Today will be the last of my thoughts on Judges 6.  The Scripture is in blue.  If you haven’t read the previous, be sure to check out:

Day 1 & Day 2

²² When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, “Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”

Gideon had just brought a sacrifice to Jehovah, who is also called “the Angel of the Lord” here.  Jehovah touched the sacrifice and it was instantly consumed.  I believe at that same moment Gideon’s heart was consumed with belief.  Now Gideon realized that He was in the presence of God…that also convicted Gideon because he was unbelieving in the presence of God.

²³ But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

Scripture says that it’s impossible to please God without faith (trusting belief).  So, all of a sudden Gideon felt the pressing guilt that he was in the wrong with God.  He thought, “This is it, I’m done.  God’s gonna burn me up with that stick too.”

But that wasn’t God’s plan…”You’re not gonna die.”  God didn’t fill Gideon with a sense of awe and conviction just to smash him.  God did that to turn Gideon’s unbelief into belief, conviction into forgiveness and motivation to serve.

²⁴ So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Most likely that rock where Gideon’s sacrifice was made was used to become an altar.  Gideon named the altar after his experience with Jehovah God.  He called it, “Jehovah Shalom–The Lord is Peace.”

What about this drama makes you think peace? Is it because he made Gideon’s heart mellow? No, Gideon thought he was done for. Did God all of a sudden take away his enemies? Nope…in fact he gave him more of a scare than the Midianites would.  So how does this God-moment feel so much like shalom…peace?

Is it a peaceful moment when you feel that God has your number?  Is it peaceful when you have hidden what’s inside from everyone else, but you realize that God knows?  And no matter who else may know, what matters is that the awesome God of the universe sees your sin and unbelief.

If you feel like that, there is hope.  That means that God is convicting your heart, not to burn you up, but to bring peace out of it.

• You need to recognize why you feel guilty.  It’s wrong…no excuses.
• Believe that God is there, and take the help that He has prepared for you.  That help is Jesus Christ who died to take the sins of the world onto himself, and paid the ultimate price for them.
• Be sorry for your sins.  Ask Jesus to forgive you, thank Him for taking your sins away.
• Feel the peace of heart and mind that comes from making peace with God.

Like yesterday’s post, I’m going to talk about Judges chapter 6.  The verses of Scripture are in blue:

¹⁷ Gideon replied, “If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord¹⁸ Don’t go away until I come back and bring my offering to you.”He answered, “I will stay here until you return.”

This verse shows that Gideon is really confused about what he is seeing in this stranger who showed up.  He is beginning to believe that this is a divine moment, but not fully convince.  Have you ever asked for a sign?  I have.  But, I think that it should be the other way around.  God is real, and He is waiting for a sign of our faith.

¹⁹ Gideon hurried home. He cooked a young goat, and with a basket^[a] of flour he baked some bread without yeast. Then, carrying the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out and presented them to the angel, who was under the great tree.

²⁰ The angel of God said to him, “Place the meat and the unleavened bread on this rock, and pour the broth over it.”…

When I think of the times I prepare something for God such as sermons, or I make a sacrifice to give extra, or when I am nice to someone who is difficult, I imagine holding it up to God like a precious offering.  Now imagine with me as I hold it up like it’s a handful of gold, and God says, “Pour it out over there on that rock.”  I feel deflated.

You mean this thing that I think is so sacred, that I worked on for hours, or was so difficult for me to do…you want me to pour it out like goat broth over a rock? This reminds me that if I give to God, it’s His to do as He wishes.  If I give my body as a living sacrifice, I can’t control what God does with it.

Did I really think in the first place that God was going to put my sacrifice in a display case?  Of course not, He’s going to use it, and perhaps use it up; after all isn’t that why we gave it to Him in the first place?

And Gideon did as he was told. ²¹ Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and bread with the tip of the staff in his hand, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed all he had brought. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.

I’ll stop there today, and do some more tomorrow.  But today’s thought is to think about what we give to God.  Is what we give to God truly an offering…a gift?  Or do we attach strings to our service?

The video that I showed Sunday was a moving skit about giving our lives completely over to God.  You can see it below through youtube.

I was really excited Sunday to tell the story of how God met Gideon, and how Gideon discovered him to be Jehovah Shalom–which means God, who is Peace.  I would like to go over some of the Scripture here on the blog because it will be a lot easier to see what I was talking about.  I’ll split the story up, but you may want to read ahead.  I think you’ll find it really interesting.

The following is from Judges 6 in blue, and I’ll add some commentary:

¹¹ Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah…

The Angel is also referred to as Jehovah in this chapter which is a form of God’s name YHWH or Yahweh.  It’s possible that this visit from God, Himself, is Jesus even before the first Christmas!

Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. ¹² The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

Gideon sees this stranger, but won’t really believe until later.  So, he isn’t extremely happy with the greeting (maybe even takes it for sarcasm) and goes on to say “If the Lord is really with us, then why are things so bad?”  Instead of feeling that God is close.  He feels abandoned.  He wonders, “If God is so powerful, then He would deliver His people.”

¹³ “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

Here’s a funny turn of events.  Gideon is essentially saying, “If God is so powerful, then why doesn’t he save His people?”  And God literally turns the tables and says to Gideon, “Well, you’re a pretty strong guy, why don’t you rescue the people? That’s a good idea…In fact I’ll send you on that mission, right now.”  Gideon wastes no time in backpedaling and making excuses…

¹⁵ “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”

How?  Good question.  How can anyone do God-sized things?  Here’s the answer…

¹⁶ The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

As long as the Lord (literally, Jehovah) is with you, it’s gonna be a slaughter!

Gideon had obvious issues with his God.   But God isn’t going to smash Gideon because of the way he feels, He is, however, going to humble him.  I imagine all of us need some humbling when it comes to what we think about God.  This week God is going to confront some of the issues you have with Him…

It may be that you have

• some anger towards him
• or you doubt His goodness
• or you won’t give Him total control
• maybe you wonder if He’s even real at all.

You’re going to have to deal with this conflict before you can experience Jehovah Shalom…the God of Peace.  More on this later…

Here in Kershaw, SC the town is abuzz over the reopening of the old Haile Gold Mine. Forecasts predict it will provide about 200 permanent local jobs plus hundreds more contract positions. The final numbers are not in yet and the official opening date has not been named, but the whole situation has generated a lot of excitement in our little town. People here need work and 200 plus jobs equals hope.

There is another source of hope that is without limits. He goes by the name God. Now I know that sounds cliche, but bear with me while I make my point. All of us currently reading this blog are alive. Regardless of the mistakes you or others have made that have affected you, you are still drawing breath. That in itself is hopeful. When I look back at all the dumb things I have done and the bad choices I have made, I see it as a miracle that I am still among the living. That is cause for hope. When I am hungry I can almost always find food. That is a miracle and a reason for hope. When I am lonely I have family and friends that love me (and if you know me that really is a miracle!). I could go on and on and on with the blessings of this life that we forget because of our worry. And I am not saying it is easy to forget our cares, but we are told to “cast our cares on Him”.

So whatever gold you are digging for in your life, look around first. It may be piled up right beside you.

Have a great weekend and I hope to see you Sunday.

On the Journey with You,
Scott