- The Canaanite religion was a Nature religion: a religion dealing with the forces of nature e.g. rain i.e. it was cosmic.
- The religion comprised family gods e.g.
- Canaanite gods and goddesses.

• El: the chief god;
• Baal: god of the storm, god of rain, god of heaven;
• Mot: god of famine, god of drought, god of death;
• Astati: -a goddess, Baals wife;
• Asherah: goddess of fertility, wife of El;
• Anat: goddess of war.

- Images and symbols were made to represent the gods.
- They inculcated their worship with temple prostitution.
- Sacrifices including human beings were offered to these gods.
- Festivals and feasts were celebrated in honour of the gods.
- Rituals were offered to ensure continued fertility and well-being of the community.
- Each god and goddess had a noticeable role in the community.
- Temples or high places were built for the worship of the gods.
- There was a supreme or chief god or goddess.
- There were prophets and prophetesses for each god.
- The Israelites imitated the agricultural life of the Canaanites, disregarding their pastoral life.
- It was believed that a god was only powerful in his own land.
- He made Shechem his capital because Jerusalem remained in the Southern kingdom.

1 Kings 12:25-33
- Jeroboam broke the covenant way of life by:

• He stopped the people from going to worship in Jerusalem.
• He made golden calves and put them at Bethel and Dan for the people to worship.
• He built an alternative place of worship for the people of the Northern kingdom.
• Jeroboam himself also worshiped the idols.
• He appointed priests who were not from the house of Levi.
• He instituted festivals in the Northern kingdom like those in Judah.
• He offered sacrifices to the calves he had made although he was not a priest.

- All these showed that Jeroboam had gone against the Covenant way of life.
- This religious separation between Judah and Israel contributed to the spread of idolatry in Israel.

1 King 16:29-31
- During the reign of Ahab as king of Israel, he did more evil to the eye of God than any of those before him. He married Jezebel the daughter of the king of Phoenicia.
- This was against Gods command for the people were not to marry from foreign nations.
- He built high places for the worship of Baal.
- Ahab himself became a Baal worshiper. He began to offer sacrifices to Baal.
- He also made an image of Asherah pole.
- Jezebel also invited the Baal prophets and supported them with state funds.
- The prophets of Yahweh were persecuted or killed at the slightest opportunity if they raised their voices against Baalism.

1. The Israelites adopted the Canaanite cultural calendar.
2. They worshipped God alongside other gods, which is called Syncretism.
3. Former places of worship of the Canaanite gods were turned into places of worship for Yahweh without eliminating the Canaanite symbols e.g. the altars.
4. The worship of Yahweh was looked down upon making Baalism an official religion.
5. Names of the Canaanite gods were also used for Yahweh.
6. These names of Canaanite gods, especially Baal were given to Israelite children.
7. The Israelites began to oppress the poor.
8. Queen Jezebel commanded that all the altars of Yahweh be done away with. It resulted into the killing of the prophets of Yahweh.
9. Canaanites sacrificial system became part and parcel of the Israelite worship.
10. The unity of Israel was interfered with the split of the kingdom into two.

1 Kings 18:17-46
- After King Ahab married Jezebel the daughter, they purely relied on Baal prophets, thus endangering the prophets of Yahweh, who they had neglected.
- It was during this period when the prophets of God faced hostility that God sent Prophet Elijah. Elijah willingly accepted the instruction of God to go and meet King Ahab.
- Ahab referred to Elijah as a trouble maker of Israel. This was because of the drought that Elijah had pronounced as Gods judgment due to Israels unfaithfulness.

- Elijah requested the King to gather all Israel together, including the 450 Baal prophets to a contest at Mount Carmel: the vineyard of the Lord.
- The main purpose of the contest was to know who is God.
- The two parties: Baal prophets and Elijah, were to contest, thereby offering a sacrifice of a bull to their respective God. The God who could answer by fire was to be worshipped.
- Ahab therefore summoned all the people, including the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal were given a bull, which they prepared, then called upon the name of their god.eir god was occupied, busy, on a business trip or he is asleep.
- The Baal prophets prayed, cut themselves with knives until they bled, but Baal remained mute and gave no response.
- Elijah then summoned the people to move closer as he repaired the abandoned altar of Yahweh with much courage.
- He set up twelve memorial stones to represent each of the twelve tribes of Israel. He placed the sacrifice on the altar and asked the people to pour water on it. He prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to prove that he was the living God.
- Fire descended and consumed the sacrifice and everything around it.
- The people threw themselves on the ground and worshipped the Lord as the true Yahweh.
- Elijah killed the prophets of Baal. He announced the coming of a storm. Clouds formed and rain began falling in torrents.

