicians duck and dodge hard questions about their behavior and hire expensive lawyers to salvage their reputations and careers. But God warns us away from sinful pleasures, and commands us to take responsibility and repent when we have done wrong. John writes, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9). The danger of excessive pleasure is that it becomes more important to us than the God who gives us good things to enjoy. We must hold each other accountable for our actions; we dare not turn a blind eye to the sins of those around us, because they need our help to resist temptation just as much as we need theirs. We are told in Hebrews chapter three, encourage one another daily…so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

The name of Baal may be mostly forgotten, but the kind of behavior associated with his worship is alive and well. And the danger today is the same as when God spoke through Jeremiah: their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. We must not forget God’s name. There is only one Creator of heaven and earth. The only way to approach Him is through Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus died to forgive our sins; apart from Him, there is no way to find God’s approval. We must trust in His love for us and not worry about the future; we must not allow love of pleasure to eclipse our love for the Savior. If we have this kind of relationship with the Lord, then Baal is truly dead and forgotten.