God’s Demand

Hundreds of years before the days of Elijah, God repeatedly commanded the people of Israel to
worship Him only. The very first of the Ten Commandments states, (Exodus 20:2-3) “I am the LORD thy God,
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

God strongly warned them against intermarriage with unbelievers (Ex 34:12-17). They promised to be loyal
to the Lord (Josh 24:15).

God’s Disdain

God hated idol worship, including Baal worship. The word Baal means “master, owner”. Baal was “the
chief male god of the Phoenicians and the Canaanites, as Ashtoreth was the chief female goddess.”1 Israelites
even sacrificed their children to Baal (Jer 19:5). “Terrible licentiousness not only was sanctioned, but formed
part of the worship.”2

“Baal was the most popular because he was considered the god of fertility in all aspects of life–human,
animal, and vegetable. Production and prosperity were dependent on Baal. The Ras Shamrah text, an
important archaeological find, praises Baal as the god who has power over rain, wind, clouds, and therefore
over fertility. Baal was also worshipped as the weather god, the god of storm, of rain and good crops.”3 God
made a mockery of Baal by sending a three and a half year drought.

Please see attached pdf for more notes