Jerubbaal - Judges 6:32

In the book of Judges we learned how Jehovah God told Gideon, “Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it. And build an altar unto the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing. Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die: because he has cast down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the grove that was by it. And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will you plead for Baal? will you save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one has cast down his altar”, and in chapter six and verse thirty-two of Judges, we learn,“on that day he called him Jerubbaal” where we read,

Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, 

Let Baal plead against him, because he has thrown down his altar.

The verse reads, “Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, …” The writer began with the words, “therefore on that day” which means “wherefore, then and on this account upon that particular sunrise to sunset” “he called him” or “Joash, proclaimed and named him, Gideon”, “Jerubbaal” whose name means ‘let Baal contend”, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following words. The writer shared how “Joash”, “Gideon’s father”, renamed him “Jerubbaal” or “let Baal contend” after contending with people who wanted him to bring “Gideon” out to them. 

The verse continues, “… Let Baal plead against him, because he has thrown down his altar.” The writer added the words, “let Baal plead against him” which means “allow and permit Baal whose name means ‘lord’ and was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites”, “because he has thrown down” or “since and on account that he, Gideon, has cast down, broken and destroyed” “his altar”  which means “his, Baal’s, place of sacrificial worship”. The writer shared how “Gideon’s” father “Joash” told the people opposed to him to allow “Baal” to defend himself since his sacrificial place of worship was destroyed. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how the impact of “Joash’s” contention against those who were opposed to his son “Gideon” was so powerful that “Joash” changed “Gideon’s” name to “Jerubbaal”. God performed the work through “Gideon” because the people of Israel forsook Him for “Baal”, and that needed change. Everyone worships something or someone, and God wants to be the One we worship. He made us, loves us and sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and to be raised from the dead after three days. When we submit to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit in us to guide us into all truth and remind us to keep Him first in our lives and never have need to be concerned whether other deities can defend themselves or not. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Matthew 6:33)

Next time we learn how, “all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

Will You Plead for Baal? - Judges 6:31

In the book of Judges we learned how Jehovah God told Gideon, “Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it. And build an altar unto the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing. Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die: because he has cast down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the grove that was by it”, and in chapter six and verse thirty-one of Judges, we learn how,“Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will you plead for Baal?” where we read,

And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will you plead for Baal? will you save him? 

he that will plead for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one has cast down his altar.

The verse reads, “And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will you plead for Baal? will you save him?” The writer began with the words, “and Joash” whose name means “given by the Lord” “said unto all that stood against him” or “uttered, declared, proclaimed and shouted to each, the whole and everyone who opposed him, Joash”, “will you plead for Baal” which means “shall you strive and contend on behalf of Baal whose name means “lord” and was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites”? “Will you save him” or “shall you, those ho opposed Joash, rescue and deliver him, Baal”? The writer shared how “Joash” loudly asked all the people who were in opposition to him as to whether they could contend for, rescue and deliver “Baal”. 

The verse goes on to say, “he that will plead for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning:” The writer continued with the words, “he that will plead for him” which means “he, the person, who shall strive and contend on behalf of him, Baal”, “let him be put to death” or “allow and permit him, the person who contends, to be killed, made lifeless and without breath”, “while it is yet morning”  which means “during the time that it is still the break of day or the coming of the sunrise”. The writer shared shared how “Joash” told the people who were wanting him to bring out his son “Gideon” so they could kill him that the person who attempts to contend with and rescue “Baal” would be killed during the early sunrise time.

Finally the verse says, “if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one has cast down his altar.” The writer concluded this verse with the words, “if he be a god” or “whether and in case he, Baal, exists as a deity”, “let him plead for himself” which means “allow and permit him, Baal, to strive and contend for his own self”, “because one has cast down his altar” or “since and on account that a person has thrown down, broken and destroyed his, Baal’s, sacrificial slaughter and offering place”. The writer ended this verse by stating that whether and in case “Baal” exists as a deity he could contend for his own self since someone destroyed his place of sacrificial worship. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we see how “Gideon’s” father “Joash” defended his son by asking the men opposed to him whether or not “Baal” could contend for and deliver himself since he was a deity. “Gideon”, at Jehovah God’s direction, destroyed the place of worship of “Baal”, and if “Baal” was indeed a “god”, he would easily be able to repay “Gideon” for his deed. God knew “Baal” was a false god (See 1Kings 18), and He wanted the people of “Israel” to worship Him and Him alone. God loves everybody, and other deities will never be able to save people from their sins. Jehovah God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirt who will guide us into all truth and give us the ability to continue with Him and Him alone as the One and Only True God in our lives. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8)

