The
Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon while he was threshing wheat in secret. He
did so to preserve the precious grain he had harvested to prevent the marauding
and menacing Midianites from taking them away. Anyway, Gideon had shown himself
to be a cautious person. Even when the Angel of the Lord visited him, he wanted
to be very sure that it was truly an experience from the Lord. In verses 17-18
we learn that he wanted to bring an offering to the Angel. In reality, he
wanted to test the Angel whom he was encountering to ensure that he was indeed
the Angel of Yahweh. In a sense, Gideon was seeking verification. In his mind,
he must have thought that bringing an offering to the Lord would present the
perfect situation for the Angel to demonstrate his power in some way and so
authenticate himself. So, he left to get the offering while the angel agreed to
wait.
Gideon
returned with the prepared meat of a young goat and a great amount of
unleavened bread to offer to the Angel. Putting the meat and the broth in
a pot in a basket, he brought them to the Angel who was waiting patiently
underneath the oak tree where they spoke. At the instruction of the angel,
Gideon placed the meat of the goat and the unleavened bread on a rock, an
improvised altar. Then he was told to pour the broth out, presumably on
the offering. When he had done that, the Angel of the Lord stretched out the
staff in his hand and with the end touched the offering. Immediately fire came
forth and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And with that, the Angel
disappeared from his sight immediately.
At
once Gideon was convinced that he had indeed spoken to the Angel of Yahweh. He
realized that God had graciously shown Himself in a way to him. He was overcome
with fear and awe. The exclamation “Alas” was an expression of shock that he
had truly encountered God. Suddenly, he realized how unworthy he was and yet
the Lord in His grace had given him the privilege to encounter Him. He must
have realized how close he was to be struck dead for no one has seen God and
live. In shock that he was still alive, Gideon was grateful at the same time.
He must have realized that he could have been struck dead for what seems like
his brazen disrespect in testing the Lord. Just imagine Gideon trembling
with fear and disbelief that he was still standing and alive. Then the Lord
spoke with calming words of deep assurance saying, “Peace to you, do not fear;
you shall not die.” Gideon then did what was best in the light of
that supernatural encounter. He built an altar and named it
“The Lord is Peace.” For he had experienced an encounter with the
Lord face to face and was spared. The altar remained there at Oprah.
This
episode in the life of Gideon tells us that it is okay to test our experience
in life. Like Gideon who wanted to make sure that the experience is of the Lord
is not wrong. In our days where there is a proliferation of all sorts of claims
purported to be from the Lord, to test if what we have encountered is from the
Lord is a wise thing to do. We are reminded by the Apostle Paul in his letter
to the Corinthians to test every prophecy. It is better to be safe than sorry.
The Lord knows our heart and He will honour our sincerity and honesty.
Secondly, we know that Jehovah Shalom is our peace. He is the source of all our
peace. He will grant us peace in the most trying circumstance of our life if we
abandon ourselves and trust Him totally. He will not only grant us His grace
but also give us His peace. What a God! Alleluia!
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