Q4. Tearing Down the Altar of Baal

[randi]

The altar and pole was used for worship of a false god and therefore had to be taken down. Gideon knew the one true God and that He was a jealous God. God had said "do not put any other gods before me.

Gideon was to put an altar up for the one true God and to offer up a sacrifice.

The fear of man did enter into Gideon's mind, this is why he did it at night. Gideon was afraid of how his dad and the town people would respnd to what he had done. Yes, Gideon did have the faith to step out and obey God but he still had somewhat a fear of man.

[sandieh]

Gideon tore down the altar of Baal, despite his fear of reprisals from other worshipers of Baal, he then in a declartion, of his decision to follow the one true God, built an alter to Him. Did he act out of fear, yes, but he also acted out of faith, because he did do it, at night or not

[ladyfields]

Gideon obeyed GOD and tore down the altar of Baal and the pole so the people could return to the one true god not idols.

Gideon knew there were dangerous risks involved. Gideon had a fear of what his father might say/do and the people would be furious and persecute him and his family. The other side to that is if he were to do it at night no one would tie him to it so he thought. Yet he obeyed GOD.

The postive thing he did in their place was created an altar to the LORD and sacrificed an animal seven year old to give to the LORD.

In my opinion, gideon showed weakness by deciding to go by night to handle GOd's business yet, at the same time he thought he was protecting himself against his father and against the town people. Human are prone to do such rationalizing. I Thank GOD that even when we are weak in the flesh, GOD gives us a portion of his strength for his plan to work out any way.

[Alicea]

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.

Having those altars in existence is a direct disobedience to the first two commandments. God is to be worshipped and He alone. He is bringing Gideon into right relationship with Him. Gideon builds an altar to the Lord in their place. Gideon does this at night because he knows the people will try to stop him if they see him do and even kill him. The night mission is a sign of common sense. He was obeying the Lord the best way he know how. God didn't tell him to do it in broad daylight, He just told him to do it and Gideon obeyed in the way he knew best.

[Carolynne]

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 asked Gideon to tear down the altar in order that the people should be reminded that it was He who they should be worshipping not Baal and that the Asherah pole being a symbol of the Goddess should be removed for that same purpose. Just by accepting the altar for Baal and the Asherah pole was evidence of who their allegiances were to.

Gideon was asked to build an altar for worship to the Lord only and to sacrifice the second bull from his fathers herd that was seven years old. He was to use the wood from the Asherah pole to sacrifice the bull.

The fact that Gideon did this at night proved his fear not of God but of the people's reaction to what he was about to do and at that time he would have no way of knowing what the reaction of his father and family would be and whether they would stand beside him in favour of his actions and of God. He also knew that if it was ever known that he was responsible for this then his life could be in danger - hence he decided to do this at night as opposed to during the day. I do also feel drawn towards the feeling that he carried this out at night rather than during the day in order that none of his family would have been aware or have been connected with his actions so that it would be known that his family knew nothing about his actions. Whereas if he had carried it out during daylight then he would have been in full view and the people would probably not have allowed him to complete God's request in full and it would have put his father in the more difficult position of stopping Gideon from carrying out God's orders. I don't personally feel that his choice to carry out God's request by night rather than day were a sign of weakness or faith. On the one hand we could be excused if we did think he should have had enough faith and trust in God to have carried out God's will during the day but let us put ourselves in his position and ask "how we would have reacted in the same situation"and let us all be totally honest in our answer - I think in this light the majority of us will think differently and not be too critical of Gideon.

Gideon tore down the alter of Baal, & and cut down the wooden image beside it.

He was to build and Alter for the Lord

Gideon was asked to build an alter for worship to the Lord only and to sacrifice the second bull from his fathers herd that was seven years old. He was to use the wood from the Asherah pole to sacrifice the bull.

[alisicia]

Judges Chapter 6

"Midian's Oppression [1-10]."

"The Deliverer Raised Up [11-18]."

"The Angel of Yahoveh: The Message [19-40]."

Remember the time of the judges was prior to the time that God gave the Israelites kings. There was the four hundred year period from the coming out of the wilderness, to the time when Samuel anointed Saul to be king over all Israel. During this time of the judges, the people wanted something that they could see and touch before they could believe in it, and God was not that, so the people would continually drift off into the worship of heathen gods, and build their heathen altars.

God had given His laws and commandments to Moses while the Israelites were in the wilderness, however, now that Moses has died, as well as Joshua, the Judges were appointed to lead the people of Israel in the following of these laws, and also be the go between with God and the Israelites. This then is theocratic form of government where the religious order is the political leaders also.

When one Judge would die there was a gap in time where there was no Judge to guide them. The Israelites would then just drift back into the old forms of heathen gods and religious forms that they were in before. Israel's problem came when they refused to follow God's command to them to either drive out or kill all the inhabitants of the land. God commanded through Moses that these heathen were not to be allowed to mix with them and even the cattle and altars were to be destroyed. The Israelites were disobedient and because of this sin against God, God allowed these heathen, these Jebusites, Canaanites, Kenites, Midianites and so on, to stay in the land and be a scourge to them.

When Joshua died it wasn't long until all of Israel drifted into heathen religions, and their heathen neighbors put them under their rule. Each time this happened, God would raise up a Judged to put down the enemy. First it was Othniel the son of Caleb, who lead the Israelites in taking back their lands. After Othniel the Judge died, the nation went right back into Baal worship. It is important to understand the reason for Israel's falling back into bondage continually, is recorded in Judges 2:19.

Judges 2:19 "And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way."

Then God raised up judges to free the people when they would drift from His laws and commandments, and when Othniel died, in time God raised another judge Ehud, and after Ehud came the powerful judge Deborah, who lead her army against Sisera and his nine hundred chariots. In each case, the victory was so complete that the people had no doubts in their mind that it was God that gave the victory. So now that Deborah is dead, and the nation of Israel has been in the hands of the Midianites for the past seven years, God is going to raise up a judge to bring the people back to Himself.

God left the Canaanites and other enemies in the land for the sole purpose to teach the people to war. It's purpose is given in Judges 3:1, 2; "Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; [1] Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; [2]."

