JU6-28: The Irony Of Gideon Being Persecuted By Fellow Hebrews For Destroying A Pagan Shrine

“Gideon took ten of his servants and did what Adonai had told him to do. He didn’t do it by day, because he was afraid of the men in his father’s household and those from the city, so he did it at night.”-Judges 6:27

Gideon was about a commit an act bordering on terrorism.

Per the Lord’s command, he was to destroy the neighborhood shrine in defiance of the pagan customs of the Canaanites the Israelites had adopted.

In order to make sure he wouldn’t be interrupted while he was doing his “dirty work”, he planned to do it at night.

And for his protection, Gideon took 10 servants with him.

Why did Gideon want protection?

Because as I mentioned yesterday, he was quaking in his boots.

He was every bit as nervous as Moses was  2 and a half centuries earlier when God first called him to a showdown with Pharaoh.

Just in case Gideon was caught in the act of destroying the pagan shrine, his servants would be there to protect him if someone tried to do him harm.

The Hebrew word being used for servants here is EBED, so we can know for sure these weren’t family members.

Also, I find it interesting that Gideon came from one of the poorest clans in Manasseh but still had 10 of his own servants who he could order around at will.

One important question that arises is…

…was Gideon’s fear warranted?

Or was he seeing ghosts in an empty closet?

Especially considering that the tearing down of this altar wasn’t necessarily a huge undertaking.

To answer that question, all we have to do is look at how the men responded in verse 30.

“Bring out your son,” the men of the city demanded of Yo’ash, “so that he may die, because he destroyed the altar of Ba‘al and cut down the sacred pole next to it!”-Judges 6:30

Yup, it looks like Gideon’s fear was warranted after all.

When the men of the neighborhood woke up in the morning and saw that their cherished altar to Ba’al had been destroyed with a new one in its place, they went BALLISTIC.

And that in its place, a new altar had been set up with the bull laid on top of it roasted to a crisp with the wood from the Asherah pole used for firewood.

One important thing to keep in mind here.

Remember that the men who went and found out that their cherished altar to Ba’al had been destroyed were Israelites.

That sounds contradictory as all heck, doesn’t it?

A bunch of Israelites getting all ticked off because their friendly neighborhood pagan altar to Ba’al had just been destroyed.

This just goes to show how steeped in idolatry and paganism the Israelites were at this time.

And just to be clear, the Hebrews weren’t furious at Gideon because they were afraid of retaliation from the Canaanites in the area.

No, they were offended because they themselves had a daily practice of worshipping Ba’al. 

And since the altar had been destroyed, they wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.

They were so offended in fact, they demanded the death of a fellow Hebrew, who had committed this “crime”.

A crime ordered by the very God who had rescued them from Egypt.

Man, the irony is so thick here, you could cut it with the dullest of butter knives.

The next time we meet, we’ll see how Gideon’s father responded to the charges brought up against his son.

It was quite an interesting response indeed.