Next time we learn, “on that day he called him Jerubbaal”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

Bring Out Your Son - Judges 6:30

In the book of Judges we learned how Jehovah God told Gideon, “Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it. And build an altar unto the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing”, and in chapter six and verse thirty of Judges, we learn how,”the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out your son?” where we read,

Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die: because he has cast down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the grove that was by it.

The verse reads, “Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die:” The writer began with the words, “then the men of the city” which means “at that time the male human being belonging to the dwelling place, habitation and abode” “said unto Joash” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed Joash whose name means ‘given by the Lord’”, “bring out your son” which means “proceed forward and exit with your, Joash’s, male offspring and progeny”, “that he may die” or “that he, Gideon, might be killed, made lifeless and be without breath”. The writer shared how the male human beings within the “city” told Gideon’s father “Joash” to exit with him so they might kill him. 

The verse continues, “because he has cast down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the grove that was by it.” The writer added the words, “because he has cast down the altar of Baal” which means “since and on account that he, Gideon, threw, beat dow and destroyed the sacrificial offering place belonging to “Baal” whose name means ‘lord’ and was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites”, “and because he has cut down the grove” or “and since and on account that he, Gideon, has cut out, killed and eliminated the accompanying timber, planks, stalks and sticks belonging to the ‘Ashera’ which were used for idol worship” “that was by it”  which means “that existed next to and beside the altar of Baal”. The writer shared how the “men of the city” wanted “Gideon” to be brought to them out on account that he destroyed the sacrificial offering place of “Baal” and eliminated the tree orchard for idols that was beside it. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how the “men of the city” desired that Gideon’s father “Joash” would lead him out to them so they might kill him for destroying the “sacrificial location of Baal” and the trees used for idol worship that were beside it. We see how committed these “men” were to their god and the worship places erected for him, and when God destroyed them through “Gideon”, they wanted revenge. God wants to be our One and Only True God through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days. When we believe and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and give us the ability to keep His commands which are better for His Kingdom and for us. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11)

Next time we learn how, “Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will you plead for Baal?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

Who Has Done This? - Judges 6:29

In the book of Judges we learned how Jehovah God told Gideon, “Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it. And build an altar unto the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built”, and in chapter six and verse twenty-nine of Judges, we learn how, “they said one to another, Who has done this thing?” where we read,

And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? 

And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.

The verse reads, “And they said one to another, Who has done this thing?” The writer began with the words, “and they said one to another” which means “and they, the men of the city, uttered, declared, proclaimed and questioned”, “who has done this thing” or “what person has performed and produced this act and deed”? The writer shared how the “men of the city” asked what person performed all the destructive acts.

The verse goes on to say, “And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” The writer continued with the words, “and when they enquired and asked” which means “and at the time and moment they, the men of the city, consulted and sought to find out and requested”, “they said” or “they, the people who answered, uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “Gideon the son of Joash”  which means “Gideon whose name means ‘hewer’ and was the youngest male offspring and progeny of Joash of the Abiezrites, fifth judge of Israel who led the Israelites against the Midianites” “has done this thing” or “has performed and produced this act and deed”. The writer shared at the time and moment the “men of the city” investigated and requested what person performed these acts, they were told it was “Gideon”. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how the “men of the city” desired to know who performed the destructive deeds upon their altar to “Baal” and the tree orchard beside it. God was ultimately responsible for this destruction, however, these “men” wanted to find out who caused all this trouble. In a similar manner to the way God knew who destroyed the altar of Baal and the orchard, God knows and loves us. Because we have sin in our lives that leads to death (See Romans 3:23; 6:23), He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be resurrected from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and to help us know when we are to perform a work He has assigned to us while He will receives the glory regardless of who inquires as to who did this. 

