If Baal Is A God, Let Him Contend For Himself

Praise God for the safe arrival of our fifth child, Lillian Joy, on 2 December. From very early in the pregnancy, Fiona and I had a sense we would be receiving a little girl and we soon had a name chosen that speaks prophetically to us personally and to the Church corporately. Glory to God!

For the LORD shall comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. Isa 51:3

It has been some time since I posted a word. There is much percolating in my spirit that I will write, when time permits. In the meantime, the following has been adapted from a word I wrote and posted in November 2011, shortly after the birth of our fourth child, William. Its message is as pertinent today as it was then…

If Baal Is A God, Let Him Contend For Himself

Many of us have longed for revival for this land; we have prayed and fasted and we have implored the Lord to pour out His Spirit on our dry and thirsty land. Our hearts have broken for the lost; we have seen their desperate need and, at the same time, sensed our lack of the yoke-destroying anointing of Jesus Christ. "When Lord?" we have cried. "When will we return to Eden where by evening we worship and commune with you and by day we bring all things into subjection to your will and purpose?" This has been our heart’s cry. With the prophets of old we have asked, "How long, O Lord?" Inasmuch as we have His heart, we have grieved for the ruin of Joseph (Amos 6:6). When will Your beautiful Name be revered among the nations? When will You be glorified through Your Bride? As the wife crowns her husband, when will the glorious Church arise and distinguish her lovely and majestic God? Revive us, O Lord!

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband… Prov 12:4

Gideon was a man called to deliver his people from the oppression of the Midianites. His is yet another story of God's willingness and ability to deliver His people with impossibly small numbers and resources. Gideon’s victory is yet another demonstration that El Shaddai takes no pleasure in the strength of the horse, neither does He delight in the strength of men’s legs (Ps 147:10). Hand-picked by the LORD of hosts, Gideon checks and double checks his calling and then goes on to build a company of warriors to mete out God’s judgement on Israel's oppressors (Jud 6-7). With three hundred radical believers, Gideon leads the charge against the 100,000 plus Midianite army and the LORD of hosts delivers salvation to His people.

Yet another powerful testimony of deliverance and of our LORD’s faithfulness to summon His power in response to the cries of His people. But what’s missing from this recount? What’s missing is the first part of Gideon’s assignment – the destruction of his father’s idols! 

When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. And they said to one another, "Who has done this thing?" And after they had searched and inquired, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing." Jud 6:28-29

Mighty moves of God follow hard on the heels of wholesale repentance. The weighty side of longing and positioning for revival is that revival begins with repentance – repentance from the idolatry and worldliness that have crept into our lives and churches.

If my people, which are called by name, says the LORD, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chron 7:14

Gideon is a heavenly man; he knows that no part of the pattern can be left undone. No ingredient can be left out of God's recipe for deliverance. And so he carries out what is the precursor to any major move of God; he takes an axe to the idols that have ensnared and enslaved his countrymen.

No easy task, no walk in the park. No warm fuzzies with this job. Gideon carries out this first assignment as a nobody, as a member of the weakest clan in his tribe, and as the least important member of his family (Jud 6:15). He wields his axe at night because he’s wise enough to foresee that not everyone will respect his consuming zeal for God’s house. Gideon puts his life on the line and, sure enough, he is confronted by an angry mob who wants to slay him for his heavy-handedness. However the fire of truth that Gideon walks in also protects him and God uses the words of Gideon’s repentant father to spare his life. His father somehow persuades the angry crowd that if Baal is truly a god, surely he can arise to his own defence and contend against Gideon.

From then on Gideon was called Jerub-baal, which means, "Let Baal defend himself," because he broke down Baal's altar. Jud 6:32

As God's consecrated vessel to bring deliverance to His people, Gideon knew he couldn’t avoid the hard part, the dangerous part, the 'tough love' part. There are wounds from a friend that are actually faithful and there are kisses of an enemy that are actually deceitful (Prov 27:6). We too can’t avoid the difficult roads, the dangerous valleys, and walking in tough love if we are to be carriers of revival and useful vessels in the Master's hands. Jeremiah lamented the lack of prophetic courage in his day and the same temptation exists today.

Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading. Lam 2:14

Gideon had his commandment and he kept it. Young Samuel had his word from the LORD and he faithfully declared it to Eli (1 Sam 3:18). David was not only known as the man after God's own heart, but also the man who would do all His will.

… "I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my own heart, who will do all my will." Acts 13:22

Revival starts with us, brothers and sisters. Revival will come to this nation as we lead the way in repenting from our idolatry and as we fan into flame the fire of our first love. How much do we truly want revival? Are we ready for our iniquity to be exposed? Are we truly lovers of Truth? Are we willing to learn and submit to His ways? Are we ready to leave Egypt? Are we ready for our wilderness journey? The Joseph era fades and the Moses era begins…

But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph … At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight… Acts 7:17-18, 20