Latest / Martyr's Row / Ep. 53 - Who is Baal?

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Ep. 53 - Who is Baal? · Martyr's Row

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This week on Martyrs' Row, Baal and Marduk? Who
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even are they? Was Elijah actually the god of
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rain? Does Kid Rock write worship psalms for
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Baal? Did Constantine's nephew try to build the
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third temple in the third century? Is Baal coming
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on the clouds or is it Jesus? I don't know! Let's
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find out! This week on Martyrs' Row! 3, 2, 1!
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Saint Cecilia, a virgin of Rome, though given
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in marriage, had from her youth dedicated herself
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unto Christ and kept her heart steadfast in purity
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and prayer. It is told that even on the day of
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her wedding, she sang unto the Lord, desiring
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that her body might remain undefiled. By her
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witness, she turned her husband Valerian and
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his brother, Tiberius, unto the faith. who afterward
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suffered martyrdom. For her own confession, she
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was seized and commanded to sacrifice to the
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idols, and refusing, she was first shut up in
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a heated bath to be overcome by the vapor, yet
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remained unharmed. At length, the executioner
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was sent to strike off her head, but failing
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after many blows, left her wounded. And after
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three days, she yielded up her spirit. Thus Cecilia,
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constant in devotion and strong in suffering,
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bore witness that the song of the faithful cannot
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be silenced, but ascendeth unto God even through
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death. Julian the Apostate was the Roman emperor
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who briefly tried to turn the empire away from
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the Christian path it had begun to follow under
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Constantine. A nephew of Constantine the Great,
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Julian ruled from AD 361 to 363 and earned the
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name the Apostate because he rejected the Christianity
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of his upbringing and sought to restore the old
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pagan order of Rome. Brilliant! philosophical,
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and fiercely devoted to the ancient gods. He
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worked to weaken Christian influence and strengthen
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traditional worship across the empire. One of
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the boldest and most symbolically charged acts
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of his reign was his attempt to rebuild the temple
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in Jerusalem in AD 363, a move that would have
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carried enormous religious and political meaning.
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But according to ancient sources, the project
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was abruptly stopped when fire broke out at the
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site. The clearest non -Christian witness, Ammianus
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Marcellinus, says that balls of flame burst out
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near the foundations, burned some of the workers,
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and drove the whole effort to a halt. Historians
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are careful with the event. noting that while
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the sources do report a fiery interruption, the
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cause is debated, possibly miraculous, possibly
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accidental, possibly connected to the earthquake
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of May 19, 363. Either way, Julian's effort failed,
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and with it died one of history's most dramatic
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attempts to restore what would have been the
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Third Temple. Hey, Paul. Hey, Steven. What an
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intro. The Third Temple has been attempted. Yeah.
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About 1 ,700 years ago. That's crazy. So you
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got to think between the Council of Nicaea and
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the Council of Constantinople, where we basically
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get the origins of... our Christian doctrine
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and theology. In between those time frames, because
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I believe Constantinople was 381. Okay. And Nicaea
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was like the 320s era. So in 363, the nephew
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of Constantine, Julian the Apostate, tries to
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rebuild the third temple. That's crazy. Or tries
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to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. And he...
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He does it in order to essentially gain the favor
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of the Jewish people. Yes. So historically, what
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Julian was trying to do was he was trying to
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restore, again, regional worship. Yeah. So he
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was trying to deconstruct the Christianity as
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a state religion. And let's make it localized.
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And make it localized again. Yeah. Which is kind
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of interesting. That's fascinating. Yeah, so
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Julian was like kind of being a man of the people.
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Yeah. You know what I mean? It'd be like a community
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church. Yeah. No, but... But more so like...
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It's kind of like a funny tie -in. Yeah, yeah,
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yeah. But that is an interesting thing to note
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that the third temple has already been attempted
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more than a thousand years ago. And it didn't
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work out. Did not work. it was not under scrutiny.
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Right. Not only that, but the Dome of the Rock
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on the Temple Mount wasn't built until the 600s.
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Yeah. So this is 300 years before they would
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build the Dome of the Rock. That's crazy. In
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fact, it's 300 years before Islam as a religion
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was even born. Oh, fascinating. Because Islam
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doesn't come around until the 600s either. Wow.
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So the Islamic religion is around 600 AD. Okay.
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And then the Dome of the Rock and Mecca, and
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there's another place on the Temple Mount. Those
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places are built within 20 to 30 years of Islam
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becoming a religion. That's pretty speedy. It's
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quick. Yeah. I mean, they have to have a place,
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right? I mean, yeah, you got to have a place
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to lay your head. But isn't that interesting?
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So the nephew of Constantine basically eliminates
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Christianity as a state religion. Wow. So that's
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why they call him Julian the Apostate. It makes
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sense. And then there's, so there's no solid
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ancient evidence that Julian intended the temple
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to be dedicated to any other god. than the God
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of Israel and the restoration of Jewish worship.
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So Julian was not trying to rebuild the third
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temple or rebuild the temple as the third temple
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and desecrate it or essentially worship another
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God using the temple of Yahweh. He was actually
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trying to restore the temple of Yahweh for the
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Jewish people. That's fascinating. So the emperor
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of Rome was like, hey, Like, Israel, let me restore
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this for you. Yeah. And it says that there were
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balls of fire and flame that drove the workers
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away from their work. And then I like the added,
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or possibly it was connected to an earthquake
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that happened on May 19th, 1 ,700 years ago.
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What? Yeah, isn't that wild, though? I want to
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know, how do we figure that out? People write
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it down. I mean, this is historical accounts.
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That's true. Yeah, I mean, these are literally
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historical. The guy's name that I couldn't really
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read. Dear diary, there was an earthquake today.
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So the sources indicate that Julian authorized
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the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple and renewal
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of Jewish sacrificial worship there. Not that
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he meant to turn it into a pagan shrine. Later
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summaries of the episode. describe his policy
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as the full restoration of Jewish worship, which
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is the key point. Yeah. So Julian's motive was
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almost certainly political as well as religious.
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He wanted to undermine Christianity, present
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himself as a champion of ancient cults against
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the Christian empire, and likely win Jewish goodwill,
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especially in the East. So while the temple would
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have functioned as the Jewish temple, dedicated...
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in Jewish terms, to the God of Israel, Julian
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appears to have supported the project as part
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of his wider anti -Christian and pro -traditional
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religion agenda. This is consistent with his
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own writings, which show his deep commitment
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to restoring older religious customs across the
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empire. That's so interesting. It's interesting
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because you go, all right, Rome, not Israel.
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Right. Not Jewish. Rome goes, hey, let's restore
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for the Jewish people in order to gain goodwill
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with the Jewish people. Yeah. What does that
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sound like? It sounds like something that's happening
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right now. And this guy, Julian the Apostate,
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he intentionally wanted to help the Jewish people
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rebuild the temple and bring in the third temple.
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There's going to be another earthquake. Intentionally
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to undermine Christianity. Yes. And I'm not saying
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that that's what's happening. But I'm just saying
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it sounds like it. But it's definitely a byproduct.
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Yeah. Which honestly is interesting to think
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about that because there's the whole... etymology,
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not etymology. History? What's the end times?
