18 February 2008 Devotion for Today “Tearing Down Baal’s Altars” Judges 6:25-32

18 February 2008 Devotion for Today “Tearing Down Baal’s Altars” Judges 6:25-32

Several years ago, when I was serving at our church in Germany, one of our deacons and I had finished unloading some supplies at the church and then stopped off for some ice cream. After we finished our dessert, I took him down the street to see an old church building that might have served as a new meeting place in the future. We were renting an old building that was becoming more and more unsuitable for our needs, and hoped to find another place where our growing congregation could expand. He followed me in his pickup truck. As we arrived at the location, I was shocked to discover that the old church building was no longer there. The untidy lot upon which it stood had been completely leveled. Several pieces of escavating equipment stood on the site where the building had been; making room for a new high-rise apartment building. I was bewildered.

“Well, I don’t have much to show you, Hal,” I said, “Everything is gone.” Hal said, “I guess we both know God’s answer to this prayer, don’t we?” We both got a good laugh about that. It was probably the best thing that could have happened!

We find Gideon getting bolder after the angelic encounter in Judges 6. Under the cover of darkness, he approaches the Midianite altar and statue dedicated to the demon-god Baal and destroys it and builds a new altar right in the center of town (He did this under the cover of darkness because he was too afraid to do it in broad daylight). Still, it did not take long for Gideon to be found out and he was brought to answer for what he did. The town’s judges asked for someone to plead the case of Baal, but nobody spoke up. Gideon’s father, Joash, makes this profound statement: “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he (Baal) is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” Judges 6:31

Gideon did a courageous thing. The first thing that he did was to demonstrate that the God of Heaven is in control, and not the god or gods of this world. To do that, we have to tear down some altars. They may not be made of stone or wood. In fact, some of the biggest altars dedicated to the gods of this world are in our own minds. For our God to be in control, we need to plow them over like a bulldozer. Only then can the ground of faith become level enough to build the alter dedicated to the God whom we should serve. As Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters.”

Many times we may have our heart set on something and think that it might be God’s will; only to find that what we have really done is to build an altar to the god of our own imagination or desire. The best thing to do is to go ahead and tear that down (sometimes God already does this for us!). When that happens, consider this a blessing and that God has better things for you than the limited gods of Baal.

Have a blessed day!