A Proper Kind of Altar

Scripture – Judges 6:23-26: ²³But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” ²⁴So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. ²⁵That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. ²⁶Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”

Reflection: Before doing anything else, God directs Gideon to clean up his worship. Baal was another god of the culture in which Gideon lived. Much like our culture worships money, Baal was considered very influential in the well-being of the people. So Baal had to be honored and served. Altars to Baal were built. The Asherah pole was another part of the Baal worship.

God instructed Gideon to tear down all the Baal stuff, build a proper kind of altar to the Lord and use the Baal stuff as part of the burnt offering to God. He had to clean out all the old stuff and offer it up to God. He wasn’t to hang onto the old and store it away, where he could go back and get it. He was to worship god alone.

That is one basic command God has always had – He is the Lord. He alone is the One we worship. I’ll look around today at the altars and poles I may have stored away. I’ll pull them out and offer them up to the only God in all creation – the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, you are the greatest. In you and you alone I trust. Set me free from the temptation to worship at other altars. Release me from the hold other gods would try to have on me. For in you alone I find eternal hope and life. In you alone, I live.