Gideon was called Jerub-Baal = Let Baal contend with him

STUDY: # 833 – CHURCH IN THE HOUSES FROM: OCTOBER 21 – 27, 2014

Topic: "Gideon was called Jerub-Baal = Let Baal contend with him" Judges 6: 12-16 When the people of Israel were turned away from God, evilness came upon them. In the midst of those circumstances Gideon was a man chosen to deliver the people from the power and oppression of their enemies: the Midianites, Amalekites and the sons of the Orient. (Judges 6:12 "When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.") Despite being a brave man, Gideon also had the same fear which was in all of them; he knew that by abandoning God they were exposed to the evil. For that reason he was still in doubt. (Judges 6:13 "But sir”, Gideon replied, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happen to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.") On one occasion God had already declared to the people (Deuteronomy 31:17" ... On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?") Sin brought Jehovah’s fury, the abandonment of their God; they would no longer have His rostrum and they would be consumed. Because of sin, evil and anguish arrive. And they will say: "Has this evilness come upon me because my God is not with me?" As if God was to blame for not being with them; they could not see that it was their sins that distanced the Lord. According to Gideon’s (Judges 6:13) response which was with regret, we can see that he also believed it and was unable to see all their sins. He says: "And where are all your wonders that our fathers told us about?" All fears flourish when God is not pursued and Gideon lets us see that he was also full of fears. The people went after other gods just as the Lord had told Moses (Deuteronomy 31:16). The Israelites took away the value of the covenant God made with them, the covenant that said that if they pursued him they would have His blessing, and if they didn’t they would see evil. There were good qualities in Gideon; he was a vigorous and brave man. Although he was full of fear, the perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). He knew his men were full of fear, that is why they were hidden in the caves and hills to keep safe from their oppressors. Just like the people, Gideon's father worshipped Baal (Judges 6:25 "... tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the

Asherah pole beside it ...). Neither Baal’s altar nor the statues of Asherah brought any good to the people but rather disgrace to those who God had delivered before. God sends his angel to Gideon and to that nation (Vs. 12). He appeared under the character and aspect of a traveler. (Judges 6:21 "With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the Lord…) (The staff is a walking stick or cane used to support the travelers.) They had a calm conversation but disturbing for the wellbeing of God's people who were oppressed (Vs. 11-21). Jehovah’s angel settled in the shade to cool off and rest (Vs. 11) and joined in a conversation with Gideon about the subject that occupied the attention of the moment: the burdensome oppression of the Midianites. God wanted to worry Gideon to war for his bravery and his strength. God began to encourage Gideon to exercise his well-known prowess for the well-being of his nation (Judges 8:28 "Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years.”) When the Angel of God appeared to Gideon, he was at the winepress threshing wheat to hide it from his fierce enemies. (Judges 6:11 "...where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.") How emphatically history allows us to see the compelling situation of the people! Gideon was threshing small amounts of wheat in the wrong place, in the winepress area (where the grapes were stepped on). He did it under a tree and on the same land in order not to make noise and not on a wooden floor as it should have been done. All these circumstances reveal the extreme fear in which the people lived. But, Gideon responded to God's call. He casted out the fears and began a great struggle with courage and strength. He raised an altar to God on account of his father’s idolatry and made holocaust to the Lord with wood of Asherah’s statue. (Judges 6: 26-27 "... then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on top of this height, using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering. So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. ") He did this in secret (Vs 27); as vigorous and courageous he knew what would come from that day on to want to destroy him and bring more fears. But when one begins one cannot stop, because God already gave all the strength and took all control. By God’s orders, Gideon chose only 300 men to fight (Judges 7: 7) and with them God turned 120,000 Midianites against themselves (Judges 7:22 and 8:10). The enemies were defeated and ran and only a few vigorous and courageous were needed. Know that whoever wants to struggle will be a winner! Fears are defeated with your efforts and your courage! Amen.