An Unlikely Overcomer

Have you ever believed you heard from God and then you begin to wonder if it really was God speaking to you? It’s always a good idea to revere God enough that you make sure you’re hearing from Him and you get confirmation that it is Him speaking to you. As we look at Judges 6:17-32, Gideon starts out asking for a sign so he could be sure he was hearing from God. So he asked the Angel of the Lord to wait for him while he went to get an offering. When Gideon returned with the meat and some unleavened bread, the Angel of the Lord asked him to lay them on the rock and pour out the broth. When he did as asked, the Angel of the Lord touched the offering with His staff and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the bread. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished. This scared Gideon because he knew that those who looked upon the face of God would die, and he knew this was God. But the Lord gave Gideon his peace and told him he wouldn’t die. Gideon built an altar at that place and named it “The Lord is Peace”. Gideon knew God’s peace for a short time…until God asked him to do something for Him that was not so easy.

That same night, God asked Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and the Asherah pole that was next to it. Now Gideon had to face his fears. He knew this was God’s command to him, but what would his father think? And what would the townsmen do when they found their idol torn down? Gideon moved ahead and did what God asked him to do even though he was afraid, and that’s exactly what you and I have to do. We have to obey God no matter what. If we don’t obey God because of fear of what someone else will think, we are putting them in God’s place because we care more about what they think than what God thinks. Then that person has become an idol to us. So what idols do you have that you need to put in their proper place?

God had Gideon build an altar to Him and burn the sacrifice upon the wood from the Asherah pole. And God wants us to give our sacrifice to Him upon the altar we build for Him. What that means is that we put God first and sacrificing those things that keep us from putting Him first. What can you sacrifice, or give up, in order to give God first place in your life?

Morning came and the townsmen found that their idol had been demolished. They did some investigating and found that Gideon was to blame. So they went to his house ready to kill him for tearing down their idol. But Gideon’s father, Joash, took up for Gideon and told the men that if Baal was a real God, then he could contend with Gideon himself. And so they called Gideon “Jerub-Baal”, which means “Let Baal contend with him”. God doesn’t tell us how all of this played out with Gideon’s father, Joash. But I wonder if he told his father the whole story about the Angel of the Lord, because Joash took up for him when the townsmen came. I do know that when you have an experience with God, the people who know you see a change in you. Joash saw his young, fearful son do something that was brave for a change. It appears that he saw a change in Gideon and believed him. When God asks us to do something, He wants us to do it even if we have to do it afraid. You never know when someone may be watching you which will cause their faith to grow as they see you put God first and as they see your obedience even though you may be walking in fear. God wants you to have an awe and respect for Him so that you will overcome your fear, step out in faith and do what He is asking you to do even if you have to do it afraid, just like Gideon, our unlikely overcomer.


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