God speaks to Gideon
Judges Chapter 6 Read it here
Gideon is another of the great judges.
His story begins today with an angel visiting him to call him to “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.”
We see Gideon’s boldness as he challenges the angel and finally even puts God to a test.
But what I’d like to call your attention to is an easy-to-miss exchange after Gideon boldly destroys the local symbols of pagan worship, an altar to Baal and an Asharah pole.
The people of the community seek to kill him and demand that his father turn Gideon over to them.
Gideon’s father, Joash, responds by saying, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him?….If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”
This scripture comes to mind whenever I see someone trying to “defend” their God. This often happens in the Muslim world when something is perceived as being disrespectful to Allah or Muhammad and there is outrage directed at whoever caused the offense.
There are also cases where Christians leap to the defense of God’s honor over a perceived slight.
It seems that if you really believe your god is God you would look to God to protect you, not think that you have to protect him. How weak must you think a god to be if a mere mortal can protect him (or, for that matter, harm him)?