In teaching the Israelites to war, God used Shamgar with a ox goad, which is a six foot long stick with a nail on the end of it. God used a handicapped man with a knife, and a woman to lead the men into battle. Now here in this chapter we will see that God will use something entirely different. God will use the trumpet, the lantern and a bowl that the soldiers will break at the proper time. Each time and thing that is used for the battle is done so that His people will know for sure that it is God that is giving the battle into their hands, and it is He that gets the praise for the victory. The victory comes when the people of God have faith enough to trust that what He has said will come to pass, is sure, and the act on that faith in following God's instructions. Keep in mind that every one of these judges gave God the credit for the battle.

Judges 6:1 "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years."

These Midianites are the same people that Moses' father in law came from. Midian was the son of Abraham by his second wife Keturah.

Genesis 25:1 "Then Again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah."

Genesis 25:2 "And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah."

However, the Midianites had intermarried with the Ishmaelites, and other nations, and mixed together, and took their heathen gods. These people were a Bedouin people, and it is important to know this, to understand what kind of people it is that conquered the Israelites. As Bedouins and wanderers, they are not soldiers and they were not well organized. When an organized army comes against any massive numbers of these wandering tent people, they will run from the danger.

So we will see these Midianites defeated because God will create the kind of emotion that will cause them to run in terror.

Judges 6:2 "And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds."

These Midianites were robbers and nomads, and in their massive numbers they were stripping the Israelites of all their wealth. This is why the Israelites were digging dens and caves into the mountains to hid what wealth that they had. The Midianites were not so much interested in killing anyone, as much as they were stealing what they had, their sheep, gold and even their grains. When they came in amongst the Israelites in their massive numbers, the Israelites were defenseless to their ways, and stood by as these robbers walked off with anything of value. When this type of people takes over, all you need is someone to make a stand and say, "That's far enough, no more." Then these Midianites would have turned tail and ran.

This is going to be another way that God is going to teach Israel to fight, even spiritually. When we learn to lean on our Father, and follow the instructions that are written in His Word, then one person can make a difference. A few good men and women can turn back multitudes far greater then themselves when they learn to trust on the Lord. These things happened as an example to us today, so that we can learn how to stand up and be somebody.

Judges 6:3 "And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;"

So for the past seven years every time the Israelites planted their crops, when it became harvest time these Midianites would come upon them in masses, and take the harvest right out of the field, and out of their storehouses. This made it real tough when the winter came and there was no grain to feed their families.

Judges 6:4 "And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ***."

These Midianites were just a bunch of robbers that would take what they could and destroy the rest. This is why the Israelites learned to use those natural caves that were in the area, to store enough to survive the winter.

Judges 6:5 "For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it."

These Midianites were so thick that they covered the earth like waves of locust. When they moved into any land, the ripe harvest that lay before them would turn like a wilderness when they had passed through. They stripped the land bare, and left nothing behind. Joel tells us that this is a type of how the Kenites and the locust army of fallen angels will strip the land of truth when they come with Satan at the sixth trump.

Joel 1:4 "That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten."

The term "that which" refers to a warning that Moses gave in Deuteronomy 28:38, and this warning is to those that continue in forms of idolatry. This entire book of Joel is written to those that live in the final generation, for that time is after the Jews have returned to their homeland, and established their nation there. It is during this time that God would see to it that though the harvest was good, others would steal and take away by other means the fruits of our labor. Joel is giving us a warning for the end times, and he is using symbolism to tell us.

This period of time is called the "great tribulation", which is the "great deception". It is a warning just like the one that Jesus gave us, comparing this time to the time of Noah. The Palmerworm are the "gnawers", the Kenites who prepare the way for the other steps of the locust. The "locust" army is the fallen angels that are cast out onto the earth with Satan, when he comes in his role as the Antichrist or false messiah. This time is at the sounding of the sixth trumpet.

The last two stages of this stripping of the earth of all truth from God's Word is done by the "cankerworm" which are your spiritual leaders, such as your pastor, and the "caterpillar" which is your own family members. Between all these four levels, lead by the Kenites; the earth will be stripped clean of the truths of Word of God with understanding, and the only truth that is left for the time of the deception will be sealed away in the minds of the saved or foreheads of God's elect.

During these end times when Satan is here on earth, These angels will intermingle with all of mankind around the earth. Though these spiritual beings will appear to be human, they are spiritual beings, just as those "sons of God" were in Genesis 6:1-6. The message that they will give will be taught by most all ministers from the pulpits of their church houses. They will promote Satan as the messiah, defend the right of the Sodomites, teach ecology, psychology and many other worldly causes. However, there will be a void in the teaching with understanding of God's Word, except to twist it, and make their teaching of it a lie.

Joel 1:5 "Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth."

This "wine" in the Hebrew is "Yayin", or "Yayan". It is a bad wine, common and made from any root or plant you can get your hands on. In a spiritual sense, it makes you intoxicated or drunk and out of mental control. The "new wine" is derived from the Hebrew word "Asaia", which is "to dread". "Asaia" is a new and sweet wine from a vintage year. This wine, is held out by God to be given as a blessing.

So what we are talking about here is the fact that God is calling out to His people in this last generation to wake up and seal in our minds with the truth of His Word. The "New Wine" is the knowledge about the difference between the fake Christ's coming, and the True Messiah which is Jesus Christ. It is the knowledge of the events of our day, that cause us to know where we are in relation to the coming of Satan to deceive the entire earth, so that we will not be deceived by him.

Joel 1:6 "For a nation is come up upon My land strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion."

Prophetically, "My land" is "Jerusalem", which is the small nation calling itself Israel today. Remember that Joel is speaking to the final generation of the House of Judah, to that part of Israel that is in Palestine today. When Satan arrives on earth, he will set up his kingdom in Jerusalem and the entire world will come to worship him there. The number of people will be without number. Directing things from Jerusalem will be Satan's locust army of fallen angels, along with his offspring the Kenites. We read of this in Revelation 9.

Revelation 9:7 "And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it crowns like gold, and there faces were as the faces of men."

