Perhaps the greatest destructive problem in Israel was King Ahab’s intense proliferation of Baal worship. We must grasp the gravity of this problem to understand the issues facing the subsequent kings of Judah. This form of pagan ritual was worse than Jeroboam’s compromising idolatry and opened the door even wider to the demonic. It’s easy, however, even for Christians today, to write off such idolatry as superstitious and below us westerners in this “enlightened” generation. But nothing could be further from the truth. Though different than Baal, the gods of this age are still highly prevalent and consume our affections, compromising our singular devotion to Jesus. But how do we recognize them and successfully destroy them, reclaiming our complete allegiance to Christ?
