“Then Gideon perceived that He was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, ‘Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.’ But the LORD said to him, ‘Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.’ Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. That night the LORD said to him, ‘Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” Judges 6:22-26
Devotional Thought For The Day
Gideon was threshing grain in hiding when the angel of the LORD came to have a conversation with him, and called him to deliver the children of Israel from the Midianites. Their repression by the Midianites and Amalekites was the result of their having done evil. The pillaging done by these heathens during harvest time was literally starving the children of Israel off of the land. The nature of the evil in Israel was expressed by one of God’s prophets: “I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed My voice.” [Judg. 6:10] The “fear” here spoken of is not merely being afraid of these pagan false gods but giving respect, homage, and reverence to such “gods,” despicable false gods and idols. Even Gideon’s father had an altar to Baal and an Asherah, a wooden image of the false god Astarte. Frankly, this descriptive account is disgusting and depressing. What in the world were these people thinking, to so diminish and dishonor the Name of the LORD? No wonder God, the only True and Living God, allowed them to be plagued and afflicted by the heathen.
When the only True and Living God – the LORD – showed up, Gideon was terrified. This God – the LORD – was nothing like Baal and Astarte. The false gods were mere imaginations in the minds of men, mere wooden or metal idols. The LORD appeared and spoke and performed awesome feats. It is hard to imagine Gideon’s fright, but the LORD responded “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” What does this remind you of? Who is it that spoke these same words so often to His disciples, and also to us? Who also appeared some 2000 years ago to perform awesome signs and wonders, the greatest of which was His own self-sacrifice into death and His glorious resurrection, so that we not perish but have everlasting life? He came that we might know and be certain of His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and eternal love for us. He came as the Prince of Peace to bring us peace – and now being “justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [Rom. 5:1] And did He not promise: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”? [Matt. 28:20] So, the same LORD Who graciously appeared to Gideon that through him He might have mercy upon His people and deliver them is also with us, our dear Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
In consequence – if we know and believe Him, His great love for us, we too are not to fear. We are not to be afraid of God the LORD – He is gracious and merciful, forgiving sins and transgressions, and abounding in steadfast love, and His perfect love casts out all fear. If we know Him we also know that we cannot “fear” other “gods” – not those of false religions, not those promoted by men, and not the things of this world, like money or power or sinful pleasures. We are called to be His own dear people, His chosen ones, His witnesses to the ends of the earth, to call others away from vain and deluded thinking and into His love and His kingdom. We too are called to pull down altars and idols, and to commemorate God, to proclaim that “The LORD is Peace,” and to make our sacrifices and offerings to the LORD. We are to be modern day Gideons – perhaps living fearfully in the midst of Midianites and Amalekites – but with no respect for their idols and gods, and ready to do the bidding of the LORD. This is the power and the nature of faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that He is LORD and God, the true Judge of all men, Whose day and time is coming soon [Rev. 22:20].
This does not mean that we no longer live in repentance, confessing our sins. Think of the sins that Gideon and his family had to confess! But it means that knowing the LORD, His gracious mercy and forgiveness, and His awesome power, we are no longer fearful and no longer compromising or accommodating of the idolatries and ignorance of others. We are not called to conquer with the sword, as Gideon was, but rather to conquer with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” [Eph. 6:17] Nonetheless, we are called to courage and conquest for the LORD, as His children and His servants, to “fight the good fight of faith.” [1 Tim. 6:12] God grant us good faith and courage for our times and the places where we sojourn in this earthly life, knowing Who we serve and where He is leading us!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, help us to see that we needn’t be cowering sheep as we pass through dangers and trials in this world. Preserve us from cowardliness that fearfully acquiesces to the idolatries of others. Preserve us also from worldly pride, from thinking it chic and sophisticated to accommodate the philosophical and moral ignorance of our times. Grant us Your peace, and courage to serve You as Gideon did – following Your calling and instruction. Amen.