In our age we tend to overcomplicate a lot of things. One thing we should not overcomplicate is the worship of demonic gods. It is simply primal. The Bible tells us that the Almighty, Most High, Eternal, Living God is our Heavenly Father. He gave his only Son to rescue humankind, and as a sacrifice offering, the sinless blood of Jesus, the Anointed Messiah, redeems all humans and gives us eternal life if humans so choose Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus both engage in personal relationship with the children of the Most High God. Sometimes the Bible can seem confusing to the average reader because of words like Elohim. Elohim is plural, meaning “three or more” in Hebrew, and there are many beings who are called Elohim. The Heavenly Father is Elohim, Yahweh is Elohim, the devil is an elohim, the satan is an elohim, angels are elohim, and humans are elohim. If you notice I am differentiating elohim via capitalizations, because elohim is a title, not a name. God is a title like president or king. Yet, I am a child of the Most High God, Elohim, and I choose to represent the Creator as The Elohim; as compared to angels, the devil, the satan, and men. With that in mind, as we study Astarte/Ishtar/Ashtaroth, I will refer to this elohim as a false god, to differentiate lower classed beings from the Supreme Elohim. This is where we want to start to understand the nature of worship of the religions of the giants, as compared to the children of Jacob. Worshipping a lesser deity seems irrational. Worshipping a deity who is not eternal, who makes one perform ritual service, who cannot provide humans with eternal life, but instead assures humans eternal death, seems very illogical, unless of course one’s ancient ancestors are the ones being worshipped. Yet, why would one still want to worship a lesser god?
This week in the news, Mahmoud Abbas made a funny statement. He claims the ancestry of Palestinians are the descendants of the Canaanites. What Mr. Abbas fails to recognize in his proclamation is that Israel was Semite land, divided via lot by Noah. The ancient texts tell us Canaan had no right to this land, and that they were to be wiped out as per the curse of Noah. They were almost entirely wiped out. Mr. Abbas should understand the Canaanites, the Philistines, and all those who had to be driven out of the land were squatters according to history. It should be noted that I’m not implying that they should be wiped out in our day and time, but I am noting that he’s making an uneducated claim.
“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has wildly claimed that Palestinians are indigenous to the land of Israel and are the “Canaanites who were here 5,000 years ago””
Jubilees tells us this.
Jubilees10:28. And Ham and his sons went into the land which he was to occupy, which he acquired as his portion in the land of the south. 29. And Canaan saw the land of Lebanon to the river of Egypt that it was very good, and he went not into the land of his inheritance to the west (that is to) the sea, and he dwelt in the land of Lebanon, eastward and westward from the border of Jordan and from the border of the sea. 30. And Ham, his father, and Cush and Mizraim, his brothers, said unto him: "Thou hast settled in a land which is not thine, and which did not fall to us by lot: do not do so; for if thou dost do so, thou and thy sons will fall in the land and (be) accursed through sedition; for by sedition ye have settled, and by sedition will thy children fall, and thou shalt be rooted out for ever. 31. Dwell not in the dwelling of Shem; for to Shem and to his sons did it come by their lot. 32. Cursed art thou, and cursed shalt thou be beyond all the sons of Noah, by the curse by which we bound ourselves by an oath in the presence of the holy judge, and in the presence of Noah our father." 33. But he did not hearken unto them, and dwelt in the land of Lebanon from Hamath to the entering of Egypt, he and his sons until this day. 34. And for this reason that land is named Canaan. http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/jub/jub26.htm
This is why Abraham told his sons from Keturah and Hagar to move south and east, dividing his inheritance to them before his death. Jacob and his sons were living in Canaan until the famine, then they went into Egypt; but they were promised the land in Genesis 17. Therefore the descendants of Shem have a right to that very small portion of land. The battle they are in now is the same battle they were in five thousand years ago. But the battle is not simply about real estate, it is also about the worship of demon gods or the worship of the Almighty, Most High, Eternal, Living God.
As we know from tracking languages, there can be many different spellings for one and the same thing. Some of this is due in part to the Hebrew not having vowels, and some is due in part to variations in languages. When we read several Bible versions we see the different ways one thing might be spelled or spoken of. This is our dilemma with Astarte, or Ashtoreth, or Ashtaroth, or Astartion, also called “groves”. This is the same goddess Ishtar. Astarte/Ashtoreth/etc was one of the “gods” of the Canaanites, Philistines, and other people groups in the region. As we have been studying the mixing of the heirs of the fallen angels with the Israelites, we recognize one of the problems Israel had was worshipping the Canaanite/Philistine gods. Let’s read what happened to Saul and what the Philistines did.
