Tag: Defend my Cause

“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.