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Eschatology? Thank you, eschatology. Of like,
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we need them to rebuild the third temple so Jesus
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comes back. Right. And that's not what he was
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doing. No, he was just trying to take a political
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favor. Yeah, he was trying to gain the political
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favor and he wanted the Jewish people to like
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him. Yeah. So he was trying to restore regional
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cult worship. But it's just interesting, it's
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like there's so many, There's a few different
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veins, speaking of now, that are trying to accomplish
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the same thing for very different reasons. Well,
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think about the establishment of America as a
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separation of church and state where it's celebrated
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for you to worship whomever and however you want
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to. That's literally what Julian was doing coming
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off of a Christian state. He was redistributing
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it and saying, no, let's not do that. You can
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just do whatever you want. As corrupt as it was,
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England had Christianity as its state religion.
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And those who came to America did what? They
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said, you can worship whoever and however you
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want to. So, like, nothing new under the sun?
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But isn't that crazy? The thing is, this is not
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the first time this has happened. The Puritans,
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when they came in, they're like, we want to worship
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him the way we want to worship him. Yeah, they
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actually intentionally, which maybe we do a whole
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episode on this, but the Puritans intentionally
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only used the Geneva Bible because they said
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that the King James was the Bible of the state.
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Yeah. So commissioned by the state, therefore
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they wanted to separate from that because of
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the corruption of the state. The corruption the
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state was having over Christianity. Yeah. Which,
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yeah. It does show up in the King James. It's
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why Protestants exist. Yeah, it's true. So just
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going to leave these notes here. These are like
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little tiny nuggets. Yeah, this is just information
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from history, everyone. Here's just a little
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chicken nugget for you. Yeah, so has the third
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temple been built? No. Has it been attempted?
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Yes. A long time ago. Yeah, and there was some
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fire or an earthquake. Or an earthquake or both.
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It was like giant balls of fire. It was probably
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an earthquake. What? Yeah, but also both things
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can happen at the same time. Yeah, that's fair.
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And lightning originates from the ground, so
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why can't an earthquake happen and balls of fire
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shoot up? Yeah. Maybe they were coming up from
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the ground instead of down onto the ground. Oh,
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that's interesting. Either way, balls of fire.
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Balls of fire. Three, two, one. Smoke in the
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sky, drums in the night. Ball out of name, but
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Yahweh had the night. would shake Yahweh spoke
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once and the mountains would wave Oh hell falls
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down I see Bye. So this song came to mind recently,
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and it's a song that I haven't thought about
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since 1999. Okay, so a couple years ago. Yeah.
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Like two years ago, right? I hope that doesn't
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date this podcast, right? Which we are recording
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in the year 2001, apparently. But it's August
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2001, so the world is blissful. I didn't expect
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it to go here. So picture this. August 2001.
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You're wearing a windbreaker. Every color imaginable.
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MTV still hot. Still hot. And guess what song
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comes on. You ready? I'm ready. Ball with the
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ball to bang to bang. Diggy diggy diggy set the
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boogie to up. Drop the boogie. I should have
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expected that, but I wasn't. I totally forgot
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about that song. Here's the thing. That song,
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I think I just realized what it's talking about.
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Oh, I have no clue. Well, it's the first word
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in the whole song and the first word of the title
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of the song. But I think it's spelled wrong.
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Okay. I think it should be spelled B -A -A -L,
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not B -A -L -L. Interesting. So, Paul, my question
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tonight is, who is Baal? What is a Baal? And
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do you know Baal? Baal? Baal? Or Baal? Paul,
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do you know Baal? I'll take what is Baal for
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500. So the thing is, is like, how do you say
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it? I used to always say Baal. Yeah. But I've
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spent too much time listening to the scholars.
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Fair. And they all say Baal. Yes. Because they're
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like, oh, we studied Hebrew, so we have to say
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it this way. Baal. Yeah. Baal. It's like a hyphenated
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word almost. Even like when we were talking about
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on the angel episode we just did. Yes. Where
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it's like, I just keep saying cherubim and with
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that. Yeah. because that's how they say it. Yeah.
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And I've spent too much time listening to them.
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Right. So I'm like, it's where you learn how
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to say Augustine. Yeah, that's right. So ball,
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ball, ball or bail. Yeah. Right. Ball with the
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ball. So that song though, it's like, maybe that's
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who he's talking about. That would be kind of
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crazy. Yeah. But also not surprising at the same
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time. It would make the song make more sense.
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Yeah. But also really funny. It would be kind
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of funny. So Paul, who is Baal? So a Paul, who
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is Baal? A Paul. Because there's a lot, I feel
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like, especially now, there's like a resurgence
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in August of 2001. Yeah. Which is strange because
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everything's so good. But there's been like this
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resurgence of like all of a sudden I'm hearing
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everyone use this word. Yes. And they're saying
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it like that. They're saying it in the Hebrew
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way. They're not saying Baal. That's actually
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interesting. I haven't noticed that. Really?
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Yeah. I might be numb to it. It's like journalists.
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That's fascinating. Just mentioning Baal worship
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or Baal worship. And most of the time they're
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just saying Baal. Okay. That's fair. Yeah. Which,
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yeah, I guess that does make sense. So I feel
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like we need to like, and I don't know that I've
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fully done a deep dive on what that is or who
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that is. Yeah. Yeah. And we talk a lot about
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like, is this a proper name? Is it a job title?
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Is it a, like, what we just assume like Judas
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Iscariot, is Iscariot his last name? No, it's
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not. Yeah. So like, there's a bunch of things
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that like, we don't really know. Because we're
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so far removed from it. And like, is Baal one
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person? Is it a being? Is it what, who, how,
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when, where, why? Yeah. And that's a great place
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to start. And so, I mean, like some of this we
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can hit quickly because then it opens up into
20:48
more interesting things, I feel like. Okay. So
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like the first thing is just like, okay, so here's
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a word. Is it a proper name or what is it? Right.
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And so it's like, well, what does it mean? That's
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good. Because I like etymology. Yeah. Where did
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it come from? What does it mean? Yeah. Where
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did you come from, Cotton Eye Joe? So it literally
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means lord or master. That's what the word means.
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I feel like that keeps happening. Yes. It keeps
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happening that what I think is a proper noun.
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It's like, no, just kidding. Darn it. It's like,
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yeah, but all these preachers and pastors and
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songwriters and all these people are using this
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as a proper noun. It's like, yeah, they're all
21:30
wrong. And it will in some ways, but it's like
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the Bible uses it in certain ways, but it also
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can mean multiple things. Sure. And who they're
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talking about changes under that. So it's not
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just one individual or one being. Okay. But it
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is a title for various local deities. Got it.
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And especially in Canaan. Surprise, surprise.
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Okay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, in Canaan, we've
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talked about this too. Like Canaan, like the
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land of Canaan and then the Canaanites, like
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that goes 9th to like 12th century BC. Yeah.
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Like super long time ago. Yes. Very long time.
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Before I was born. Definitely. Most definitely.
22:24
Before 2001. Space Odyssey. Space Odyssey. We're
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an association. Okay, so Balal is not a person.
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He's not a dude. Right. The same way Lucifer
22:36
is not Satan. Correct. Yeah. But more so like
22:40
the accuser or Ha -Satan. In Job 1. Yes. Is not
22:48
the ancient serpent. Yes. In the garden. Yeah.
