nelda huffman Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 God had Gideon tear down the alter and the pole to prove his point, That we should have no other God's before us and then had him build a proper altar to the Lord your God on top of this same spot .Gideon did all this at night because he was afraid of his family and the men of the down. He had faith to do what the Lord ask of him, but his weakness was that he was afraid to do it in the daytime, so he did it at night so not to be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 The Baal altar and Asherah pole were tore down for this was idolartous worship, in its place was an altar built for proper worship of the Lord. There were no carvings made of stone or poles or anything else on this altar, just the earth where he sacrificed his fathers bull. The israelites have forgotten the Lord, and were worshiping idols, as they had done so many times before. Gideon tore down the altar at night, for he was afraid of the people I think this is a sign of both faith for he did as the Lord commanded and weakness for he did it at night for he was afraid of the people, even though the Lord had told him not to be afraid, you are not going to die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lois Turley Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Lois, I'm no biblical scholar, but in Exodus 20:24-26, God tells Moses, "If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. And do not go up to the altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed to it." (NIV...Now, if you look at the picture Pastor Ralph provided, you will see uniform (cut) stones and steps. Obviously, this was built in direct violation of God's commands for altar-building, which, of course, was in concordance with worshipping false gods...false, or incorrect, worship; false, or incorrectly built, altars! Thanks for clarifying this, Vickie! God bless you, Lois Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Maher Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? (6:25) I think there may be a couple of reasons. First, as a test of Gideon's faith and committment. Secondly, to remind the Israelites that they are not following the earlier commands of God. Judg 6:9-10 10 I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me." (from New International Version) What positive thing is he to do in their place? (6:26) Build a proper alter to the Lord God. 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) Retaliation from the people who worship these gods is an immediate risk, including physical harm or death. I do not believe it is a sign of weakness. I believe Gideon's obedience is a definite sign of faith. I believe he had a healthy fear (awareness) of what the possible ramifications might be, so he chose to complete the task under the cover of night. I do not see any specific direction from God about the time of day that this should be done. I believe we need to consider the risks and take appropriate actions to minimize them, unless this would be disobedience. I believe if God had told Gideon to do this in daylight, he would have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 God told Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole because it had caused separation from God. The people were worshipping idols instead of God. What idols do we worship? What has caused us to become separated from God? What person or thing have we put before God? God must be first and foremost in our lives. God is asking us to put aside those things that are hindering our relationship with Him. Gideon was instructed to build an altar to God in its place. When we remove things that are wrong or negative in our lives we must replace them with things that right or positive. Things that are pleasing to God. Gideon tore down that which was displeasing to God and replaced it with something pleasing in His sight. I believe that Gideon was being obedient in doing what God instructed him to do. He did it at night to cause less problems. If he had done it during the day, the people would have been angry (as we read in the following verses). The people felt strongly about the altar and pole and they would have probably tried to prevent Gideon from tearing down these idols. It took courage for him to undertake the task that God had given him and his obedience to God gave him strength to go on. It also showed where he put his trust. In obeying God, he believed that God would be there to protect and guide him through the next step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia A. Conti Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 God told Gideon to tear down the altar to Baal so the people might turn from the false God and back to the Lord. He told Gideon to build an altar to the Lord God so the people might have that altar in front of them, remember the goodness of the Lord and all he's done and turn back to him. Gideon did this at night because he was in danger of losing his life if he were seen doing it. I don't think it is a show of weakness but a prudent choice to be able to do what the Lord commanded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Blazier Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 God told the children of Israel no to worship the idols in the land they were living. They disobeyed. God came to Gideon and told him to tear his fathers altar and ashersh pole down that was there for Baal. Gideon risk his life to do as God said. Scripture says he went at night to do this because he was afraid. The night mission could have been a sign to some as a weakness, butI don't be;ieve the time is as important as the fact that Gideon obeyed God and did this act by faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photobug Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Baal was a false god .God told Gidden to tear it down and to build a new alter to the real god of the people.and Gidden did what God asked him to do and that took a lot of faith on Gidden part just to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gilbert Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 God tells Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole because it is an affront to Him, the One True God of