An Idol in Israel (3)

That night the Lord said to [Gideon], ‘Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.’

So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

Judges 6:25-27

I resume this short series of Reflections from last weekend. There really was no alternative: the altar to the pagan idol Baal and the pole that symbolised Asherah had to be destroyed and replaced with an altar to the true God and a sacrifice made on it in genuine worship.

Gideon knew what he had to do but he also knew how his neighbours would react and so he took ten of the family servants and acted under cover of night. I have heard this course of action criticised: that, however good and brave Gideon and his team were, they should have shown greater trust in God and acted during the day. But I am not so sure that is right.

Some fear is healthy and Gideon was right to be afraid. Had he acted during the day, his family and neighbours would have almost certainly have tried to stop him. There would have been a fight, people injured and perhaps even deaths. As his neighbours would have happily lynched him the day after the event (see verse 30), they would probably have acted even more rashly in the heat of conflict.

Nothing in the passage suggests that Gideon agonised for one or two days before acting. It seems like he acted straightaway and I think he was wise to get on with what God had told him to do, to do it discretely and to take with him some help. His action would be public knowledge soon enough!

Replacing allegiance to money with true service of God often needs to be done with similar discretion because it is often met with similar opposition. Generally speaking, it seems to me that Christians and churches fall into either of two distinct categories in their attitude towards money: one believes that if God calls them to a special task, he will provide the money they need to do it; the other believes that God has called them to a special task when they have the money to do it.

The practical difference is that those in the first category will step out ‘in faith’ before they have the money but those in the second, who look on the money as validation of the call, will not act out without it.

In which category are you and your church? And what do you think are the consequences for you and for the life of your church?

_____________________________________________

You have been sent this e-mail because you subscribed to Reflections on God & Money. Copyright © All Souls Clubhouse Community Centre & Church and Philip Evans 2013.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.  

Handling money and dealing with debt can be complicated and neither the author nor anyone else involved in the production of these Reflections is responsible for any action you take, or fail to take, based on what is written here. You are invited to put a link on your website to these Reflections. You are welcome to copy these Reflections for personal study or for circulation to family and friends on a non-profit basis. For any other purpose, whether or not for profit, you will require written permission in advance from the author before copying, reproducing or transmitting extracts in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or using any information storage and retrieval system.