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Potentially. Potentially. Yeah. So it's one of
22:56
these where, well, I mean, yeah, that's all.
22:58
Sorry. I almost jumped on that tangent. Or even
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Elohim. Yes. Is a generic word for God. It's
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a, yeah. But it needs. It's more of an adjective.
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It needs a prefix. Yeah. Or a suffix. It needs
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something to. more focused, identify it, specify
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it. Yes, correct. So Baal is just simply Lord.
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So it's just like a title. Yeah. And it's like
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in the same way, because we see this especially
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with Yahweh and the various forms in the titles
23:30
he's been given. Okay. Or even like there's the
23:32
El title, and this is like a Mesopotamian pullback
23:35
because there's the character El. Right. Who
23:38
is like the chief among the gods. Yes. And so
23:42
with that, even so Baal would be underneath El.
23:47
Okay. In the mythos of their religion. Oh, that
23:51
makes sense. But Baal kind of runs the show.
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And so I say that as like a proper noun in that
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case. Specifically in the Canaanite culture.
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Yeah. Got it. But I'll kind of explain why I'm
24:03
saying it that way. Okay. Yeah. But it's like,
24:06
so we see that with even like with Yahweh, it's
24:09
like there's, these like adjectives that go along
24:12
with his name. Okay. Cause like we say like Yahweh
24:14
Elohim or Yahweh Sabaoth. Right. And it's like
24:18
all these things mean different things. Yeah.
24:20
And it's like, oh, he's like the, the Lord of
24:23
hosts or he's the Lord of spirits or, you know,
24:28
or we even say like El Shaddai or Jehovah Jireh.
24:32
Right. And it's like, yeah, all of these things
24:34
are just talking about specific characteristics.
24:37
Yeah. It's not actually included. It's like the
24:39
Lord. who provides yeah like the lord my provider
24:43
yeah but it but even in that it has to be prefaced
24:48
with yahweh the lord my provider yes and i think
24:52
that's interesting because here it's kind of
24:54
flipped where we've just taken the title yes
24:56
and we don't have who the title is attached to
24:59
yeah fair yeah okay so it's a it's a moniker
25:04
like a yeah like uh lord farquaad Some of you
25:12
will die. I'm a real boy. And so when we look
25:22
in scripture, there's no segue. Donkey. Yeah.
25:29
I mean, that was the easiest one to pull. It's
25:33
so good. It's so good. But it is like that because
25:37
it's like, baal is just lord yes but there's
25:42
specified ones in context of where you are and
25:47
to whom you're talking yeah and they would hold
25:50
the title ball right yeah yeah yeah but so um
25:55
in scripture okay it's actually we see it it
25:59
can mean a couple different things got it two
26:01
things or associated with yeah okay And like
26:04
in how it's using it. Okay. So in one case, it's
26:08
a specific local god, like the Baal of a certain
26:12
city or the Baal of a certain city. Okay. So
26:15
it's kind of like a regional thing. So the lord
26:16
over that city. Yeah. So who's ruling, deity
26:18
-wise ruling this city or this region? Well,
26:21
that goes back to Deuteronomy 32. Yes, exactly.
26:24
Okay. So it's the spiritual lord of the region.
26:29
Yes. Got it. Yeah, which we... I mean, just to
26:33
jump ahead briefly in that since you just said
26:36
it is like we talk about the Prince of Tyre and
26:38
the King of Tyre. Yes. That would be the ball
26:40
of Tyre. Right. And that makes sense. Yeah. Well,
26:43
even in that though, like ball or ball, that's
26:49
going to bother me. We should pick one. That
26:53
is Tyre would fall underneath that Canaanite
26:58
or Phoenician. Yes. Culture. Which, yeah, that
27:02
was one of the characters that they worshipped
27:05
in Phoenicia. Yeah. Yeah. We need to do an episode
27:09
on the Phoenicians. That would be really, there's
27:12
so much to talk about in that. Yes. Because we
27:15
talk about the Canaanites a lot in reference
27:16
to the Bible. But then when we spread out a little
27:19
bit more, it's like, it's just as weird. Yeah.
27:21
And linked. Yes. In a lot of ways. Yes. Like
27:25
a lot of origin of even what Canaanites are doing.
27:29
Yeah. can come from the Phoenicians. Oh, 100%.
27:33
Especially like, yeah. Anyways, that's for a
27:36
different episode. Yeah, that's right. So ba
27:38
'al. Ba 'al. And so the other way that it's used
27:41
in scripture is specifically talking, speaking
27:47
to. Hello? Brain work. Ba 'al worship as a system.
27:57
Okay. So it's like, okay, what's the systematic
28:00
way that you're worshiping? Yeah. That's attached
28:04
to this style of worship. Okay. And so we see
28:07
both of those cases used, where sometimes he's
28:10
talking, the scripture's talking about a specific,
28:12
and sometimes it's talking about you're participating
28:14
in this ecosystem of ball worship. Got it. Yeah.
28:19
Okay, that's interesting. So it's fascinating.
28:23
And so it's interesting, because then... I guess
28:27
part of the relationship we see here is after
28:29
entering Canaan, Israel repeatedly falls into
28:32
Baal worship. Yeah. And so we see that a lot
28:35
in the book of Judges. It's the cyclical pattern
28:37
of Israel serves Baal, oppression, repentance,
28:41
and deliverance. Yeah. And that just continues
28:44
to repeat throughout, honestly, their whole history.
28:48
True. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And so in some ways,
28:53
the term Baal is used as, um like a symbol for
28:58
just like um idolatry that makes sense because
29:02
yeah so it's a it's a system or a structure from
29:05
from which worship happens in a pagan culture
29:09
yes okay so it's way more generic than i think
29:14
i even thought yeah okay so it's it's pretty
29:18
interesting yeah and we can get even we'll we'll
29:21
end up talking about more like the specifics
29:22
here okay of like Who are some of these characters
29:25
that are identified? Biblically. Biblically.
29:27
Okay. Yeah. And then even outside of that a little
29:30
bit too. Okay. But so the Bible frames Baal as
29:34
an illegitimate competing Lord. Right. So we
29:38
see that in 1 Kings 18. Okay. Which is the Mount
29:41
Carmel showdown with Elijah. Oh yeah. And that's
29:44
actually a very significant moment. Yeah. Which
29:48
I kind of want to talk a little bit more about
29:50
like the characteristics of a Baal. Yeah, can
29:54
we end with... Yeah, and then we can come back
29:56
to that. But it's a good teaser of like, this
29:58
is a very important moment of this competition,
30:02
if you will. Yeah, it's also like really perfect
30:05
framework for the interaction between a regional
30:10
deity and regional worship in relationship to
30:14
a prophet of Yahweh. Yes. And how that actually
30:18
functioned and played out. Yes. So I think the
30:21
more we set up... what Baal was and what worship
30:25
to Baal looked like, the more that scenario in
30:30
1 Kings 18 comes to life a little bit more. Yes.
30:34
Yeah. And even some of the language around why
30:37
Jesus says what he says and why it matters so
30:41
much to them. Yeah, yeah. And even the language
30:43
inside of Daniel. Yeah. But we'll get there.
