As we have noted in our summer series about the story of Gideon, the first thing that many professing Christ-followers may think or say about Gideon probably has something to do with him ‘being a man of little faith’, as demonstrated by his request of God to deliver dew on the fleece, with the rest of the ground being dry.

Of course, Gideon also asked God to make the ground wet with the fleece being dry. God delivered both times! So most think of Gideon having the nerve to ‘test God’, with the assumption being that this was because of a lack of faith.

But, as we have discussed these past Sunday mornings, this position would be an incomplete and unfair one when it comes to our friend Gideon. Gideon had already had a direct and face-to-face encounter with the Angel of the Lord, and had responded in faith by going to get the food for an offering honoring the Lord. He came back to the Angel of the Lord Who caused fire to consume the offering.

The Lord then gave Gideon a really big – and risky – assignment. Judges 6:25–26 reads. ‘25 That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. 26 Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.”

Wow! This is pretty heavy! And – it appears that Gideon went immediately and did exactly what the Lord had commissioned him to do. Verse 27 tells us ‘27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lordhad commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father’s household and the people of the town.’ As we noted recently, ‘Gideon had already taken some real steps of faith before he even got to the point of asking for confirmation with the fleece. So it is pretty evident that Gideon’s faith was already growing. He was taking steps to move toward the Lord. Him making this risky move would be a major act of obedience. It was a dangerous task – hence his doing it at night to keep it hidden. Gideon was a man who was moving willingly and quickly toward accepting an even bigger challenge from the Lord! But more on that later.

It’s obvious in God’s Word that Satan’s mission is to keep unbelievers from becoming Christ-followers, and to keep Christ-followers from being effective in growing God’s Kingdom in their lives. 1 Peter 5:8-9 tells us to….. ‘Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.’ Also we know from key passages in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 that Satan was once a high-ranking member of the angelic host in heaven. These passages also imply that Satan rebelled against God because he wanted to ascend to God’s position. This rebellion led God to throw Lucifer – as he was previously known – out of heaven. His name was subsequently changed to Satan, meaning the deceiver.

Since this casting out, Satan has been on a rampage against God’s people. As Satan knows that he can’t get to God Himself, Satan chooses to attack God’s people. We need look no further than the story of Job to see this (Actually there is evidence in your own life of this as well!). Satan’s objective is not necessarily to get people to follow him. No – Satan just wants to get their focus off God and His Son Jesus. He wants to destroy them spiritually and have them miss the opportunity to live in heaven eternally with the Lord. His strategy is to divert peoples’ attention from God just enough to where they don’t accept God’s gift of Salvation made through Christ’s sacrifice. The result of this decision is spiritual death, and an eternal stay in this place called Hell, where Satan has dominion.

A tactic that Satan has used from day one has been the illusion of false gods who ‘stand for’ and represent things that so often are quite contrary to the standards and principles of Jehovah God. We see the appearance here of a false god – Baal, and a false goddess – Asherah. Baal was perceived as perhaps the most powerful of the many gods recognized in known civilization. There are of course, lots of different legends about the false god Baal, and across many cultures, there are many varying views of the domains of Baal. It seems that the most common beliefs about Baal dealt with his supposed dominion over agriculture, animal husbandry and human sexuality.

Asherah, on the other hand, had what may be an even more mysterious identity. Her primary areas of function and focus, according to legend, may be even more varied than that of Baal. It appear that most cultures would coalesce, to some degree, around her as The Lady of the Sea.

Satan’s strategy has not changed down through the centuries and millennia. He still will do whatever he can to get our focus off God. Just as he used false godsin the days of Gideon, so he does the same thing today. The list of idols that he loves to parade in front of us, trying to steal our attention, include things like money, sex, career ambition, cars, houses. Anything that could create priorities in our lives that lead us away from Jehovah God can and will be used by Satan, for that very purpose.

Bud Wrenn