Gideon’s First Test
Scripture:
Judges 6:25-27 (ESV)
25 That night, the Lord said to him,
“Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down
the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside
it 26 and build an
altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid
in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with
the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did
as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the
men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
Devotion:
Gideon has seen that it is indeed
the Lord who is calling him to deliver Israel. In today’s scripture, we see the
Lord giving an assignment to His new judge, Gideon. God does not stretch Gideon
too much on the first assignment. God gives Gideon an assignment close to home
and relatively safe. Still, Gideon's fears overpower him, and he completes the
assignment by night.
The Lord tells Gideon to cleanse the
family’s household of foreign Gods. Tearing down the altar to Baal and cutting
down the Asherah pole beside it are quite a task for one man, so Gideon enlists
the help of ten servants. When he has done that, Gideon will build an altar to Yahweh
in their place and present a bull as an offering to Yahweh on the altar he has
constructed.
What can we learn from Gideon’s
experience? First, we understand that God does not give us more than we can
handle. God desires us to hear and obey His call, but He knows we are weak,
frail, and fearful people. We are easily intimidated by the thought of
confrontation or disagreement. The Lord will accommodate our weaknesses and
fears and allow us to complete the tasks He requires of us in ways that might
seem cowardly or even foolish.
Second, we learn that God is holy
and cannot tolerate the worship of other gods. Today, we usually will not run across
an altar to Baal or an Asherah pole. We have different gods. One of the main
gods of the 21st century is the smartphone. The smartphone is
capable of doing so many things. You can place a phone call, of course, but the
smartphone demands our time and attention in other ways that take us away from
God if we are not careful. Apps and games can distract us for hours if we are
not careful. Chatting on social media can be equally harmful if not carefully
controlled.
Finally, the Lord can use us even in
times of fear and depression. By nature, most of us avoid direct confrontation
if we can. However, God understands us because He has made us and knows we are weak
and imperfect creatures. We can always trust the Lord because we can be assured
of His presence whenever we are acting in obedience to His word and will. Let
us pray for wisdom and courage to follow him.
Prayer:
Holy God, we worship you today
because of your steadfast love for everyone who calls you Lord. If we depend
upon you, we will experience assurance that you are our God and are with us at
all times. Thank you for understanding our weak, frail, and fearful condition.
Grant us strength, health, and courage to do what you require of us. May what
we do in your name bring glory and honor to you. Amen.
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