30:46
Okay. We'll start with this first. Okay. But
30:49
yeah, so... Yeah, in the Bible, it also associates
30:54
Baal worship with idolatry, fertility rituals,
30:57
sexual immorality, and sometimes child sacrifice.
31:00
Right. And that's often linked to deities like
31:03
Molech. Right. Which would be interesting to
31:05
talk about him too at some point. Right, so that's
31:07
the thing is like Baal is not necessarily a specific
31:12
God who is asking for child sacrifice. Yes. That
31:17
would more so default off to a... A secondary
31:23
god. Yeah. Or peer. I mean, it would be a peer
31:28
technically. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So like when it's
31:32
like, because that's what I keep hearing referenced
31:34
is like it's Baal worship or Molech, the worship
31:37
of Molech. Yeah. It's like, well, it's Baal worship
31:41
to Molech. Yeah. That's like how you would say
31:46
it. I feel like that's, yeah. Right. So it's,
31:49
you're practicing Baal worship. And you're specifically
31:52
worshiping Molech when you're going through the
31:56
process of child sacrifice. Yeah. Right? And
31:59
that's the one thing I'm trying to understand
32:01
a little bit more too as I've gone through this
32:04
is it does seem like Baal worship, even though
32:08
there's several individuals that are named, it
32:12
is like its own specific practice as well. Right.
32:17
So it's like there's a certain way that you're
32:19
supposed to worship him. which is separate than
32:21
how other gods want to be worshipped. Okay. Oh,
32:26
yeah, because of associated material things.
32:31
Yeah. And I think a lot of that, too, is they
32:35
all take on their own flavor because they're
32:37
trying to steal glory from Yahweh. Yeah. And
32:39
so they're like, okay, well, what's the way that
32:41
I want it to happen for me or make sense for
32:43
this region or they're most likely to do? Yeah,
32:46
that makes sense. Yeah. There's a whole lot inside
32:49
of there. That could be an entire episode right
32:51
there. Yeah. But yeah, no. Let's like narrow
32:55
in. We'll narrow in on this very general concept.
32:58
No, I like it. So in the Bible, there are a few
33:03
balls specifically mentioned. Okay. And so the
33:06
first one. Just a couple of balls. Just a couple
33:08
of. Yes. I mean, you know, just like gathering
33:14
around. They're going to play dodgeball. Or basketball
33:19
or football. Yes. It's like all of them. All
33:22
together. At once. The Baals of football. The
33:25
Baals of softball. That's actually their name.
33:31
It's Phoenician for football. Football. Ball
33:34
football. The Olympics might be part of that.
33:41
Ball Olympics. Yeah. So the first one we have
33:45
is Ball Pior. Okay. And we see that in Numbers
33:49
25. It's not French? No, actually, surprisingly.
33:52
Fair. Pior. It's all this Hebrew stuff that feels
33:57
French to me. It might just be the way I'm saying
33:59
it. Maybe. Yeah. So he's tied to sexual immorality
34:04
with Moabites. Okay. And then we have Ball Zabub.
34:09
Right. Which is a familiar title. And that's
34:12
2 Kings 1, which is Lord of the Flies. Okay.
34:16
Which we'll talk more about some of these and
34:18
a few others as well. Yeah. And then we have
34:20
Ball of Tyre, which is promoted by Jezebel, wife
34:23
of Ahab. Right. Yes. And so that one is more
34:27
tied to confirmation of authority. Okay. And
34:33
so like, oh, if you're worshiping Ball of Tyre,
34:36
then it's like that. in some ways and how the
34:41
practices work, it legitimizes your rulership.
34:45
Okay. So that's why she was promoting him of
34:47
like, oh, this can legitimize our right to rule
34:51
for the region. Yeah. Similar to the temptation
34:56
of Jesus. Yeah. Where the accuser is offering
35:01
him a kingdom. Yes. And it's similar in that
35:06
way. Yeah. Yeah. It's the same kind of concept
35:09
here. Yeah. Yeah. In exchange for worship. Yes.
35:14
Yeah. Bow down and worship him and that then
35:20
he will endorse you as a ruler on the earth.
35:23
Yes. Which is how that whole system is set up.
35:26
Yeah, that's it. So it was like, if you want
35:28
power, all you got to do is worship me and here
35:31
you go. Yeah. And he's like, here's tons of examples
35:34
of people doing that. Yes. So that is an interesting
35:38
thing to think about when it comes to the temptation
35:40
of Christ. Yeah, I mean, because it's the same
35:43
concept. Like, oh, you want to rule? I got you.
35:45
Yeah, here's how you do it here. Do it my way.
35:47
Yeah, because I'm the prince of the air. Here's
35:49
how you do it here. Yes. Here's how this works.
35:51
Yeah. He's like, nah. He's like, not here. Not
35:55
in my house. Not anymore. Not anymore, it doesn't.
35:57
There's a new guy in town, a new sheriff. Yeah,
36:00
okay. So Baal was primarily a storm god. Okay.
36:06
And he was associated with rain, fertility, and
36:08
agriculture. Right, yeah. So this is key because
36:13
in an agrarian society, Baal controlled survival.
36:18
Makes sense. So, yeah, so worshiping Baal wasn't
36:22
random. It was about crops, livestock, and economic
36:25
stability. Yeah, so food and water. Yeah, so
36:29
Baal is the one who brings rain. Which would
36:32
be life. Yes. Yeah. And if we don't have that,
36:35
then we're going to die. Right. And so their
36:37
worldview is based around he's the one who provides
36:40
that. Yes. And so we do what he wants because
36:43
then he gives us the ability to live. Yeah. Yeah.
36:47
So controlling of, but in that specific way,
36:50
it controls a specific set of things, but those
36:54
things being the lifeblood of like how you eat
36:57
and how you stay hydrated. Yes. Which is, yeah,
37:01
makes sense. Yeah, so it's fascinating. Yeah,
37:03
yeah, yeah. Yeah, so from ancient texts discovered
37:09
in Ugarit. Okay. Baal battles Yam, who represents
37:14
chaos and the sea. And then he also battles Maat,
37:18
which is death and drought. Okay. So the cycle
37:22
is Baal dies, which brings the drought. And then
37:26
Baal returns, which is fertility. Or life and
37:29
rebirth. Got it. So every year there's a cycle
37:32
of life or death and resurrection. Yes. That
37:36
makes sense. Yeah, and that would be called the
37:37
Baal cycle. Yeah. Yeah. And so this explains
37:40
why rituals tied to revive Baal. Like we need
37:44
to bring them back to life because there's a
37:45
drought. Yeah. And why fertility rites were so
37:49
intense. Sure. Well, that makes sense in the
37:52
process of like paying attention to what the
37:55
stars are doing. Yes. Like, where is the sun?
38:00
Yeah, absolutely. And weather. It's like all
38:03
of that stuff was like paying attention to, all
38:05
right, are we going to have rain for the crops?
38:08
Yeah. How long will we have rain? How much crops
38:11
can we grow? All of that stuff is all tied together.
38:14
Yes. Makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so it's fascinating.
38:18
And even when we think about Israel in this case,
38:20
and we kind of place them in that. That would
38:23
be the Ugarit, by the way. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So
38:30
when we place them into this context, this is
38:35
the culture that they're surrounded by and influenced
38:39
by, obviously. It's one of those where it's like
38:42
rebelling against Yahweh in some ways makes sense.
