Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 1

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Chad Briggs
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Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 1 This is what the LORD God of Israel says: I AM going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hands and give ten tribes

I will do this because Solomon has abandoned Me and worshiped ASTARTE (the goddess of the Sidonians) [ASHTEROTH], CHEMOSH (the god of Moab), and MILCOM (the god of Ammon) [MOLECH, MOLEK].

Ashterah is the demonic name of the false supreme goddess of Canaan and the female counterpart of Baal. Ashterah was also known as "She who walked the sea".

1 Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 1 This is what the LORD God of Israel says: I AM going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hands and give ten tribes to you. Solomon will have one tribe left because of My servant David and Jerusalem, the city I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. I will do this because Solomon has abandoned Me and worshiped ASTARTE (the goddess of the Sidonians) [ASHTEROTH], CHEMOSH (the god of Moab), and MILCOM (the god of Ammon) [MOLECH, MOLEK]. Solomon has not followed My ways. He did not do what I consider right or keep My laws and decrees as his father David did. 1 Kings 11 Asherah Astarte Ishtar Ashteroth WHA t i s i t? Ashterah is the demonic name of the false supreme goddess of Canaan and the female counterpart of Baal. Ashterah was also known as "She who walked the sea". She was often pictured with a lion or ibex on either side of a Canaanite ritual tree, or grove. The earliest traces of her cult are in the Babylonian religions where Ishtar represented the evening and morning stars. She was the only goddess of Assyro-Bab fame that was feared and followed as much as the male gods. In Moab, on the Moabite Stone, Ishtar is listed as being equal with Chemosh. And in southern Arabia she was throught to be more masculine, so they changed her name to Athtar. On the other hand, the sex-crazed cult of the Greek goddess, Aphrodite, was copied from highly sexed Ashteroth worship.

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 2 How was this demon pictured? In Babylonia and Assyria, Ishtar- Ashteroth was the goddess of love and war.

2 Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 2 How was this demon pictured? In Babylonia and Assyria, Ishtar- Ashteroth was the goddess of love and war. The temples of this goddess at Nineveh were dedicated to her mainly as the goddess of war. The Philistines of Canaan elevated her warlike attitude (1 Samuel 31:10). Some ancients also called Ashterah by the name of Naamah, the delightful one. She was worshiped as the mother and creatrix of mankind. Prostitution was practiced in her name, both male and female as well as bestiality. But most often she was the moon-goddess sex-object for Baal. When she and Baal would have sex, the planet would give out riches and power. Herodotus, an ancient historian, wrote that this goddess was also worshipped under the name of Atar-gatis, as a woman with the tail of a fish, and fish were accordingly sacred to her. In this she was the female reflection of a Philistine god, Dagon. In other places in ancient literature, a bird was Ashteroth s sacred symbol. The Egg was a sacred symbol of Astarte, representing fertility, new life and the great powers. The Pomegranate, the "fruit bearing eggs", was part of Ashteroth s rituals. This demon was worshipped by the Phillistines, the Greeks, the Romans, the Sicilians, as well as cults in many parts of Europe and Africa. The immoral worship rites of Astarte in Babylonia transferred to Canaan (Deuteronomy 23:18) and formed part of the cancerous idol worship. In Judges 6, God s judge, Gideon, cut down an Asherah Pole that was next to Baal s altar. The wood was used for a burnt offering. Deuteronomy 16 says the LORD hates Asherim (another name for Asherah Poles). "Do not set up any Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the LORD your God" or as living trees: "You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God which you shall make".

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 3 Asherah poles were not always living trees as seen shown in 1 Kings 14:23: "their asherim, in addition to every

King Josiah's reforms in the late 7th century BC included the destruction of many Asherah poles (2 Kings 23).

The gods claimed unique powers only in certain places. (Judges 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:4; 12:10, etc.). The number of places (groves and high-places) indicated not only popularity but power-centers.

3 Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 3 Asherah poles were not always living trees as seen shown in 1 Kings 14:23: "their asherim, in addition to every luxuriant tree". Wicked King Manasseh placed an Asherah Pole in the Holy Temple (2 Kings 21:7). King Josiah's reforms in the late 7th century BC included the destruction of many Asherah poles (2 Kings 23). Exodus 34:13 states: "Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles There were as many Ashtoreths or Ashtaroth as there were Baals. The gods claimed unique powers only in certain places. (Judges 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:4; 12:10, etc.). The number of places (groves and high-places) indicated not only popularity but power-centers. Power was also symbolized by the horns of an animal like a bull or cow. So deadly was this hellish teaching that the living Lord God commanded the Israelites to surgically cut it out of the culture. They did not. The result is that they and their children s children were devastated by their own disobedience to the LORD. Chemosh What is it? This demon was worshiped by the name Chemosh. Chemosh most likely means "destroyer," "subduer," or "fish god." While this god is most readily associated with the Moabites, according to Judges 11:24 it seems to have been the national deity of the Ammonites as well. In 2 Kings 3:27 we find that human sacrifice was part of the rites of Chemosh. This was the same sort of god worshiped by the Aztecs. This gruesome practice of sacrificing human life to make a better life for the living was commonplace in the various Canaanite cults. This death-culture included the Baals and Moloch, Thammuz, and Baal-zebub. These were gods all connected with worship of the sun. And like the sun, they claimed to be fierce, inescapable, with consuming powers. So be afraid.

