The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Judges 6:25-27, “Now the same night it came about that the LORD said to (Gideon), ‘Take your father’s bull and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it;

26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.’

27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had spoken to him; and it came about, because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, that he did it by night.”

Most people who have worked for someone have been ordered to do things that were strange and difficult. Sometimes, they were even dangerous. Such is the situation with Gideon. His father was a worshipper of false gods, one of whom was Baal. Asherah was a female goddess of Phoenicia, whose image was like that of Baal. Gideon was charged by the LORD to tear down both images.

It was not an easy task –not so much the actual destruction of the images, but because they were the property of Gideon’s earthly father. What’s more, he was instructed to build an alter to the LORD and offer a burnt offering to the LORD, using the wood from the Asherah to feed the fire.

It was an early test of Gideon’s trust in the LORD. Greater things than this were coming. So Gideon obeyed, but he was so afraid of his father that he and some fellows from his city did it at

night.

We all have some form of false gods or goddesses in our lives. Some are greater than others; yet,

they are all evil and need to be destroyed. Some evil things around and within us are known to others, some are not. But all need to be destroyed! Even with their destruction, we are a bit sheepish and more than a little embarrassed to construct something to the LORD’s glory. So, we do that destruction and construction, as it were, at night –quietly and outside the knowledge of others. Still, they will know when they see us that we are different. And the LORD will rejoice that He is glorified.

Isaiah supports what Gideon did when he says,

“’Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.

Cease to do evil, 17Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan,

Plead for the widow. 18’Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD, ‘Though your

sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will

be like wool. 19 “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; 20But if you refuse

and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.’ Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

–Isaiah 1:16-20

May the LORD aid us all in the destruction of fortresses that bring no honor to Him!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. I sincerely apologize for the absence of last evening’s Grands Letter. I was necessarily called out of town

and was away from my computer. Your prayers are always needed and welcomed.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”