These angels have the faces of men because that is what they are, for mankind is made in the image of God and the angels. The reference to the hair of women is because they appear to be gentle as women, however they have the teeth of a lion that will rip the heart right out of you, spiritually speaking. They know they are doomed, and they want your soul right there in hell fire with them.

Revelation 9:8 "And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions."

Joel 1:7 "He hath laid My vine waste, and barked My fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white."

Jesus told us that we are to know "the parable of the fig tree", so that we would not be deceived during the time of the end. This parable was given to prepare us for the coming of Satan the Antichrist, and so that we could be on guard against the methods of the Kenites. To know who they are and what they intend to do. The first part of understanding this parable is to know what happened in the garden of Eden between Eve and Satan. For that sexual union of Satan and Eve came their son Cain. The Kenites are the offspring of Cain, who was the first murderer, and they have the mind of their father the devil. This is what you have to know, if you are to understand any of the parable of the fig tree.

So the over-running of the Israelites by these Midianites was a type of what we shall see very shortly, when we are over-run By Satan and all his hoards. We are to be tested and guided before hand, just as God is preparing Gideon for his mission of making an end of these Midianites in the land.

Judges 6:6 "And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord."

The Israelites had reach the end of their rope, and they could see no way out of their situation, and they cried out to the Lord God. Any time you cry out to the Lord and tell Him that you love Him, He will hear your prayer and forgive your sins. That is the starting point of having the victory over your enemies, your turning to God in prayer. It is no different today then it was in Gideon's day.

Judges 6:7 "And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites,"

When you are in trouble and cry out to the Lord for His help, God will change things for you.

Judges 6:8 "That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, " 'Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;"

This Prophet from God is reminding the Israelites of all the miracles that God had done for them, from the time of their bondage in Egypt and the parting of the Red sea, to the fall of the walls of Jericho.

Judges 6:9 "And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;"

It looks like these Israelites, our forefather were kind of spoiled when God made it so easy for them. All they had to do is to follow the path that He leads. While they were in the desert or wilderness for the forty years, God placed the manna out on the ground so all they had to do is to go out and pick it up. God provided so many quill for the Israelites in the wilderness that it was like going to the chicken house to select the one that you would have for dinner today.

Judges 6:10 "And I said unto you, 'I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed My voice.' "

When the Israelites came into the promised land, they forgot all the blessings that God gave them, and they switched right into Baalism, and the worship of Ashorath. It's the questioning as to whether God really exists, and the putting man and his reason and reproductive abilities in the place of the True God. This same thing is going on today in many church houses, and religious orders that could be considered cults, or part of the occult in their questioning That God is actually real, or is some force off in the universe. In fact even science today has departed from the very forms that they established for themselves, as to whether something could be accepted as scientific evidence, or a fake.

Before being accepted today by the scientific world an "authority", someone that they have established as being all knowing must understand and accept the fact as being true, then they will accept it as being absolutely true. The problem is that these co-called "experts" are men that base their conclusions on the reasoning capacity of their own minds. Their minds are quite limited, thus there conclusions become as strange as they are. They make their statements, and because they have made them, they expect others to accept them as fact. Their strange outcome becomes obvious in such areas as evolution, and astronomy.

When Charles Darwin made his statements, which he stole from the works Herbert Spencer and Alfred R. Wallace, they were a series of assorted ideas where each idea on it's own wouldn't hold water. So he borrowed from Charles Lyell, his old friend, Lyell's "Doctrine of Uniformity" that states that: 1. All conditions have existed for millions of years, exactly as they are today. 2. No world wide catastrophes have occurred for the past 240 million years. This time factor gave Darwin time to explain away his conclusions. However, when anyone talks about one million, fifty million or two hundred and forty million it is an abstract that man's minds simply can't comprehend, nor prove, so their ideas take the form of theories, and puts their ideas in the realm of "make believe". It removes evolution from being scientific, and places it as a religion, something that you take by faith, sight unseen, for religion is a man made form of worship: unlike Christianity, which is a reality.

It is interesting that this "uniformity doctrine" was taken from Hutton in 1795, and later developed by Lacarch in 1800, but it was Lyell, the young attorney, with his interests in geology that made the statement so modified to read so it could be reasonable and acceptable to others. The mixture of Lyell's dogma made Darwin's evolution theory reasonable, and the so-called scientific world took up the cause, because it gave them something to replace God in their lives. Today the Kenites will destroy anyone that goes against their wild ideas in the scientific world, and this occult of evolution has become reality. To many this reality cult of evolution has become a way of life and the way of earning a living to these people. Everybody is trying to steal from others and put their name to it, and call themselves the fathers of what ever the idea is.

There is a statement made in the book, "Protocols of Zion", by the Learned Elders of Zion; under Protocol No. 2, on page 16. It is in reference to the changing of the minds of what Jews call "goyim" with regards to science. The quote goes like this; "Do not suppose for a moment that these statements are empty words: think carefully of the successes we arranged for Darwinism, Marxism, Nietzsche-ism. To us Jews, at any rate, it should be plain to see what a disintegrating importance these directives have had upon the minds of the goyim". By the way, Christians and non-Jews are considered "goyim" by the Jews, and it is a word that means "cattle".

The theory of evolution states that: "All forms of life evolve by gradual emergence from the same most primitive, one-cell living organism. Chance variations occur in members of every species, and no two individuals are entirely identical. These variations are inheritable. The favorable variations, those that are helpful in the struggle for existence, may accumulate to such a degree that a new species originates, the members of which can have no fruitful progeny with the members of the parental species." Charles Darwin. The theory of Darwin and Christianity simply don't mix. Darwin relies on the mind and reasoning of man, and states that man originated by chance, while the Bible teaches quite the contrary. God stated that man was created in the state that he is in, in all the races, and our souls were placed in our physical bodies at the time of conception. There is nothing to argue about on this matter, you either accept God's Word as truth, or follow the lies of Darwin's man made traditions.

What we are led to believe is that all life forms came by chance from a one celled organism, and that it just happened by chance. Then over the course of 240 million years, there was no world wide existence of any world wide catastrophe, but that all things have remained the same. This goes against what the Bible says, and even against the evidence that exists no matter where you are in all the earth. Even common sense tells you that the whole idea is nuts. Every time you drive your car, you burn fuel that comes from the chemical adjustments of dead organisms from a catastrophe from somewhere in the past. Even life itself proves that it is a lie, in that there has been not one mutation from one animal species to another that has been witnessed by any man, or even recorded anywhere in history.

The apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."

The world "power" as given here, in the Greek tongue it is "dunamis", which we get our word for "Dynamite".

I Corinthians 1:19 "For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

Paul is quoting from the prophet Isaiah, from Isaiah 29:14; "Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this People, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."

This marvelous "work and wonder" that shall come upon all of these people is that they shall be fool and deceived through the so-called wisdom of their "wise men". It is God that will send the delusion so that if you want to believe a lie, He will not hinder hinder you one bit. If you want to believe Lyell's theories, or Darwin's, or in fact any of the cults, God will not only allow you to do it and He will not hinder you an any way. He will let you sink all the way to the bottom of that spiritual pit, and hit with a thud. It is only then that you will come to your senses and cry out to God for help.

Today this wisdom of the so-called wise is leading our nation into the new world order, and it is giving a strange twists to the Word of God. However in the time of the Judges, when the judge died there was no the go-between of God and man, then the people would lose their sense of direction and stray after strange gods, idols and forms of religious practices. Men and women think that they need their God to be seen and touchable before they can have faith in Him, However, our God requires our faith in Him when we can neither see nor touch Him physically. For this blind obedience by faith, God gives us salvation by grace, which is only offered in this earth age. This is because in the Millennium age, all souls will be in their spiritual bodies, and Christ will be here with us. There will be no grace by faith then, but salvation in the Millennium age will come only by your works, and those works will be reviewed at judgment day by our Father.

Though we have the cross today to look back to today and His coming, those same promises were given in the Old Testament times, even back in the Garden of Eden, yet the Israelites departed from God over and over when their leaders would die. They departed from the burnt sacrifice offerings for their sins, and the love offerings for the Father, and would turn to the so-called "wise men" of their day. These were the Kenites that they allowed into their midst, and they brought their man made forms of worship that were called "Baal" and "Ashorath", that were forms of men worshipping themselves.

When God told the Israelites "fear not", which in the Hebrew text is "don't give reverence to" the gods of the Amorites, which were Baal and Ashorath; they would not listen to God. We see in the book of the judges that thirteen times when their judge or spiritual leader died, they headed right out to the gods of the heathen Kenites and Amorites that were living amongst them.

Judges 6:11 "And there came an Angel of the Lord and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites."

"Angel of the Lord" spoken of here is God Himself, in the likeness that flesh man can face. It is a Christ walking the earth Himself, "Emmanuel", which translated means; "God with us". This is how God could talk directly to man, through the "Angel of the Lord".

It is important that we translate both Joash and Gideon back into the Hebrew tongue. "Joash the Abiezrite" means "the father [Joash] of help [Abi-ezrite], or "the father of helps his son". "Gideon" means "the cutter down" being translated from the Hebrew text. So lets try to understand who this man Gideon is, and what type of fellow he is.

The "winepress" is a vat used to crush the grapes to extract the juices, and it is located in the vineyard itself. It is usually hidden in such a location that one could hide in there and not be noticed. Gideon is not crushing the grapes near this winepress, but he is threshing wheat. Gideon is pounding the wheat with a stick there because it is quieter. Gideon is afraid of being noticed, for this is the low estate that the Israelites had come, allowing these foreigners to run wild through their lands.

There was no one in all the land to stand up for what was rightfully their, but instead they ran and hid like a bunch scared rabbits. So rather then doing the threshing out in the open, like it should be done, Gideon is stroking the wheat with a stick off in a hidden area.

Judges 6:12 "And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour."

Many teachers get this verse a little mixed up, for Gideon is not a "mighty man of valour" when he is hiding out behind the winepress out in the orchard. However, in as much as God is with Gideon, and Gideon will be drawing from the strength of God, the valor comes by following God's instructions which will give the victory. It is God that makes things happen to where you find favor with God, and through your obedience to His Words, you receive the valor from God. It is because of Gideon's following the instructions of exactly what God gave to him, that he became the hero to the people.

Judges 6:13 "And Gideon said unto Him, "Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us: and where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

This is a face to face conversation between Gideon and God, who is in a form that Gideon can see. Gideon is very serious about why and how this could all have happened where the Midianites are over-running the land. No one was safe in the streets, and their wealth and property are being taken from them to where they are stripped clean of what they had. Gideon is asking, if the Lord is with us, then why am I hiding out in this corner of the orchard, striving just to get enough wheat to make my bread? Why are our people become impoverished by the Midianite thieves that are running the streets around us.

Friend, this is not God's fault, if you look around your streets today and see the same things happening today; then take a look at the people of God, and what they are doing. Are they studying God's Word to know what they are to do, and following those instruction? Or have they brought into their church houses some Kenites, with their twisted doctrines and accepting those forms of Baal, Ashorath, and maybe the rapture doctrine as the foundation of their faith? Are they preparing for the coming of the first christ, the Antichrist so that they will not be deceived, or are they preparing themselves to be spiritual whores to Satan the Antichrist?

If you are one of these poor-me babies that like to whimper and cry over everything that goes on, then you better take a better look at yourself. You make the bed that you lie in, and that is exactly what will come your way. Remember what we read earlier from Isaiah 29:14, the wisdom of the so-called wise men of any day shall parish, and the understanding that comes from their prudent men shall be hid from those that do not seek the wisdom from God. Anything that comes your way, come because you allow it to happen by the very choices that you make for yourself.

You can stumble through your life in this world and not even know why you are here in this flesh body, or you can seek the truth from His Word and know the entire plan of God. Anytime Jesus Christ was asked a question by the Kenites, and the wicked of His day, He would answer; "It is written...", haven't you read it? Unfortunately there is not much difference between Jesus day and ours, or that of Gideon's day. People like to stand by and moan and complain about everything that goes wrong, and leave God completely out of their lives. The point to this chapter is that God can take poor losers and make champions out of them when they learn to follow God's Word, and do as they are instructed. God is going to lead Gideon, because He is going to give the enemy into Gideon's hands.

