The Call of Baal
It is loud; it is subtle. It’s universal; it’s perpetual.
No matter where you are in the world, no matter your background, you would have heard the call of Baal – the god of rain. That is, the god of wealth – for rain in the agricultural culture of Canaan represented the promise of good crops and abundance.
The Israelites had heard the call of Yahweh, too – the Creator God, who called His people into a relationship with Him that meant self-sacrifice, surrender, and even suffering. He promised hope, eternal life, and meaning that would surpass the splendours of this world, but to many, the call of prosperity, peace, and popularity was far more appealing. Never mind that the pursuit and worship of Baal did not actually fulfil their desires. The illusion of it was enough.
So the nation, even the King, had succumbed to its allure. King Ahab married Jezebel, a Canaanite princess and priestess whose name meant, “Where is the prince Baal?” She sponsored 450 prophets of Baal to lead Israel to worship Baal and systematically executed the prophets of Yahweh.
But God would not stay silent at the persecution of the minority and the delusion of the majority. He manoeuvred nature to stir up thoughts and questions that would shake their worldview.
He caused a famine in the land that worshipped the god of rain. Day after day, when the children were thirsty and the crops withered away, the people would be confronted with the question, “Why is Baal not giving us rain? Is Baal god?” Some doubted, but many maintained that Baal was still god, that they just needed to work harder, worship better, to please him and get what they wanted.
So many today are still entrapped in this cognitive dissonance. We struggle to work, save, buy, sell, and build. When the job fails or circumstances deter us from that dream, facts point towards the mercilessness of the Market and the instability of the value of riches. We experience time and again that moths destroy and that thieves break in and steal, and yet we continue to work harder and give more homage (our time, efforts, and obsession) to the pursuit of worldly gain.
But God does not stay silent in this struggle of the masses. He cries out through messengers for us to come and see for ourselves who is God.
The prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel bled themselves into a fury trying to get Baal to send fire down on their altar. Finally, when evening came, Elijah poured water over the altar of Yahweh, three times. Then he prayed:
“Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”
Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” (1 Kings 18:36-39)
God has proven Himself in history. He has revealed Himself personally. He calls us to resist the call of Baal and to worship Him only:
“How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” 1 Kings 18:20
The call is loud; it is subtle. It’s universal; it’s perpetual.
No matter where you are in the world, no matter your background, the Lord God calls you to worship Him who alone can fulfil the true desires of your heart.
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14