May 18, 2016
Judges 6: 25-31
25That same night the LORD said to him, "Take the second bull from
your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to
Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26Then build a proper kind of altar to the
LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole
that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering." 27So Gideon
took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was
afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in
the daytime. 28In the morning when the
men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar, demolished, with the Asherah
pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built
altar! 29They asked each other,
"Who did this?" When they carefully investigated, they were told,
"Gideon son of Joash did it." 30The men of the town demanded of
Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal's
altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it." 31But Joash replied to the hostile crowd
around him, "Are you going to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save
him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is
a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar."
Title: What god is incapable of
doing
Message: God can do wonders. He
brought a multitude out of bondage. He made them cross the sea and the river
without making them wet. He made them drink water from the rock. He chose
ordinary men to perform miracles in His name. Above all, He bestowed upon His
people blessings and punished them as they disobeyed and dishonored Him. He has
been responding to our prayers. All these and more have been manifested by our
one true God. In fact, no other god has reciprocated any act as great as His. Hence,
I understand why Joash’s stated – If Baal really is a god, he can defend
himself when someone breaks down his altar.
Promise to Claim: Our God is incomparable and
real. No other god countered any of His deed, regardless of its magnitude. He
is not just an object of our adoration but the kind who created us all, who
provides all that we have, who had set covenants with chosen individuals and
fulfilled them all. Above all, He’s one God who sacrificed his only begotten
son for the salvation of humanity and whom we will spend eternity with.
Command to Obey: Fear God. Let us do what He
wants us to. Let us refrain from worshiping other gods. Let us stop idolatry.
We already know what God is capable of doing, so let us be observant, be wise. Let
us read the bible, study His word for us to learn to discern real from unreal,
true worship from paganism, and biblical from non-biblical. Let us not
compromise our faith. Let us believe in the LORD of lords.
Warning to Heed: Paganism is idolatry.
Unreal god leads us to idolatry, a practice which dishonored God and brought
Israelites to ruin. We, too will be judged and may experience the wrath of God
if we don’t submit to His stipulations. God sent to us Jesus who died on the
cross for our salvation. He demonstrated how we are supposed to live and what
we are to live by. He’s no idol. He’s for real and he’s bringing us to the
Father of fathers.
Application: I will remain as a believer
of one true God and I will never go back to idolatry. I will help in bringing
people back to God through sharing His word and giving testimony on His great
love as I experienced it. I will utilize the gifts He has provided me to
spiritually influence people.
