Judges
6:21-22, 25-32 (NIV) With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel
of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the
rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.
22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed,
"Ah, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!"
. . .
25 That
same night the Lord said to him, "Take the second bull from your father's
herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut
down the Asherah pole beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of altar to the
Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole
that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering."
27 So
Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he
was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather
than in the daytime.
28 In
the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar,
demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull
sacrificed on the newly built altar!
29 They
asked each other, "Who did this?"
When
they carefully investigated, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did
it."
30 The
men of the town demanded of Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die,
because he has broken down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside
it."
31 But
Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, "Are you going to plead
Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put
to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when
someone breaks down his altar." 32 So that day they called Gideon
"Jerub-Baal," saying, "Let Baal contend with him," because
he broke down Baal's altar.
NOTE: A number of
observations stand out. One, Gideon was not given courage by the sight of the
fire from the rock. He is afraid of the town's people and so he obeys God
secretly. Secondly, only when the town demands his life does he stand up to the
people. His argument is a good one, but probably born out of fear rather than
faith. In this case, the fear of death gave him more courage than the sight of
fire from a rock. One can't help but wonder if Gideon's challenge to God about
"where are all the wonders?" is not the reason for Gideon's
particular challenging ordeal.
Also, using the
Asherah pole as the wood for the burnt offering is a very strong action. It
also highlights the main fault of the people in destroying the altars and high
places when they finish taking the land. And it makes life very uncomfortable
for Gideon. Yet, if the Israelites had obeyed at the beginning, they would not
be dealing with this issue now. It is a consequence of their failure to obey.
And so, we too have consequences in our life when we fail to obey God's
instructions.
God have mercy on me
when I fail to obey. Also, help me to see those areas where I am not listening
to you. I want to be obedient.
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