Make Up Your Damn Minds
NL209 for November 5, 2023
The Text
Last Time on Tales of Faith
It is a time of unrighteousness, KING AHAB of Israel has led the
people into idolatry at the encouragement of his wife JEZEBEL.
The worship of Ba'al and Asherah has become widespread. The
Man of God, ELIJAH, predicts and interprets a three year drought
as YHWH’s response to that infidelity.
At Elijah’s request, Ahab has called the people of Israel together
at Mount Carmel to once and for all, prove who is the god of
Israel…
Overview of Kings
1 Kings
1:1-53 David on hospice, Solomon named as king
2:1-46 Solomon enacts revenge on David’s political enemies
3:1-4:34 Solomon’s wisdom
5:1-9:25 Solomon builds and dedicates the Temple
9:26-11:13 Solomon’s wealth
11:14-14:31 A kingdom divided
15:1-16:28 A Royal Rogues Gallery
16:29-2 Kings 1:18 King Ahab of Israel and Elijah the Man of God
16:29-34 Ahab son of Omri is crowned king, and not only continues the sins of his father, but also marries Jezebel and worships Ba’al.
17:1-7 Elijah the Tishbite predicts a drought, and is provided for by YHWH
17:8-16 A widow in Zarephath provides for Elijah, and is provided for by YHWH
17:17-24 the widow’s son dies, and Elijah raises him from the dead
-Three years later-
18:1-19 Elijah is sent to Ahab, calls for a showdown at Mt Carmel
18:20-40 Showdown at Mount Carmel
19:41-46 Elijah races Ahab home
19:1-10 Elijah runs from Jezebel and takes a nap
19:11-18 Elijah speaks with God at Mount Horeb, instructed to:
anoint Hazael as king of Aram
anoint Jehu as king of Israel
anoint Elisha as replacement prophet
19:19-21 Elijah ambush anoints Elisha
20:1-12 Ben-hadad king of Aram lays siege to Samaria
20:13-34 Ahab’s victory over Aram
20:35-43 Ahab condemned by another prophet
21:1-16 Ahab covets Naboth’s vineyard, Jezebel has Naboth killed
21:17-29 Elijah pronounces Ahab’s sentence
22:1-12 Judah and Israel’s military campaign against Aram
22:13-28 Micaiah the prophet tries to get Ahab to fight at Ramoth-Gilead
22:29-40 Israel/Judah are defeated at Ramoth-Gilead, Ahab is killed
22:41-50 Jehoshaphat king of Judah’s reign
22:51-53 Ahazaiah becomes king of Israel, and is just as bad as his father
2 Kings
2:1-12 Elijah’s Ascension
2:13-6:23 Elisha the Man of God
6:24-7:20 The Siege of Samaria
8:1-29 Elisha’s continued ministry
9:1-10:36 Jehu’s Coup
11:1-17:4 Kings of Judah and the last Kings of Israel
17:5-41 The Assyrian defeat of Israel
18:1-25:26 Jerusalem’s overall demise, Exile
25:27-30 Postscript: A New Hope
Characters
Ahab (Father’s Brother)
Jezabel (Pure or Virginal)
Elijah (YHWH is my God)
Ba’al (Lord, Husband, Master)
Today’s Story
Idolatry
Obviously a major theme of this story, and much of this section of Scripture, is that of idolatry. So let’s take a look back at the idea of idolatry as mediated to us through the story of Scripture so-far:
The cultural norm of Idols: The cultures out of which the story of Scripture came, and into which it was told, was one where idol worship was the default. Worship of idols made of stone, wood, clay, or mettle, had been a common theme likely from the paleolithic period, and had continued into the ancient near east. Modern biblical scholars suggest the possible use of idol worship of YHWH as late as the exilic period, when cultic practices moved away from idol-centered worship. Despite the post-exilic characterization of idolatry as worshiping the image or idol itself, both ancient and modern evidence suggests that worshipers believe these idols to be representations of greater spiritual beings.
The Hebrew scriptures mediated to us through this post-idol period begin with humanity itself being described using image/idol language. In the creation account of Genesis 1, humanity is created to be/in the image of Elohim. Genesis 2 described YHWH forming the human out of clay, which is similarly evocative of an artisan creating an idol.
The first and second Commandment calls YHWH’s people to have no other gods ‘before my face’ and to not create images/idols. The narrative of Torah then goes on to describe the creation of the Ark over which YHWH’s Mercy Seat would be, and through which worship of YHWH would be conducted. While Moses is receiving this torah, the people construct a golden calf through which to worship the gods who brought them out of Egypt. Aaron directs their worship to YHWH through this self-same idol. Construction of this golden calf is severely punished, and the Ark and Tabernacle are constructed.
Last week we heard about the split between Judah and Israel, and Jeroboam's twin worship sites of Bethel and Dan, where he made golden calves for the worship of YHWH. This is generally seen as a bad move by the Deuteronomistic histories which are pro-Judah/Jerusalem.
