In the early 2000s, a new bumper sticker started appearing on cars alongside others. The bumper sticker with the word, Coexist written with religious symbols. The story behind the logo is a complicated but interesting one, and you can watch that story here. The original design was a call for people of the three major religious faiths of the world to live together in harmony to make the world a better place for all to live despite our differences of belief. Sean McDowell has written a great article pertaining to the follower of Jesus and how the call to coexist with one another is a biblical command but isn’t a tenet of belief for many of the other worldviews represented in the word art.
The idea to COEXIST is a biblical command! Jesus summarized the entire purpose of human existence in two simple commands in Matthew 5:44; 22:37-39:
1- Love God first! 2- Everybody is to love everybody (from your neighbors to your enemies)!
Yet the subtle but dangerous allure of this message to coexist with one another as portrayed in its popular way today is that in order to coexist in harmony, we simply begin viewing all religions as pointing people to the same God. Bono, the lead singer of U2, makes such a statement during a concert in New York City while wearing a headband with Coexist written on it. The mixing of elements of two or more religions, like Bono does in the video, is called syncretism. The mixing of worship of Yahweh, the God of the Bible, with other faiths that view Him differently than He has revealed Himself in the pages of His Word is dangerous and leads to destruction.
The temptation to accept all religions as valid or to mix elements of different belief systems together in the name of peace and tolerance is nothing new. As we restart our journey through the big story of the Bible, we come to Elijah calling out King Ahab, Israel, and their syncretism. Quickly, let me give some background before focusing on 1 Kings 18. During the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon, we have the time period of the United Monarchy or the United Kingdom. During these three men’s reigns of approximately 40 years apiece, all 12 tribes of Israel were a united nation under one king. After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam ascended to the throne. Unfortunately, his poor leadership led to the nation of Israel splitting apart. The tribes of Benjamin and Judah remained faithful to Rehoboam and became Judah, the Southern Kingdom, with Jerusalem remaining as its capital. The other ten tribes followed Jeroboam and became known as Israel, the Northern Kingdom. Samaria was chosen as Israel’s capital and was eventually used as a synonymous name for the Northern Kingdom.
Once the kingdom of Israel became divided (the time of the two kingdoms is known as the Divided Kingdom or Divided Monarchy), Jeroboam had a problem. What was the issue that bothered the first ruler of the newly established Northern Kingdom? His bothersome plight was that all worship of Yahweh and His festivals were held in Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem was south of Israel’s border. The king didn’t like the idea of his subjects traveling to Jerusalem which was located in the rival kingdom, because he worried about the possibility that those making the pilgrimage might be turned to favor reuniting the two kingdoms into one and choosing to fight against him because of Jerusalem being the appointed place of Yahweh worship. Even if war was to break out and he was to come out victorious, it would indeed have been costly, leaving him and his kingdom vulnerable to other enemy nations (1 Kings 12:26-28).
To rectify the problem, Jeroboam undergoes a building project. He erects two new worship centers at either end of his kingdom. He places one in Dan, in the north, and one in Bethel, located near the southern border of Israel. In each temple, Jeroboam places a golden calf in each and reminiscent of Israel’s rebellion, at the base of Mount Sinai (Exodus 32:1-4), declaring that these were the gods that delivered them from Egypt (1 Kings 12:28). Jeroboam made an image of Yahweh, a violation of commandment numero dos and further led his people astray by developing and instituting his own priesthood to lead and assist the people into worshipping these idols (1 Kings 12:31) ignoring the LORD’s command for His priesthood to be made up of only Levi’s descendants (Exodus 28:1-3). Finally, one of the three major festivals celebrated by God’s people was the Feast of Tabernacles. This was a time of joyous celebration as they praised God for His provision through the harvest and remembered how He had provided for their ancestors during their wilderness journey. Jeroboam continued to mix the elements that the Israelites were accustomed to in the worshipping of Yahweh with his own false religion by instituting a festival that would have been comparable to the LORD’s appointed feast of the Tabernacles. While God had given instructions for the Feast of Tabernacles to be held on the 15th day of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:34, 39, 41), Jeroboam instituted his on the 15th day of the eighth month ( 1Kings 12:32-33).
