Baal – Praying Pint

10.x. “But me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.”

Micah 3:8 But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, “Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.” Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

Amos 9:10    All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

Jeremiah 7:8-12    “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail.  Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,  and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?  Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.

2 Peter 2:1-3    But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.  And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Ezekiel 22:12    In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

Micah did not hold back any words calling out the sin of the people. Justice was a mockery, greed was everywhere, false things were called truth, and things that ought not to have been done were willingly condoned. The further the people got away from God the more they believed in deceptive words, false teachings, and capitalizing on their neighbor’s misfortune. They lost sight of God and their sinful ways. They became so accustomed to their sinful way of life it was normal and they still thought they were in God’s will. To convince themselves of this they proclaimed disaster will not find us or overtake us. And such is the way of many lost prodigal souls. They lost their love for God and His Word. They lost being able to discern what was right and wrong. This is still true today. When God’s Word is not hungered and thirsted for in our daily lives we too will fall away, believe false teachings, and use worldly wisdom and acceptance to convince ourselves that we are right with God. God’s Word is true and able to discern our thoughts and intents if we would but seek it to be active in our lives. His Word is living water and the bread of life. With it filling our souls we will not be led astray by worldly compromise or social norms. Be intentional with His Word every day. Seek it, taste, and see that it is good for your soul.

2.s. “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.”

2 Chronicles 23:16 And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord’s people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

Deuteronomy 26:17-19 You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.”

Joshua 24:21-25 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day

Multiple times throughout history there have been people of God declaring their intentional choices to serve Him, walk in His ways, keep His commandments, statutes, rules, and obey His voice. They did this as a personal choice and as one voice collectively. For some, this may have been a shallow commitment and for others, it was heart and soul-deep.

When the commitment is shallow you still may not see any difference between them and others with deep commitment. For all outward appearance looks the same. They may have gotten caught up in the moment and gave lip service to make this commitment. We see this today when a seed of commitment is acted upon it to trust Jesus Christ. Yet the seed does not take root and over time withers dies. Jesus gave a parable about this and we should take note of the importance of it. It is up to those with heart and soul-deep service and obedience to nurture and help water and grow these shallow seeds. This can only happen when there is continual growth and maturing. And this can only happen when there is a desire to do so. An intentional choice that is made every day. An intentional choice that places service to Jesus Christ first. An intentional choice to feed on His word, to listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit, to trust Him when chaos and confusion attack, and to take every thought captive and ensure it is in line with God’s word.

Every small decision over time will yield good or bad. These insignificant decisions in our mind have long term effects for both now and eternity.

We can rejoice when there has been a commitment made to trust, serve, follow, and obey but we must help and encourage each other in this life long commitment or we risk drifting away. We don’t have to read far after each of these personal and nationwide commitments to see a drifting and falling away from serving, following, trusting and obeying God. Be mindful that our sinful nature and self-centered interests are always being tempted by Satan or self to leave our commitment to God. Our commitment is more than a one and done decision. It is an intentional, mindful, heart full, and soul-deep choice every moment of every day. Stay in His word, serve Him, follow Him, trust Him, listen to Him, and obey Him. In doing this we are able to fight the good fight and encourage, lead, and instruct our brothers and sisters in Christ.

197. How would our life change were we to give our whole heart, soul, and mind to God?

2 Kings 23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the gate of the city. However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.

Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Deuteronomy 13:5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

We read all of the actions Josiah took after he made a covenant to walk after the Lord. We went city by city and destroyed the false idols, altars, and anything that was a compromise in serving God with their whole heart, mind, and soul. What a testimony to a changed life. What a testimony to humbly serving, following, honoring, trusting, relying on, and obeying God.

How would our life change were we to give our whole heart, soul, and mind to God? What would be changing in how we think? What would change in where we go? What would change in what we say? What would change in how we act? What would change in what we allow to influence our lives? What would change in how much time we spend in His word? What would change?

When we come to God’s word with hunger and thirst for it, when we come to God’s word with a seeking and a desire, when we come to God’s word with a want to hear and be led by the Holy Spirit, we will filled with a continual hunger for more and more knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of Jesus Christ, and we will be able to discern the deceptions and illusions this world has to offer.

190. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them”

2 Kings 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Leviticus 26:3-13 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Jeremiah 17:20-27 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

Hezekiah reigned 25 years as King and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He destroyed all of the idols and put God first. He brought the people back to God. He was a leader who led the people in worship of God by what he said and the actions he took against anything that was a substitute/replacement for God. He did what was right in the eyes of God by humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, relying upon, and obeying God.

However, his son did not. He replaced everything that Hezekiah removed that was an abomination to God. He led the people for 55 years down paths away from God and to the place where it says they were “doing more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed” Can you imagine it? In one generation Hezekiah brought the people back to God and in one generation his son led them astray.

We can not assume the people too are not to blame as well. They willingly followed. “Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.” We need to be mindful of how we view things in and around us and have God’s word richly dwelling deep within our heart, mind, and soul so that we can discern what is right and acceptable according to it rather than what is acceptable to the world.

160. The LORD answered him with fire from heaven

1 Kings 18:22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

Judges 6:21    Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.

1 Chronicles 21:26  And David built there an altar to the LORD and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering.

2 Chronicles 7:1     As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

2 Chronicles 7:3     When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

We see that “Fire From Heaven” or at and Angels hand was demonstrated to Elijah and all the prophets of Baal and all of Israel, David at the threshing floor of Ornan, Solomon at the dedication of the house of the Lord upon completion of building the Temple, and Gideon at his house at the hand of an Angel of God. Sometimes I think we read over these and other acts of the wonders and awesome power of God demonstrates without giving them much thought. Why is it that we seem to have lost the ability to stand in awe at what was recorded of what God had done in the presence of many. Why do we just limp through scripture without seeing the wonder and power of God.

Here are a few thoughts from something I was reading on the time period between the old and new testaments. “When the prophet Malachi stepped off the earthly stage around 450 B.C., no genuine prophetic voice was heard again for about 500 years. We know this period as the gap between dispensations in the Old and New Testaments. Without a prophet, people in the land began to divide into parties and groups, each claiming the right to interpret the scriptures and lead the people. The true understanding of God diminished among these groups. A long night of confusion followed, which ended when God sent a new prophet, John the Baptist, to begin a new dispensation. But even with John the Baptist and the Savior teaching the people, many were unable to overcome the traditions and beliefs that had developed and intensified during this period. As we understand these 500 years and the confusion that accompanied them,”

“After Malachi, as the prophet Amos had prophesied, the Lord sent a “famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). This pivotal change had major consequences as people attempted to understand and live the law without a prophet of God’s authoritative teachings and interpretations.”

“As an effect of this apostasy, the people divided into groups with varied political, religious, and social agendas. They also differed in their beliefs and traditions about the Messiah. The religious groups tried to live the law of Moses as they understood it, but each group interpreted the scriptures from such varied perspectives that Jewish society became more and more divided. As a result, the true understanding of who the Savior would be became confused.

“Other religious groups also emerged during this period, each claiming the exclusive right to interpret the scriptures. Each of these religious groups preserved traditions and doctrines that they believed were essential to lives of devotion. But because they lacked the guidance of a true prophet, they were left to their own interpretations.”

Confusion of scripture will always occur when there is no influence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who search. Likewise confusion and lack of understanding will occur when there is no desire to come close to God, seek God, and wanting to honor and glorify Him. It is when we choose to come close to God and desire to honor Him that we begin see His awesome power revealed in scripture. Scripture will never be understood by human understanding. It will only be understood when the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and ears and heart and mind and soul to the wonders and depth of God’s awesomeness.

When we choose to open our heart, mind and soul to God with an unending and unwavering commitment, it is then we will begin to see and hear and touch the truths of God and who He is. Without this intentional choice and desire we too will have emptiness in our heart and soul for the things of God. We will miss having the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see and our mind to begin to understand God’s awesomeness. Scripture will remain void, empty words of history and have no place in our heart and mind.

Intentionally commit, intentionally desire, intentionally choose, and be intentionally disciplined in living to serve, honor, follow, obey, trust, and glorify God.

155. Did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him

1 Kings 16:25 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.

1 Kings 16:29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him

1 Kings 14:9 but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back,

Micah 6:16 For you have kept the statutes of Omri, and all the works of the house of Ahab; and you have walked in their counsels, that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing; so you shall bear the scorn of my people.