Kings 11 Molek, Molech, or Milcom was the national god of the Ammonites, he is known as "Milcom" (1 Kings 11:5, 7), or "Malkam" or "Malcan" (2 Samuel 12:30, 31; Jeremiah 49:1, 3; Zechariah 1:5.

4 Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 4 Molech Milcom Molek What is it? I, the LORD, will set My face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech from the Bible, Leviticus 20; 1 Kings 11 Molek, Molech, or Milcom was the national god of the Ammonites, he is known as "Milcom" (1 Kings 11:5, 7), or "Malkam" or "Malcan" (2 Samuel 12:30, 31; Jeremiah 49:1, 3; Zechariah 1:5.) When I was growing up, I always thought that the LORD was modern and the gods and goddesses of Canaan were just ancient wimpy things people worshipped. But the demons behind these false gods were deceitful and powerfully hurt people. This false worship destroyed whole generations. The Hebrew word for Molech or Molak is MLK. These are also the letters for MELEK a word meaning king. But the Hebrew scribes who pronounced this word used the vowels associated with a word that means shame, degradation. Greek and Latin sources write of the horror of offering of children by fire as sacrifices in the Punic city of Carthage, a Phoenician colony. Cleitarchus, Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch all mention burning of children as an offering Ba al Hammon, also known as Molek. Plato wrote these words to describe how Molech (also called Kronos) was worshiped: There stands in their midst a bronze statue of Kronos, its hands extended over a bronze brazier, the flames of which engulf the child. When the flames fall upon the body, the limbs contract and the open mouth seems almost to be laughing until the contracted body slips quietly into the brazier. The meaning of 'sardonic smile' refers to the 'smile' worn by those infants sacrificed by the Molek-worshipping people of Sardinia. The children s cries and grimaces of pain were said by the priests to be happy grins.

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 5 There was in their city a bronze Moloch image extending its hands, palms up and sloping toward the ground, so that

cries of wailing should not reach the ears of the people. Diodorus writes that mothers and families were forbidden to weep.

5 Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 5 There was in their city a bronze Moloch image extending its hands, palms up and sloping toward the ground, so that each of the children when placed thereon rolled down and fell into a sort of gaping pit filled with fire the whole area before the statue was filled with a loud noise of flutes and drums so that the cries of wailing should not reach the ears of the people. Diodorus writes that mothers and families were forbidden to weep. Once, when Carthage had been defeated in a war, the remaining Molak-worshiping nobles believed they had displeased the gods by substituting low-born children for their own children. To make amends, they sacrificed 200 children of the best families at once. History records that in godless enthusiasm they actually sacrificed 300 children. 2 What makes for wise counsel from others? 3 What kind of advice are we to provide for each other? Explain. Proverbs 13:20 says, Those who walk with the wise grow wise. But a companion of fools suffers harm. 1 Rehoboam sought counsel to make an important decision (p. 194 of THE STORY) and so did Jeroboam (p. 196 of THE STORY). What standards did each seem to use in calculating the counsel of others?

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 6 4 Jeroboam counterfeited worship by turning Israel s attention away from the temple in Judah.

6 What do you feel happened that enabled the people to choose Plan B (the idol of a golden calf) once again over the LORD? 7.

Reflecting on the People of God, both over 2,000 years ago and today, what way(s) can we keep history from repeating its ungodly self? Explain. 10 The Word of the Lord found King Asa.

6 Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 6 4 Jeroboam counterfeited worship by turning Israel s attention away from the temple in Judah. He mixed the lie of false gods together with the truth of the LORD God. What did he gain from this? 5 What is the danger of counterfeit worship? 6 What do you feel happened that enabled the people to choose Plan B (the idol of a golden calf) once again over the LORD? 7. Is there an overall pattern or theme that calls attention for us to reflect on? Explain. 8. Is there a standard that emerges from this section that defines a good king? 9. Reflecting on the People of God, both over 2,000 years ago and today, what way(s) can we keep history from repeating its ungodly self? Explain. 10 The Word of the Lord found King Asa. The result is that King Asa stood out among his peers as godly and wise. With such a leader, God s people were blessed for over 40 years. What practical ways will do this for me? In other words, how can I keep and increase my focus on Jesus and His Words? 11 The first commandment protects the pre-eminence of the LORD God. You shall have no other gods. Dr. Luther s explanation is clear and to the point: We should fear, love and trust in God above all things. How does my stewardship of the time God gives me reflect my values? 12 The BOAM BROS took their own way over-against God s. They ignored and socialized their rebellion. Jerry and Rebby hurt themselves and harmed thousands of others for hundreds of years. We easily see the effects of sin in this section. Where is God s grace in this history of the Kingdom Torn in Two? Personal homework:

3/7/11. 1Kings 11. Now all of a sudden we read that Solomon has apostasized from God by worshipping the gods of his foreign wives.

3/7/11. 1Kings 11. Now all of a sudden we read that Solomon has apostasized from God by worshipping the gods of his foreign wives. 1 2 3/7/11 1Kings 11 The last record of Solomon was that he was being sought by all to hear the wisdom God had given him, he was amassing incredible wealth and he had a very successful import business