Judges 6:25-32
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
25 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 26 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.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.
Our previous Bible Study lesson was on the ‘Call of Gideon’ in Judges 6:11-24. In that lesson, we saw that Gideon’s humility was the focus of the passage. In application, we too, like all servants of God (e.g., Gideon, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, the Apostle Paul, Jesus Christ, et al.), need to demonstrate this divine character of God, being meek and lowly, in our service to Him. “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). In today’s lesson, we see that obedience follows humility. And truly this does make sense. For how many prideful people refuse to follow orders, and instead, take the command away from the leader so they can do things their way? The end result can be chaos when a soldier goes ‘rogue!’. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines ‘rogue’ as, “a person, organization, or country that does not behave in the usual or acceptable way.” Therefore, all soldiers, without exception, know that following the command of a leader is the only way to ensure the success of a military mission.
Below is the Hebrew chiasm structure for today’s lesson in Judges 6:25-32. The turning point and the main focus of the lesson is Gideon’s obedience. Gideon does everything the Lord asks Him to do. He destroys his father’s altar of Baal.
Verse 6:25 begins by introducing the timeframe of this passage, which says, “That night the Lord said to him.” This would be the very night when God called Gideon and revealed Himself to him by accepting his offering as a sacrifice: the angel of the Lord touched the food offered to Him with the tip of His staff and fire came and consumed the food. Thus, Gideon said, “I have seen the angel of the Lord face-to-face.” When the angel of the Lord announced that Gideon would not die, He then departed. So, on this very night, the Lord speaks to Gideon and gives him instructions on what he wants Gideon to do. In this first mission, Gideon is not to go build an army and attack the Midianites, as Othniel, Ehud, and Barak did. Gideon is called first, to remove and destroy the altar of Baal and the Asherah that his father has. Gideon is obedient to God’s call and does all that the Lord asked him to do. However, verse 6:27 says, “So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.” The highlight of this passage is Gideon doing all that the Lord asked him to do.
This is obedience. This is the simple act of reformation. By cleansing his father’s household of false worship, Gideon restores worship back to the one true God. This act of obedience has huge significance. We are called to be followers and disciples of Christ. To do this, however, Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-26:
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
We are called to worship and be followers of Christ. To do this, the followers of Christ deny themselves. This act of repentance is a reflection of the changed heart by believing and trusting Jesus. No longer are we to possess and put before us worldly passions, which are the rudiments of sin. This means we are not self-serving, but Christ-serving: putting Christ first! Hebrews 11:24-27 says this best, by saying,
“By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
Followers of Christ also take up their cross and follow Him. At the passion of Christ, Jesus took upon Himself, all our sins, and suffered the wrath of God in our place. He picked up the cross on which He died and carried it in our place. In the same way, we also must take up our cross and die to ourselves to live for Him, as the Apostle Pauls says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Colossians 3:3,5 says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God … Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, …” And 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
This taking up our cross is an ongoing act of devotion, dependence, and repentance by faith. It is not a once for all and then that is all! Instead, this act of taking up our cross is described by John Owens as the daily mortification of our sins. This means as the Apostel Paul said, “I die daily!” (1 Corinthians 15:31). John Owens said, “yet sin doth so remain, so act and work in the best of believers, whilst they live in this world, that the constant daily mortification of it is all their days incumbent on them.” Every day, to be a follower of Christ, we must put our sins to death. We need a reformation of life. We need to be transformed by the renewing of our hearts and mind with the life-giving Words of God (Romans 12:1-2). Instead of pursuing ungodly desires, which is, “garbage in; garbage out,” we need to put the Word of Life into our minds. The Word of God is sufficient and preserves and protects our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies. This is how we abide in Christ. This is how we follow Him who died for us!
From our passage, we must notice what happens after Gideon destroys the altar of Baal and tears down the Asherah. Gideon, as the Lord said, uses the wood from the Asherah to kindle a fire upon an altar built and dedicated to the Lord. However, when Gideon’s father and all the townspeople saw the destroyed altar to Baal, they wanted to find the one who did this so they can kill him. Yet, Gideon’s father intervenes on Gideon’s behalf. He tells the townspeople to let Baal contend against Gideon if he is a god. From that day on, Gideon was called Jerrubaal, meaning, ‘let Baal contend against him.’
In application, we need to accept our call to worship and follow God, Christ the Lord. To do this requires a heart, or being ‘born again’ into Christ. The Holy Spirit of God gives us this new birth. We are to believe in Jesus Christ and repent of our sins. This means we are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and put to death all sin that hinders and binds us. As followers, we are to keep our eyes fixed on the prize, Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
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Lord Jesus, I worship You who died for me. You took my sins and paid the penalty I could not bare. Thank You, my Lord and God! I confess that I have sin in my life that raises its ugly head to torment me every day. Give me grace and the help I need to mortify and put to death this sin by repentance. Help me in my sanctification; give me the desire and grace to be like Christ. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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Take My Life and Let it be, by Frances R. Havergal in 1874:
Your arguments should be taken as the rule when it comes to this topic.
Aloha, I understand what you are saying that the cost of following Christ is crucial, as said by Jesus himself. To follow him, we do deny ourselves and take up our cross. The only reason I did not state it more emphatically is for fear that some will take this as a “checklist” so they can mark off their accomplishment and good works, saying that they are now eligible to enter into the Kingdom of Christ. This is a form of legalism and is not part of God’s plan of salvation. For we are saved by grace through faith and not of works. Yes, as James said, works are important, like giving to the poor and taking care of orphans and widows. They are the evidence of faith. In the same way, when we deny ourselves and take up our cross to follow Him, that is evidence that the Holy Spirit has indeed given us the ‘new birth’ in Christ. This change in our life is an accomplishment by God himself and therefore, He only will get the glory. Christ has delivered me from the miry filth of sin and puts my feet on a Rock, as a solid foundation which is Christ. The pains of affliction have brought me to lay by burdens at his feet because He does care for me. That is how we deny ourselves. Not by relying on horses or chariots, but relying on the strength of the Lord my God.
Thank you for your input. I really appreciate what you said; please keep reading and responding. This is how we both grow in Christ.
Many blessings to you!