I was listening to this great sermon from Jon Tyson about Altars in the home, when he came upon one of the most real characters in the bible: Gideon.
I am not sure if this is true for everybody, but an “altar” has become something very negative for me. If I think about an altar, I think about satanists. I think about old testament false god worship… even though the Israelites were building altars to The Lord, left right and centre!
In a modern context, it is still negative for me for the most part. I think its the worldly twist of truth. Like sex. It is something God created very creatively, to be awesome, designed to unite. Its something that belongs to us, the Christians, to be enjoyed, but the world has taken it and turned it into sin and “danger”
Do we risk teaching our sons and daughters about the joy and pleasure of sex? Or do we teach and warn them about the dangers of sex? The negatives… hoping that they will not fall into a worldly trap?
I realized that the altars are the same. The altars were places of remembrance. Here, God did this… There God saved… This is the place where God provided… not just for the Israelites, but for any person that walked past. What is that marker over there? Oh, let me tell you!
So instead of our altars being places of remembrance where we can take our sons and daughters (right here is where I became a child of God. Right here is where I baptized your mom. Right here is where firefighters cut me out of a car because God said that I have purpose here on earth and a calling to fulfill ) – my altars have become my desk at work (this is where i provide for you 16 hours a day so that you never see me, these are the heap of debts and bills that ensures some other coach or teacher gets to instill into you their version of morality and worldly wisdom)
…and unfortunately, I also realized… this is my quiet time, do not bother me while I speak to God… eina!
In Judges 6 we meet Gideon.
The Israelites are in trouble. They did not do what God commanded and were overrun with Midianites (the bible says, they destroyed like locusts, leaving nothing alive) God comes to Gideon and declares (v12) “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
And valiant Gideon, The soon to be Judge of Israel says: “oh really?!” – God has to literally convince him, and Gideon just comes back with snarky remarks “well pardon me, but how?!”
In the end Gideon realizes who he was speaking to and the tune changes drastically. The first thing Gideon is tasked to do is to tear down the altars his father built to false gods, and replace them with an altar to God.
Isn’t this just a beautiful picture?
Start in your home and *make Me the focus of it FIRST*.
Then face the crowds around your house, I will send defenders for you
Then change your country, I will do it in My power, not yours.
Here is the cool part… Gideon was so afraid that he broke down the altars, in secret, at night. Then the crowds came and his father defended him instead of challenging him.
I realized again that many of the altars that has been erected in my house, in my family, while done with every honest and good intent, does not bring glory to God… and needs to replaced with the truth. Otherwise, I might want to try and go up against the midianites with 30,000 men instead of with God.
The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ “
Judges 7:2
