How Depraved Were the Canaanites?
The Canaanites far surpassed all of their contemporaries in lust, cruelty, and degrading spiritual practices. Their religion consisted of adoration of the planets and worship of a pantheon of gods, El being the supreme deity (note that Satan loves to counterfeit the truth for El is the name of our majestic triune God, Elohim [the plural of El]). Baal was the chief underling of El and overlord of the lesser gods in the pantheon. Baal was identified as the god of rain and the storm, whose voice rode the heavens on wings of the thunderclaps (cp the truth in Ps 104:3 – Spurgeon’s note). His images depicted him holding a thunderbolt shaped into a spear. Their circle of gods also contained female figures. Astarte, Asherah, and Anath were believed to possess the power to change their gender as the occasion dictated. Without spelling out sensual details, it must be noted that this grouping of Canaanite gods and goddesses promoted the most detestable sexual excesses. Promiscuity, incest, and nu
