In yesterday’s post we established two things.
FIRST, we established that the word EL from the commonly used term ELOHIM was NOT a Hebrew word but a Canaanite loan word the Hebrews borrowed.
SECOND, we established that amongst the pantheon of heathen deities flourishing in the land of Canaan, the four main ones were EL, ASHERAH, BA’AL and ASTARTE.
So let me ask you this question.
Do you find it disturbing that when the ancient Israelites used the word EL, in their minds they were really picturing the Canaanite God EL?
The same thing goes for the writers of Holy Scripture as well.
Well, this shouldn’t surprise you.
Why?
Because Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were much more connected to the culture of Mesopotamia located at the further side of the Euphrates River (to the north) than they were with the customs and culture of the lands in the south.
Here’s one important Biblical fact we need to implant in our brains.
Mesopotamia was the home of the Mystery Babylon god system.
And it was this Mystery Babylon god system that was the foundation of…or maybe it’s more accurate to say, it GAVE BIRTH TO the Canaanite God system.
The Canaanite God system and Mystery Babylon God system were pretty much one and the same.
The names of their gods and goddesses were also pretty much identical with only slight variances in language and pronunciation.
Recall when Abraham first set foot inside the land of Canaan.
He stopped at Shechem to build a simple altar to make a sacrifice.
And it was there the Lord appeared to him and made a promise that his descendants would inherit the very land he was now standing on.
The important thing to keep in mind here is that God had to physically REMOVE Abraham from his family and his homeland and place him in an entirely new location.
Why was this radical separation from everything Abraham had ever known in his life up until then necessary?
The answer is simple.
It’s because Abraham was raised in a culture steeped in the worship of EL, ASHERAH, BA’AL and ASTARTE.
Heck, even his own father Terach carved and sold figurines of the local gods and goddesses to keep food on the table for the family.
Biblical scholarship (whether of Christian or Jewish origin) is unanimous on this point.
While Abraham may not have been so enthusiastic for his family’s dedication to these pagan gods, the truth is these were the only gods he knew.
So any way you look at it, Abraham was a bonafide pagan!
That is until God called him and commanded him to separate himself from his former life and walk a new path.
And isn’t that what God has done with each of us individually?
We were all firmly entrenched in the ungodly ways of this world until we were called out of it and born again.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Therefore, remember that formerly you
who are Gentiles by birth and
called “uncircumcised” by those
who call themselves “the circumcision”
(which is done in the body by human hands)—
remember that at that time
you were separate from Messiah,
excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners
to the covenants of the promise,
without hope and without God in the world.
But now in Messiah Yeshua
you who once were far away
have been brought near
by the blood of Messiah.”
-Ephesians 2:11-13
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