Israel. God asks Gideon to build a proper altar in its place. That is positive, because it shows obedience and replaces the false idol place of worship with the right worship of God. There are huge risks involved to Gideon. Of course he is afraid to do it and be witnessed doing it and be persecuted or killed for doing so. That is why he did it at night, out of fear. I guess it was a sign of weakness, but also of faith as he still obeyed God's command. Many of us are not bold enough to demonstrate our faith clearly before all. Recall how Nicodemus sought out Jesus at night for fear of his reputation with the other religious leaders of his day. Tom Gilbert ------------------------------------------------- Living The Solution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Williams Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 God told Gideon to tear down Baal and Asherah pole because they were his father's altars to Baal(false gods). He was to build a proper kind of altar to the Lord on top of this height using the wood of the Asherah pole that he had cut down and offer the second bull as a burnt offering. The risk was death, from his family and the community. Gideon did it at night because he was afraid of his family and community. His night mission might have been out of fear but not because lack of faith. As a great risk to him and putting in family in a difficult situation, Gideon was obedient. God did not give us the spirit of fear, this is satan tatic. On God's mission we will be afraid at times but we have to keep the faith abd obey. God told Gideon what to do and how but He did not say it could not be done at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda bass Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 God told Gideon to tear down the altar to baal and the asherah pole because they represented idols or false gods. They were an abomination to Him. Gideon was told to build a proper altar to the Lord in the place where baal's altar was. He was to then sacriface a bull as a burnt offering upon the altar using the wood from the asherah pole. Gideon risked getting caught in the act of tearing down the altars. By doing it at night there was less of a chance of him getting caught. I believe Gideon's night mission was a sign of weakness. He was afraid to stand up for his beliefs. He was probably more afraid of what would happen to him if he was caught than publically taking a stand against the false gods Israel was worshipping at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynette Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 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) a. Because they have been the objects of idol worship. b. Build an altar for the Lord using a burnt offering instead. c. The risks are that Gideon and his company would be killed by the idol worshippers. d. Doing it at night was safer, they wouldn't be seen. e. No, I believe it was a smart strategy so Gideon could accomplish was he needed to without interference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fina Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 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) ******** As we know, our God is a jealous God and he does not tolerate any rivals thus he ordered Gideon to demolish it and build an altar to the Lord. In doing this, he is in danger of being disowned by his father or killed by the men in their town. He did the demolition at night because he was afraid of his family and the people of their town. In biblical times, the people were so lucky that they could hear God's voice and talk to them directly. God had showed many times His great power, that He is the one who created us, that there is nothing impossible to Him - but why do it at night? For me, it is a sign of weakness/faith. I just want to be honest to myself and to God because He is the one who can read our minds and what is in our hearts. Majority of us, i include myself - we are like Gideon, sometimes we look for signs and miracles before we believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Hill Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 1. God tells Giddeon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole because the people are worshiping false gods. The positive thing that he is to do to the false gods place is to build a proper kind of altar to the Lord on the top. The Asherah wood was used to offer the second bull as a burnt offering. The risks are very high. This is the people's god and they are not going to like it when they find out that it has been destroyed. Giddeon does this at night so they won't see who did it. But they find out and then want to kill him. His Dad takes up for his son. He said that if Baal was such a great god let him take care of himself. His dad said that he didnl't know about him but as for his house - they would serve the Lord. I do not think it was a sign of weakness. He knew God was with him and so he did it at night. These people were related to him in some way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judie Suda Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 Why does Gideon do this at night? Is the night mission a sign of weakness or faith? (6:27) I think Gideon showed wisdom in tearing down the alter at night. When God calls us to do something we must be wise and plan it out. That is what Gideon did. He knew the people and the evil in their hearts. There was a greater risk of failure during the day plus a greater risk to him and his family. He chose wisely with courage and faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara Momphard Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 1. Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? God wanted Gideon to build an altar to the true God. God was calling Gideon to deliver Israel from the Midianites(6:25) What positive thing is he to do in their place? Building a proper altar to God and make a sacrifice to God.