The False god - Baal

A Depiction of the False god Baal (AI Generated)

In this article I would like to discuss one of the prominent false gods that is mentioned in both the Older and Newer Covenants. I am doing this so that we are aware that these same false gods still exist although they may be called by different names.

Baal was one of the most pervasive false gods of the ancient Near East, a false deity whose name shifted from nation to nation but whose spiritual corruption remained the same.

His name, Baʿal, simply meant “lord,” “master,” or “owner,” and because of that title he appeared under many faces: Baal Hadad in Canaan, Baal Zebul in Phoenicia, Baal Hammon in Carthage, Hadad-Rimmon in Syria, Melqart in Tyre, and even later merged with Greek sky gods such as Zeus. Though the names changed, the identity did not. Scripture reveals that the gods of the nations were not imaginary but rebellious spiritual beings (demons) receiving the worship that belonged to the Holy One alone.

Deut. 32:17  “They sacrificed to demons, non-gods, gods that they had never known, new gods that had come up lately, which your ancestors had not feared.”

Psalm 106:37  “They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.”

Baal worship promised what the flesh craved: rain, fertile fields, abundant livestock, military success, and prosperity. In a land dependent on seasonal rains, the claim that he controlled storms made him seem “useful.” Israel’s temptation was never atheism but syncretism — mixing the worship of YHWH with the practices of the pagan nations. Baal worship appealed to the senses and to human desire for control, and it offered a counterfeit spirituality that required no holiness.

His worship was spiritually dark and morally corrupt. Ritual prostitution was central to his cult, with both male and female prostitutes serving in his shrines (1 Kings 14:24; Hosea 4:14). Sexual acts were believed to “awaken” Baal and ensure fertility in the land. Self‑mutilation was practiced by his prophets, who cut themselves in ecstatic frenzy to provoke his attention (1 Kings 18:28). Worship often took place on high places, under sacred trees, or beside Asherah poles, where Baal was honored alongside Asherah, his consort (Judges 6:25; 1 Kings 16:31-33, II Kings 23:6). Idols of Baal were frequently shaped like a bull, symbolizing virility and strength — a tragic echo of Israel’s golden calf rebellion (Exodus 32).

The darkest element of Baal worship was the offering of children in fire. Though child sacrifice is most famously associated with Molech, Scripture shows that Baal also received such offerings. Jeremiah records that the people “built the high places of Ba‘al… to burn their sons in the fire” (Jeremiah 19:5). This overlap has led many to wonder whether Baal and Molech were the same god. They were not. Molech (also called Molekh, Moloch, or Milcom) was the god of the Ammonites, specifically associated with child sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2; Jeremiah 32:35). He was often represented as a bronze figure with outstretched arms, heated so that infants placed upon him would burn. Baal, by contrast, was a storm and fertility god. Yet in Phoenician and Carthaginian culture, Baal Hammon was worshipped with the same horrific sacrifices. Different gods, different roles — but their worship intertwined, and both belonged to the same demonic system seeking to corrupt Israel and destroy the image of God.

The Scriptures portray Baal not as a harmless cultural artifact but as a direct rival to the God of Israel. Israel repeatedly abandoned the covenant to serve the Baalim (Judges 2:11–13). Ahab, under Jezebel’s influence, institutionalized Baal worship in the northern kingdom (1 Kings 16:31–33). The most dramatic confrontation came on Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal. Baal claimed to control lightning, yet he remained silent. YHWH answered with fire from heaven. Baal claimed to bring rain, yet the heavens only opened when Israel repented (1 Kings 18:17–40). The message was unmistakable: the God of Israel alone commands the heavens.

The prophets described Baal worship as spiritual adultery. Israel “played the whore” with Baal (Hosea 2:4-10), forgot YHWH, and trusted in the works of their own hands (Jeremiah 2:27–28). They even mixed His Name with Baal’s, a corruption God vowed to erase: “I will remove the names of the Ba‘alim from her mouth; they will never again be mentioned by name” (Hosea 2:19 CJB). Baal worship was adultery and idolatry — it was identity corruption and a betrayal of relationship.

Though the name “Baal” appears less in the Newer Covenant writings, the spirit behind him remains. Paul teaches that pagan sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God.

I Cor. 10:20 “No, what I am saying is that the things which pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice not to God but to demons; and I don't want you to become sharers of the demons!”

Yeshua warns the congregation in Thyatira about the spirit of Jezebel, which leads believers into sexual immorality and idolatry — the same pattern as Baal worship (Revelation 2:20).

The powers behind Baal and Molech still operate as part of the spiritual forces Paul describes in Ephesians 6:12:

“ For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.”

Baal also appears indirectly through the name Beelzebul (or Beelzebub), a title used for the ruler of demons. In Matthew 12:24, Mark 3:22, and Luke 11:15, the religious leaders accuse Yeshua of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul. This name traces back to Baal-zebub, the Philistine deity of Ekron mentioned in I Kings 1:2–3, whose name means “lord of the flies.” By the Second Temple period, this title had become associated not merely with a pagan god but with the chief of demonic powers, reflecting the Jewish understanding that the false gods behind idolatry were, in reality, demonic forces.

Today, Baal’s physical temples lie in ruins, and those altars are nothing but dust. His ancient prophets are forgotten. But the Name of YHWH endures forever. The ancient world is filled with the broken stones of Baal’s shrines, yet the covenant people still stand because the God of Israel is living, faithful, and victorious. The false gods (demons) of the nations promised prosperity, pleasure, and power, but they could not deliver. Those same demonic entities still offer falsehood today. People still sacrifice their children to them it’s just called a different name. People still sacrifice to them by ”cutting” or marking themselves. Many things are still practiced which are dark- darker than most people realize.

Only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob remains the One who answers by fire and sends the rain in its season. Only the God of Israel exists and He is the only God!

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad!

Blessings,

Leisa