Judges 6:14 "And the Lord looked upon him, and said, "Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?"

Gideon's might is YHVH, the Lord God almighty, and that is where all of our mights rests, when we learn to communicate with Him. God gives His instructions when we are taught through His Word, and when we use those instruction for the service of the Lord and He blesses us, then God gets all the credit. When you claim a promise of God, and God delivers that blessing to you, then you are to recognize where the power of your strength came from.

Judges 6:15 "And he said unto Him, "Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."

Gideon was crying and moaning that he is nothing, he is the least in his family and that his father's family is the poorest of all the families of the tribe of Manasseh. "Poorest" as it is used here, means "the youngest of all his brothers".

Judges 6:16 "And the Lord said unto him, "Surely will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man."

God is telling Gideon that though the Midianites are many, God is going to allow Gideon to smite them all as if they were but one man. One person can make a difference in a world that has rejected our Heavenly Father. You can make a difference when you allow God to use you as He sees fit. God will use you exactly where you are, in your home, community and family, and He can turn you from a cry baby, into a champion for Him. People are drawn to the strength and honesty that comes only from God.

Judges 6:17 "And he said unto Him, "If now I have found grace in Thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me."

Talk is great and especially when it comes from God, when you are looking at God in the person, but Gideon is saying prove it to me that you will give me the victory. This is a normal response for anyone in the flesh.

Judges 6:18 "Depart not hence, I pray Thee, until I come unto Thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before Thee. And He said, "I will tarry until thou come again."

It was customary that you offer something to somebody when you are asking a favor of them. God told Gideon to go and get his gift and He would wait until Gideon would return. This was not just a man waiting, but it was the "Angel of the Lord".

Judges 6:19 "And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto Him under the oak, and presented it."

Notice that it was "unleavened" cakes of bread, and an "ephah", which is about twenty pounds of flour. These were had times, and we see that this offering to God just about emptied the cupboards. This place that God waited was under a popular oak, for there is no other description given as to its location.

Judges 6:20 "And the Angel of God said unto him, "Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth." And he did so."

Gideon did exactly as God told him to do, even though it may seem like it was wasting the precious food, the unleavened bread, the meat and the broth. These were hard times, and it was hard to get food in that day. Yet when God told Gideon to place them on the rock that was there, and he pour the broth over the altar, Gideon followed God's instructions.

Judges 6:21 "And the Angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes Then the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight."

When there is fire on the altar of God, it means that God had accept that sacrifice that was offered to Him. This is similar to the altar that Elijah had made to God, when challenging the four hundred prophets of Baal, when king Ahab and all Israel turned to Baalism and against God.

I Kings 18:31 "And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, "Israel shall be thy name:"

I Kings 18:32 "And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed."

I Kings 18:33 "And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, "Fill four barrels with water, and put it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood."

I Kings 18:34 "And He said, Do it the second time." and they did it a second time. And he said , "Do it a third time." And they did it the third time." "

I Kings 18:35 "And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water."

Elijah had built the altar and placed what should be on that altar according to His Word. Then to make sure that there would be no misunderstanding as to who was accepting that sacrifice, God instructed Elijah to soak the entire thing in water three times.

I Kings 18:36 "And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these things at Thy word."

Elijah is letting the people know that what is going to happen that they will witness is from God, and it is He that will consume the sacrifice. There will be no confusion of what God will do.

I Kings 18:37 "Hear me, O lord, hear Me, that this People may know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again."

There is the reason for this demonstration that God will perform through the hands of Elijah. It is to turn the hearts and minds of the people away from Baalism and back to God, so that they will live for God and follow His ways.

I Kings 18:38 "Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench."

God didn't just consume the sacrifice, but the soaked wood, the stones that the altar was made of, and the dust of the earth that was under the stones were taken by the fire. Even the water in the trench around the altar was licked up and consumed by the fire. "Our God is a consuming fire" [Hebrews 12:29], and this is stated in both the Old and New Testament.

I Kings 18:39 "And when all the People saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, "The Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the God."

This was the purpose for the altar and the demonstration that Elijah gave. It was to turn the hearts of the people back to God. When they witnessed this fire from God, they believed. We live in a time today when all kinds of prophesies from the Bible are happening right before our eyes, yet the people are spiritually blind to them. When they should be turning back to God, most simply go about their daily lives as though what is happening is what God owes them.

Lets look at the symbolism of this verse in Judges. The "unleavened bread" is our Passover of today, and it symbolizes Jesus Christ body in at the Communion table. The "Rock"; God is our Rock and the very foundation that we build our lives upon. In that the Angel of the Lord has departed, Gideon is now alone.

Judges 6:22 "And when Gideon perceived that He was an Angel of the Lord, Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an Angel of the Lord face to face."

It wasn't until after the Angel of the Lord had departed, that Gideon become afraid. It was written in traditions that when you see the face of God you will die. Gideon had seen the face of God, and he expected to die, however he was still alive.

Judges 6:23 "And the Lord said unto him, "Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die."

The Angel of the Lord had departed from Gideon to where he could not see Him, yet God simply talked to Gideon and assured him that he would not die.

Judges 6:24 "Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites."

Gideon built an altar to the Lord, and this altar in the Massorah text is called "YHVH-shalom". "YHVH" is the sacred name of the Lord, and "shalom" in the Hebrew tongue means "peace".. Gideon called the Lord "Father", the Lord of Peace, for surely He is going to bring peace to His people.

Judges 6:25 "And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, "Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:"

The "Grove" is where they practiced their "grove worship, which was their sexual orgies. It is their fertility rites from were we get the Easter bunny, Easter eggs, the Easter bonnet and all the other things of spiritual whoredom that go with grove worship. This includes the early Sunday morning sunrise service where all the men would go out on a hill and bow to the sun when it came up on that day. Then because we are Christians we rename these heathen customs and call them "Christian rites", and it is suppose to please our Father. It doesn't. The truly sad part of this custom is that we have overlooked the most important day of all Christianity, and that is the Passover, for on that day Christ came out of that tomb, and through His resurrection we have victory over Satan and all of his realm.

