Believes There Is Only One True God

Believes There Is Only One True God

A HERO’S TALE

By Gideon’s time, idolatry had spread through Israel like a plague. Tragically, God’s people had ignored the first two commandments (see Exodus 20) and started worshiping many of the false gods of the wicked Canaanites. Even Gideon’s father, Joash, was guilty of this terrible sin (see Judges 6:25).

So before God sent Gideon into battle, he wanted to prove a very important point to his unfaithful people. God told Gideon to tie one of his father’s bulls to the town’s Baal altar and have the bull tear it down. It’s helpful to know that the symbol of Baal was often a bull. By asking Gideon to destroy Baal’s altar with a live bull, God was showing his people how silly it was to worship a bull god. God also told Gideon to chop down the town’s pole to Asherah, another false god, and use the wood to offer a proper sacrifice to the real God.

The next morning, when the townspeople saw their sacred idols destroyed, they were furious. They rushed to Joash’s house and shouted, “Bring out your son. He must die!”

But Joash responded wisely. “If Baal really is a god,” he said, “he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”

Baal (and Asherah) never answered, and Gideon went on to lead God’s people to victory over Midian. Gideon had clearly proved that Baal and Asherah were fake gods.

DECODING THE MESSAGE

Today, no one worships Baal or Asherah anymore. But there are plenty of false gods out there.

Buddhists worship an idol named Buddha. In Hinduism, people believe in many gods. Islam speaks of worshiping God, but it’s not the true God of the Bible. Those are just a few examples of false religions today. But there are plenty of others.

Scripture, including today’s verse from Deuteronomy 4:39, is very clear that the God of the Bible is the only real God. True heroes for God believe that and allow it to affect how they live. Just like Gideon.

BATTLE PLAN

Tell one or more of your friends who follow another religion about the one true God. If they don’t believe at first, be patient with them. Pray for them and lovingly show them Bible verses to help them believe, if they’ll let you.