33 Bible Verses about Baal Worship, History
Most Relevant Verses
So Israel joined itself to Baal of Peor. Jehovah was angry against Israel. Jehovah said to Moses: Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before Jehovah so that the fierce anger of Jehovah may turn away from Israel. Moses said to the judges of Israel: Each of you put to death those men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.
The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, from where Balaam could see a part of the people of Israel.
They joined in worshiping the god Baal while they were at Peor. They ate what was sacrificed to the dead.
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. They came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame. They became as detestable as that which they loved.
They forsook Jehovah God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them. They bowed to them and provoked Jehovah to anger. They forsook Jehovah and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
The people of Israel forgot Jehovah their God. They sinned against him and worshiped the idols of Baal and Asherah.
Joash replied: Are you arguing for Baal? Are you defending him? Anyone who argues for him will be killed before morning. If Baal really is a god he can defend himself. It is his altar that was torn down. From then on Gideon was known as Jerubbaal, because Joash said: Let Baal defend himself for his altar was torn down.
After Gideon's death the people of Israel were unfaithful to God again. They worshiped the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god.
Once again the Israelites did evil against Jehovah by worshiping the Baals and the Astartes. They also worshiped the gods of Syria, of Sidon, of Moab, of Ammon, and of the Philistines. They abandoned Jehovah and stopped worshiping him.
So the Israelites got rid of their idols of Baal and Astarte. They worshiped only Jehovah.
Again they cried to Jehovah for help! They said: 'We have sinned, because we turned away from you, Jehovah. We worshiped the idols of the Baals and the Ashtoreth (Greek: Astarte). Rescue us from our enemies. We will worship you!'
Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: By the living Jehovah, the God of Israel, whose servant I am, there will be no dew or rain in these years, but only at my word.
Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, even worse than all who went before him! It was as if he copied the evil ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. He took as his wife Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Zidon, and became a servant and worshipper of Baal. He built an altar for Baal in the house of Baal that he built in Samaria.read more.
Ahab made an image of Asherah. He did more than all the kings of Israel before him to make Jehovah, the God of Israel, angry.
Then he said in answer: I have not made trouble for Israel. You and your family have. You have disobeyed Jehovah's commands and have gone after the Baals. Now gather all Israel together before me at Mount Carmel. Also gather the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal who get their food at Jezebel's table.
He worshiped and served Baal. Like his father before him, he aroused the anger of Jehovah, the God of Israel.
Jehu assembled all the people and said to them: Ahab was Baal's servant in a small way, but Jehu will be his servant on a great scale. Now send for all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and priests, to come to me. Let no one stay away for I have a great offering to make to Baal. Anyone who is not present will be put to death. Jehu did this with deceit. It was his purpose to destroy the servants of Baal. Jehu said: Let there be a special holy meeting for the worship of Baal. So a public statement was made.read more.
Jehu sent through all Israel; and all the servants of Baal came, not one kept away. They entered the house of Baal. It was full from one end to the other end. Jehu said to the keeper of the robes: Get out robes for all the servants of Baal. So he got out robes for them. Jehu, with Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, went into the house of Baal. He said to the servants of Baal: Make a search with care, to see that no servant of Jehovah is with you, but only servants of Baal. They went in to make offerings and burned offerings. Jehu put eighty men outside. He told them: If any man whom I give into your hands escapes, he who lets him go will forfeit his own life for that life. As soon as he finished offering the burned offering Jehu said to the armed men and the captains: Go in and put them to death! Do not let one come out! So they put them to the sword. Pulling the images to the ground, they went into the holy place of the house of Baal. They removed the image of Asherah from the house of Baal and burned it. The altar of Baal was pulled down and the house of Baal was broken up and made an unclean place, as it is to this day. Jehu put an end to the worship of Baal in Israel. But Jehu did not keep himself from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and the evil he made Israel do. The gold calves were still worshiped in Bethel and in Dan.
The priest Jehoiada had King Jehoash and the people make a covenant with Jehovah that they would be Jehovah's people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. The people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and the idols, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars. Jehoiada put guards on duty at the Temple,
Plead with your mother (your nation), for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband. Let her put away her acts of adultery from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts! I will strip her naked and make her as in the day that she was born. I will make her as a wilderness, and make her like a dry land, and kill her with thirst. I will show no mercy to her children for they are children of fornication.read more.
Their mother played the harlot. She that conceived them acted shamefully! For she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink. Behold, I (Jehovah) will fence her way with thorns. I will build a wall against her that she will not find her path. She will follow after her lovers but she will not reach them. She will seek them, but will not find them! She will say: 'I will return to my first husband for it was better for me then.' She did not know that I gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they used for Baal. Therefore I will take back my grain at that time, and my new wine in the season. I will pluck away my wool and my flax that should have covered her nakedness. Now I will uncover her lewdness (obscene behavior) in the sight of her lovers, and none will deliver her out of my hands. I will also cause all her exaltation to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies. I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees. Of this she said: These are my loose woman's hire that my lovers have given me. I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field will eat them. I will punish her for the days in which she burned incense to the Baals, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, said Jehovah.
But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, people trembled. The people of Ephraim were important in Israel. Then they became guilty of worshiping Baal, so they must die.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to rule. He ruled for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what Jehovah considered right, as his ancestor David had done. He followed the example of the kings of Israel. He even made metal idols for worshiping other gods such as the Baals.
The priests did not ask: 'Where is Jehovah? Those who deal with my Law did not know me. The rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and followed things that could not help (profit) them.'
Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known?
I said to her: You will live with me many days. You must not play the harlot (commit fornication) and you must not be any man's wife. I will also be with you.
The children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served Baalim: They forsook Jehovah God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them. They bowed to them and provoked Jehovah to anger. They forsook Jehovah and served Baal and Ashtaroth.read more.
The anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel. He delivered them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
The people in town got up early the next morning. They found that the altar to Baal and the symbol of Asherah had been cut down. The second bull had been burned on the altar that was built there. They asked each other: Who did this? They investigated and found out that Gideon, son of Joash, did it. They said to Joash: Bring your son here. We will kill him! He tore down the altar to Baal and cut down the symbol of Asherah!read more.
Joash replied: Are you arguing for Baal? Are you defending him? Anyone who argues for him will be killed before morning. If Baal really is a god he can defend himself. It is his altar that was torn down. From then on Gideon was known as Jerubbaal, because Joash said: Let Baal defend himself for his altar was torn down.
She did not know that I gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.
You have carried the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.
Judah, you have as many gods as you have cities. You have set up many altars in Jerusalem to sacrifice to Baal. You have as many detestable altars as there are streets in Jerusalem.'
This is because they have forsaken me. They have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods. These are gods that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known. They have filled this place with the blood of the blameless (innocent).' They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal. This is not something I commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter my mind (heart) (conscience).' Therefore days are coming, declares Jehovah, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter.
What does God say in answer to him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