Somehow so-called Christians attribute Passover to the Jews, who denounce Christ, and chase after the Kenite Jews religious order of Baal and Ashorath [Esther] as being Christian. If they will do this in their church houses, there is no doubt that they will worship Satan as their Christ, when he is cast from heaven at the sixth trumpet. This act of preparing for Satan's coming is what the rapture is all about, being taken by the first messiah to come, which is the false Christ, Satan, in his role as the Antichrist. Christians today are one confused bunch of people, thy refuse to take God at face value, yet they will run to the Kenites and all their stupid doctrines and grab them like those heathen customs were from God.

This is where "Gideon" received his name from, "the cutter down", for Gideon will be the one to cut down the grove worship, the sexual orgies of Baal and Ashorath, and turn the hearts of the people back to God.

Judges 6:26 "And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down."

God is telling Gideon to clear out all the idols and things that were part of grove worship and destroy them. Then Gideon is to form the altar to God in an orderly manner. On the top of these rocks, take the wood from the idols of the grove worship and use that wood to build a fire on the top of My altar. This way God is going to have a burnt sacrifice on His altar, and clean up the heathen mess at the same time.

Judges 6:27 "Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night."

Give Gideon credit for using his head and getting the job done at a time when there was the least resistance. I'm sure there would be a real battle if this had happened when the people were aware of their heathen gods were being destroyed. You know that their would be war if someone tried to take the heathen customs out of the Christianity, and force the congregation to accept only the Word of God.

Judges 6:28 "And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built."

As the town started to awake in the morning, the men went to their idols to worship and there was no altar, nor grove area for their sexual orgies. It was all gone and the tempers started to flare.

All of this is a type of something that will happen at a later time. The false messiah will appear on this earth prior to the True Messiah Jesus Christ. The false messiah, or Satan in the role of the Antichrist is symbolic of Baal, which came out of ancient Babylon. This is the same Babylon mentioned in Revelation 17:5; "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." One Babylon is a type of the other. It is the rebirth of an ancient religious order that is brought forward to the time of the end, or our generation, and this religious form will be accepted in the minds or "forehead" of this one world religious system called "the Mother of Harlots, and the Abominations of the earth".

Gideon knew that their must be a change before God would listen to their cries and do something about it, and he is following God's instructions in what is required before He will accept their sacrifices.

Judges 6:29 "And they said one to another, "Who hath done this thing?" And when they enquired and asked, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing."

When the town folk saw what had happened they knew at once that it was Gideon; the "cutter down" [Gideon] did it.

Judges 6:30 "Then the men of the city said unto Joash, "Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it."

You can see how serious this matter is, for Gideon had destroyed their idols and altars to Baal. He destroyed their places of sex orgies, and disrupted their forms of worship. In archaeological finds, even in America, there have been ancient Baal altars and symbols found. There is nothing new under the sun. Any time people drift away from the truth of God's Word they allow time and man's inventions of religious forms to take hold. When the religious leaders start to substitute heathen religious practices and symbols for the things of God's Word, in time they lose all sense of what is of God, and what is of man. In time the things of man and his pleasures take priority over their things that God requires. This is what has happened in Gideon's community, and it is also what is going on in Christian America today.

In fact in the prosperity doctrines that are common today, Christians have come to believe that prosperity is a measurement of your spiritual positions with God. They think that man can demand something of God, and He has to give it. Friend, anything that you put before God is an idol, and when these people came to Joash, Gideon's father, to complain of what Gideon had done, we can see the good stock that Gideon came from.

Judges 6:31 "And Joash said unto all that stood against him, "Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar."

After Joash heard all that the people had to say, he asked the people, "Do you have to do Baal's fighting for him?" Is this a god that requires you to save him? Joash had the right idea here and he told the people, if Baal is a god, then let him come an plead for himself. Don't you go and try to kill my son, for if Baal is mad about my son destroying his altar, let Baal do the killing himself.

The point here is that Baal is not a god, but a religious form that people have dreamed up, and in their ignorance have followed. When people say that they are going to put a curse on someone, it shows their ignorance, for there is no such thing. However if they believe it, it cause them to do strange things and their actions almost become the fact. If someone allows Satan to send his evil spirit upon them, and they are open to that evil spirit, that causes them to do the evil deed that they blame on the spirit.

A servant of God does not have to put up with non-sense, but we have the power to order evil spirits out of our lives. In the power of God, you have power over anything negative in your life. Superstition is a evil religious form, and when it is in your life you put yourself a slave to it. It is not the fact that you do that particular thing, but the condition that you set in your mind and allow your mind to be a slave to. Christians are to refuse to allow superstitions and evil practices that are negative to get in the way of seeing the truth from God's Word.

Judges 6:32 "Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, "Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar."

So Joash was renamed at that place to "Jerubbaal", which means "Let Baal plead for himself".

Judges 6:33 "Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over , and pitched in the valley of Jezreel."

"Jezreel" is a play on the word "Israel" and it means "the seed of God". These Midianites and their friends the Amalekites came upon the children of Israel, all the tribes as Israel is preparing for the time of harvest. It was the annual time when the Midianites would come in and take everything that was lose and not tied down.

Judges 6:34 "But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him."

The Spirit of the Lord is about to do a great work through Gideon, and Gideon blew the trumpet to get the troops together.

Judges 6:35 "And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali and they came up to meet them."

Manesseh is the largest of the tribes in number. Remember that in the previous battles Zebulun and Naphtali were right there when it was time for the battle. The word "Manasseh" means "forgetful" and we have see that it doesn't take long to forget the things that have happened to them.

Judges 6:36 "And Gideon said unto God, "If Thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said,"

Judges 6:37 "Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that Thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said."

Gideon has seen the Angel of the Lord face to face. He has heard God talk to him from heaven, and he trusted the Lord enough to destroy all the heathen idols and grove worship, but Gideon still wants another sign from God before he leads the troops against this huge multitude of Midianites. The way that Gideon has stated this test of God, is just the reversal of the natural order of the due when it settles on the ground in the mornings for only the fleece of wool would be wet.

Judges 6:38 "And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water."

In the morning when Gideon went to get the fleece, He found a bowl full of water while the ground around it was dry.

Judges 6:39 "And Gideon said unto God, "Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray Thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew."

