It seems that I have been traveling a lot lately but mostly between Clarksville, VA and Durham, NC. I love the open pastures along the way and watching over the past months of crops which have been growing there - hay, corn, soybeans. Lately the scene has changed to bales of hay and mowed down dry corn stalks in preparation for the upcoming winter. I believe that God has been showing me something with the rolled up bales of hay scattered across the field as well as those neatly lined up waiting to be transported away.
Basically the thought is this:
Bale of hay = giver of life and sustenance
VERSUS
Baal the idol = dead; no life whatsoever
These 2 words, known as homophones, sound the same but have different meanings. Sometimes it is easy to misunderstand what a person is saying because we aren’t aware of which homophone word is being used. In looking at these 2 words, God pointed out to me the characteristics of each to compare.
Bale of hay - Hay is planted, cut and “dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, donkeys, goats, and sheep. However, it is also fed to smaller domesticated animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay
After the drying, it is compressed into round bales which are easier to transport and store. You have seen these bales in the fields every year. Maybe you've wondered where they will be put when taken away. But have you thought about the fact that their purpose has just begun? They are a life-giving sustenance for many animals. They may look dead or like something that has “passed its prime”, but they provide the food needed throughout the winter, which is a cost savings for the farmer. It is also a long process to grow, but worth the life-giving results.
Baal was an idol which was worshiped in ancient times. From the time the Hebrews entered the promised land, they began to worship other gods. The most prominent idol that they worshiped was Baal. Baal worship spread rapidly when the king of Israel, Ahab, married Jezebel, the princess of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31-32).
Do you remember the story in 1 Kings 18 when Elijah went before King Ahab and the Israelites and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”? Elijah challenged them to a contest of bull offerings to their Baal and to Elijah’s God. Each prepared the bull to be burnt but no one was allowed to light the fire. They each called on their deities to start the fire under the bull.
Because Baal was not a true, living God, the prophets could not muster a spark from Baal to begin a fire. They not only called and yelled for his response, but they danced and even cut themselves. Nothing. NOT A THING happened. Now as you recall, Elijah prayed to God to light the fire so that the people would know that He was God. God answered, and the people repented.
Big Difference!!
Bale of hay = hay produced from seed; cut & dried; rolled into bales for transport and used as giver of life and sustenance to animals on the farm
VERSUS
Baal the idol = dead; no life whatsoever
Let's compare the two as God asked me to:
God is life - Baal is death
God is action - Baal is inanimate
God is responsive - Baal is non-responsive
God is protective - Baal is non-protective
God is healer - Baal is non-healer
God is provider - Baal is not a provider
God is a Compassionate - Baal is not compassionate
God is trustworthy - Baal is not trustworthy
What Baals do you have in your life? What do you and I pay too much attention to which focuses our time and attention away from God - electronic devices, TV, finances, work, recreation, etc. It is not that these things are evil, but it is the time which we spend doing or interacting with these things that can be detrimental to us. Look at the list above. The descriptors for God indicate an active and interactive spirit while the list for Baal is pretty much descriptive of an inanimate object - no life.
If you are wavering between spending your time with the inanimate object like Baal or the life-giving bale of hay, go with the giver of life; go with the sustainer; go with the action God; go with the One who will always be with you wherever you are and not a stationary idol who can’t move.
Thanks for stopping by,
Rachel
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