It seems that most of the Northern Kingdom’s population went along with Jeroboam’s false religion. Why? Perhaps because there were so many things familiar to the worship of Yahweh, such as animal sacrifices, temples to worship in, a priesthood, and a festival that imitated one like that held in Judah that the people recognized the differences, but because of the similarities between Yahweh worship and the worship of the golden calves were so glaring to even the untrained eye, they committed a great sin (1 Kings 12:30).
Jeroboam mixed elements of Mosaic Yahweh worship with his religion surrounding the worship of lifeless idols. As history continued to unfold, the author of 1 Kings chronicles for us, though briefly, the reigns of four kings between Jeroboam’s reign and the reign of King Ahab. While syncretism was introduced by Jeroboam in the Northern Kingdom, it was tolerated and embraced by the kings that followed him, leading God’s people to sin. However, during Ahab’s reign, we see the danger of syncretism. Syncretism always leads to paganism. The mixing of God’s truth with lies will eventually lead to the abandoning of God’s truth for lies. The following passage describes how this unfortunate and dangerous transition took place in ancient Israel.
1 Kings 12:29-33
Ahab son of Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. 31 And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal. 32 First Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. 33 Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him.
Verse 31 tells us that Ahab continued in the ways of Jeroboam, mixing elements of Yahweh worship with idol worship but eventually beginning to worship Baal and Asherah, Canaanite deities. Now, the syncretism of Jeroboam expands to include a pantheon of gods, of which Yahweh is just one of the many, alongside the idols in Dan and Bethel. But, as time went on, syncretism gave way to paganism; the worship of Yahweh was forcibly replaced with the worship of Baal and his girlfriend Asherah. During this time, around 870 B.C., the LORD had raised up a prophet for himself named Elijah. At a time when God’s people wavered in their allegiance between the LORD and Baal, He raised up a man whose very name captured the prophet’s heart for and challenge to his fellow countrymen. Elijah’s name means, “Yahweh is my God.”
Since God is faithful, He will do what He says He will do, even when it pertains to Him disciplining His own people. In Deuteronomy 28, we see God through Moses telling His people that if they obey Him, if they keep their side of the covenant, He will bless them. However, the second half of chapter 28 explains how God will be faithful to discipline His children if they reject Him and forsake His ways. One of the ways He would discipline His nation for its waywardness included drought (28:22). In an effort to draw His people back to Him, God told Elijah that it wouldn’t rain for three years. Near the end of the third year of drought, we see a dramatic event take place that God uses to remind His people that He alone is God and worthy to be worshiped. This event draws them back to Him, at least for a moment, and it all begins when Elijah meets with King Ahab.
The Declaration of Elijah’s Challenge
1 Kings 18:17-21
When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?” 18 “I have made no trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. 19 Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.”20 So Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.
Once face to face with King Ahab, Elijah declares his challenge to Ahab. While Ahab tries to blame Elijah for the drought, Elijah holds back nothing from the truth and reminds Ahab that he and his leadership, along with his family, is the reason for God’s judgment and calls him to call all Israel to Mount Carmel along with the combined 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah. We see Elijah go into enemy territory for God to reveal Himself as the One and Only, as Mount Carmel was associated with the worship of Baal! The location, along with being outnumbered 850 to 1, may have made Baal the favorite over Yahweh to the average attendee and especially to the pagan priests and royal family.
Once everyone was gathered, Elijah asked them when they would stop straddling the fence. They had to choose who they would serve, Yahweh or Baal? There was no middle ground on which they could stand. The same is true for God’s people today. Jesus Himself, we cannot serve two masters for we will love the one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24). May we, like Elijah and Joshua, declare that the LORD is our God and serve only Him (Joshua 24:15) and not like the people that remained silent after Elijah declared his challenge.
The Details of Elijah’s Challenge
1 Kings 18:22-25
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. 23 Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. 24 Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed.
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood.”