1 Samuel 31:10 (AMP)
10 And they put Saul's armor in the house of the Ashtaroth [the idols representing the female deities Ashtoreth and Asherah], and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
1 Samuel 31:9 And they treated him scornfully, and stripped off his armour, and sent it to the land of the Philistines, proclaiming the good news all around to their idols, and to the people. 10 And they hung up his arms in the temple of Astarte, and fixed, up his body on the wall of Baithsam. https://studybible.info/Thomson/1%20Samuel%2031
1 Samuel 31:9 And they turned him, and stripped off his armor, and sent it into the land of the Philistines, sending round glad tidings to their idols and to the people. 10 And they set up his armor at the temple of Ashtoreth, and they fastened his body on the wall of Beth Shan. https://studybible.info/CAB/1%20Samuel%2031
They took his armor to the temple of Astarte/Ashtoreth. This was a victory offering to their goddess. At this time Israel did not have a temple, a permanent place of worship. They had a tabernacle, a mobile tent of worship. Notice the different ways the same deity is mentioned.
1 Sauel 31:9 G2532 And G607 they behead him, G1473 G2532 and G1553.1 they strip him G1473 G3588 G4632 of his weapons, G1473 G2532 and G649 they send G1519 into G1093 the land G246 of the Philistines G2945 round about, G2097 announcing good news G3588 to G1497 their idols, G1473 G2532 and G3588 to G2992 their people. G1473
10 G2532 And G394 they presented G3588 G4632 his weapons G1473 G1519 in G3588 the G* Astartion. G2532 And G3588 G4983 his body G1473 G2665.2 they fastened down G1722 on G3588 the G5038 wall G* in Beth-shan.
1 Samuel 31:9 H3772 ויכרתו And they cut off H853 את H7218 ראשׁו his head, H6584 ויפשׁיטו and stripped off H853 את H3627 כליו his armor, H7971 וישׁלחו and sent H776 בארץ into the land H6430 פלשׁתים of the Philistines H5439 סביב round about, H1319 לבשׂר to publish H1004 בית the house H6091 עצביהם of their idols, H853 ואת H5971 העם׃ the people.
10 H7760 וישׂמו And they put H853 את H3627 כליו his armor H1004 בית in the house H6252 עשׁתרות of Ashtaroth: H853 ואת H1472 גויתו his body H8628 תקעו and they fastened H2346 בחומת to the wall H1052 בית שׁן׃ of Beth-shan.
H6252 עשׁתּרת עשׁתּרות
‛ashtârôth ‛ashtârôth ash-taw-roth', ash-taw-roth' Plural of H6251; Ashtaroth, the name of a Sidonian deity, and of a place East of the Jordan
Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions
עשׁתּרת עשׁתּרות
Ashtaroth or Astaroth = "star" n pr f deity
1. false goddesses in the Canaanite religion, usually related to fertility cult n pr loc
2. a city in Bashan east of the Jordan given to Manasseh
a. same as 06255
Origin: pl. of H6251
TWOT: 1718b
Parts of Speech:
TBESH:
עַשְׁתָּרוֹת
ash.ta.rot
N:N-F-T / N:N--L
Ashtaroth Ashtaroth or Astaroth = "star"
n pr f deity
1) false goddesses in the Canaanite religion, usually related to fertility cult
n pr loc
2) a city in Bashan east of the Jordan given to Manasseh
2a) same as H06255
If we remember our past study, Chedorlaomer put several cities under his authority and taxed them, but in the thirteenth year they revolted and went to war. Chedorlaomer and the four kings killed the giants, the Rephaim, in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim and the Emims.
Genesus 14:5 H702 ובארבע H6240 עשׂרה H8141 שׁנה year H935 בא came H3540 כדרלעמר Chedorlaomer, H4428 והמלכים and the kings H834 אשׁר that H854 אתו with H5221 ויכו him, and smote H853 את H7497 רפאים the Rephaims H6255 בעשׁתרת קרנים in Ashteroth Karnaim, H853 ואת H2104 הזוזים and the Zuzims H1990 בהם in Ham, H853 ואת H368 האימים and the Emims H7741 בשׁוה קריתים׃ in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
There was a city called Ashteroth Karnaim. They had a permanent structure to worship their fallen spiritual beings. This is another reason those who worship false deities want this land, because this was the place of the first temple of Astarte.
