Q4. Tearing Down the Altar of Baal

[Donald Henhawke]

God tells Gideon to tear down the Altar and the A-pole to educate and inform him & others that there are not to have any Gods before him. I believe he was also testing Gideons faith and obedience,because we all have free-will to do or not to do! Gideon builds an proper altar on top of the old and sacrifices a bull that God chooses.

Death or physical harm,as well alienation and abuses faced Gideon.

Gideon did this at night perhaps not out of fear but the ability to accomplish it unhindered.

peace.

[debs4jc]

Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? (6:25) What positive thing is he to do in their place? (6:26) What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is the night mission a sign of weakness or faith? (6:27)

You all explained well why God told Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and build an altar to the Lord in it's place. It was also like a test of faith, a smaller step on the road to the bigger things God would ask Gideon to do. And God wanted to make the point that He wasn't ignoring the Israelite's plight, they were the one's who were ignoring Him. He could and would act, even through an insignificant person like Gideon.

Gideon risked his life to follow the Lord's commands. I think doing it at night was a compromise on his part. If he had boldly done what the Lord commanded in the daytime God would have protected him and it would have made an even bolder statement to the community. As it was, God rewarded his "baby step" of faith and did accomplish His purposes. The community was forced to take sides on this issue. Gideon now knew who would stand with him and who would stand against him. And what a relief and blessing to him to find his father standing with him.

I can certainly relate to Gideon. Often when God puts it in my mind to do something I procrastinate or do it in a way that will put me at the least amount of risk. Doing it is the important thing, of course, but perhaps we may miss out on something if we put it off or do it halfway.

[Wendy Reid]

QUOTE (Pastor Ralph @ Jan 17 2003, 08:54 AM)

Q1. Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? (6:25) What

positive thing is he to do in their place? (6:26) What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is the night mission a sign of weakness or faith? (6:27)

To tear down past sins.

To build an alter to The Lord God

His father and the men of the community.

His weakness was strengthed by God stregthening his faith.

[Christopher Smith]

Gideon is commanded to tear down the two evidences of worship of foreign gods, and replace them with an altar to God and a sacrifice to Him. I agree with others that carrying out these actions at night were a practical way of obeying, and avoided interference from townspeople and possibly from family.

Also, the destruction of a "loser" god's altar or idol at night takes the attention off the person carrying out the destruction, and signifies to people upon discovery that God has performed the destruction. If Gideon had torn down the pole and altar in daylight, if they allowed him to do so, he would have been watched in amazement/horror as he did it. Because the altar is torn down at night, the townspeople awaken to find their god's altar destroyed, and it has greater impact. They are more inclined to focus their attention on their god and his weakness.

[linda biloni]

God tells Gideon to tear down the Baal alter and asherah pole because He wants the worshiping of false gods to stop. The destruction of the Baal alter and the asherah pole show the people of the community the futility in worshiping such gods.

Gideon is to replace it with an alter to the true God.

Gideon faces the anger of the community as well as the anger of his family. This is why he does it at night .

Gideon had the faith to obey the Lord, but still let his emotions play a part in his thinking.

[RDrew]

When God is using us for His good, He often gives us tasks to do that are simply acts of obedience. We think we should be doing really big things and rebel when asked to do something simple. God could have instructed Gideon to build the altar and do the sacrifice without tearing down the Baal and the Asherah pole. To risk something (time and energy ) in obedience before doing anything else is one of God's lessons to us. God also gives us leeway in the way we obey, thus allowing Gideon to do his task at night, with the least risk to his physical self. Gideon knew the situation and probably hoped to salvage some relationship with his father. He needed time to get the altar built and knew that there would be opposition if it was done in the daylight.

Obedience is a sign of faith, Gideon, even though he doubted his own abilities, had faith that with God he could accomplish his task, even though the outcome was unknown.