We can see the way sin creeps into a nation and affects the people. There is a progression and it is not for the better. Jeroboam started them down a watered down bath of lukewarm following after God by trying to serve both God and man-made idols. Their hearts were divided. And so the decline started and the snowball rolling down the path away from God gained speed. We see Omri doing more harm than those before him and his son Ahab doing more harm than his father. Ahab married Jezebel and went further away from God.

When we take neutral stands on moral wrongs and even start embracing those things that are clearly not honoring or glorifying God, there are reasons these things occur in our lives. Primarily it happens when we lose the desire to humbly serve and honor God. It happens when we let the busyness of life overtake our heart and mind. It happens when we no longer hunger and thirst for His word. It happens when we neglect our time with Him and become complacent in our want to grow in understanding and knowledge of God and His love for us demonstrated through Jesus Christ. It happens when we start comparing ourselves against others and thinking we are good enough and not spending time in His word. It happens when we no longer seek His leading in our daily life. It happens when we water down sin and try to make sense of why what we are doing is not that bad. It happens when we get comfortable with our current state of following and obeying Him. It happens when we no longer see a need for growth. It happens when we close our ears and close our heart to what God is speaking.

No matter what we think, it is a conscious choice to step away from God’s word and neglect His leading. It is a conscious choice to no longer seek Him, honor Him, serve Him, follow Him, obey Him, and trust Him. These conscious choices are what waters down our walk with Him and are the very things we try to justify in our daily walk. There is not justification and there is no time this is right. It is always wrong and will always lead to paths that take us further and further away from God.

god or God

“and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it”

Judges 6:28
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. 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.” 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.” 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.

Psalms 43:1
Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge

Jeremiah 30:13
“For thus says the Lord:
Your hurt is incurable,
and your wound is grievous.
There is none to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,
the punishment of a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
because your sins are flagrant.
Why do you cry out over your hurt.

There are couple of points today the interest me. The first is the response of the people -” Who broke down our altar and Asherah pole – they must be put to death”. These Israelites had fallen so far that they no longer served God. Remember the commandment “Thou shall have no other god but Me”. When God’s word is left idle in our lives other thoughts from the culture we live in will most likely plant themselves as truth and at the very least we follow them blindly. We need to know God’s word so that we are not blind to the ways that seem right by the culture are adopted into our everyday lives. The second thing that stood out to me was how Gideon’s father responded to the accusers. “Will you contend for Baal? If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” I have to think Gideon’s father knew following after this false worship was wrong but did not do a thing about it. He or his wife had to have brought up Gideon with knowledge of God because Gideon talked of all the stories he had been told about how God had delivered His people and done great and wondrous acts on their behalf. It is one thing to know of God and another to live with a deep heart desire to humbly serve Him so that all you do is a reflection of His love, mercy, and grace. We can only do this with knowledge of His word abiding in our hearts and minds.

Who – Me?

Judges 6:25
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 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.” 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

Exodus 34:13
You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

More than 500 years prior to Gideon God gave the Israelites a command and warning. Tear down these false idols for they worship a false god. Tear them down because it will be very easy for you to join them and follow the ways of those who do not worship Me the true God. As I look at our culture it seems this is still true for us today. Easy to adopt the ways of the culture. I wonder if this is due to our lack of spending time in His word.

Gideon was from the weakest clan and least in his fathers house. God chose him. Gideon was willing yet he still had that human part of doubt when he asked – how can “I “save Israel. It is natural for us to look at our weaknesses and automatically assume God can not use us. Moses said something similar – I cannot speak to pharaoh or lead the Israelites as I am weak in speech and stutter. We may have weaknesses but it is not in our strength that God will use us. More than likely it will be in our weaknesses. I think we turn our ears off to hearing God speak into our lives because what we hear is telling us to do something we have no strength or ability in our own power to accomplish. It is in His strength, power and might not ours. It is though faith in His strength, power and might that we are able to say yes Lord I will do it. We do need to take that step forward even with all of the questions pounding around in our head. Like one of the old hymns put it “listen and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, listen and obey”