Why did the giants worship false gods? What was their purpose in calling on demonic principalities and powers? Understanding their own ancestral heritage, we recognize that the giants were utilizing the devil’s authority on this earth to their advantage or so they believed. Enoch scolded the imprisoned Grigori, telling them to worship the true God otherwise their fate might end up being worse. There were worshippers of Yahweh among the Jebusites and the Gibeonites. But the majority of giants worshipped fallen angelic spirits. Gaining the advantage in battles, in fertility, and in wealth, the giants chose to forsake Yahweh in the same way their forefathers did. Instant gratification in this life versus eternal life after this life. Our goal is to make disciples as Shem and Abraham did.
When we read some definitions of Astarte/Ashteroth we find the definitions are as varied as the spellings.
Ashteroth Karnaim
Ashteroth of the two horns, the abode of the Rephaim (Gen 14:5). It may be identified with Ashtaroth preceding; called "Karnaim", i.e., the "two-horned" (the crescent moon). The Samaritan version renders the word by "Sunamein," the present es-Sunamein, 28 miles south of Damascus.
Illustrated Bible Dictionary: And Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature.
The moon goddess of the Phoenicians, representing the passive principle in nature, their principal female deity; frequently associated with the name of Baal, the sun-god, their chief male deity (Jdg 10:6; 1Sa 7:4; 1Sa 12:10). These names often occur in the plural (Ashtaroth, Baalim), probably as indicating either different statues or different modifications of the deities. This deity is spoken of as Ashtoreth of the Zidonians. She was the Ishtar of the Accadians and the Astarte of the Greeks (Jer 44:17; 1Ki 11:5, 33; 2Ki 23:13). There was a temple of this goddess among the Philistines in the time of Saul (1Sa 31:10). Under the name of Ishtar, she was one of the great deities of the Assyrians. The Phoenicians called her Astarte. Solomon introduced the worship of this idol (1Ki 11:33). Jezebel's 400 priests were probably employed in its service (1Ki 18:19). It was called the "queen of heaven" (Jer 44:25).
Assyrian Ishtar
Illustrated Bible Dictionary: And Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature.
Ashtoreth Ash'toreth (a star) the principal female divinity of the Phœnicians, called Ishtar by the Assyrians and Astarte by the Greeks and Romans. She was by some ancient writers identified with the moon. But on the other hand the Assyrian Ishtar was not the moon-goddess, but the planet Venus; and Astarte was by many identified with the goddess Venus (or Aphrodite), as well as with the plant of that name. It is certain that the worship of Astarte became identified with that of Venus, and that this worship was connected with the most impure rites is apparent from the close connection of this goddess with ASHERAH. 1 Kin 11:5, 33; 2 Kin 23:13
Smith's Bible Dictionary: Comprising Antiquities, Biography, Geography, Natural History, Archaeology and Literature.
Asherah Ash'erah (straight), the name of a Phœnician goddess, or rather of the idol itself (Authorized Version "grove"). Asherah is closely connected with ASHTORETH and her worship, Judg 3:7 comp. Judg 2:3; 6:25; 1 Kin 18:19 Ashtoreth being, perhaps, the proper name of the goddess, whilst Asherah is the name of her image or symbol, which was of wood. See Judg 6:25-30; 2 Kin 23:14
Smith's Bible Dictionary: Comprising Antiquities, Biography, Geography, Natural History, Archaeology and Literature.
Asherah And pl. Asherim in Revised Version, instead of "grove" and "groves" of the Authorized Version. This was the name of a sensual Canaanitish goddess Astarte, the feminine of the Assyrian Ishtar. Its symbol was the stem of a tree deprived of its boughs, and rudely shaped into an image, and planted in the ground. Such religious symbols ("groves") are frequently alluded to in Scripture (Ex 34:13; Jdg 6:25; 2Ki 23:6; 1Ki 16:33). These images were also sometimes made of silver or of carved stone ((2Ki 21:7); "the graven image of Asherah," R.V.). (See GROVE.).
Illustrated Bible Dictionary: And Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature.
Let’s note here that there are still people worshipping Ashteroth. The horns upon the head of the deity represent the crescent moon. I will have a more recent picture posted at the end of this study that coincidentally looks like a description from a book written in the 1860’s. It will become clear that this is a spiritual battle. There isn’t anything new under the sun. Here is Moses’ declaration to the Israelites.
Exodus 34:11-14 (AMP)
11 Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I drive out before you the Amorite, Canaanite, Hittite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite.
12 Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant or mutual agreement with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in the midst of you.
13 But you shall destroy their altars, dash in pieces their pillars (obelisks, images), and cut down their Asherim [symbols of the goddess Asherah];
14 For you shall worship no other god; for the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous (impassioned) God,
Not only were the Israelites to drive out the inhabitants, they were to destroy their altars, pillars, and Asherim. We know they did some of this, but not completely. When we see the word groves it is the same thing as Asherim/Astarte/Astharoth. What was the mission? Drive out the inhabitants and destroy the false gods. Why? Because Israel was a chosen people due to their forefathers who worshipped Yahweh. Let’s look at the definitions for groves.