[DianeM]

God tells Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and the Asherah poles because they are false gods and in order for Gideon to be truly obedient he must follow the command of God. The positive thing he must do with the because he tore down the false gods, is to build an altar for the one and only true God. The reason Gideon did this at night was because Gideon was afraid of what his father and the townsmen would do to him if they saw him doing it. The risks are being asked to leave and death. The night mission is both a sign of weakness and of faith. Weakness because of his fear, but of faith because he accomplished what the Lord asked of him.

[Joy Evans]

Giddeon has decided to follow and obey God. The first thing he is told to do is get rid of the "idols". God cannot act on Israel's behalf while they are still worshipping other Gods. On Israel's behalf, he obeys. He probably has told his father about about the visit of the Angel so his father is not surprised by his further action.

Sometimes, and this is one of those occasions, when we know we will be opposed and there is no benefit of putting ourselves in harms way. He went quietly into the night and did God's work and then sat back and waited for God to take care of the matter. His father met the challenge of dealing with the towns people and set forth the challenge to let Baal take care of himself. I see this as an action of faith as Gideon knew he was putting his life, and the life of his servants in danger. He let God take care of the situation.

I need to do more of that in my life! Have a great day, Joy

[Joanie]

God tells Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole because before The Lord will deliver the Israelites from their enemies, he requires them to forsake the false gods they have turned to.

God then tells Gideon to build a proper kind of altar to the Lord.

This was risky because the Baal altar had been put there by Gideon's father, Joash. Gideon knew this could put his father Joash in a very difficult position before his family and then there was also the very real possibility that the other men of the city would seek to kill Gideon.

This did make Gideon afraid so he did what God told him to do at night.

Even the night mission took great courage. This was not a sign of weakness for Gideon because Gideon was intent on obeying what God had told him to do. Maybe he was afraid of hurting his father, Joash. But most important was that even if it meant hurting his father and upsetting the other men of the city, Gideon was determined to obey God. This was Gideon's first step of faith and showed great courage. Gideon was yet to learn the wonders of what obedience to God was going to bring him, his family and his people Israel.

[luray mcclung]

God tells Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and the Asherah pole because he desires this servant to destroy the pagan gods that separate his people from Him. Gideon builds an altar by God's instruction (sacrificing his father's 7 year old bull as a burnt offering using the wood of the Asherah pole). Gideon's night mission is not a sign of weakness but of faith. His greatest risk is the reaction of the people when they discover who has destroyed Baal. lmc

[Liza]

Gideon has to take a stand

[Walt Woodbridge]

Q1. Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? (6:25) What positive thing is he to do in their place? (6:26) What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is the night mission a sign of weakness or faith? (6:27)

God will have no other gods in competition with Him. God must be first in our lives. Before Christ came, men must build an altar to approach God. Thus, Gideon was to build an altar to the Jehovah God and make a sacrifice. To tear down what others around him had built to worship Baal, would present cause for conflict. Gideon took advantage of the night to do God's bidding, out of fear of repraisal from family and neighbors. As Christians we are to be wise as serpents, but harmless as doves.

[Derek]

Gideon was commanded to tear down the altar and pole because they were symbols of idol worship of false gods. In their place he was to raise an altar to the true God. In doing this he was standing up against the community who worshipped the false gods and antagonising them could mean death. He did it at night for fear of his family and the men of the town. The fact that he obeyed God was a sign of the strength of his faith. The fact that he did it at night showed his personal weakness and immaturity of his faith.

[jaunita]

"Though shall have no-other God's, before Me"....I did a little studying on Ba'al worship, and the "beginnings" of it...found it interesting. The children of Israel never abandoned the one True God..(Yahweh) but instead their sin was one of "syncretism",,,,attemting to blend the worship of God, with the worship of Ba'al and Asherah. This as today, is compromising. God has told us, as He did the children of Israel, that we shall have no-other Gods..." God commanded Gideon to erect an alter and to offer up sacrifice's unto God. Gideon risked his very life in doing this...going against his neighbors, and family. The fact that he choose to do this at night, when the risk was not as great, shows his fear...but in the circumstance's, understandable. I don't believe it shows weakness on his part.....if he had been truly weak, he could have refused to obey God...out of fear of man.