Elijah’s description or instructions for the challenge heard by the priests of Baal and the worshippers of Baal would have heightened their expectations for their god defeating Yahweh soundly. After all, Baal was known as the king of gods, the leader of spirits, and the Lord of the clouds. He was the fertility god, both humanly and naturally speaking. His worshippers would pray to him and request that he would send rain, causing fertile soil and an abundance of crops. This warrior of a god was believed to have the power to hurl lightning bolts down from the sky, igniting a fiery inferno where and as he desired. Surely, this supreme god with a history of not minding to battle his co-deities would show out in this challenge that appealed to his ego and strengths. Bulls were to be chosen, slaughtered, laid on their respective altar, and the fire would be started by the true God.
The Description of Elijah’s Challenge
1 Kings 18:26-40
26 So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.
27 About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”
28 So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 29 They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.
Some out of hundreds of Baal’s prophets slaughtered the bull and prepared the altar, and placed the wood in anticipation of Baal hurling a lightning bolt down from the heavens, but all 450 joined in the frenzy that ensued as they tried to get Baal’s attention and persuade him to respond. After three hours of observing this desperate foolishness, Elijah begins mocking them. It was believed that the pantheon of deities that included Baal would participate in human activities, including travel, thinking, sleeping, and yes, even having to answer nature’s call. Seemingly undeterred and more determined, they shouted all the louder and cut themselves in an effort to get their god to hear their cry and answer them, but when 3 PM came, there was still silence and raw cow on the unlit smoker.
30 Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. 31 He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, 32 and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons. 33 He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood.
Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood.”
34 After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said, 35 and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. 37 O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”
38 Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”
40 Then Elijah commanded, “Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one escape!” So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there.
After the prophets of Baal’s failed attempts to light the fire and consume their offering, Elijah calls the people to attention. He repairs the altar of the LORD, perhaps from having been torn down from the forceful acceptance of Baal and Asherah worship by Ahab and his queen, Jezzabeel. The text seems to hint that Mount Carmel was associated with both the worship of Yahweh and Baal since Baal’s prophets placed their chosen bull on their altar, suggesting that it was already built and in use to offer sacrifices to Baal. However, Elijah had to rebuild or repair the altar of the LORD, indicating that there was one already there and that Yahweh had also been worshipped at the top of the mount. If so, there was no home field advantage as far as geographical location goes (except that it was on the earth and the LORD owns all the earth and everything in it, Psalm 24:1-2), both had been worshipped by their adherents there. Elijah used 12 stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel and called those present to recall the LORD’s covenant with their ancestors and to call on them to renew that covenant with their God.
To remove any doubt of what was about to be witnessed and who set the fire upon the designated altar, Elijah ordered for a trench to be dug around the altar and for the bull and wood to be doused with water. As he called, in prayer, on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to set fire to the altar and prove Himself as the One True God, fire flashed down from heaven and consumed everything, including the water that had pooled in the trench! The people who saw it fell face down on the ground and declared Yahweh as their God! Then Elijah gave orders to eliminate all the priests of Baal and Asherah at the bottom of the Mount in the Kishon Valley. Elijah had done everything he possibly could have done in that instance to remove any influence of syncretism and paganism.