Grove
(1.) Heb. ʾasherah, properly a wooden image, or a pillar representing Ashtoreth, a sensual Canaanitish goddess, probably usually set up in a grove (2Ki 21:7; 2Ki 23:4). In the Revised Version the word "Asherah" (q.v.) is introduced as a proper noun, the name of the wooden symbol of a goddess, with the plurals Asherim (Ex 34:13) and Asheroth (Jdg 3:13).
The LXX. have rendered asherah in 2Ch 15:16 by "Astarte." The Vulgate has done this also in Jdg 3:7.
(2.) Heb. ʾeshel (Gen 21:33). In 1Sa 22:6 and 1Sa 31:13 the Authorized Version renders this word by "tree." In all these passages the Revised Version renders by "tamarisk tree." It has been identified with the Tamariscus orientalis, five species of which are found in Palestine.
(3.) The Heb. word ʾelon, uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "plain," properly signifies a grove or plantation. In the Revised Version it is rendered, pl., "oaks" (Gen 13:18; Gen 14:13; Gen 18:1; Gen 12:6; Deut 11:30; Jos 19:33). In the earliest times groves are mentioned in connection with religious worship. The heathen consecrated groves to particular gods, and for this reason they were forbidden to the Jews (Jer 17:3; Ezek 20:28).
Illustrated Bible Dictionary: And Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature.
Grove
1. A word used in the Authorized Version, with two exceptions, to translate the mysterious Hebrew term Asherah, which is not a grove, but probably an idol or image of some kind. [ASHERAH] It is also probable that there was a connection between this symbol or image, whatever it was, and the sacred symbolic tree, the representation of which occurs so frequently on Assyrian sculptures.
2. The two exceptions noticed above are Gene 21:33 and 1 Sam 22:6 (margin). In the religions of the ancient heathen world groves play a prominent part. In the old times altars only were erected to the gods. It was thought wrong to shut up the gods within walls, and hence trees were the first temples; and from the earliest times groves are mentioned in connection with religious worship. Gene 12:6, 7; Deut. 11:30 Authorized Version "plain." the groves were generally found connected with temples, and often had the right of affording an asylum.
Smith's Bible Dictionary: Comprising Antiquities, Biography, Geography, Natural History, Archaeology and Literature.
Moses tells them again, drive out the people and destroy their gods.
Deuteronomy 7:1-10 (AMP)
1 WHEN THE Lord your God brings you into the land which you are entering to possess and has plucked away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you,
2 And when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you smite them, then you must utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them, or show mercy to them.
3 You shall not make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son nor shall you take his daughter for your son,
4 For they will turn away your sons from following Me, that they may serve other gods; so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you and He will destroy you quickly.
5 But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and hew down their Asherim [symbols of the goddess Asherah] and burn their graven images with fire.
6 For you are a holy and set-apart people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a special people to Himself out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
7 The Lord did not set His love upon you and choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the fewest of all people.
8 But because the Lord loves you and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know, recognize, and understand therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, Who keeps covenant and steadfast love and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations,
10 And repays those who hate Him to their face, by destroying them; He will not be slack to him who hates Him, but will requite him to his face.
Yahweh wants to keep the oath he made with the fathers of the children of Jacob. Israel was to teach the rest of the inhabitable world about Yahweh like Shem, Abraham, and Jacob did. They were a small nation, smaller than the enemy nations. This is one reason the giants worshipped goddesses of fertility, to grow their nation. As we have studied in the Hebrew culture, fertility was at a peak on a full moon, then by the new moon women would know if they were pregnant. Livestock were also on this same cycle. Jacob understood this principal and prospered.
Deuteronomy 12:3 (AMP)
3 You shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire; you shall hew down the graven images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place.
They were to burn the forest.
Deuteronomy 12:3 And ye shall destroy their altars, and break in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their groves, and ye shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods, and ye shall abolish their name out of that place. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Deuteronomy/index.htm
Moses also tells them not to plant trees dedicated to Asherah.
Deuteronomy 16:21 (AMP)
21 You shall not plant for yourselves any kind of tree dedicated to [the goddess] Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God which you shall make.
It seems rather clear but after a while the people did not listen to Moses’ instructions.
Judges 2:11-13 (AMP)
11 And the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals.
12 And they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, Who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods of the peoples round about them and bowed down to them, and provoked the Lord to anger.
