Canaanite religion dignified by the use of religious labels evil practices such as prostitution, bestiality, child-sacrifice. It believed that the act of sexual union between priest and worshippers demonstrated desire for the fertility deity Asherah to join in sexual union with her son, Baal, that was necessary for agricultural productivity.
At times of crisis, Baal's followers sacrificed their children, apparently the firstborn of the community, to gain personal prosperity. Promiscuity, murder, or anything else was justifiable in return for a good crop at harvest.
Warning against being drawn into this rampant satanic worship is mentioned in Deuteronomy 12:29-31.
“When the Lord your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods."
Under the leadership of Moses' successor, Joshua, Israel began occupying the promised land around 1190 BC.
Unfortunately, later generations of the children of Israel adopted similar evil practices of Baal worship. God punished them with military invasion by foreign powers and the nation was evicted from the promised land in 582 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian empire (Jeremiah 52:30).
However, God remembered His promise to Abraham, and allowed them to return to the promised land under the Persian King Cyrus the Great around 538 BC (2 Chronicles 36:22-23). The Second Temple was completed 70 years after the destruction of the first temple in 515 BC. The modern state of Israel was founded in 1948.
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