(6:26) What risks are involved in this action? His father had built an altar to Baal and the fertility god Asherah. He risks anger from his own family first and then those who worshipped Baal and maybe death. Why does Gideon do this at night? He was afraid he would be seen and maybe stopped. Is the night mission a sign of weakness or faith? (6:27) Maybe he was just being cautious and smart. I am thinking there may have been lives lost if they had destroyed the idols during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Talich Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 God told Gideon to tear down the alter because: 1. Israel prayed for deliverance from the Mideanites (v7) 2. God had protected Israel before (v8,9) 3. God seemed not to be there because Israel had turned away from God (v10) 4. God could not protect Israel because they had turned away from Him 5. The remedy was to tear down the alter and sacrifice to the True God. Notice the following: - God chose Gideon to act - Gideon was given a choice to act - Gideon's action would be on behalf of Israel - Gideon made sure it was a command from God - Notice that God told Gideon to use the 7 year old bull - not the usual animal - It says in v1 that the "Mideanite problem" had been going on for 7 years. The Positive thing that Gideon did was to sacrifice the 7 year old bull on the proper alter to atone for the sins of the people of Israel so that God could deal with the 7 year old problem with the Mideanites. Based on the reaction of the people to Gideon's action, it would not have been wise to act in the daytime. It says that Gideon was afraid of his father's household and the men of the city, but notice also that it was night when God told him what to do. I do not think this action at night was an act of cowardice, but wisdom and obedience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Phelps Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 To cleanse the people of idolatry and restore their faith in the one True God. Gideon was told to build an altar to God and offer a burnt sacrifice. He risks retribution or even death by the people and dishonor in the eyes of his father. He was afraid of being caught by his family or the townspeople. Performing God Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Anderson Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 The Lord requires a cleansing of impurities and it was also a step of faith for Gideon to tear down the altar and the pole. The positive "replacement", if you will, is that which allowed Gideon to build an altar to the Lord, offer a sacrifice and worship Him...something that hadn't been done openly for quite some time it appears. A precious opportunity for Gideon to make a speech without saying a word, huh? Gideon is risking not only the already hostile community's rath but also that of his family. After all it appears that his father is the "keeper" of the altar as it is built on his land. Daytime, nighttime ~ does it really have to matter as far as his faith is concerned? The fact that he made the decision to obey and picked the time when he most likely could get it done without a fight from the locals or family...well, I say go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjcollin Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 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. God tells Gideon to tear down the baal altar and the asherah pole because they are an abomination to Him. Gideon is to build an altar to the one true God YHWH in the place of the altars to the false gods. The risks are that the worshipers of the false gods will try to stop Gideon or try to kill him for the action, that is why he does it at night so that he will be successfull in his task. The mission is a sign of faith, God doesn't tell Gideon when to do it, just to do it. I think that Gideon was free to intrepret and think for himself how he could act on what God had given him to do. Gideon was very prudent on how he carried out God's task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marjorie Knight Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 I feel that God told him to hear down the alter as a test of his faith, and also we are to have no other God's before him.The positive thing he was to do was to use the Asherah pole and sacrifice the second bull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBORAH Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 Q-1)THE LORD ASKED GIDEON TO DO WHAT HE TOLD ISRAEL TO DO Q-2)THEN BUILD A PROPER ALTER TO HIM IN ITS PLACE Q-3)THE RISKS WERE THAT THE ISRAELITES WERE WILLING TO KILL ONE OF THEIR OWN FOR THE WORSHIP OF THE BAAL(IDOLS) Q-4)AT NIGHT, SO AS TO FOLLOW HIS TRUE GOD'S WISHES, AND THAT THE ENEMY WOULD BE ASLEEP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omie Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 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 has anger at anyone worshipping something other then the true and only God. They knew the commandment about worshiping false gods. + Gideon is chosen to oversee and work with his servants to build a "proper altar" (see Exodus 20:25 -NIV) to the True God. + He risks death! (verse 30) The Israelites would kill their own for the cause of Baal. + The darkness covers the work which needed to be completed before the people awoke and destroyed this "proper alter" to God. + I don't see it as a weakness, God had not commanded him to do it in the daytime, Gideon is not evading God's plan. He and the 10 servants must have had God's help in doing this in *one night* - as it was quite a large undertaking to destroy and rebuild the alter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Posted January 24, 2003 Report Share Posted January 24, 2003 The peoplewere worshiping tem They were his fathers He was to put up a alter to God He was afrade to do it in daylight that could be a weakness of faith but with him only having a few to help him and the threats of death night was probly the best time because he would have time to get both done with out a riot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret Lane Posted January 26, 2003 Report Share Posted January 26, 2003 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. 1. Because they are false gods. - Build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God. - The fury of his father and community - So he could not be seen- he was afraid. - Weakness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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