A third is that he is describing somebody teetering on a tightrope and trying to maintain his balance. Whatever the case, there is no doubt about Elijah's intent: "How long will you keep shifting from one opinion to the other?" When we see that our thoughts and ways are not His, we should reform and repent. Ashtoreth was the fertility goddess consort of Molech. Groves and high places were places of worship erected to Canaanite gods and goddesses. Who Was Baal? - Topical Studies - Bible Study Tools Nevertheless, despite the biblical tendency to avoid the use of the word as a proper name, it is now quite clear that by pre-Israelite times the term had become the usual name of the weather-god of Syria-Palestine. 1:711). Take the word isabel; it can be split as isa bel or as isai bel. Kings Ahaz and Manasseh, Burning incense, worship of the sun, moon, astrology, and ancestor worship are all earmarks of the Baal religion. Figs and grapes ripen during the dry season and the grain harvest also takes place before the rains resume. They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree; and there they burned incense on all the high places, as the nations had done whom the LORD had carried away before them." Certainly not those of east Asia. The Largest Baal Worship Service on the Planet is in America August 27, 2017 by Andy Roman "They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone." Daniel 5:4. In spite of the fact that the word is used as the theophorous element in personal names, such as Eshbaal, Merib-Baal, Jerub Baal, it was long believed that the term remained an appellation and did not become a proper name, except in the case of the Mesopotamian Bel and in late theological speculation. Baal is said to be one of the first of Solomon's 72 demons. Ashtoreth is mentioned three times in scripture, in 1 Kings 11:5 & 33, 2 Kings 23:13. In other words, God is saying that He was driven to defeat and scatter Israel because they were guilty of exactly the same sin as the Samaritans! 57 Bull Baal. "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). As a Semitic common noun baal (Hebrew baal) meant owner or lord, although it could be used more generally; for example, a baal of wings was a winged creature, and, in the plural, baalim of arrows indicated archers. Baal is also referred to about 12 times as "the Rider of the Clouds" which undoubtedly testifies to his control over the rain and storms. YHWH's victory over the waters is connected either with the rescue of Israel at the Exodus (Ps. The word bal, common Semitic for "owner, master, husband," became the usual designation of the great weather-god of the Western Semites. For those early Hebrews, Baal designated the Lord of Israel, just as Baal farther north designated the Lord of Lebanon or of Ugarit.