38:47
Yeah. Not that they should have done it because
38:49
they shouldn't have. Sure. But it makes sense
38:51
because it's like if they're surrounded by this
38:54
and then they start to... internalize the belief
38:57
system that, okay, yeah, Yahweh's cool, but he's
39:01
not very practical. Sure. Because these people
39:04
are worshiping Baal and they're getting what
39:06
they want. Yes. So we should do that too. Yeah.
39:10
Yeah. I mean, it's a little bit more tangible.
39:14
Yeah. Like there's a tangible element to the
39:17
cycles of like... this type of worship is producing
39:20
these type of results consistently and we can
39:23
see it happening over generations. Yes. Yeah.
39:26
Whereas it feels like with Yahweh to them, it's
39:29
like, hey, these people are coming against us.
39:31
That's terrible. Let's cry out to Yahweh. And
39:33
then Yahweh comes through with a deliverer. Yes.
39:36
But it's not on a consistent cycle that they
39:38
can rely on. Yeah. It's just a cry out and there's
39:42
deliverance. Cry out and there's deliverance.
39:44
So it's not necessarily like. They can't just
39:47
look at the stars or wake up or see at night
39:49
and pay attention to go like, here's what we
39:52
can expect about tomorrow. Yes. So the worship
39:55
of Yahweh takes away some expectation or ability
40:01
to predict tomorrow. Yes. Because he's not giving
40:05
us, and he's never given us like, oh, all you
40:09
got to do is say this thing or do this thing
40:11
and you'll get this. When he's like, no, that's
40:14
not what it's about. Yeah. But the other gods
40:17
are like, no, that's what we need because we're
40:19
doing magic. Well, and that's an interesting
40:21
thought of like predictability. Yeah. Like the
40:24
reason why they would fall into it is because
40:26
of the predictability, the ability to be able
40:29
to control. Yeah. So like Baal worship was essentially
40:33
this idea that like, well, we can rely on the
40:37
movement of the stars and the seasons and we
40:40
can track all of that stuff and we know. We pretty
40:42
much know what tomorrow is going to look like.
40:44
Yeah. But with Yahweh, I mean, are we in Egypt
40:48
or are we in the desert? Are we walking through
40:50
a sea or are we not? Do we have water? Oh, no,
40:55
we don't have water. But here's how we got it
40:58
last time. Let's do that practical application.
41:01
But no, he said, no, don't do it that way this
41:04
time. So it's this active conversation where
41:07
they have to continually ask Yahweh what's next.
41:12
Yeah. Versus just being able to rely on the cycles,
41:15
right? And that's a big difference even with
41:17
that is... It's more work. Because the other
41:20
gods are... Like emotionally, it's a little bit
41:23
more work. Oh, yeah. Because what Yahweh wants
41:27
is a relationship. Right. He's like, no, I want
41:30
us to be part of this family. Yes. And so we
41:32
need to talk to one another. What even makes
41:34
me think of... And then the other gods are like,
41:35
no, just do this thing for me. I get what I want.
41:38
You get what you want. Yeah, and not only that,
41:41
but it allows the other gods, the lesser gods,
41:44
to actually interact with people, but not have
41:51
to produce anything. Yes. Because the other gods
41:54
can literally interact with the people, right?
41:57
They show up or they speak to or they whisper
42:01
to, in the same way that we see, again, the accuser
42:04
and the temptation of Jesus show up and offer
42:06
things. But the thing is, The accuser, what the
42:10
accusers or the Baals, these lower G gods, what
42:19
they're offering is actually the predictability
42:22
of how Yahweh rolled creation out. Yeah. So they
42:27
can say, you're going to have rain here if you
42:31
worship me. Yes. But the rain was already going
42:36
to happen. Yeah. Because of the seasonal cycles
42:40
that Yahweh rolls out. Yes. So it's like they're
42:44
taking credit for Yahweh's work. Exactly. It's
42:47
like the way I try to think about it. That's
42:50
kind of the simplest way I've ever thought about
42:52
that. It's like if you went to some remote tribe.
42:56
Yeah. that's never even seen like other people
43:00
outside their tribe before it's like zero technology
43:02
and you showed up with the weather app right
43:05
you said oh it's gonna rain tomorrow and it rains
43:08
it's like oh my gosh right how did you do that
43:11
yeah are you controlling the rain sure and it's
43:14
like no i just know a little bit more than you
43:17
yeah or i have something to my advantage that
43:21
you don't have yeah and that's fair but that
43:24
would be equating the weather app to yahweh right
43:27
which i'm it's an example but it's actually more
43:30
complex like that that has a tangible like that's
43:37
tangible yeah in a way that that's like the baseline
43:40
simple of it yeah but it's like now if i took
43:44
that and i was like yeah now worship me but it's
43:46
like yeah but the weather patterns and cycles
43:48
which is what the app is looking at is what's
43:51
the historical patterns. Yes. And I'm saying
43:54
like, oh yeah, I know I did this. Right. So that's
43:57
me also taking credit for what God has ordained
44:01
and ordered. So then the prophets of Baal are
44:05
the mouthpiece of the lower G gods with the weather
44:09
map. Yeah. And they're just telling the prophets,
44:13
hey, this is what's about to happen. Yeah. And
44:15
all they're saying is we know what the cycles
44:18
are. Mm -hmm. So then going to Matthew chapter
44:26
6 and the prayer that Jesus says to pray, like
44:31
give us this day our daily bread. Yeah. It's
44:35
all about being right now in today that tomorrow
44:40
is not promised, that today is a conversation
44:43
with Yahweh. Yes. And that's actually the whole
44:47
point. The whole point is today we wake up and
44:50
go, God, what are we doing today? Yeah. It's
44:55
not a wake up and go, well, here's what I'm doing
44:59
today. I hope you're with me. Yeah. You know
45:02
what I mean? It's that same idea we see in the
45:05
wilderness. Yes. With the mana. Yes. Or mana.
45:09
The mana? Baal and mana. Baal. With the mana.
45:14
It's like, oh, yeah, during the week. Yeah. if
45:18
you collected more than you needed for that day,
45:21
the next day would be rotted. Yeah. And it's
45:24
like, yeah, because Yahweh is saying you need
45:25
to rely on me. Yeah. You need to trust me. You
45:27
need to talk to me. And that's basically why
45:32
the children of Israel had to stay wandering
45:36
for 40 years. Yeah. Because they had to learn
45:39
to trust Yahweh. Yes. It was actually like an
45:44
educational. Yeah. Time for boot camp. Yeah,
45:48
it was like these things you're going to need
45:51
to know when you get into the promised land.
45:52
Yeah. Which that's fascinating to think about
45:56
it that way in that simple way, mainly because
45:58
like that, no wonder they fell into idol worship
46:03
or worship of pagan gods because it's, it just
46:07
simply like, well, they seem to know what's happening.
46:11
Like they have the weather app. So like, I'd
46:15
rather just do that than have to wake up and
46:17
really not know what's going to happen today.
46:19
Yeah. But yeah. Wow. Okay. That also puts it
46:24
in the position of those gods are stepping in
46:27
as a third party. Yes. And it's like, Hey, we
46:31
don't actually need you here, but because you're
46:36
here, you're telling me you're giving me the
46:39
answer of really what I'm asking today and telling
46:43
me, Like what's going to happen today. Yeah.
