“It is all right,” the Lord replied. “Do not be afraid. You will not die.” And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the Lord is peace”) … – Judges 6:23-24 NLT
When Joshua died, another generation grew up that didn’t recognise, acknowledge and remember the great things God did for them and their ancestors. This new generation of Israelites were unfaithful to the LORD by serving the Canaanite god Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.
The indictment:
“The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them…They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress.” Judges 2:11-15 (NLT)
Chapter 6 began with a similar indictment as previous chapters – “The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years.” Judges 6:1 (NLT)
The old habit of romancing and fraternising with the false gods of their neighbours was once again the root cause of their oppression. Israel had once again wandered spiritually.
It is interesting how quickly Israel forgets the God that delivered them from slavery in Egypt, fought for them and miraculously provided for them!
The Israelites had once again forsaken the LORD, embraced the false gods of their neighbours, they abandoned the true living God. This behaviour and unfaithfulness usually incurred the judgement of God.
It is important to note, however, that human suffering is not always because of sin or a sign of God’s judgement. We live in a sinful fallen world and sometimes the innocent suffers but even through the suffering, God’s purposes and good will always get accomplished.
Why did the LORD greet, comfort and reassure Gideon with the words – “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.”?
The Bible records incidents of people who encountered the angel of the LORD and feared for their lives. With the LORD’s assurance of peace, Gideon believed he will not die, and that the LORD would deliver Israel through him from their oppressors.
As Christians, we need to ask ourselves some questions. In what ways do we wander spiritually? And why do we sometimes return to our old bad habits? And what robs us of our peace and well-being?
We will explore these questions in the next blog.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 