Judges 6 Part 2

Judges 6 Part 2

'Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath

thrown down his altar.'

Judges 6:27-32

After the angel of the Lord had told Gideon what the Lord wanted him to do, Gideon set off to tear down the altar of Baal, that his father had. But he was still not entirely confident that the Lord would be with him, so he and his men that he took with him, went and destroyed the altar at night. The next morning when the men came to offer their offerings to Baal, they found that the altar to their false god was destroyed. They asked who had done this thing, and found out that Gideon, the son of Joash had. They were furious, and demanded his father that he be brought out to them, and killed. But Gideon's father said that if Baal was really all that powerful, then he could simply work it all out by himself, since he was an 'all-powerful god.' But, being slightly afraid seemed to be one of the similarities between all of the leaders of Israel. They were either slighly unsure or really unsure of whether God really assist them. I think that Gideon was in the slightly unsure category. He didn't fully trust the Lord, but he wasn't like Barak either. So Gideon asked the Lord for a couple of signs to make sure that the Lord was really with him.

'And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.'

Judges 6:36-40

This proposition the Lord readily agreed to, and as Gideon found out, the Lord says only what He wants done, and chooses only those who He wants to serve Him.

Do I trust the Lord like this?

Do I feel like I need the Lord to show me a sign? or do I trust Him all the time, without wandering whether He really means what He says?