Jdg 6:25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
Jdg 6:26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
Jdg 6:27 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.
Gideon had to make a stand among his own people for the God of Israel. The very first battle he had to fight in a revival was the fight of his own family, his own city, his own people.
His father had a false altar set up for baal, how God reached Gideon is a miracle for the man had to be a man!
He had to stand for the way of the Lord in the face of the very people who knew him best, the very person who raised him, the very town that was his life, he had to stand against their false gods, their idol worship and their evil in the sight of the Lord.
Gideon stood, in the place that is hardest to stand, at home.
Gideon raised his hand against the wicked altar and grove of his dad.
This tells me that his dad was the lead in the worship of baal, for in the next part the men of the city came to worship at that altar that his dad had set up.
Jdg 6:28 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.
Jdg 6:29 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.
Jdg 6:30 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.
Jdg 6:31 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.
Now a very interesting turn of events here, for his dad, who must not have been very convinced of baal as a god, stood up for his son against the people that would have killed him.
Makes you wonder what kind of man this Joash was, for he knew at this point that baal was no God yet he had an altar to baal and a grove nearby.
Now this is my opinion, I think Joash saw the futility of what he had done, in the altar, but for fear of the people he had to keep the facade up. So instead of standing for what he knew was right he appeased the people with a false approach, and a false heart, for he knew the truth. Yet he did not stand for the truth until his son, the very least in his family by Gideon's own words, stood.
What does this say about the men of the world? That it took a youth to make a stand for the old men to listen and hearken to the voice God. That the old men, went along to get along until the young man sent by God did what needed to be done.
The whole episode stinks to high heaven of complacency, compromise, and a lack of conviction for their family and themselves.
There are several things here that stand out to me.
Just because everyone is doing it doesn't mean it is right.
When you stand for what is right, others will gain courage from your stand.
Young or old does not matter, truth and right does.
People following mob rule will do so even when they know it is wrong.
Gideon was called by God, he had to make a stand in his own home first before he did anything more.
He followed God.
This also leads me to believe that he was searching for God because he knew deep in his heart that what they were doing was wrong, he just didn't see a way to do it. Then God gave him a call, a mission and he stood. When he stood, he made a difference in his nation for His God. He stood and then the nation stood with him.
So the moral of the story is STAND. Hear God, follow His Word. Make your stand known no matter the cost and God will deliver you and yours from the false ways.
Once you stand who knows what will happen, other than God. You might just redeem your family, friends and nation from the perversions of the world.
You might even start a revival that will change the world and get them back to God.
It all starts with making a stand.
Stand and be heard.
sin is sin is sin, stand for God. Stand for His Truth, His Word, and His Glory.
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