Judges 6:23  And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24  Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Canada is in a state of great turmoil. Our P.M. lies and states that things are fine. He admits there are people struggling, but he claims they have the plan to fix the problems. The opposition claims that Canada is broken and they have the answer. The level of hatred for this current government is quite high. Yet there is also a level of despair that no government can fix what is happening in our country. The recent bi-elections in our country show us that nothing has changed. The same corrupt parties are still sucking tax-payer dollars for doing nothing constructive.
Israel was in a time of great trouble in the days of Gideon. The Midianites were oppressing them. They could not even thresh out their grains in public. Gideon was hiding in a wine press, threshing out the grain secretly so that he and his family would have food to eat. The problem Israel was facing was not primarily the Midianites. They had forsaken God and were pursuing false gods. The true God was punishing them for their rebellion against Him. Israel was to be the people of God. The book of Judges records time after time where they chose to reject God and His way. They thought they could adopt the pagan ways of the nations around them and things should still go well for them.
We can observe how godless families seem to do better in this life, at times. Asaph observed this in his day and he wrote about it in Psalm 73.
God expects more from those He has chosen than of the lost. God wants all to be saved. Lost people need to be reminded of what they are missing out on. When they observe supposedly Godly people living the same way they do, they have no reason to inquire about God. God is not the problem. The problem is when those who are supposed to know God behave like the wicked.
In the time of our text, Gideon was different than most of the children of Israel. His father had an idol to Baal in his yard. Baal was a false god. He could not help anyone. He was worse than the mini sub that is lost in the Atlantic ocean right now. The people on that sub are in big trouble. It is doubtful they are even alive any longer. The search for them has gone on now since Sunday. There are claims that they have heard noises come from the ocean. They assume those noises are from this mini sub but they do not know that. Offers for help came from other countries early on in this search, but they were refused. Foolish choices were made by those who paid to go into this sub in the first place. Foolish choices were made by those who were supposed to be seeking to rescue them after they were reported lost.
Gideon’s father and the nation of Israel had made foolish choices. They had been told many times of the fact that there is only one true God. They had seen the evidence for this true God. They knew of the blessings that He had granted them. They knew they did not deserve those blessings but they had received them because God is good. They knew that their present course was the wrong course. Yet they were intent on going that way.
Gideon was chosen by God to lead the nation out of its current physical bondage. He was to show them their need to be set free, spiritually. He was to start to do this by getting rid of the idol in his father’s own yard. Gideon was afraid to do this in the day time. He knew how entrenched his own people were in idolatry. They were willing to go after anyone who would attack their false gods. Lost people are very foolish. They claim their belief system is superior to the truth, but they have to fight to protect their false system.
We saw that over the past three years with the lies of the virus. We are witnessing this with the lies regarding sodomy. We are seeing this with the lies regarding climate change. Those who promote this wickedness take great exception to anyone who would not go along with the plot. They become quite angry with anyone who would question what they are doing. This foolish anger goes right to the top person in our country. He is fuelling the anger in others.
Those who are saved are at times timid just as Gideon was. Gideon was right in what he believed. He could not understand why the nation was suffering as it was. He had grown so accustomed to seeing idols. His own father was an idolater. He assumed that this was a normal part of life, even though he did not personally believe in idolatry. God would show him that this was wickedness. God would show him that this wickedness needed to be addressed head on. Gideon was commanded to go and destroy that idol in his father’s own yard. He gathered a few good men and at night they went and tore down that idol.
In the morning the people noticed what had taken place and they were ready for a lynching. They wanted to kill whoever did this. They found out that Gideon had done the deed. Gideon’s father had enough sense to challenge the people regarding their anger. He was following idols, but obviously was not that convinced that idols were the answer. He was deceived like many others.
In the midst of all of this, the LORD spoke to Gideon. The LORD would continue to show Gideon and the nation that He was still in charge. He was greater than their idols. He was greater than the Midianites. He could and He would deliver them from the hands of this physical enemy. He would show them the real enemy was within them. They had chosen to follow the devil, rather than the true God.
Gideon was under threat, but he needed to know that he could be at peace with God. The self-existent God is well able to protect His child. The wicked can make a lot of noise. They have the manpower on their side. They lack the God-power that is required to be successful. In this case, God was not going to let them get at Gideon. God had called Gideon for a specific task. He was going to see that task completed.
Gideon needed God’s peace in his heart. Without God’s peace, he would not succeed. Gideon needed to destroy the false god and he needed to declare the true God as THE LORD.
Today, God is not telling us to physically go and tear down any idols. He is commanding His children to speak the truth. We need to have the boldness to speak the truth in the midst of the paganism of our time. We are living in hostile times. However, the enemy cannot overrule God. The enemy has a certain amount of power. He can intimidate the lost quite easily. He can also intimidate the untaught saint. However, God will give the saint all the tools needed to succeed in what He requires. God requires His child to trust in Him. Those who are saved, can trust Him. We can have an impact on our society today. We are not the nation of Israel. Canada will never be a Christian nation. We are called upon to be a light in a dark world. We can be that light as we trust in the true God. Those who are lost need to see the blessing of knowing the true God. He is not one of many. He IS GOD. They need a constant reminder of this fact. We, who are saved, can be the light God expects us to be. We need to trust in Him.
Pastor Bartel