Who Was Baal?
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People have a natural instinct to worship, and in the absence of knowledge of the true God, or in rebellion against Him, people worship other gods. Anything can be made into an object of worship. Some people create an idol out of something or someone in their lives, others the natural world, and others worship evil forces.
In the Bible, the followers of the one true God encounter other gods, or previously worshipped idols themselves. Sometimes the leadership of the nation of Israel tolerated and embraced the deities of other nations. One such deity who gripped Israel for a period of time was Baal. Despite having the power and support of the king of Israel and his wife, God used his prophet to demonstrate his power over this false god from the northern nations above Israel in the middle east. This false god led people astray, but God proved Himself.
Who Was Baal?
Baal was, to some extent, a rather generic name that various cultures applied to various deities in and around the land of Canaan. It could be used as a generic term for ‘lord’ or ‘master’. It was applied to specific deities that influenced the Israelites at key points in its history.
The Baal mentioned in the Bible was a universal fertility god and a storm god associated with bringing rain and dew in the Canaan area. The Phoenicians called him the Lord of the Heavens. Based on archaeological discoveries in Syria, there appears to have been a mythos around Baal, as the fertility god, in combat with the god of sterility, Mot, in a seven year cycle. Whoever won determined the state of the crops for the next seven years. Baal got credit for a good harvest cycle, and Mot disdain for famine. In the myths of the region, he became the dominant deity by defeating all other gods, including the creator god El.
Worship of Baal waxed and waned through history, and extended as far as Egypt at one point. There was also a people group called the Ugarit who worshiped a god they called Hadad that most scholars believe was also called Baal in other languages. This god served the same function.
Where Does Baal Appear in the Bible?
Baal worship first makes an appearance in the Book of Numbers. In Moses’ account of the Israelites after they left Egypt, he recounts how there were several times when the Hebrews rebelled against the God who freed them from captivity. In one instance, the men began to have inappropriate sexual relationships with the women of Moab. The Moabites were the descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. When they let these women into their lives, they were not marrying them, and they began to embrace the Moabite gods; “So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel” (Numbers 25:3). A plague fell upon the Hebrew people at that time because of this sin. Eventually, the problem was solved, but the temptation to worship Baal followed the Israelites.
One of the tasks God gave to Gideon after Israel settled the Promised Land was to go after the worship of Baal among the Hebrew people. After the death of Joshua, Israel fell into sin, and Midian conquered them. During this time, God gave Gideon from the Manasseh a task to bring Israel back to Himself. “That night the Lord said to him, ‘Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down’” (Judges 6:25-26). God used Gideon to drive out Baal and the Midianites, though worship of Baal did return sporadically during the days of the judges.
The worship of Baal seems to have been at its height during the times when Israel was two kingdoms and the prophets were active. One of the kings in the northern kingdom was Ahab, considered one of the most wicked men to reign over Israel during the course of its history. His wife was Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Tyre. Historically, whenever the ruler of Israel married foreign women, idol worship took hold. Not only did the worship of Baal rise during the rule of Ahab, but his wife Jezebel used her power to persecute the prophets of the God of the Hebrew people. The prophet Elijah had to go into hiding for a period of time.
Though Elijah did help purge the prophets of Baal from Israel, Ahab’s son also worshipped Baal. Jehu, the commander of Ahab’s armies, ultimately wiped out Baal worship, though he did allow other types of idols during his reign in Israel.
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Who Worshipped Baal?
People groups around and in Canaan worshipped some version of Baal for many years. Jezebel, Ahab’s wife who heavily promoted Baal in Israel, was from the powerful pagan city of Tyre, the greatest city of the Phoenician empire.
Claims from Roman sources asserted worship of Baal amongst the Phoenicians included child sacrifice. While this claim was disputed, archaeological evidence has backed this claim in recent years. “Voluntary offering on the part of the parents was essential to the success of the sacrifice” (Rawlison 347). According to records, the logic was that children were both pure and innocent, as well as the most important things to a parent, and therefore the sacrifice was more meaningful. Sacrifice by fire was common.
There was also elements of blood drawing in the rituals related to Baal. During one encounter with a prophet of God, the Bible also describes the ritual self-flagellation involved in this worship. The Bible states that during the encounter with Elijah the prophets of Baal, “And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.” (1 Kings 18:28)
Where Do We See God's Power over Baal?
The Lord preserved Elijah’s life for a reason. In the past, Israel was able to eliminate idol worship through collective repentance and the rise of a good king who would take down the symbols of the idols, enforcing God’s law.
During the time of Ahab, there was a wicked king with no desire to enforce righteousness, and the prophets were being killed, unable to call the nation to repent. After a time of hiding, God called Elijah out to confront Ahab. Part of this confrontation included a showdown with 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah and these prophets built altars, sacrificed an animal, and were to call on their respective deities to provide the fire for the offering. Elijah went one step further and doused his altar in water. When the prophets of Baal called for fire, “...there was no voice, and no one answered. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention” (1 Kings 18:26b, 29).
Elijah gave them hours to call down fire from Baal, but nothing happened. When Elijah’s time came, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, ‘The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God’” (1 Kings 18:38-39). The people of Israel killed the prophets of Baal, turning back to their true God. The fire of the Lord burned everything as soon as Elijah asked for it, where the prophets of Baal called for hours, but there was no one to hear them.
After the death of Jezebel, the worship of Baal would see resurgences throughout Israel until the time of the exile centuries later.
What Does Baal Teach Us about the Dangers of False Gods?
It is interesting to note how the worship of Baal comes in cycles in the history of Israel, and it often comes when they invite sinful influence. Centuries after the proliferation of the worship of Baal, the Apostle Paul wrote to the followers of Jesus in Corinth, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
When the men of Israel began having relationships with women from pagan countries, they were unequally yoking the nation to cultures that did not recognize their God. Ahab married Jezebel, yoking Israel to Tyre, and idolatry easily crept in.
The encounter with the priests also showed how futile the worship of false gods is. No matter what the priests of Baal did, nothing happened, because there was no one listening. An idol is inanimate. At best, worshipping a false god is worshipping a rock given a personality through human imagination. At worst, it is open rebellion against God by choosing to worship an evil entity – an entity that does not have power over the earth, just to deceive.
The Lord God lives, while Baal was made of stone. While people do not worship Baal today, it is common to worship nature, other gods, or even oneself. Recognizing the patterns of idolatry of old can help believers recognize the temptation in their lives.
Sources
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Baal." Encyclopedia Britannica, Invalid Date.
Coogan, Michael David. Stories from Ancient Canaan. Louisville: The Westminster Press, 1978.
Rawlinson, George. History of Phoenicia. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1889.
Shrier, Priscilla. Elijah Faith and Fire. Nashville: Lifeway Church Resources, 2021.
Wilmington, H.L. Wilmington’s Guide to the Bible. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1981.
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Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.