This would be the reversal of the first test that Gideon gave to God.

Judges 6:40 "And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground."

God really had a lot of patience with Gideon. God wanted to relieve His people from the bonds of those Midianites, and at the same time turn His people back to Him. God choose Gideon, a man hiding out back behind the vat in the orchard, and came to speak to him personally. God tested Gideon by having him destroy the altars of Baal, and then use that material to build an altar to Him, and offer a sacrifice on that altar. Then God allowed Gideon to test Him, to verify that what He was about to do, was for sure from God.

We have many churches today that fit the category that the people were in at the time of Gideon. They are so deep in tradition and Baal worship that they are just like those Israelites that came to Joash. Modern day man has brought in today's form of heathenism, and their ignorance is bliss to them. So God's Word is very clear and the types are set for the deliverance that is about to come to Israel.

Today ignorance is bliss, however, God's Word is very clear as to the types and events that are set. Of course the children are not going to hell for rolling an Easter egg, or mother for wearing her bonnet. When you teach your children, teach them the truths out of God's Word. Teach them what what the egg stands for, and that it symbolizes fertility and that it came from the ancient feast of "Ishtar" the heathen goddess. It was a fertility rite. If you want to have your children carry the eggs on Passover, and partake in this rite, it is up to you. But teach your children what the things that they do symbolizes. It has absolutely nothing to do with our Lord's passover. This is said to inform you that heathenism is in many places of our churches today.

The Shepherds Chapel

[Nina]

Gideon is told to tear down the Altar of Baal and the Asherah Pole to cleanse his father's house and the community. They were worshipping these idols. In their place Gideon was to build an altar for sacrifices to God. In obeying God, Gideon risked the anger and even danger of his father and the community a they had build them to worship the false gods to insure fertility for their crops, animals and even people. When they found out who tore these down, they went to Gideon's father and said Gideon must die for his actions.

Gideon followed God's instructions and took ten servants with him and destroyed the false Gods. He took a bull to sacrifice on the altar. He did this at night. The scripture says he was afraid but I don't think doing it at night was a sign of weakness. It make have been that people were there worshipping the false gods during the day. He was strong in following God's directions even at the threat of death.

[JustJeff]

Because His people had violated two of His basic laws, having gods before Him and making graven images, God ordered Gideon to destroy both Baal and the Asherah pole. God instructed Gideon to make an altar to Him, replacing the false idols, and to offer Him a sacrifice which Gideon did.

Gideon realized that he faced capital punishment by doing this, even at the hands of his own father who was the caretake of the false idols. He was fearful of this punishment and that is why he did it by night.

If we had no fear of situations like this there would be a problem. Anytime we are placing ourselves in a dangerous place fear should be aroused which stimulates caution. It is that fear which will cause us to run or to step out in faith and trust God to carry us through. Gideon was exercising great faith while being cautious.

[masika]

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 told Gideon to tear down Baalalter and Asheral pole, because when God delivered the children of Israelites from the bondage of slavery of the Egyptians, He gave them Ten Commandments to follow and the First one was to have no other god but God alone. This was to show they could Love alone for what he did for them in their deliverance. In Egypt people where worshiping many gods.

If the children of Israel didn't learn that God who led them out of Egypt was the only true God, they could not be God's people, no matter how faithfully they kept the other nine commandments.

Gideon proved his faith and commitment in God by doing what God had told Him to do. He did this at night because out of fear. This is common to most of us, we feel ashamed even to witness to our close friends or relatives or even our members of the family, but with the help of the Holly Spirit of God we can do all things without fear.

[Jezemeg]

God's command for Gideon to destroy Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah poles was so that it would build Gideon's confidence as well as symbolically replace Israel's dependence on Baal as any god at all, and replace it with God's altar...signifying again that God is now in control of the Israelites. Gideon does this at night because as yet he hasn't full confidence in God's ability or willingness to protect him. No this isn't a sign of weakness of faith with Gideon, to do what he did even at night took courage that Gideon didn't know he possessed. God is not worried when we do something, He just requires we do it.

[Gitzi]

God is the One true living God and we are to serve Him alone. Gideon must use the wood of the Asherah pole and erect a proper alter at the top of the "height" to show this. The risks are from his father and the community and Gideon was to forsake not only worshiping the false gods but also anyone that would oppress including his own father, putting God first in his own life as well. I think Gideon's doing this at night is symbolic of a new day that will dawn for the Israelites and shows great faith.

[Don W]

The Israelites must destroy all their places of sacrifice and worship before the false gods (idols) of the land before God would use men as Gideon to rid them of their enemies and to bring in once more the true worship of God Jehovah. He is a jealous God and won

[Lion of Grace]

God told Gideon to tear down his fathers altar to Baal and to cut down the Asherah idol beside it to establish physical evidence that these things were displeasing to the one true God. He alone was to be worshipped or have places of worship. He even has Gideon use the wood from the Asherah idol to start the fire for the proper sacrifice to Himself, the true God. It's very symbolic of destroying that which is not of God and even using what is not of God FOR the purpose of worshiping in truth. That's a total establishing of who's who! A positive reinforcement of the command to only worship HIM!

The risk involved for Gideon were great. They were political as well as religious and once those idols had been established, to destroy them would rock the boats of many persons in power as well as the general population that were deceived by a system under the guise of religion. There were risks to not only himself, but to his loved ones and that's why I think he did it at night. I'm not sure if it had to do with a lack of faith or specific obedience to God (Did God specify during the day?) but he was "faithful" and God honored him for that. I don't know if it was a sign of weakness. He did go. He was just concerned about when to go.

Many times in scripture others make wise choices in the midst of danger in telling the Gospel. They weren't called to be foolish or even die in all situations.

[Tess Raven]

As big as this first task was that God asked Gideon to do, it was a baby step compared to what lay ahead. Not only did the removal of the altars to the false gods serve to help set the Israelites back on the right track, but it also allowed Gideon to see that God was indeed with him in the successful completion of a dangerous task. By going about it at night, Gideon is actually insuring that he is able to complete what he has been asked to do. He does not brashly make a show in front of everyone opening himself up to the likelihood of his mission being thwarted, but instead carefully plans to make sure that he is indeed able to accomplish what God has asked of him. Not weakness, strategy.

