Gideon, Foe of Paganism

GOLDEN TEXT: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” —Exodus 20:3

JUDGES 6:25-32

USUALLY Gideon is thought of by students of the Bible as the man of God who led a little band of three hundred Israelites against a vast horde of Midianites and defeated them. Today’s lesson, however, pertains to him in a role preparatory to his rout of the Midianites; that is, in his destruction of Baal worship among the Israelites, which had been instituted by his father.

The worship of Baal is very ancient. In the days of Moses we find it established among the Moabites and their allies the Midianites. Through these nations the Israelites were seduced to the worship of this god under the particular form of Baal-peor. (Num. 22:41; 25:3-18; Deut. 4:3) The Israelites were severely punished for this departure from the worship of the true God, notwithstanding the succeeding generation returned to the worship of Baal.—Judg. 2:10-13; 8:33-35

With the exception of the time when Gideon served as judge of Israel, the worship of Baal seems to have continued until Samuel became judge, when the nation was severely rebuked by him for its idolatry, and returned to the worship of Jehovah. With but short intermittent periods, Baal worship continued in the nation throughout the entire period of the kings, particularly within the ten-tribe kingdom.

In the days of Gideon, Israel was being oppressed by the Midianites and the Lord raised up this young stalwart to deliver his people. Gideon realized the dire situation in which the people had been placed by their enemies, and when the angel of the Lord said to him, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor,” he at first questioned the matter. He asked, “If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?” “But now,” Gideon continued, “the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”—Judg. 6:11-13

“All this” which had befallen Israel was due to the worship of Baal, so the cause of their difficulties must be destroyed, and this was the first assignment given to Gideon. He was commissioned to destroy the altar of Baal which his father had erected, and to “cut down” the “grove that is by it.” The word “grove” used here is a translation of a Hebrew word which scholars generally agree refers to an idol, or image.

Gideon realized that the carrying out of this assignment involved considerable danger. The record says that “he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city.” In other words, he was virtually surrounded by idol worshipers, and he decided that the safest thing to do was to destroy the altar and idol of Baal at night, which he did.

The next morning when the “men of the city” discovered what had been done, and learned that Gideon was responsible for it, they said to his father, 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.”—vs. 30

While Joash himself had been a worshiper of Baal, the fact that his son had succeeded in destroying his altar and idol had seemingly shaken his confidence in this heathen god. So he replied to the “men of the city,” “Will ye plead for Baal? Will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilest it is yet morning: if he [Baal] be a god, let him plead for himself, because one bath cast down his altar.”—vs. 31

This was sound reasoning, and under the circumstances, very effective. After all, these “men of the city” who demanded Gideon’s death would have to admit that if Baal could not protect his own altar and idol he certainly could not do very much to help them. So apparently they accepted the reasoning of Joash, and abandoned Baal to his own resources.

A somewhat similar situation is presented in the New Testament, except that it was the reputation and cause of the true God which were at stake. The enemies of Jesus and his disciples demanded the death of Peter and the other apostles. A Pharisee and doctor of the law named Gamaliel said to them, “Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.”—Acts 5:38,39

In the case of both Joash and Gamaliel we find examples of sound human reasoning. The lesson for us is that we need not fear the results of opposing error and all false worship; nor need we be concerned about the ultimate triumph of the plans and purposes of our God and Heavenly Father. In his due time everything false will perish, and his cause will be victorious.

QUESTIONS

Who was Gideon, and how did he serve Israel?

To what extent did the Israelites worship Baal?

Why were the Israelites oppressed in the days of Gideon?

What was he commissioned by the Lord to do?

How do we know that Jehovah’s cause will ultimately triumph?

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