Baal and the Crapper

One area of the Bible that I've spent time in recently is 1 & 2 Kings. The other day I was reading 2 Kings 10, which tells how Jehu, the newly anointed king of Israel, carried out God’s judgment against the house of Ahab, the former king of Israel who led the nation into idolatry and wickedness. In 2 Kings 9, God sends a prophet to anoint Jehu as king and he prophecies that Jehu will exterminate the house of Ahab. Jehu then assassinates the kings of Israel and Judah, executes Jezebel and the 70 sons of Ahab, and, in a cleverly orchestrated deception, destroys all the prophets of Baal. The severity of judgment communicates how seriously God takes false worship!

What especially drew my attention was the concluding remark that follows Jehu’s execution of Baal’s prophets. Jehu had lured the idolatrous prophets together by saying he wished to worship Baal, but, once they were gathered, he ordered them killed. The house of Baal was then destroyed and, humorously, the following line is added, “And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day” (v. 27). This is biblical smack talk. What happened to the house of Baal? It was turned into a communal toilet where people emptied their bowels and bladders! The author of Kings isn't saying that the house of Baal became a powder room with mints at the door! The house of Baal was turned into the town crapper! Perhaps you find the word 'crapper' too crude, but that's the feeling 2 Kings 10 is trying to evoke, so as to make the point that Baal was a powerless idol, incapable of stopping his reputation from being soiled, literally.