Reading through a passage in Judges last night, regarding Gideon and his obedience to God in tearing down the altar of Baal and the Asherah that was beside it (Judges 6:25-27). The Asherah was a pole that was to honor the pagan goddess of the same name, and was made of wood. My wife had been listening to a radio preacher discussing Gideon and his interaction with Christ just prior to this account, and we decided to read through it, to see what we might learn from the entire account.
Gideon promptly had two bulls pull down the altar and the pole, and then sacrificed one of the bulls using a fire made from the wood from the pole he had just torn down. I'd say he made a point by doing that.
Naturally, the community of God-fearers would rejoice, right? Not exactly. They realized Gideon had done this, and promptly called for his execution. The people demand Gideon's death to defend Baal, specifically. In essence, they want revenge, they seek Baal's revenge, as though Baal demands it.
What Gideon's father, Joash, says is rather noteworthy. In verse 31, he says to them, "If he (Baal) is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar.” Wow! Great answer!
I firmly believe that God can stand up for Himself, in fact, we are reminded in Scripture not to seek vengeance, since that belongs to Him (Romans 12:19, quoting other Scripture). God certainly asks us, the church, to defend His name, to tell others about Him, and rely upon His Word as our authority.
But, back to the Judges text, I wonder how many "gods" we set up in our lives, and how often we are angered when they are destroyed or lost, or taken away, or become useless. See, we make stuff of this world our gods, and expect them to care for us, to sooth us, to comfort us, to be our companions. The truth is, just like Baal, these worldly gods can't even help themselves, let alone us. Anything or anyone we put in the place of God as our "god", will never satisfy our spirit's longing to be with the Lord for eternity. It's how He created us, and yet we turn from Him, we push back with our flesh, ignoring the Spirit's guiding, it's what we do when we try to figure out life on our own.
I witnessed several give their lives to Christ yesterday, and it brought me to tears. Tears of joy that God is very much still in the "saving business." And yet, for those people, the work has just begun. I pray God will mightily use the church to help these people replace their "god" with the One True God, as they navigate their life from here on.
