When the men of the city got up in the morning, they found Baal's altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull offered up on the altar that had been built. They said to each other, “Who did this?” After they made a thorough investigation, they said, “Gideon, son of Joash did it.” The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he tore down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole besideit.” Judges 6:28-30 HCSB
As I stood and looked at the work the men had done in replacing the shingles on the back of my house, the color of the shingles did not look like what had been selected. I called the man in charge to inquire if the color of the shingles was correct. He assured me the color was what I ordered. Because the color really did not match our brick, I asked him to stop work and determine what it would cost to replace the shingles with a different color. He said he would call me back with a price. When he followed up, he apologized and said when reviewing our order, he realized he had mistakenly ordered the wrong color and that he would replace them at his expense. I was impressed that the man did what was right, even though it cost him any profit he was going to make. Since that time I have used the same company to do other jobs, and I have recommended this contractor to others.
The Lord commanded Gideon to tear down the altar to Baal and the Asherah pole. This was a test of Gideon's faith and commitment to God. Would he actually do what was right and go against the people of the city and his own father who were worshiping false gods? Gideon was willing to do what was right knowing that it would unleash great anger. The Baal worshipers even wanted to kill him because he did what God had commanded him to do.
Challenge: When you accomplish something for God and do what is right, you may be criticized and even threatened by others. Pray that God will give you the strength and courage to do what is right.
Read The Bible Through In Two Years: Genesis 38:1-30; Matthew 25:1-46
Saturday: Psalm 9; Matthew 26:1-35
Sunday: Genesis 39:1 – 40:23; Matthew 26:36-75