13 And they forsook the Lord and served Baal [the god worshiped by the Canaanites] and the Ashtaroth [female deities such as Ashtoreth and Asherah].
We have to realize that the surrounding inhabitants were seeing results from worshipping false deities. This is one of the reasons Israel followed after the gods of the giants. Israel wanted a god-like gum-ball machine. They wanted to put in their penny and get something in return. But that is not how a relationship works. Yahweh is a personal God, walking and talking with Abraham as a friend. However, it is how a demonic entity will work at first. It is simply bait to get one hooked. And there is no personal relationship with a false deity.
Judges 3:7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Judges/index.htm
This seems so primitive. It is primitive. They didn’t have a very full understanding of Yahweh. How could they? Even their forefathers, the fallen angels, the Nephilim who were watchers, didn’t know many of the secrets and mysteries of the Almighty Eternal Father.
The news of supernatural favors would have been spread at the towns’ wells, or in the fields. As word spread regarding the statues or groves that the other people worshipped and the benefits received, others would have been interested in trying it out. After all Moses and Joshua were long dead, and they needed some better crops, water, or more plentiful herds. Enter Gideon.
Judges 6:25-30 (AMP)
25 That night the Lord said to Gideon, Take your father's bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has and cut down the Asherah [symbol of the goddess Asherah] that is beside it;
26 And build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this stronghold with stones laid in proper order. Then take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him, but because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the Asherah was cut down that was beside it, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built.
29 And they said to one another, Who has done this thing? And when they searched and asked, they were told, Gideon son of Joash has done this thing.
30 Then the men of the city commanded Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.
Joash challenges the men of the city by saying if Baal is really a god let him fight for himself. He then called Gideon Jerubbaal, meaning “let Baal plead against him”. Now every time Gideon did something the men of the city knew that Baal was a fake god. Samuel had an easier time telling the people to put away the strange gods.
1 Samuel/1Kings7:3 And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do with all your heart return to the Lord, take away the strange gods from the midst of you, and the groves, and prepare your hearts to serve the Lord, and serve him only; and he shall deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. 4 And the children of Israel took away Baalim and the groves of Astaroth, and served the Lord only. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Kings%20I/index.htm
We are starting to see a pattern emerging. Every time the people followed after false gods they would go into captivity. Now finally Samuel was able to help straighten the people out. When David takes over kingship of Israel, he will allow the Lord to battle for them and ask the Lord what the army is supposed to do.
2 Samuel/2Kings 5:22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and assembled in the valley of Giants. 23 And David enquired of the Lord: and the Lord said, Thou shalt not go up to meet them: turn from them, and thou shalt meet them near the place of weeping. 24 And it shall come to pass when thou hearest the sound of a clashing together from the grove of weeping, then thou shalt go down to them, for then the Lord shall go forth before thee to make havoc in the battle with the Philistines. 25 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and smote the Philistines from Gabaon as far as the land of Gazera.
There was a grove of weeping in the valley of the giants. What was the sound of clashing together from the grove? Whatever the sound was that Yahweh produced, it scared the Philistines and caused them to lose this battle. This tells us that the false deities didn’t make noise in the groves. Israel finally was in a place where they were relying on Yahweh. David was a warrior who subdued many giants so that Israel could have a time of peace to build the temple. David asked Yahweh what do do before going into battle. Solomon kept the peace by marrying many wives from surrounding kingdoms, thereby keeping other nations from attacking Israel. But now Solomon is going to do something stupid.
1 Kings 11:4-5 (AMP)
4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect (complete and whole) with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abominable idol of the Ammonites!
Solomon’s heart turned away from Yahweh. Now after his death the kingdom was split in two, a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom. Remember we are still following Astarte/Ashtaroth and the groves. From the time of Samuel through the time of David and up to the completion of the temple Israel was not worshipping false gods.
3 Kings 11:29 And it came to pass at that time, that Jeroboam went forth from Jerusalem, and Achia the Selonite the prophet found him in the way, and caused him to turn aside out of the way: and Achia was clad with a new garment, and they two were alone in the field. 30 And Achia laid hold of his new garment that was upon him, and tore it into twelve pieces: 31 and he said to Jeroboam, Take to thyself ten pieces, for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give thee ten tribes. 32 Yet he shall have two tribes, for my servant David’s sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 Because he forsook me, and sacrificed to Astarte the abomination of the Sidonians, and to Chamos, and to the idols of Moab, and to their king the abomination of the children of Ammon, and he walked not in my ways, to do that which was right before me, as David his father did. 34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, (for I will certainly resist him all the days of his life,) for David my servant’s sake, whom I have chosen. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of the hand of his son, and give thee ten tribes. 36 But to his son I will give the two remaining tribes, that my servant David may have an establishment continually before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Kings%20III/index.htm
Jeroboam becomes king over the ten tribes (Israel) because of the sacrifices in Judah to Astarte. Judah will make this situation even worse because at this time they added idols, booths for male and female prostitutes, worshipping of the stars and constellations, and passing their children through the fires of Moloch, into the temple. Really from the time that Solomon finished the temple, to the time of his death was the only time that the temple was actually holy and clean. People today unrealistically exalt the temple as if it was a time that we should all aspire to, when in fact, for over three hundred years, the temple was defiled.