1. Yahweh is the true God brought fire that consumed the sacrifices.
2. Yahweh is a powerful God who controls the forces of nature. He brought rain.
3. He is a holy God.
4. He is merciful and forgiving God. He forgave the Israelites when they repented.
5. Yahweh answers peoples prayers for he answered Elijahs prayers by sending fire.
6. He is the provider for he provided rain.
7. He is the protector of his servants like Elijah.
8. He is jealous God who does not like being likened to idols.
9. He punishes those who disobey his commandments.

1 Kings 21:1-29
- Corruption is a form of injustice to which an innocent person is subjected.
- Ahab coveted a fruitful vineyard of a great farmer by the name Nabboth, the Jezrelite.
- The farm was next to Ahabs palace. Ahab approached Naboth and asked him if he could sell the vineyard in exchange with another.
- Naboth boldly rejected this idea. He could neither sell nor exchange the property, because it was a property belonging to the family.
- Ahab became gloomy and even lost the appetite of eating. When Ahab revealed this to his pagan wife: Jezebel, Jezebel worked out a quick plan of action.
- She forged letters in the Kings name and sealed them with the Kings rubber stamp and sent them to the elders of Jezreel.
- She had accused Naboth of two grievous faults i.e. blasphemy and treason.
- God therefore commissioned Elijah to pass judgment against Ahab.
- The divine judgment was that Ahabs Kingdom was going to be destroyed. His family members would die the same death as Naboth.
- Ahab went down on his knees, put on a sack cloth as a sign of repentance. God promised to effect the punishment during the reign of Ahabs sons. Ahab broke three commandments:

• You shall not desire your neighbours property;
• Do not bear false witness;
• Do not kill.

1. Tribalism and Nepotism
   - Tribalism is the giving of favor to the members of your tribe while Nepotism is the giving of favor to the people whom you are related to.
   
2. Bribery
   - This is paying money or any material to be favored for what one does not deserve.
   
3. Cheating in business - Example small scale is used in measurement or high charges are put on an item.
   
4. Stealing of money or property in work place.
5. Swearing falsely in the court of laws.
6. Misuse of public property or funds.
7. Grabbing of personal or public land through trickery.

• Christians need to be critical thinkers i.e. weigh the advantages and disadvantages and then look at the consequences.
• A Christian needs to be creative and find ways of tackling issues.
• Praying for the corrupt people to change.
• Being a role model i.e. not taking part in corrupt deals.
• Preaching to the people on the ills of corruption.
• Report incidences of corruption to relevant authority.
• Encouraging people to observe the laws of the country.

1. He reprimanded Ahab and his people for the worship of Baal.
2. He condemned Ahab for coveting Naboths vineyard and killing him.
3. He pronounced a three and a half years period of drought, a fact that annoyed Ahab.
4. He had ordered the killing of 450 Baal prophets after the contest.
5. He had annoyed Jezebel, who in turn threatened to kill him.
6. He wanted to strengthen faith in Yahweh.
7. The false prophecy from the Baal prophets made the people work against Elijah.

- Church leaders should be courageous to condemn evil being committed in the society just like Elijah faced the King when he forgot the covenant way of life.
- Christians should avoid bearing false witness against their neighbours like Jezebel did to Naboth.
- Christians should live a life of prayer and God will always answer their prayers just like he answered Elijahs prayers.
- Christians must be ready to perform Gods task however hard it may be. Elijah was given the hard task of performing disaster in the name of Ahab.
- Christians need to live life free from corruption.
- Leaders should not use their positions to oppress the weak just like Ahab used his power as a king to oppress Naboth.
- God will always protect his people just as Elijah was protected by God when Jezebel wanted to kill him.
- Just as Elijah remained faithful to God in the times of hardship, Christians therefore need to have faith in God.
- Christians should fight for the rights of the poor just as Elijah fought for the rights of the poor.
- Christians should avoid modern form of Idolatry at all costs; they must not value earthly things above God.