[mcj5057]

God's law specifically forbids idol worship. Like Joshua, we must choose whom we will serve. Gideon was instructed to tear down the altar to Baal and the Asherah pole and replace them with an altar to the Lord. This involved a risk though, as the punishment was death by stoning. Due to his fear of the reaction of the townspeople should they see him demolishing these by day, Gideon did this at night. It seems that Gideon's decision to do this at night was out of fear, perhaps for his family. It also seems that while he had faith in God to do what was commanded, he still was apprehensive about taking a visible stand at that point in time.

[Mario]

God gave Gideon his first assignment, to tear down baal's altar and ashera's pole, and to further test his obedience, courage and faith. Much like the same HE does to me when suddenly I have this urging to witness or pray for someone.

He is to build instead a porper kind of altar for the Lord his God.

The risks are from his own father Joash who was probably the towns custodian of the worship site, and from the townspeople.

Because of fear from his family and the men of the town, Gideon did it at night.

Gideon still did it inspite of, didn't he? So, I think its a sign of faith.

[mark.o.reynolds]

Gideon was told to tear down the altar to Baal and Asherah because they were built for false gods. You are to forsake false gods and therefore the altars were wrongly built.

Gideon was told to build an altar for his God, and give Him a burnt offering from his father's bulls.

The danger in it was that Gideon did not want to anger his family or the people in his town.

He performed the duty at night because he didn't want anyone to see what he was doing.

I think doing it at night was a little of both. It showed signs of his weakness because he was afraid of what might happen to him if he was caught. However, he still performed the duty his Lord told him to do so it also shows a sign of his faith. He is still growing in his faith because he is just learning to put his trust in God. It is understandable given the circumstances he is in.

[kitty]

Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole?

The people who lived in Gideon's village, were worshipping other gods and disobeying a commandment from God. God was very jealous, and God wanted a real altar made to Him only.

What positive thing is he to do in their place?

The positive thing that Gideon did, was make an altar to God, and Gideon's faith was raised to a new level.

What risks are involved in this action?

The risk was Gideon had to choose whether to listen to God, and to his family.

Why does Gideon do this at night?

Gideon was afraid of what his family and neighbors might do to him if they found out Gideon was tearing down the city altar and pole.

Is the night mission a sign of weakness or faith?

In this case I believe this was a sign of weakness turned into faith. Because fear was used, it was a weakness. But when Gideon found out his father would back him up, the sign was turned to faith.

[heatherdills]

God tells Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole because they are parts of idolatry. The positive thing he is to do in their place is sacrifice a bull as a burnt offering to God. The risks involved in this action are punishment by his father and ridicule by his community. Gideon did this at night because he was afraid. The night mission is both a sign of weakness, because he used the cover of night, and of faith, because he obeyed the Lord.

[mairead]

After God called Gideon to be Israel's deliever, he immediately asked him to tear down the alter of the pagan god, Ball. Worshipping Other gods was against God and violated the first two commandments. he had to get them out of the way and destroyed so that the people could see their true God again.

Gideon did not leave a blank place in the middle of the destruction instead he built a proper alter to God using the material he had destroyed to burn his offering.

Gideon took a great risk. an attack on the a god was often seen as an attack on the local government supporting that god. If he had been caught he could have been assualted and/or imprisoned. Also he was going against his own father as well as the community.

i feel that you can look at Gideons night time activities in both a positive and a negative light. in the negative you could say that Gideon was afraid and did not trust God enough to do it by day.

However i rather the other side of the coin in that Gideon did what he was told, he did not argue, he did not look for excuses and he had every reason to be afraid and he needed to get the job finished before he was caught. he knew he would be found out sooner or later but he did not run away or hide. he built a new alter and lit the fire for God he did not hide his work either. i feel he acted in faith with wisdom and courage.