In 1 Kings 14 or 3 Kings 14, there is an entire added section that does not appear in the Septuagint. We read from verse 1 then to verse 22. This story about Jeroboam’s son may have been added after the writing of the Septuagint.
3 Kings 14:1 And Roboam son of Solomon ruled over Juda. Roboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in the city Jerusalem, which the Lord chose to put his name there out of all the tribes of Israel: and his mother’s name was Naama the Ammonitess. 22 And Roboam did evil in the sight of the Lord; and he provoked him in all the things which their fathers did in their sins which they sinned. 23 And they built for themselves high places, and pillars, and planted groves on every high hill, and under every shady tree. 24 And there was a conspiracy in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord removed from before the children of Israel.
The Amplified says it this way.
1 Kings 14:23 (AMP)
23 For they also built themselves [idolatrous] high places, pillars, and Asherim [idolatrous symbols of the goddess Asherah] on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 There were also sodomites (male cult prostitutes) in the land. They did all the abominations of the nations whom the Lord cast out before the Israelites.
The word “conspiracy” is not quite accurate as the Greek word sundesmos means “a joint tie like a ligament, or to bind together”. Today we think of conspiracy as underhanded control from the shadows, but sundesmos is the actual connecting to or binding to something. What did they bind to? The evil worship practices of the other nations. This way the temple could be “shared” with other nations. This is not part of the fairytale story of Israel and the temple. The Holy Spirit resided alongside all the other idol worship and the booths for the male and female prostitutes until the time of Ezekiel. Now we see Israel having to fight and war with surrounding nations, while Judah has a series of bad kings and a few good kings. The nation went from overcoming giants and being freed from false gods, to bonding together with the gods of other nations.
3 Kings 15:9 In the four and twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa begins to reign over Juda. 10 And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Ana, daughter of Abessalom. 11 And Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as David his father. 12 And he removed the sodomites out of the land, and abolished all the practices which his fathers had kept up. 13 And he removed Ana his mother from being queen, forasmuch as she gathered a meeting in her grove: and Asa cut down her retreats, and burnt them with fire in the brook of Kedron. 14 But he removed not the high places; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days. 15 And he brought in the pillars of his father, he even brought in his gold and silver pillars into the house of the Lord, and his vessels.
Asa removes the sodomites, but they are not gone for long. He kicks his mother out of office, but doesn’t get rid of the high places. After Asa, Joash tried to repair the temple so they collected a tax. He had the help of Jehoiada the high priest, but when Jehoiada dies Joash makes some bad decisions.
2 Chronicles 24:6 (AMP)
6 So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and said to him, Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the servant of the Lord and of the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?
7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God and also had used for the Baals all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord.
8 And at the king's command they made a chest and set it outside the gate of the house of the Lord.
2 Chronicles 24:12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the temple service; and they hired masons and carpenters and also those who worked in iron and bronze to repair the house of the Lord.
13 So the workmen labored, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands; and they set up the house of God according to its design and strengthened it.
14 When they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; from it were made utensils for the Lord's house, vessels for ministering and for offerings, and cups and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.
It seemed like Judah was on the right track, but after Jehoiada’s death things went wrong again. The princes of Judah came to Joash and they added back the Astartes and idols.
2 Chronicles 24:17 Now after the death of Jehoiada [the priest, who had hidden Joash], the princes of Judah came and made obeisance to King Joash; then the king hearkened to them.
18 They forsook the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for their sin (guilt).
19 Yet [God] sent prophets to them to bring them again to the Lord; these testified against them, but they would not listen.
Joash ordered Zechariah’s death. The people killed Zechariah the prophet, Jehoiada’s son, in the temple courts. Judah was then overcome by Syria because of what Joash did and then Joash was murdered.
In Israel Ahab made an Asherah. Remember Jezebel and all the prophets of Baal?