46:46
And it's pretty accurate because you know what's
46:51
going on. Yeah. Versus Yahweh's like, yeah, but
46:57
there's so many other things to this. That's
47:00
right. Like they're just predicting the movement
47:02
of creation. But I'm interacting with how we
47:06
can push in and make this whole thing what it
47:09
was designed to be. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's
47:12
cool. Yeah. So it's cool. I don't know. It puts
47:15
all that in perspective, I feel like, of the
47:17
dynamics that are happening here. For sure. Yeah.
47:20
Absolutely. Yeah. So more about Ball. So there
47:24
are many Balls. Okay. How many? That existed
47:28
in different regions. Actually, there's no accurate
47:31
count. That makes sense. There's so many, but
47:34
there's a few that are like, okay, yeah, these
47:36
are definitely ones we can see. So I wrote...
47:39
I wrote quite a few down. Okay. And so we have
47:42
Baal Hadad. Okay. So this is like the standard
47:46
model. Yeah, yeah. When you think of Baal, you're
47:49
probably thinking of Baal Hadad. Okay. So he's
47:53
in charge of rainstorms, seasonal renewal, and
47:57
he's central in Ugarit. Okay. Yeah. So he's kind
48:01
of like the big boy. Yeah. And Ugarit is like
48:04
the region of Israel. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, and
48:09
then we have, which we've already mentioned,
48:11
Baal Peor. Okay. Because he was mentioned specifically
48:14
in scripture. Yes. So he has a strong connection
48:16
to fertility rites and biblically tied to sexual
48:20
rites and boundary crossing worship. Boundary
48:23
crossing worship? Yeah. What do you mean by that?
48:26
Cross the boundary. What do you mean by boundary
48:29
crossing worship? That's pretty much what I meant
48:31
by it. Like crossing the boundary? Yeah, crossing
48:34
the boundary. Going from one region to another.
48:36
Yes. Yeah. Oh, that's fair. Because you're entering
48:39
another god's territory. Yes. True. And so it's
48:43
like they brought him into Israel. Yeah. And
48:47
it's like this is Yahweh's territory. Okay. Yeah.
48:50
Fair. So now you're worshiping a foreign god
48:52
in a foreign territory. Yeah. Yeah. Makes sense.
48:55
It's an interesting idea. It is. Then we have
49:00
Baal Shemem. Okay. And this means Lord of the
49:04
Heavens. Cool. Cool. So he's more universal cosmic
49:09
authority. Okay. And less tied to one location.
49:12
Okay. And actually a quick little sidestep on
49:15
this. Yeah. Because this is fascinating. So we
49:19
often hear as Christians the phrase like he's
49:22
coming on the clouds. Yeah. And we always tie
49:25
that to God. He's coming on the clouds. Yeah.
49:27
Right. That's right. Which is a good song. I
49:29
haven't heard that in a long time. I know. Is
49:30
that Leland? It is. Yeah. That's right. So we
49:35
have that term, but that actually was stolen.
49:38
I say stolen because it was like... Borrowed
49:42
language. Borrowed language. It was a way that
49:45
the writers of scripture were making fun of Baal.
49:49
Oh, okay. Because... This goes back to the Genesis
49:53
1 scenario. Yes. Where it's going like, you've
49:56
heard this said this way. It's not right. Yeah.
49:59
This is stolen from... what i'm actually yes
50:03
yeah and it's not because they couldn't come
50:05
up with their own thing right but it's the bible's
50:07
way of saying like no yeah that's not him that's
50:12
yahweh right um so that that phrase that we see
50:17
has was used of ball okay and it was like oh
50:22
he rides the chariot in the clouds or he rides
50:25
across the heavens or he's coming on the clouds
50:26
yeah and it's this language of like he is a god
50:30
Sure. So that was their kind of way of identifying
50:34
a deity. Okay. Is their access in the heavens.
50:38
Chariots in the clouds. That's it, yeah. And
50:41
so it's interesting because even, I'm trying
50:42
to remember if I remember this number right,
50:44
but in the Bible, I think that phrase is used
50:48
like nine times. Okay. But I believe five of
50:52
those are actually referring to Baal. Oh, okay.
50:55
And then the others are used to refer to Yahweh.
50:58
And specifically, we see that with Jesus calling
51:01
himself that, saying that about himself when
51:04
he's in front of Caiaphas. Okay. Which is part
51:07
of also why he tears his clothes and calls him
51:09
a blasphemer, because Jesus is saying, oh, I'm
51:13
coming on the clouds. You will see the Son of
51:15
Man coming on the clouds. Oh, wow. And he's saying,
51:17
like, I am a God. Yeah. Wow. I didn't, yeah,
51:21
that's awesome. Yeah. It's fascinating, right?
51:23
Yeah. And so there's all this language that's
51:26
tied in. Well, okay, but Caiaphas is the high
51:30
priest. Yes. So he's using language of a pagan
51:36
god to a Jewish high priest. Yes, but it's funny
51:44
because when he quotes that, he's quoting Daniel.
51:47
Okay. That's like the specific quote that he's
51:50
referring to. Yes. So Caiaphas would have known
51:52
like, oh, he's actually quoting this prophecy
51:53
in Daniel. Right. That's stealing this Baal language.
51:58
Yeah. Or taking it back. It's really taking it
52:02
back. Yeah. And also including this Enochian
52:04
language to talk about the Son of Man. Right.
52:07
And Jesus is identifying himself with those things.
52:10
Yes. So he's saying, I am the savior that's coming.
52:14
Yes. Because I'm here. And also, I'm a god. Yeah.
52:18
Yeah. That's cool. That's cool to think about.
52:20
So he's putting himself on a deity level. Right.
52:23
And so he's like, what the heck? Yeah, that's
52:25
cool. Yeah, it's pretty neat. Yeah. I like that.
52:28
So next one? So yeah. Next ball. Next. So then
52:32
we have ball of tire. Okay. Which we've mentioned.
52:35
So he's the patron. The ball of Tyre. Ball of
52:37
Tyre. That sounds like a World Cup or something.
52:40
Yeah, it does. Yeah. So he's the patron god of
52:44
a major city state, linked to trade, royal authority,
52:47
and national identity. Okay. And then we have
52:51
Balbarith, who is lord of the covenant, likely
52:56
tied to agreements and social religious identity.
53:00
Okay. Social slash religious identity. So governance.
53:03
Yes. Yeah. And then we have our fun guy, Balls
53:06
of Bub. Ooh, I like that guy. Just kidding. Nope,
53:11
nope, nope, nope. I don't like that guy. Scratch
53:14
that, edit. That means Lord of the Flies. So
53:20
he's associated with disease, decay, and possibly
53:22
protection from pests. Okay. So association really
53:29
with people that have... diseases and are dying
53:33
like and death probably too yes yeah okay i just
53:38
i was um because that's the whole thing like
53:41
a kingdom divided can't be divided against itself
53:43
right if you say that i am from beelzebub yeah
53:48
right so it's bringing the dead back to life
53:51
yeah which would make sense why that's the one
53:54
that's referenced yes got it yeah and it's interesting
53:58
because that's when we see in the new testament
53:59
this this term come back up again. Yeah. And
54:02
it's used to refer to the prince of the demons.