Ahab’s reign is marked by the erection of an altar and temple to Ba’al in Samaria, and an Asherah pole. In the Canaanite pantheon, Asharah (Athirat) is the wife/consort of Ba’al.
Ba’al
Ba’al is a prototypical storm deity, with the power over rain, drought, storms, etc. The name Ba’al means lord or master, and for some time in biblical scholarship was taken to be a generic name for various local Canaanite deities. However, more recent evidence suggests that the storm deity Ba’al was worshiped in their own right, and that their story took on local variation. Generally speaking, Ba’al was a 2nd tier deity in the Canaanite pantheon under El, ‘the father of the gods’. In the three episode Ba’al cycle, Ba’al resists and defeats the sea deity Yam and gains kingship. Ba’al then builds a palace and puts a window in it (which allows the gift of rain to fall on the earth). Finally, Ba’al invites the death deity Mot to a feast, which turns into a contest where Ba’al submits and goes to the underworld; later Asherah defeats Mot and Ba’al is declared supreme.
Dan McClellan suggests that Ba’al is one of the divine profiles applied to YHWH in the ancient Hebrews’ worship, which led to direct conflict between worshipers of YHWH and Ba’al (such as the Mt. Carmel battle here).
Understanding Ba’al also puts the context of this story into greater relief. In 1 Kings 16:32, Ahab erects an altar and temple for Ba’al in Samaria (the capital of Israel). A few verses later, Elijah the prophet of YHWH predicts that there will be a drought (17:1). This presents a direct challenge to the assumed authority of the storm deity Ba’al: either YHWH is a more powerful storm deity than Ba’al, or otherwise has authority over Ba’al (the other divine profile that is used for YHWH is that of El, the father of the gods). Either way, the severe and long-standing drought that proceeds is proof of Ba’al’s impotence. When Elijah appears before Ahab, Ahab and his servant Obadaiah are desperately searching the land for grass to feed the livestock. If indeed Ba’al is lord of Samaria, they are not doing a very good job. Elijah requests an assembly of all Israel (likely at least the elders) at Mount Carmel for a contest between Elijah, the prophets of Ba’al, and the prophets of Asherah (who do not appear in the following story).
The test is geared around the profile of ‘storm deity’, as each deity is called on to “answer with fire” (lightning?). Elijah allows the priests of Ba’al to go first, and when they are unable to provide fire from heaven, he taunts them, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” Elijah calls into question not only the power of Ba’al, but their attentiveness to their own priests. Elijah then shows off with drenching the sacrifice and wood with water three times. When YHWH answers with fire, it is beyond the lightning of a storm deity, but fire that consumes the sacrifice, wood, and water. At this overwhelming display of divine power (and after the pitiful display of divine impotence), the gathered people declare that “YHWH is God!”
Limping With Two Different Opinions
Elijah’s opening oration to the people is to demand that they make up their minds once and for all who is the god of Israel. “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If YHWH is god, follow them; but if Ba’al, follow them” (1 Kings 18:21 my own translation based on the NRSV). Up to this point they have been operating under the cultural assumption of their Canaanite neighbors that there are multiple deities who rise and fall in power and popularity. YHWH and Ba’al are just two rival deities within the wider pantheon, some may prefer one over the other while others may worship both to cover their bases. However, Elijah is calling them at least to Monolatry, the belief in one deity above all others, if not monotheism, the belief in one deity alone. He is calling them back to the covenant of their ancestors at Sinai/Hebron to have no other deities before YHWH’s face, and to not participate in idol worship. So he presents a test (another major biblical theme), to prove once and for all, who is God in Israel.
Certainly, this idea of limping between one opinion and another is deeply relevant for our 21st century Western existence. While we do not have a bunch of idols sitting around, there are plenty of other objects of our worship. There are direct rivals to God: money, nationalism, whiteness, victimhood, power, privilege, technology, political party, capitalism, etc. All present alternate deities which can take our attention and worship. All provide a worldview and identity, they tell us who we are and whose we are. All take on various divine profiles and demand our sacrifices.
These various ideologies can even use the name of ‘God’ to assume authority to themselves. Using various divine profiles (including some found in our own scriptures), and mixing with our unexamined biases, we can easily create an image of God who condones our every action. Or, as Ann Lamott devastatingly puts it, “You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” Sometimes we can watch the news, or viral clips, and wonder how in the world people can spew horrific hate (or benevolent and condescending hate) all in the name of ‘God.’ and frankly, some of them might wonder the same thing about us. The fact of the matter is that many of the people in our pews and pulpits are simply worshiping different ‘God’s, and that is a bit scary.
