How does God view and deal with the unfaithful?
At the time, there were problems in Israel. Baal worship, sin, and great poverty were rampant. The Midianites were raiding the nation and stripping them of their crops and animals.
The Angel of the Lord appears to Gideon while he's secretly working on wheat in a winepress. We know from studying about the Angel of the Lord that this was actually Jesus Christ because he received worship. Angels always forbade men from worshipping them.
The Angel of the Lord addresses Gideon as a mighty man of valor. Gideon responds with the equivalent of, "yeah, right." He points out that his family is the weakest in his tribe, and that he was the weakest person in his family. God has plans for him to deliver Israel from the Midianites, and he makes it plain that Gideon is His guy for the task.
Gideon isn't seeing the call. He's not living the call, and he's certainly not hearing the call. He's frustrated and wondering why the great things God has done in the past He's no longer doing. When we're in the "land of frustration," faith is like another language.
What has gotten in Gideon's way?
1. The words of other people.
2. The thoughts of his own mind.
3. The power of his emotions.
He cannot hear (receive) the words of the Lord!
The Angel of the Lord instructs Gideon to cut down an altar of Baal and put the wood on a nearby rock. He then had Gideon bring an offering. The Angel of the Lord touched the rock, and the sacrifice was consumed by fire.
This impacted Gideon dramatically. To hear the rest of the story and the application to our lives, please visit our website and click on the Media tab. You can listen online, download it to your MP3 player, or podcast.
Have you longed for a closer relationship with the Lord? Have you desired answers concerning the problems in your life? Come on out to Zoe Christian Fellowship for the uncompromised Word of God, a time of dynamic worship, and warm fellowship with believers.
Zoe Christian Fellowship is located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Route 611), in Warrington, PA. We look forward to meeting you!
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