[sahala p.s.]

Q4. (Judges 6:25-27) What is the strategic significance of God's command for Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? What positive thing is he to erect in their place? What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is this night mission a sign of weakness or of faith?

The strategic significance of God

[brotherbill]

Q4. (Judges 6:25-27) What is the strategic significance of God's command for Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? What positive thing is he to erect in their place? What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is this night mission a sign of weakness or of faith?

God wanted to make a statement of His displeasure with His people and their tolerance and worship of other gods.

He then wanted to make a statement that Jehovah God is over all therefore the "proper altar" was erected over the remains of the altar of Baal. There is One God and He alone is to be worshiped.

Risks were several. Death to himself and those with him even possibly the death and injury of his family, or those within the community.

Therefore the reasoning behind tearing down the altar at night. As apostate as the people had become as evidenced by their wish to kill Gideon for this act, there would have been a struggle and lives would have been lost and not just the perpetrator's but perhaps innocents and soldiers for Baal. So the best choice was to perform this act of worship at night.

God bless!

jer33:3

[Robin D]

God wants the Baal altar and Asherah pole torn down because he has given commandments, and they are being broken. Gideon is to erect an altar in their place, use a bullock as a sacrifice, and use the wood from the pole that he cut down to burn it. The risks could involve death, or problems for his family. Gideon does this at night because he is afraid of what the men might do. It is possible that Gideon would have been unable to do all this during the day. Imagine the impact this made as the men of the town woke up and saw this new altar!

[Juith Otieno]

The strategic significance of God's command for Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole was to get rid of the worship of false gods and to restore the worship of the true God (Yahweh). For Yahweh could not allow them to have other gods other than Himself. He is a jelous God!

The positive thing he was to erect in their place was to build an altar to the Lord his God.

The risks that were invoved in his action was attack from those who had erected the altars for Baal worship especially the priests that operated in these altars.

Gideon organized to destroy these altars at night because this is the time when those who operated in these altars would have been away or asleep. This was not a sign of weakness. He had to accomplish the work given to him. How he was going to do it depended wholly on wisdom from God. He was thus wise enough to have done it at night thus avoiding attacks from those loyal to Baal.

[Barbara1]

1. The strategic significance of God's command was to get rid of the other gods so that he could worship The Lord properly.

2.He is to build an alter to the Lord Almighty.

3.The risks involved were that he could be attacted and killed.

4.He does it at night in fear of his father and the other Isrealites.

5.To me the action of the night mission was a sign of both weakness and faith. By doing it at night it showed weakness through but a smart move. But by actually doing it he showed faith.

[paulcrf]

Q4. (Judges 6:25-27) What is the strategic significance of God's command for Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? What positive thing is he to erect in their place? What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is this night mission a sign of weakness or of faith?

God commanded his people not to worship other gods aside from Him. But the Israelites did not listen. They worshiped Baal and Asherah. Baal was pictured as a bull, was considered to control the land, rain and fertility. It was worshiped by the Philistines. Asherah was a goddess worshiped throughout Syria and Canaan. Tearing down this statues means getting rid of their idol worship.

Gideon has to erect an altar on hilltops where he can make his offering to the Lord.

Tearing down the altar of Baal and the Asherah pole was a risk against his own father and the community.

Doing the destruction in the daytime will enable his father and the community to stop him.

For me it was wisdom through faith. If Gideon did it in the daytime, the community men will stop him from distroying the temple of their idols.

[josephh]

God commanded Gideon to tear down Baal's altar to stop Israel from worshipping the false god.

Gideon is to build an altar to God to present a burnt offering using the wood from the Asheral pole.

Gideon's own life is at stake if he obeys God

As a precaution and for fear, Gideon performs his mission at night not to be discovered by his father and the other men.

Gideon is not weak but faithful to God. He must complete his mission taking the necessary steps.

[Jen]

Q4. (Judges 6:25-27) What is the strategic significance of God's command for Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? What positive thing is he to erect in their place? What risks are involved in this action? Why does Gideon do this at night? Is this night mission a sign of weakness or of faith?

This would show total defiance to the town and their pagan worship of Baal. Plus Gideon erects at God's command an altar to the Lord up high for all to see. This would provoke a lynch type mob of angry people who have not the restraining order of the Holy Spirit in them. They would be filled with hate for whoever did this. I don't know why Gideon did this at night but it seems to me a strategic move in that in the morning it would be accomplished for all to see, unsuspectingly since it seems no one challenged them before and without hindrance. If he was weak in the faith he obeyed none the less which makes it more of courage on his part. (my opinion).

God Bless!

Jen

Numbers 6:24-26

[KWADWO]

Gideon I think was a bold young man for the fact that he heeded to the instruction of God. He decided to do the tearing down of the alters in the night because he was being wise. There was no need to do anything that would have brought the whole system against him. Jesus said to His disciples that He was sending them among wolves and so they must be wise as serpents. In spreading the gospel, there is the need not to be apologetic.

Thank you all for the great contributions.

[Loisb]

Q4. (Judges 6:25-27) What is the strategic significance of God's command for Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? What positive thing is he to erect in their place? What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is this night mission a sign of weakness or of faith?

1. Gideon tearing down Baal and Asherah pole to show that they were not gods and could be destroyed.

2. He used the wood and killed a bull to make a burnt offering to God.

3. His family and the community would be upset with Gideon and might kill him.

4. Gideon took his men and did what God had told him at night so that no one would see him destroying their gods and attack him.

5. Gideon might have been afraid, but he put his faith in God to protect him.

[Pamela Harms]

Q4. (Judges 6:25-27) What is the strategic significance of God's command for Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? What positive thing is he to erect in their place? What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is this night mission a sign of weakness or of faith?

1.Gideon had to take a specific bull, the 7 year old, the second one, fron his father's herd and pull down his father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole standing next to it.

2. Gideon had to build and altar to the Lord on the hill top sacrificing the same bull as an offfering on the altar to God.

3. Gideon faced risks first from his father, and then from the community.

4. Gideon was afraid of his father's household and the members of the community, but had faith in God that God was with him and will protect him.