54:06
Yes. Essentially. And so it becomes this really
54:09
interesting language throughout scripture. This,
54:12
this specific ball. Yeah. Um, yeah. So it's fat.
54:17
There's a lot we could on there. We don't have
54:18
time for it today, but that would be a lot of
54:20
fun to do. Um, specific on bells, bells above,
54:26
but all the, but all the above. Balls -a -bulb.
54:30
Balls -a -light bulb. Balls -a -light bulb. Listen
54:37
here, bub. Balls -a -bub. What's the... Great
54:40
balls of fire. Oh, yeah. What is that? Great
54:43
Scott. No. Isn't that how the... No, Great Scott
54:48
is... No, that's Back to the Future. Yeah. Why
54:52
do I think Great Scott? Jeepers creepers. What
54:56
is that? That's a whole different thing. Yeah,
54:58
it is. 1 .21 gigawatts. That's what I was trying
55:03
to do. To go 80 miles an hour. Yeah. All right,
55:07
so that's fun. And then we have Balhaman. Can't
55:11
forget him. Sure. So he was specifically in Carthage
55:14
in North Africa. Okay, so very real. Or Carthage
55:18
slash, because that is modern North Africa. Right,
55:20
right, right. Yeah. So he was fertility and vegetation
55:24
and possibly linked to sacrificial systems. Okay.
55:28
Which would specifically mean like child sacrifice.
55:30
Yeah, yeah. In Northern Africa. Yes. Makes sense.
55:33
Yes. So there's possibly many more, but there's
55:36
no like major ones in their function. Okay. Oh,
55:40
sorry. These are the major ones in their function.
55:42
Oh, okay. I didn't read my note right. Here we
55:43
go. Major ones in their function. And here's
55:44
the major ones. So across different regions and
55:47
possibly with some overlap. Because there are
55:49
some overlap within different areas. They might
55:52
worship two of them. Or like this part of the
55:56
city worships this one and this half worships
55:58
that. Got it. Yeah. So Baal isn't really defined
56:04
by a personality, but he's defined by a function.
56:09
Okay. So it's not like, oh, here's Zeus and here's
56:12
the personality of Zeus. They're like, oh, there's
56:14
actually 15 Zeuses. True. It's like, no, that's
56:17
the proper name for that god. Got it. Whereas
56:20
Baal is a title which distinguishes the function
56:25
but not the personality. The lord of the region.
56:29
Yes. Yeah. Okay. Which is why it's a prefix where
56:34
it comes before the more specific name. Yeah.
56:40
Could you call it a modifier? Not really, not,
56:45
no. Not a proper noun sense. No. But it's similar
56:47
to L. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Makes sense. Yeah, so that's
56:53
a little bit about who Ball is. That's cool.
56:55
Ball. So that's, I will say, so that's why, because
57:00
it's not a specific personality. We do see that
57:06
there can be so many of them. Yeah. Because it...
57:10
It's just the function that they fit into. Yeah,
57:14
that makes sense. Yeah. So... Baal was not just
57:22
one god in one place. The word itself means lord
57:25
or master. And in the ancient Levant, it could...
57:29
Israel. Yeah, no, I just thought you said Levant.
57:32
I know. It's all French. It could refer either
57:35
to the storm and fertility god Hadad or to local
57:38
Baal. titles tied to particular cities and shrines.
57:43
So the main answer is Baal was worshipped by
57:47
a range of West Semitic peoples, especially the
57:50
Canaanites, the Ugaritans, the Phoenicians, and
57:53
later the Punic and Carthaginians. I was going
58:01
to say Carthaginians. Carthaginian. Cardiac arrest.
58:04
No. Carthaginians. Carthaginians. Carthaginians?
58:09
Yeah, yeah. Carthaginian world. But all worship
58:16
also appears at times among Israelites when they
58:20
adopted or blended Canaanite religion. Yeah.
58:24
So the earliest major setting that we see would
58:28
be the Canaanite and Ugaritic world. in the Bronze
58:31
Age, in the Levant, modern Israel and Palestine,
58:35
Lebanon, Western Syria, and parts of Jordan.
58:38
That's cool. Yeah, it's fascinating because it
58:42
kind of expands that idea a bit more. Yeah. Yeah.
58:47
So how Baal was worshipped. The core pattern
58:51
was the normal ancient Near Eastern cult. Temples
58:54
or high places, altars, priests, vows, and petitions
58:58
and sacrifices, especially animals such as cattle,
59:01
sheep, goats, and birds, because Baal was mainly
59:04
a storm, fertility, and agricultural deity, people
59:08
sought his favor for rain, crops, herds, and
59:11
protection from drought. In some settings, especially
59:14
in later hostile, biblical, polemic, and impunic
59:18
evidence, Baal -associated worship is also linked
59:22
to more Baal -associated worship is also linked
59:26
to more extreme rites, including human sacrifice
59:30
in at least some communities. Yeah. So chiefly
59:36
among the Canaanites. Yeah. In the Bronze Age.
59:41
Sometimes it's fun to think about, like, what
59:44
are the ages listed by history? Oh, yeah. In
59:48
parallel to the way it lays out in the Bible.
59:51
Where they're at, yeah. Yeah. I haven't done
59:54
that before. That'd be kind of interesting to
59:56
build that timeline up. We kind of, I've kind
59:59
of interjected it throughout. That's actually,
1:00:02
yeah, now that I think about it, you have. Yeah,
1:00:04
yeah, yeah. It'd be fun to see it out, though.
1:00:07
It would. Yeah, we'll have to do that. So let's
1:00:12
do like five minutes on why. The story of Elijah.
1:00:16
I was just thinking about that. Yeah. And I think
1:00:18
with this, the most particular thing is the ball
1:00:22
cycle that we've talked about. Right. With his
1:00:25
death and revival. Yes. And so when we open up
1:00:29
in this story, we see that there's been a drought.
1:00:31
Yes. And it's been happening for a long time.
1:00:34
Yes. And so this would be typically like, oh,
1:00:37
okay, this is the ball has died. And so now we
1:00:41
have to revive him. Right. And so, oh yeah, here
1:00:45
it is. 1 Kings 17 .1. Yeah. As the Lord God of
1:00:50
Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall
1:00:53
not be dew nor rain these years except at my
1:00:56
word. Which means that Elijah in that moment
1:00:59
is talking to Ahab. Yes. And he actually says.
1:01:05
Yeah. Elijah, me, this guy right here. Standing
1:01:11
before you, prophet of Yahweh. Yes. Is declaring
1:01:14
that there will no longer be rain as long as
1:01:17
I say. Yes. Which is wild. It's a wild thing
1:01:21
to declare. Because like you said, like you set
1:01:24
up, Ahab's wife is Jezebel. Yes. And Jezebel
1:01:28
is promoting in that region the worship of Baal.
1:01:32
Yes. And that worship of Baal is for the prosperity
1:01:37
of the region. Yeah. Even the one that she brought
1:01:42
in was the one to legitimize her rulership. Yes.