Beginning in the 1960’s America began to mix the worship of the God of the Bible with the same gods that Israel lusted after during the time of Elijah. While Baal and Asherah and even Molech (absent from this historical account between Elijah and Baal) are not worshipped by the population at large exactly like the ancients did, the population at large and many believers commit the sin of worshipping the things these false gods stood far and represented. Baal was the god of fertility; therefore, he was also tied with wealth or economic success in agricultural societies. Today, pursuing wealth, possessions, and financial security – while not necessarily wrong in themselves – becomes wrong when they rival or replace our worship of Jesus. Jesus himself said,
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
The false teaching of the prosperity gospel has long plagued the Church of Jesus. So called ministers of the Gospel have become rich while promising those who would listen health and wealth if they would sow a financial seed into their ministry. While taking advantage of the desperate, they have blackened the eye of Christ. By saying that God wants all of His people to prosper and that the key to experiencing these blessings is faith demonstrated by action (often a financial gift), they undermine the Scriptures’ teaching of suffering (John 9:1-3; Romans 8:17), faith (John 5:1-10), how suffering makes us more like Jesus (Philippians 3:10), and how God’s ultimate desire is for us to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
Asherah challenged God’s design for sex, marriage, and gender roles. We can see evidence of the battle of this worldview raging all around us in our culture today. However, the most sobering and saddening aspect of our culture’s wrestling over and redefining of sex, gender, and marriage is that some of Christ’s Church have mixed the worship of Jesus with the acceptance of views going against its Groom’s (Ephesians 5:21-33) and Creator’s (Colossians 1:16-18) very good design (Genesis 1:31). Please do not misunderstand what I am saying. All people are made in the image of God and, therefore, valuable to Him and should be to us. Every person is worthy of respect, love, care, and freedom based on the truth of Genesis 1. That said, they should be free to live how they choose, and we are to love them as Christ’s disciples. However, Christ’s followers are to follow Him; they are to imitate Him in all ways and adhere to His teachings about everything. Everything includes submitting ourselves to His teaching on sexuality, gender, marriage, and His Church. When churches compromise by mixing the views of secular culture with the worship of their Triune God, they, like Jeroboam, lead their people to sin, and if not corrected, this sin, in the end, will lead to death, not life (Romans 6:22-23).
Just like Jeroboam led to Ahab in the Northern Kingdom, syncretism is or has, by some stats, led to a revival of paganism in the States. The following is an excerpt from an article by The Daily Citizen; you can read the whole article here.
The conservative Jewish magazine Commentary is also recognizing the revival with a cover story “The Return of Paganism,” in their May issue. They take a significantly less ceremonious view, lamenting,
Everywhere you turn these days, pagans are afoot, busily hacking away at the Christian and Jewish foundations of American life and replacing them with a cosmology that would have been absolutely coherent to followers of, say, Voltumna, the Etruscan earth god, or to those who worshipped the Celt tribal protector Toutatis.
Commentary continues, “If you think the above paragraph is a little bit overblown, consider the numbers.” They cite data from sociologists of religion explaining that in 1990, only about 8,000 Americans practiced some form of paganism. In 2008, that number shot up to 340,000 Americans practicing some form of naturalistic religion. They concur with National Geographic that the pagan faithful now number 1.5 million, making it one of America’s fastest growing faith practices.
While we can lament about our nation at large, I instead want to challenge us in two ways. The first way I would like to challenge you and me is that we like Daniel would pray for our country (Daniel 9:1-19). Pray for our God placed leadership instead of criticising our nation’s leadership. Pray for revival, for God to revive the hearts of His people and then that this rekindled flame in His peoples’ hearts would spread to the population at large, causing healing within our land (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Secondly, what idols, worldviews, or sinful practices are you unwilling to let go of and turn from? Whether you want to admit it or not, you are practicing syncretism. You are mixing secular culture, false teaching, or sin with your worship of Jesus by not allowing His Word or Spirit to mold you in that area. Again this is dangerous for God’s people, in 722 B.C., the Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria. Why? Because His covenant people abandoned Him and His ways for false gods (1 Kings 17:5-18). It is dangerous for us today as well. False belief about Jesus leads to a false security in Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23; 1 Timothy 4:16; Galatians 1:6-9). Even if we have a genuine belief in Jesus, resulting in a right relationship with Jesus, habitual sin will lead to our Heavenly Father discipling us, for our good and His glory (Hebrews 4:4-12).
I plead with you today. Please lay down, forsake your idols and place your trust in the One True God as revealed in 1 Kings 18. He desires to know you, He loves you, and has shown you how you can know Him. The following video explains God’s love for you and how you can know HIm immediately!
Jesus follower, anyone or anything rivaling Jesus or that is in place of Jesus is the mixing of God’s truth and idol worship. Please experience a new refreshing, cleansing, and intimacy with our Father by laying down those idols and asking for clean hands and a pure heart.
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