Friday, July 1, 2022

Timeless


THE BULL, THE BEAR & the dragon


Love for Brothers

1Let brotherly love continue. 2Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. 4Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.


Jesus Christ is the Same

5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

7Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever



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Even those of us who have vaguely heard of the name Baal in the Bible know that it doesn't have a good connotation. 


It seems we can't go five seconds into the Old Testament without God condemning the worship of Baal.


Baal took the shape of a bull or ram


Of all the foreign gods the Israelites came into contact with, they appeared to struggle the most with worshipping this one.


One of the most famous instances of Israel going head to head with the prophets of Baal comes from 1 Kings 18.


Scripture has nothing positive to say about Baal. Most often, it condemns Baal worship, and any example of Israel going after Baal leads to their loss of direction, and ultimately, scattering at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians.


God established the law, including laws against eating pork, since pig slaughter and sacrifice was a hallmark of Baal worship.


MODERN DAY ABORTION?

Evil practices never go away. They simply evolve. Baal transformed into Zeus who transformed in Jupiter, etc.


Baal worship also included, at times, child sacrifice, which we see some Israelite kings engaging with later on.


Despite God's efforts to dissuade them, the Israelites engaged with the Canaanite culture a little too much and adopted their practices, including Baal worship.


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