1:01:46
Yeah. So she's playing out. And we've talked
1:01:51
about this so many times. So it's interesting
1:01:52
because even the fact that this happens and so
1:01:55
Ball isn't playing Ball. Yeah, yeah. It's like
1:01:59
in some ways also delegitimizes their rulership.
1:02:05
Because it's like, oh, well, Baal isn't on your
1:02:07
side. Right. Yeah. Yes. For Jezebel and Ahab.
1:02:11
Yes. Because it's like, oh, wait, so Baal isn't
1:02:13
playing games. Or he is playing games with us,
1:02:16
so he doesn't honor your rulership. Yeah, similar
1:02:20
to we talked about Caiaphas. Yeah. Bringing Jesus
1:02:28
before Caesar. Yes. Because he brings him. before
1:02:35
Caesar and says, this guy says that he's the
1:02:38
Messiah. Or Herod, you mean. Yes, sorry. I was
1:02:43
like, wait, Caesar's way too big. No, yes, to
1:02:46
Herod. And then, well, eventually he goes to,
1:02:48
like, anyways. Yes, that's fair. But he says,
1:02:53
like, this guy's declaring to be the Messiah.
1:02:56
And the reason why that's legitimate is not because
1:02:58
Caiaphas is not like, hey, this guy thinks he's.
1:03:03
he's going to be our Messiah. Yeah. He's saying,
1:03:07
this guy is going to overthrow your throne. Yes.
1:03:10
So Elijah steps in and goes, hey, I'm going to
1:03:14
overthrow your throne. Yeah. And I'm going to
1:03:17
do it by the power of my God, who's the one true
1:03:19
God. Yes. And you say you're going to do it by
1:03:22
the power of your God. So let's battle, but let's
1:03:25
not battle with our hands. Let's battle with
1:03:29
demonstrations of our gods. doing things. Yes.
1:03:34
So that's where we get the battle at Carmel,
1:03:37
which is... And even like... I mean, eventually
1:03:40
it does do it with hands because he does slay
1:03:42
a bunch of people. He does kill a lot of people.
1:03:44
He kills a lot of people. That is true. Well,
1:03:49
even here, it's like in this, the fact that he
1:03:52
says that and there is a drought, there's no
1:03:54
rain. Right. Like that is like, there's already
1:03:57
the battle that has started in their mind. Right,
1:04:00
and we see this happen also way before this with
1:04:04
Moses and Aaron in Egypt before Pharaoh with
1:04:09
the prophets of Pharaoh. Yeah, yes. Or the magicians
1:04:14
of Egypt. Yeah. Yahweh is intentionally calling
1:04:19
out all of these individual gods of Egypt. Yes.
1:04:23
And he's demonstrating that he can do the same
1:04:25
thing and then he keeps going and they can't
1:04:28
keep up. Yeah. And well, he shows that he actually
1:04:31
does have power and defeats all of them every
1:04:34
single time. Right. Yeah. And so like this is
1:04:37
this is another example of that. Yes. Of God
1:04:40
stepping in through a prophet and going like,
1:04:43
guys, let me show you what I'm talking about.
1:04:46
Yeah. I made all these guys. Yes. They're they're
1:04:50
pretending to be me, but they're not me. So like
1:04:55
have relationship with me. Stop worshiping them
1:04:57
like they're. They're frauds. Yes. They're not
1:05:03
fake. They're frauds. Yeah, they're shysters.
1:05:06
They're very real frauds. And it keeps happening
1:05:09
over and over and over again until Jesus finally
1:05:11
comes and he goes, all right, one more time,
1:05:14
guys. They're all frauds. And now everybody gets
1:05:20
to decide for themselves and follow me. So it
1:05:23
is cool because that's a consistent cycle and
1:05:26
a consistent thing that we see. Yeah, because
1:05:28
even with this, to tie that up a little bit,
1:05:32
because it's following that Baal cycle, the Baal
1:05:35
cycle. Yeah. I flip it around. And so it's like,
1:05:39
so the drought is normal. Right. There's always
1:05:42
the period where it doesn't rain. Baal died.
1:05:44
Yes. And so it's like, so what Elijah challenges
1:05:48
them to is, okay, you just need to revive your
1:05:52
God. Yes. And then there's going to be rain.
1:05:55
But I told you there won't be. So they try and
1:05:59
they try and they try. And obviously they fail.
1:06:02
And when Yahweh then sends the fire on the altar
1:06:06
and brings the rain, it shows like, hey, Baal
1:06:10
actually doesn't have control over the rain.
1:06:12
Those are two different things though. What's
1:06:14
that? Like those instances are, they're around
1:06:17
the same time, but they're not. They are two
1:06:18
different things. Yeah. Well, the reason I was
1:06:21
going to say that is because the text says, that
1:06:24
there was no rain for these years, and then the
1:06:28
third year, which means that when Elijah comes
1:06:31
in, to your point, when Elijah comes in and goes,
1:06:34
hey, no more rain. It's not going to rain until
1:06:37
I say. Well, they're expecting yearly rain, and
1:06:41
it doesn't rain for three years. Yes. So, in
1:06:45
other words, they're doing the worship to get
1:06:48
rain from Baal, and there's no rain coming. It's
1:06:54
where Baal was counterfeiting, hey, I'm the one
1:06:58
who gives the rain. It's showing he's not the
1:07:01
one who gives the rain. He just has the weather
1:07:03
app. Yeah, that's right. And so in that way,
1:07:07
it's like, oh, they're not the controller of
1:07:10
the rain. They simply know when it's going to
1:07:14
rain throughout the year. So it's information,
1:07:18
not creator. Yes. So it's knowledge, again. It's
1:07:23
knowledge. It's knowledge that they're passing
1:07:24
along, but it's not something that they're actually
1:07:26
creating. Right. Or in control of. Yeah. And
1:07:31
that's the exposure that Yahweh creates with
1:07:34
Baal in front of his people. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
1:07:39
Yeah, absolutely. It's kind of cool. And so like,
1:07:42
yeah, it's that whole situation is so interesting
1:07:44
because that's the dynamics of what's happening
1:07:47
here. Yeah. Yeah. So Baal. So yeah, there's a
1:07:53
little idea what this is. Well, and that's the
1:07:56
cool thing too about like, just because I didn't
1:07:59
want to throw that off too much, but when there
1:08:02
is a demonstration of fire on the altar with
1:08:07
Elijah and those prophets, one of the things
1:08:11
that Elijah does is throws water on the altar.
1:08:17
That's right. Because wet wood is harder to light.
1:08:20
But also, water is the most precious commodity
1:08:26
to that whole region. So he's throwing the most
1:08:31
expensive thing that he can on the altar as a
1:08:35
sacrifice to the Lord. And so it's because he's
1:08:40
demonstrating, my God, Yahweh, is the God of
1:08:43
the rain. He'll provide more water. He's the
1:08:47
God of the fire. He'll light the altar, right?
1:08:51
He's also the God of the covenant, which is what
1:08:53
the altar is for. So it's like all those things
1:08:56
are all represented in that. And yeah, and every
1:08:59
other God is lowered. Yeah. Pretty cool. They're
1:09:04
exposed for what they are. So who is Baal? You
1:09:08
mean what? What? When? What? When? Who? How?
1:09:12
Where? Ball? Ball. Ball is all of these things.
1:09:17
Play a ball. Three, two, one. Thank you.