Ancient gods, Modern Worshippers Part 5- Fertility Goddesses
In the previous part, we looked at a form of idolatry that proceeded from Babel. In this part, we will start with a discussion of fertility goddesses. Let us get into the first set of goddesses.
Asherah, Ashtoreth, and Anath
Ashtoreth and Anath are sister goddesses who were Canaanite fertility goddesses. They were the sisters of Baal and daughters of the goddess Asherah, the sea goddess. These gods were often worshipped together and in similar ways. However, I would focus more on Ashtoreth in this article and discuss Baal in another part. Ashtoreth appears more in the Bible than her sister, but they were often worshipped as one god. Her original name Astarte is combined with the Hebrew word “boshet” meaning shame. This was to signify the disgust of the Hebrews of her religious rites. She is closely related to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar, who was worshipped similarly. Ashtoreth was the goddess of war and sexual love. She was closely related to the stars and called The Queen of Heaven.
The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. Jeremiah 7:18
God had warned the children of Israel about adopting the idolatrous practices of the Canaanite nations before their conquest of the land.
Fear the Lord your God, serve him only, and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Deuteronomy 6:13–15
However, the Bible tells us that an entire generation of Israelites who served and honored God had gone. Their descendants turned to the worship of the Canaanite gods.
After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the people around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. Judges 2:10–13
The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. Judges 3:7
Israel would have to deal with the worship of Ashtoreth and face the repercussions many times in her history. However, what made the worship of Ashtoreth attractive?
In the first part, I wrote about how idolatry is self-seeking and pleasing. The worship of Ashtoreth and her related deities involved sex. Especially sex that was illicit and abominable. Her temples had male and female prostitutes and sexual activity of different forms, was part of the worship rites. In King Josiah’s reform in 2 Kings 23, we get a hint of this when he had to tear down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes.
He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah. 2 Kings 23:7
The allure of this fertility goddess was the perverted sexuality that accompanied her worship. Also, as a god of war, she promised victory to her worshippers in battle.
Before I go any further let me clarify that I don’t believe that sex is taboo. I think that sex is one of God’s brilliant creations. However, as the creator, he created sex to be enjoyed within certain confines and contexts. God created sex to be had between a man and a woman, within a lifelong marital relationship. Every other practice of the act is a deviation from his original design. God expressed his displeasure for improper sexual behavior in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. An example of homosexuality and sexual assault is seen as one of the reasons for the destruction of the cities.
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom — both young and old — surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door. The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here — sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” Genesis 19:1–13
Also, God reveals to his covenant people Israel what is considered abhorrent sexual behavior.
No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord. Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her. “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father. “‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere. “‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you. “‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister. “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative. “‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative. “‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt. “‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her. “‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother. “‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness. “‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living. “‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period. “‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her. “‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable. “‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion. “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. Leviticus 18:6–25
Thank you for reading. In the next part, we look at the Artemis of the Ephesians.
