Baal’s worshippers believe that Baal controls and governs nature and climate. They thought he would go to sleep during winter, shutting down everything. Should he oversleep, springtime and harvest would be delayed. To arouse him from his sleep and bring about springtime and harvest, a symbol of fertility, his followers would engage prostitutes and have sexual escapades before him in his temple.
Yet, for Israel, God has been the source of everything, from her necessity to her luxury. In her wild affair and harlotry, Israel had become oblivious that God was the source of all her blessings. She had ungratefully attributed the source of everything she was privileged to enjoy to Baal, her lover.
God sent Assyria to curtail their freedom. But besides
curtailing her freedom, God would be taking away all of Israel’s blessings and
would remove her prosperity. Verse 10 said that God would strip her and expose
her shameful nakedness. And all her national feasts and celebrations that
would bring joy would be brought to an end. Verse 11 makes this explicit.
In verse 12, God said He would remove the vine and fig trees and give them
thickets instead. The judgment would surely come upon Israel, even as she
plays the harlot with Baal.
These verses serve as a
powerful reminder, cautioning us against turning away from God, the ultimate
source of all our blessings. God, the benevolent giver of all our blessings, is
there to enrich our lives. We should not attribute these blessings to other
sources or our resourcefulness. These verses sternly warn us about the dangers
of replacing God with materialism, pleasure, or other idols. They prompt us to
reflect on where we place our trust and seek fulfillment. As we do, we will be
led to fortify our relationship with God, the supreme source of all blessings
and prosperity.
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