My Name Is...

Apparently I have a new name now.  It really wasn’t my choice but the men of this city thought it was a fitting nickname for me.   This is what happened.   In the morning when the men of the town got up and saw that Baal’s altar was demolished they asked who had done this and after a little investigative work realized it was me.  They told my Dad (Joash) to bring me out because I should die for breaking down Baal’s altar and I cut down the Asherah pole.  My Dad replied to this hostile mob,”Are you going to plead Baal’s cause?  Are you trying to save him?  Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning!  If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”  What he said makes sense why would these people want to worship a god that can’t stop a person form breaking down his altar.  If Baal had any power he would have found a way to stop me or struck me dead for breaking down his altar.  It just shows how powerless he really is.  So form that day on everyone is calling me Jerub-Baal which means “Let Baal contend with him.”  This is all because I broke down his altar.  I say it’s totally worth it.

Bringing Down Baal!!

Waking up this morning was difficult because last night I decided to start early on turning the hearts of this land back to the Lord.  That’s what he desires of us!  So, after I finished building the altar that evening the Lord said to me, “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.  Then 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.”  So, I took ten of my servants and went down and did exactly what the Lord had told me to do.  I really hope Dad or any men in the city are angry at me.  Well, I did it at night so no one could have seen me.  I should be fine.  

Fire On A Rock

So I prepared this sacrifice that I was going to make and I figured this would be a normal sacrifice nothing strange or special would come of it.  Boy was I wrong.   I prepared a young goat and with an ephah of flour I made bread without yeast.  I put it all in a basket and took it back to brought to the man while he sitting under the oak tree.  He told me to take the meat and the unleavened bread and put it on a rock and to pour the broth over it so I did.  Then with tip of his staff that was in his hand this man touched the meat and unleavened bread and FIRE flared up from the rock! It consumed both the meat and the bread!  Then this man (obviously an angel of the Lord) disappeared!  I immediately fell face down and exclaimed. “Ah, Sovereign Lord!  I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!”  But the Lord said to me, “Peace! Do not be afraid.  You are not going to die.”  I was extremely relieved and it suddenly became apparent that God had actually called me to save Israel from the Hand of the Midianites.  So, I immediately built and altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord is peace.  This is a very daunting task.  I know I’m going to need some serious help from the Lord to make sure this is done right and we get the victory.    

A Strange Visitor

     The Midianites have been terrorizing people all over the land of Israel.   I needed to do some threshing but whenever anyone has tried to do that the Midinaites see them and they come and take what they have gathered and sometimes execute them.  So I got an idea to thresh in a winepress.  I knew it may take a much longer time than if I did it on a proper threshing floor but I couldn’t risk being seen by the Midianites.  While I was there threshing I had a visitor approach me and he knew my name and he said to me, “The Lord is with you mighty warrior.”  I was a bit confused by his word so I replied, “But sir, if the Lord is with us why, has all this happened to us?  Where are his wonders our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’  But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us in the hand on Midian.”  He turned to me and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.  Am I not sending you?”  It was clear this man was a Divine leader and he was clearly giving me a message from our God, so I said to him, “Lord how can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”  The Lord answered, “I will be with you and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”  Then I said, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.  Please do not away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”  And he said to me, “I will wait until you return.”  So I am now preparing this goat and the flour for this sacrifice.