Next time we learn how, “the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out your son”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

 

The Altar of Baal Cast Down - Judges 6:28

In the book of Judges we learned how Jehovah God told Gideon, “Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it. And build an altar unto the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night”, and in chapter six and verse twenty-eight of Judges, we learn, “when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down” where we read,

And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.

The verse reads, “And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, …” The writer began with the words, “and when the men of the city” which means “and at the time and moment the male human beings belonging to the dwelling place, habitation, abode or town” “arose early in the morning” or “initially started and got up within the break of day, dawn or coming of the sunrise”, “behold, the altar of Baal” which means “lo, look and consider, the sacrificial place belonging to Baal whose name means ‘lord’ and was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites” “was cast down” or “was broke, beat down, destroyed and overthrown”. The writer shared at the initial time when the male human beings within the dwelling place awoke at the sunrise, they looked and considered and the sacrificial place for “Baal” was broken and destroyed. 

 

The verse continues, “…  and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.” The writer added the words, “and the grove” which means “and the accompanying timber, planks, stalks and sticks belonging to the ‘Ashera’ which were used for idol worship” “was cut down that was by it” or “was cut out, killed and eliminated that existed alongside and beside the altar to Baal”, “and the second bullock was offered”  which means “and the second bull, cattle or oxen was slaughtered and sacrificed”, “upon the altar that was built” or “on the sacrificial place that was constructed on the stone”. The writer shared shared how the trees used for idol worship were eliminated and used to sacrifice the second bull in the sacrificial location. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how the “men” of the dwelling place rose at dawn or sunrise to discover that their sacrificial place of “Baal” and the tree orchard beside it was destroyed. The “second” bull was slaughtered and burnt upon the sacrificial place that was constructed. We can imagine the surprise and anger of these men, but this was Jehovah God’s work through “Gideon” and his ten servants. God was acting against the “idols” that were in the people of Israel’s lives because He wants to be first in everyone’s life. (See Matthew 6:33) When we yield to His Son Jesus who was sent into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead three days later, He will forgive our sins grant us everlasting life and remove our idols so we serve the true and living God. (See 1 Thessalonians 1:9)

Next time we learn how, “they said one to another, Who has done this thing?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

Gideon Obeyed with Ten Men - Judges 6:27

In the book of Judges we learned how, “Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it. And build an altar unto the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down”, and in chapter six and verse twenty-seven of Judges, we learn how, “Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said” where we read,

Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him:

 and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

The verse reads, “Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him:” The writer began with the word, “then Gideon” which means “at that time Gideon whose name means ‘hewer’ and was the youngest son of Joash of the Abiezrites, fifth judge of Israel who led the Israelites against the Midianites” “took men of his servants” or “gathered and assembled male human being belonging to his, Gideon’s, men of servile condition, bondmen or slaves”, “and did as the LORD had said unto him” which means “and performed and produced similar and in likeness that Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God uttered, declared and proclaimed”. The writer shared how “Gideon” gathered “ten” of his men of servile condition and performed and produced in keeping with what Jehovah God told him to do. 

The verse goes on to say, “…  and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.” The writer continued with the words, “and so it was” which means “and it came to pass, happened and fell out”, “because he feared his father’s household” or “since and on account that he, Gideon, was afraid of his, Gideon’s, male progenitor’s dwelling place, abode, habitation and family”, “and the men of the city”  which means “and the male human beings belonging to the dwelling place, habitation and abode”, “that he could not do it by day” or “that he, Gideon, was unable to perform and produce it, the tasks given by God, during the daytime hours”, “that he did it by night” which means “that he, Gideon, performed and produced it, the tasks, during the nighttime”. The writer shared how the following happened on account that “Gideon” was afraid of his male progenitor’s relatives as well as the male human beings belonging to the dwelling place which caused “Gideon” not to be able to perform his task during the daytime, so he performed it during the nighttime. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” used wisdom to follow the instructions of Jehovah God. Because his father’s family and the men in the place where he lived would be aware of what he was doing during the daytime, he waited until dark. God has His timing for Him and us to carry out our tasks, and because He knew we all needed a Savior from our sins, He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead at the necessary time. (See Galatians 4:4) When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the wisdom to carry out His tasks at just the right time.

Next time we learn, “when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".