A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

worshipers. Because of the importance of the sun in producing a harvest, Baal was also thought
to produce the harvest. Prolonged droughts which destroyed the crops were thought to be
evidences of the displeasure of this god. To appease this god during this time, the people would
offer human sacrifices to Baal. This usually involved offering the worshiper’s firstborn who was
burnt alive. This practice is described in Scripture as “passing through the fire” (cf. 2 Kings 16:3;
21:6).
Because the worship of Baal tended to be localized, the expressions of worship varied
from village to village. Sometimes he took on the name of the city, i.e., Baal Hermon or Baal of
Hermon (cf. Jud. 3:3). At times there were temples built to him. Such temples built in Samaria
and Jerusalem are referred to in Scripture (1 Kings 16:32; 2 Kings 11:18). The ordinary offering
made to Baal seems to have consisted of burning incense (Jer. 7:9), though on occasion it also
included human sacrifices (19:5). From the record of the confrontation between Elijah and the
priests of Baal, it is apparent the worship of this god could also include slashing one’s own body
with knives.
During those times Israel returned to the worship of Baalim (Jud. 8:33), a plural form of
the name of Baal, which probably means several of the Baal gods were being worshiped in the
land at the same time. The Baal gods identified in Scripture include Baal-Berith (Baal of the
Covenant v. 33), Baal Gad (Baal of Good Luck-Isa. 65:11), Baal Hamon (Baal of the Multitude-
Song 8:11), Baal Hermon (Jud. 3:3), Baal Peor (Num. 25:3), and Baal-Zebub (Baal of the Flies-2
Kings 1:2-3, 16). In the New Testament, this last expression of Baal is one of the titles of the
devil (Beelzebub).
Ashtoreth was the chief goddess of the Canaanites and the female counterpart to Baal.
She probably began as the Babylonian god Istar which was tied to the worship of the morning
and evening stars. However, in Canaan, she was viewed as the moon goddess just as Baal was
the sun god. As Ashtoreth came to be recognized as something of a fertility goddess, her worship
involved immoral sexual practices by groups of men and women. Prostitution was widely
practiced in her name. Just as the name Baalim is the plural of Baal, so the name Ashtaroth is the
plural of Ashtoreth. There were many Baalim, so there also came to be many Ashtaroth.
But Baal and Ashtoreth were not the only false gods Israel worshiped during their days of
declension. “Then the Children of Israel ... served the Baals, and the Ashtoreths, the gods of
Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of
the Philistines; and they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him” (Jud. 10:6). It was almost as
though Israel was prepared to adopt any god it could find to fill the void left when they
abandoned their worship of the Lord. That they followed after so many false gods of the
Canaanites and others suggests the gods were unable to meet their needs. All they could offer
was bondage and oppression.
THE MINOR JUDGES OF ISRAEL
(Jud. 10:1-5; 12:8-15) (1154-1110 B.C.)
While the Book of Judges records the ministry of six major judges who led Israel out of
bondage back to God, there are also several judges of a minor character who are identified
briefly in this book. They are called minor judges not in the sense that they were inferior to the
other judges, but rather in the same sense that we refer to the Minor Prophets. While they also
delivered Israel, very little is recorded of them and their ministries making it difficult to
determine if they were successful in leading Israel through a complete cycle of repentance from