Ministry
Training
Program
World Religion
“Gods of the OT World”
WHY STUDY THESE
PRACTICES?
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“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction,
that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
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“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same
sort of disobedience” Hebrews 4:14
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man”
1 Corinthians 10:14
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World religions 2006
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
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A Good (not cheap) Bible Dictionary
A Bible background commentary
Scholarly websites, (.edu)
OT Survey Tools
An inquisitive mind
Diligence and Application
World Religions 2006
World of PATRIARCHS
Monotheism not the norm in the ancient world
Worship of YHWH outnumbered by paganism
Paganism is ‘folk’ religion
Primal, not “Primitive”
Could be elaborate and sophisticated
Generally not “text-based”
Experiential/oral tradition
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World OF PATRIARCHS
Pagan rituals often contained a ‘clergy’ or
priesthood
Gender roles often inverted/women prominent
Fertility, Seasons/Harvest are common themes
Polytheistic/Pantheon of gods and goddesses
Local/Regional/City-based deities
Anthropomorphism was very common
Gods are ‘humanized’, weak, capricious
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MESOPOTAMIAN/SUMERIAN
3000-2300 bc
ANU- Supreme god, lord of constellations/heavens
INANNA- Mother goddess, fertility, love and war
Priesthood and Temple worship
Gods of sun, water, earth
City gods/local gods
Gods have families and servants
Statues need care and feeding
World religions 2006
Akkadian religion
• King Sargon- mixed Semitic & Babylonian
EL = Anu
Ishtar = Inanna
SIN = GOD OF SUN
CHEMOSH = GOD OF MOON
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Ur dynasty
2100 – (time of Abraham)
• Fall of Sargon
• Gilgamesh epic (flood story)
• Begin to be more concerned with life than death
• Signs and Omens
• Trained Priesthood
• Early Astrology
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Egyptian religion
Obsession with death, immortality & after-life
Half animal/half human figures are prominent
Sphinx = body of lion with human head
Anubis = jackal-headed god of Death
Horus = hawk
Individual Pharaohs had gods
Numerology is significant (3, 4, 7)
World religions 2006
Egyptian pantheon
Ra = god of sun
Isis = goddess of fertility, corn harvest
Osiris = fertility and vegetation, ruler of after-world
Bull, sacred in most of Egypt (Exodus 32)
Dog, Ibis, Frog, Baboon, Crocodile also had powers
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Egyptian symbols
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Canaanite Religion
1800 - 1200 BCE
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General correlation w/ gods of Mesopotamia and Egypt
El = father of the gods and humans
Asherah = consort of El
Baal = son of Asherah and El, name means ‘master’;
also god of rain, crops and general vegetation
Anat = daughter of El, sister and lover of Baal
Molech/Moloch = god of war (child sacrifice)
Mott = god of death
World religions 2006
GODS AND MONSTERS
EL
BAAL
ASHERAH/ASHTORETH
ANU
INANNA
MOLECH
CHEMOSH
World religions 2006
Baal worship
Ritual prostitution
Child sacrifice (2 Kings 17:17, Jer. 19:5)
Stone idols (2 Kings 3:2)
Burning incense (Jer 11:17)
Connected to worship of Ashtoreth and the use of the
Asherah pole (Judges 3:7, 10:6, 1 Kings 11:5)
Wild chanting, ecstasy, the pouring out of human blood
(1 Kings 18: 25-29)
World religions 2006
BAAL WORSHIP
Baal = ‘master’, possessor, husband
Native religion of Canaan
Each locale had own ‘version’ or local version of
ba’al (Baal of Peor)
Fertility god, controlled the seasons
Said to ‘go away’ in winter, and return in spring
Wife of Baal “colorless reflection of himself ”
World religions 2006
dagon
Dagon is primary deity (polytheistic)
Body of fish, hands and head of man
Syrians inverted into mermaid
Greek version is Aphrodite, goddess who comes from foam of the sea
Water purifies and fertilizes crops
See 1 Sam 5 for cutting off head/feet!
1 Chron. 10:10- fate of Saul!
World religions 2006
Chemosh
God of Moab
Human w/Bulls head with arms outstretched
Jewish tradition holds his symbol to be a black
star/Arabic symbol is black stone
Perhaps identified with Mars/Saturn
He is giver of military success/bringer of war
Required human sacrifice for success in battle (‘passing
them [children] through the fire’ (1Kings 11:7, 1 Kings
23:10, Ezek 16:20)
AKA Ashtar and later Astarte
World religions 2006
asherah
Symbol of agricultural fertility and prosperity
Symbol is a tree, or tree stump w/branches removed
Sometimes symbolized by a conical stone
Ritual prostitution/goddess of love
Often portrayed with lion or ibex at her side
Mother and creator of mankind
Seen as ‘tree of life’
Consort and lover of Baal, her brother
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Tammuz of Egypt
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Husband of Ishtar, traveled to underworld to bring him
back from the dead (Adonis/Gk)
Ritual Sex/prostitution at temple
Killed by a wild boar/sentenced to spend half the year
on earth and half in Hades
When he is away, winter comes, returns in spring
June feast celebrating his return involves tearing out of
hair and orgies
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Babylonian/Assyrian
views of the after-life
Resurrection was a very big deal
Immortality was an obsession
Went to ‘land of no return’
Must pas through the ‘judgment of souls’
Underworld contained the water of life (used by Tammuz to rescue his
wife)
Elaborate burial rituals, never cremation
Place articles in tombs for the dead to use in the afterlife
Great distinction was given in afterlife based on the manner of death
(death in battle was great honor)
World religions 2006
Babylonian/Assyrian
views of the after-life
Some believe that zodiacal signs are operated by Sin,
Shamash and Ishtar
Heavens are a ‘mirror’ of the earth and each heaven has an
earthly counterpart (i.e. ‘copies of the heavenly things in
Hebrew temple)
See Word document handout for more details
World religions 2006
Paganism in the n.t.
Artemis/Dianna in Ephesus/Mother of the living (anti-Eve)
Image of wood ‘fell from the sky’ (Act 19:35)
Images carved in wood and later silver
Headdress had veils, upper body covered with breasts
Often represented with stags of lions on either side
Head of cult was high priest, male eunuch
Many, many prostitutes at temple, all ‘virgins’
Virgins symbolized by a bee, temple is ‘beehive’
Simon Magus (Acts 8)
Superstition (Acts 28: 1-6)
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Practical applications
Understand the reasons that God prohibited
these practices
Understand our tendency to adopt the
traditions, practices and values of the culture
we live in
Forbid any form of it in yourself or your house
Teach your Christians about idolatry and preach
against it
World religions 2006
Practical idolatry
Worship of career and ministry above the spiritual welfare of
our kids (Sacrificing the children to Molech)
Worship of comfort and a good life above the worship of God
(living like the ‘nations around us’)
Manipulating God by ‘completing all the rituals’ yet lacking a
devout and self-controlled lifestyle (Col 2:20-22)
Allowing career aspirations (the trade guilds of our day) to kill
our love of Christ (Rev 2)
Putting ‘democratic’ American ideals above the lordship and
kingship of Jesus Christ (Col 2:8-10)
Generally behaving and having lives than blend in with our
neighbors and friends (compromise of Balaam Rev 2:14)
Failure to renounce and denounce idolatry and false worship
when we see it in our churches (Ezek 33:1-9)
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The real danger
Reduction of the role and nature of God
Reliance on ritual and chance
Reversal (perversion) of gender roles
Revision of established biblical principles
Rebellion against the will and plan of God
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