1 Kings 16:33 (AMP)
33 And Ahab made an Asherah [idolatrous symbol of the goddess Asherah]. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
3 Kings 16:33 And Achaab made a grove; and Achaab did yet more abominably, to provoke the Lord God of Israel, and to sin against his own life so that he should be destroyed: he did evil above all the kings of Israel that were before him. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Kings%20III/index.htm
What happens next is a great story that we all know about. Elijah has a miracle contest with 850 false prophets. A prophet is one who speaks from or for God, but these prophets were speaking from or for demonic spirits or fallen spiritual beings.
1 Kings 18:19 (AMP)
19 Therefore send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of [the goddess] Asherah, who eat at [Queen] Jezebel's table.
3 Kings 18:19 And now send, gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of shame four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, that eat at Jezabel’s table. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Kings%20III/index.htm
Israel was still making a mess of things.
2 Kings 13:6 (AMP)
6 Yet they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin; but the nation walked in them. And the Asherah [symbol of the goddess Asherah] remained in Samaria.
Israel as a nation has now fallen and the people were carried off to Assyria.
4 Kings 17:7 For it came to pass that the children of Israel had transgressed against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharao king of Egypt, and they feared other gods, 8 and walked in the statutes of the nations which the Lord cast out before the face of the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel as many as did such things, 9 and in those of the children of Israel as many as secretly practised customs, not as they should have done, against the Lord their God: 10 and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city. And they made for themselves pillars and groves on every high hill, and under every shady tree. 11 And burned incense there on all high places, as the nations did whom the Lord removed from before them, and dealt with familiar spirits, and they carved images to provoke the Lord to anger. 12 And they served the idols, of which the Lord said to them, Ye shall not do this thing against the Lord.
13 And the Lord testified against Israel and against Juda, even by the hand of all his prophets, and of every seer, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my ordinances, and all the law which I commanded your fathers, and all that I sent to them by the hand of my servants the prophets. 14 But they hearkened not, and made their neck harder than the neck of their fathers.15 And they kept not any of his testimonies which he charged them; and they walked after vanities, and became vain, and after the nations round about them, concerning which the Lord had charged them not to do accordingly. 16 They forsook the commandments of the Lord their God, and made themselves graven images, even two heifers, and they made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. 17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divinations and auspices, and sold themselves to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Kings%20IV/index.htm
The people practiced their worship of Asherah in secret, making pillars and groves on every high hill. The culture was that these false deities were not to be cooped up inside, but free outside. Yet now they have added to the false worship. They are now selling their children to do evil.
2 Kings 17:16-17 (AMP)
16 And they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the [starry] hosts of the heavens and served Baal.
17 They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire and used divination and enchantments and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.
Human trafficking is not a new idea. This is how low Israel had fallen. Judah was not far behind. We studied human trafficking and blood rituals in the past.
Hezekiah came along as king of Judah and he cleaned up the false gods.
2 Kings 18:1-5 (AMP)
1 IN THE third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he began his twenty-nine-year reign in Jerusalem. His mother was Abi daughter of Zechariah.
3 Hezekiah did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his [forefather] had done.
4 He removed the high places, broke the images, cut down the Asherim, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until then the Israelites had burned incense to it; but he called it Nehushtan [a bronze trifle].
5 Hezekiah trusted in, leaned on, and was confident in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that neither after him nor before him was any one of all the kings of Judah like him.
2 Chronicles 31:1 (AMP)
1 NOW WHEN all this was finished, all Israel present there went out to the cities of Judah and broke in pieces the pillars or obelisks, cut down the Asherim, and threw down the high places [of idolatry] and the altars in all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the Israelites returned to their own cities, every man to his possession.
But then Manasseh came along, and he brought back all the evil demonic worship.
2 Kings 21:1-12 (AMP)
1 MANASSEH WAS twelve years old when he began his fifty-five-year [wicked] reign in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah.
2 He [Hezekiah's son] did evil in the sight of the Lord, after the [idolatrous] practices of the [heathen] nations whom the Lord cast out before the Israelites.
3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshiped all the [starry] hosts of the heavens and served them!
4 And he built [heathen] altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put My Name [and the pledge of My presence].
5 And he [good Hezekiah's son] built altars for all the hosts of the heavens in the two courts of the house of the Lord!
6 And he made his son pass through the fire and burned him as an offering [to Molech]; he practiced soothsaying and augury, and dealt with mediums and wizards! He did much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.
7 He made a graven image of [the goddess] Asherah and set it in the house, of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put My Name [and the pledge of My presence] forever;
8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.
9 But they would not listen; and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations did whom the Lord destroyed before the Israelites!
10 And the Lord said through His servants the prophets:
11 Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols,
12 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle!
Manasseh did repent. Next Josiah cleans up Judah.