[AngelOnLine]

Q1. Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? (6:25)

To show the people that they were to worship only God and not other gods.

What positive thing is he to do in their place? (6:26)

To build a proper altar to God and use the wood from the Asherah pole to sacrifice the second bull from his father

[Helen]

God tells Gideon to tear down the altar of Baal and the Asherah pole because they are in direct contradiction of the law God gave Moses "Thou shalt have no other gods but Me". There was no truth in them.

Gideon was then to build a proper altar to God in a certain place (rock, stronghold), and burn the wood of the Asherah goddess in offeringa second bull as burnt sacrifice.

In so doing he risked the anger of the townspeople, and whatever the consequences of that might be!

Therefore Gideon decided to perform the burnt offering while the town slept.

I believe this was a sign of faith, because in spite of therather terrifying possibilities of persecution he found a way to obey and honour God.

[preacherwoman]

Tearing down this altar and these idols were symbolic of the destruction that had to take place before God could take His rightful place. The Israelites had fallen into the idol worship of the people around them. Before God could even move to deliver them, whatever they had put in His place had to go.

God is saying that to me, today "Take down the idols and the altars...the ones of money, relationships, self... for I cannot move on your behalf until I am on the throne of your heart."

The positive thing Gideon is told to do in place of these idols is to "build an altar to the LORD."

Gideon does this at night because he feared his father and the men of the city, BUT it was impressed upon my heart that Gideon decided that risking his life, and the displeasure of his father -- perhaps even being cut out of the family -- was worth pleasing God. He chose to obey, no matter what, making the night mission a sign of faith not weakness. For it takes faith to obey God. It takes great faith to step out on nothing, believing that you're going to land on something!

[maria gonzalez]

Q1. Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? (6:25) What positive thing is he to do in their place? (6:26) What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is the night mission a sign of weakness or faith? (6:27) See Exposition.

The altars needed to be destroyed in order for the altar of God to be built. It took away the Israelites distraction and redirected their worship to God. It would help the Israelites to focus in God.

Destroying the altars would help the Israelites to think about the miracles God had done with the Israelites when God freed them from the Egyptians and when they were in the dessert, the purpose of the miracles, the Israelites would believe in God.

There were many risks involved, Gideon and his family could have been killed or perhaps even his own father could have killed him for destroying the altars.

Many people turned against Gideon and his family for Gideon destroying the altar; Gideon was rejected and "kicked out from the group/clique" for not believing in Baal and Asherah. Gideon went under a lot of psychological pressure.

Destroying the altars altogether is a sign of strength, doing it at night meant fear, it shows a sign of fear.

[tweety]

Q1. Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? (6:25)

Gideon was instructed to tear down the Baal Alter and Asherah pole, as these were false gods. It is God's command that we should have no other gods before Him, these gods were a distraction for the people of Israel. They were distracted from accepting the love that God had shown them in previous times, and distracted from accepting the point that they needed to repent. He wanted these distractions out the way, He wanted to bring His children to realise that He was the only True God, and have worship only Him as he is the only DELIVERER.

What positive thing is he to do in their place? (6:26)

Gideon was instructed by God to 'build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God' this new alter would now be a place for true worship to the true God.

What risks are involved in this action.

Gideon was at the risk of being persecuted by his people, to the point of even death.

Why does Gideon do this at night?

Gideon believed God had sent Him, but just like the human part of all of us, we think about the things that might happen to us in the process of carrying out the will of God, and as such we are sometimes fearful of man. This happens when we don't totally excercise our faith.

Is the night mission a sign of weakness or faith? (6:27) See Exposition.

Yes and no. Gideon wasn't confident that God would have protected him come what may. (yes), we should remember that we should take precaution and if things can be avoided, we should. Even though God instructs us to do things, he doesn't want is to go blindly or walk in danger where we can avoid it. The fact of the matter, is that he did do what God asked of him, it mattered not the or day (n this instance) it was about getting the job done, and it was done.