Tear Down the Backup Plan (Even If You Have to Do It at Night)

Before God sent Gideon out against Midian, He sent him into his own backyard.

Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, "Take your father's young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement." (Judges 6:25–26)

Gideon took ten of his servants and did it. But verse 27 tells us that because he feared his father's household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.

God and something else

The first step from fear to faith is deconstruction: tearing down everything we trust in addition to God. If we're Christians, we trust God. If we're Christian atheists, we trust God and our government. God and our military. God and modern medicine. God and our 401(k). Not okay.

God tells Gideon to clean up his own backyard before he attacks the enemy. What are you trusting as a backup plan in case God doesn't come through?

We like to pretend we don't have little rituals and idols, but we do. Maybe there's a little Buddha statue in your house. Maybe you go through rituals every time you step up to bat in your softball league, or you put on your team's jersey so they'll play better. Maybe you always drive to work the same route, just in case.

My aunt and uncle were missionaries in Cambodia among the Khmer. People there were very superstitious and would tie a little red thread around their wrist to keep evil spirits away. As a Westerner, you think, that's not keeping the evil spirits away. But they held on to it. My aunt and uncle could share that Jesus is Savior and Jesus is God, and people would put their faith in Christ. You knew they really understood it when the string was gone.

I don't know what that is in your backyard. Maybe it's a relationship, your good looks, or your bank account. For you, deconstruction might mean going home and destroying some stuff.

Somebody pointed out to me that the seven-year-old bull represented both today's strength and tomorrow's. God was calling Gideon to put his family's future on the altar in obedience and trust. Take the idol in your backyard and use it as fuel for worship.

Cowardly obedience is still obedience

Gideon was still afraid, which is why he did it at night. If you have to do it by night, do it by night. If you're too afraid to do it boldly in the daylight, go ahead and do it at night. God still calls that obedience. Is it bold? No. Is it brave? No. It's cowardly obedience. But we're getting there.

Put the fleece down and walk away

Then comes the famous fleece. God had already said, "Have I not sent you?" and "Surely I will be with you" (Judges 6:14, 16). Gideon put a fleece out anyway: wet fleece, dry ground. The next morning he wrung out a bowlful of water. Did he trust God then? Absolutely not. He put it out again: dry fleece, wet ground.

That's not instructional. That's not a good idea. That's somebody asking God to prove Himself again and again when he should be obeying. We have the word of God, and we still say, "Does that apply to me? Let me give God a test." It's the same thing Barak did. Gideon added a little byline.

So be decisive. Put the fleece down and slowly walk away. Then start tearing down whatever you've been trusting instead of God. If you have to start tonight, start at night.