2 Kings 23:4-15 (AMP)
4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for [the goddess] Asherah, and for all the hosts of the heavens; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel [where Israel's idolatry began].
5 He put away the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in Judah's cities and round about Jerusalem—also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations [or twelve signs of the zodiac], and to all the hosts of the heavens.
6 And Josiah brought the Asherah from the house of the Lord to outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron and burned it there, and beat it to dust and cast its dust upon the graves of the common people [who had sacrificed to it].
7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes, which were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove [tent] hangings for the Asherah [shrines].
8 And [Josiah] brought all the [idolatrous] priests out of the city of Judah and defiled the high places, where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba [north to south], and broke down the high places both at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city and that which was on one's left at the city's gate.
9 However, the priests of the high places were not allowed to sacrifice upon the Lord's altar in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren.
10 And Josiah defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom [son of Hinnom], that no man might ever burn there his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.
11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had devoted to the sun from the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the area, and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, [Josiah] pulled down and beat them in pieces, and he [ran and] cast their dust into the brook Kidron.
13 And the king defiled the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abominable [goddess] of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abominable god of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abominable [god] of the Ammonites.
14 He broke in pieces the pillars (images) and cut down the Asherim and replaced them with the bones of men [to defile the places forever].
15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place Josiah tore down and broke in pieces its stones, beating them to dust, and burned the Asherah.
Shortly after Josiah’s time Judah went back to worshipping idols and then went into captivity.
Isaiah 27:9 (AMP)
9 Only on this condition shall the iniquity of Jacob (Israel) be forgiven and purged, and this shall be the full fruit [God requires] for taking away his sin: that [Israel] should make all the stones of the [idol] altars like chalk stones crushed to pieces, so that the Asherim and the sun-images shall not remain standing or rise again.
Isaiah is writing during the time of Hezekiah. What is the way for Israel to be forgiven? They are to crush the idols into dust. The worship of false idols is a fluid practice in that it evolves and changes. This is why we see the changing of the practices as the years go by. Jacob’s heirs have always been in a spiritual battle, but some people would have us think that there is no such thing as spiritual matters. We have already studied the giants who wanted to live in and around Mount Hermon, because this is where their forefathers, the Nephilim, the watchers, came to the earth. Let’s look at two sections from JL Porters book regarding his observances in the 1860’s.
Bashan and its Giant Cities JL Porter
Pg 12
The capital and stronghold of the Rephaim in Bashan was Ashteroth-Karnaim; so called from the goddess there worshipped, —the mysterious "two-horned Astarte."
We shall see, too, that among the massive ruins of these wonderful cities
lie sculptured images of Astarte, with the crescent moon, which gave her the name Carnaim, upon her brow.
Bashan and its Giant Cities JL Porter
Pg 38-39
For more than an hour we followed the course of a Roman road along the western declivity of the mountain range, passing several old villages on the right and left. At one of these villages, picturesquely situated in a secluded glen, we saw a long procession of Druse women near a clump of newly- made graves. They had a strange unearthly look. The silver horns, which they wear upright on their heads, were nearly two feet long, over these were thrown white veils, enveloping the whole person, and reaching to the ground, thus giving them a stature apparently far exceeding that of mortals. As they marched with stately steps round the tombs, they sung a wild chant that now echoed through the whole glen, and now sunk into the mournful cadence of a death-wail. I asked the meaning of this singular and striking scene, and was told that eleven of the bravest men in the village had fallen in the late war, these were their graves, and now the principal women of Shuhba had come to comfort and mourn with the wives of the slain;
What JL Porter noted seems to still be in practice today. Remember the grove of weeping from 2 Samuel/2 Kings? Wearing white veils over horns is an interesting form of mourning. Why horns? Who do the horns symbolize? Why white? One cannot make the dead pure by outer appearances like white washed tombs.
By worshipping false deities, and angels who rebelled and who are not eternal beings, Israel lost the land she was promised. But not forever. When Jesus the Messiah comes with his armies he will eradicate the evil spiritual beings as well as the evil humans, and the warring giants from the earth. The millennial kingdom will be established in Jerusalem, the City of David. There won’t be a rock of worship there either. While many people believe it is irrational to worship a created being rather than the Creator of all beings, there are some who are not concerned with eternity. They want gratification now. We might guess that once in hades their minds would be changed, but unfortunately it will be too late. The devil is not an eternal being, neither is the satan. Instead the Living, Eternal, Almighty, Most High, Heavenly Father, and the Anointed Lord and Messiah, Jesus, are eternal. As we look at the picture below we should consider that the spiritual battle of old is the same spiritual battle today.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/08/03/bette-midler-declares-herself-2020-write-in-candidate/