As I suggested above, our scriptures themselves provide a myriad of images of God, from a violent tribal war-deity, to reworked Ba’al poetry, to a God who in their very divine being is love. It can be a challenge to unpack them all, and to acknowledge that some of them may be far more culturally bound than divinely inspired, yet all are in our sacred texts. All of us (as Dan McLellan says) must negotiate with the text. All of us pick and choose the descriptions of God that we incorporate into our understanding of the divine character, all of us hold up some texts and discount others. Some of us are just more honest about it than others.
The post-modern philosophical mindset can provide some positive framing for this multiplicity of images of God. As we see God through other people’s and culture’s perspectives, we can have a more fulsome view of who God is. For instance, the view of God from the multiplicity of Liberation perspectives can provide a helpful corrective of the anglo-centric hetero-nomative colonial perspective that many of us have inherited as the default. The breadth of traditions within Christianity itself can provide a broader perspective as well (for instance, my own Presbyterian tradition is woefully anemic in the realm of ‘Spirit’ as compared to our more Charismatic siblings). History also provides a helpful rubric for interpretation, for instance: if a particular passage has been used in the past to support genocide, colonialism, enslavement, etc, then we had better examine it and our own intentions very carefully.
However, there is a negative side to this multiplicity of images. What do we do when these images of God conflict, or are even mutually exclusive? Generations of people are fleeing from the institutional church because we have been historically ‘limping with two different opinions’ on who God is. They have received conflicting images of a God of love in Jesus Christ, a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast-loving-kindness; and a God of colonial-capitalism, who hates gay people, who calls for the murder of innocents, even his only son, and punishes his creation with eternal conscious torture. This conflicting view of God (or a secret priority of the one, while espousing the other) leads to a cognitive dissonance that either must be accepted, examined and deconstructed, or simply stepped away from. Not all images of God are consistent with each other, and some gods deserve atheists.
Into this post-modern gumbo we mix the philosophical statement of Friedrich Nietzsche, who famously declared through the mouth of the ‘mad man’ that “God is dead, and we have killed him.” While this is often taken to be an atheistic rant of an angry German existentialist, Nietzsche is making the claim that in a post-modern world, we have eliminated the culturally asserted certainty of God (who’s existence cannot be empirically proven or disproven) and must now deal with those consequences. More faith-oriented existentialists like Kierkegard and Tillich suggest that the faith is a decision, in the absence of proof we must take a leap of faith. Or as a present-day existentialists, Aaron Simmons, puts it, “faith is risk plus direction.” At the end of the day, is there risk that our picture of God is incomplete (likely), wrong (possible), or that God does not exist at all (again, possible)? Yes, absolutely. But there is still meaning to be found in the living of this life in hope, of committing ourselves so deeply to the gracious and merciful God that we see in (most of) scripture, and letting that belief change the way that we love one another. You know oh finite being what the infinite asks of you, to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. Can we be certain, no; but certainty was always an illusion, the rope that we thought was saving us from falling off the cliff was actually not tied to anything, and we are invited to dive into the depths of God’s endless love.
We do not get the luxury of clear and undeniable proof for the existence of God. In a world of uncertainty, if we are to be Christians (or disciples of Jesus, or Nones, or faithful seekers, or atheists, or questoners, or however we may think of ourselves) we must do it on purpose, with intent. Make up your minds.
Pop Culture References
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) is the story of several people’s search for proof, not of God, but of the arrival of extraterrestrial life. The main character, Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), has seen alien craft, gone almost crazy seeing Devil’s Tower, and has come there despite several obstacles. His inclinations and drives are answered when a massive spacecraft comes down, and those gathered meet the extraterrestrials who come out of it. Neary is invited to join them, and he does, while Jullian (Melinda Dillon, who came with him in search of her abducted son) does not.
Simerly, in the movie Contact (1997), Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) spends the movie a skeptic, but has an encounter with an intelligent entity in the center of the galaxy. However, while she believes with every fiber of her being she has had this encounter, there is no (little) proof of such an encounter. She is called before a congressional hearing to give an account.
There is a great scene in the original Jurassic Park that illustrates the post-modern struggle. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), the creator of Jurassic Park, is eating ice cream alone. Nedry has already put his plan into place, and the power has been cut to the visitor's center (so the ice cream is melting). His grandchildren are missing in the park, and there is a real possibility that that they are dead. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), the Paliobotonist who was brought in to sign off on the park, joins him; and he begins to talk about his first attraction of a flea circus. The conversation drifts to what will happen next, that next time he will not be overly dependant on automation, that they will have control. “We never had control, that’s the illusion” says Sattler, “the only thing that matters now is the people we love.”
More Links
The Bible Worm Podcast 509; Episode 109 (2019)
Bible Project: Kings (Read the Bible Series)
My Dramatic reading of the Scripture from last cycle (sorry about the audio quality), complete with an altar pasted with signs for the GOP, DNC, Sports teams, Social Media, Celebrities, etc.
On Becoming Podcast, “The Death of God”