Tearing Down the Altars of Baal Judge 6 : 1 ~ 12 sourceby David Wilkerson / Oct . 21 , 2002 Korean Then , in chapter 4 , we read , " And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord . .. and the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan " ( 4 : 1 - 2 ) . This time God ' s people were made captive by the Canaanites . Of course , every time Israel was enslaved , they cried out to God . And each time , the Lord was faithful to send them a deliverer . But as soon as that righteous leader died , the people predictably returned to their sin . And the whole cycle began all over again . It continues with our text verse , in chapter 6 : " And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord : and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years " ( 6 : 1 ) . During this period , Israel was continually brought low by their enemy Midian . Like clockwork , the Midianites raided Israel each year , plundering their crops and goods . Midian ' s caravan leaders would release all their camels and livestock into Israel ' s fields to graze . And the beasts completely devoured the crops , sweeping through the fields like locusts . Whenever Israel resisted , the Midianites drove them into the hills and mountains . God ' s people ended up seeking refuge in caves and dens , and having to scavenge for food . " And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites " ( 6 : 6 ) . Israel lost everything to their enemy : their houses , their food , their goods . They lived like paupers , homeless and bereft . Once again , Scripture says , " The children of Israel cried unto the Lord " ( 6 : 6 ) . Yet this cry wasn ' t one of repentance . Israel cried because of their oppression by the Midianites . It was a cry of anguish , due to their poverty , their losses , their insecurity . This time , before God sent a deliverer to Israel , he sent a prophet . This man of God put his finger on the reason the people were being so harassed . He pointed out , " Look at your history . In each case , God delivered you out of the hands of all who oppressed you . He brought you out of bondage in Egypt . And he told you not to fear the gods of the Amorites , in whose land you dwell . But you haven ' t obeyed him . You still pay homage to false gods " ( see 6 : 8 - 10 ) . The Lord was telling his people , in essence , " I made it clear to you from the very beginning : you are not to fear anyone but your heavenly Father . Let no other fear enter your heart . But you ' ve disobeyed me once again . You ' ve allowed all kinds of fears to enter in . And you ' ve forced me to hand you over to your enemy , to drive you back to myself . " What was this great evil that Israel kept falling back into , over and over ? The prophet showed Israel clearly what their sin was : they forgot the Lord ' s command not to fear the gods of this world . In Judges 10 , we see God ' s people admitting to this sin : " The children of Israel cried unto the Lord , saying , We have sinned against thee , both because we have forsaken our God , and also served Baalim " ( Judges 10 : 10 ) . What did the Israelites mean here , when they said they served Baalim ? The word Baalim is a plural form . It denotes all the false gods in the world . The root of Baalim is Baal , which we recognize from Scripture as a demonic spirit . Baal ' s mission is to rob God of all worship and trust by his people . It accomplishes this by focusing our attention on our circumstances rather than on the Lord . That ' s exactly what happened to Israel . Their sin had brought sorrow , economic disaster , terrorism from their enemies , uncertainty . The fact is , God was no longer protecting them . Of course he still loved Israel , but he had to put them at the mercy of their enemies to awaken them . He was trying to drive them back to his sheltering wings . But Israel refused to acknowledge that the cause of their crisis was their own sin . Incredibly , these people were sacrificing babies , shedding innocent blood , becoming sensual and addicted to pleasure . As a result , one disaster after another fell upon them . Yet , never once did they associate these disasters with their rebellion . They couldn ' t bring themselves to believe God was allowing it all to bring them to repentance . I see America in the same situation right now . The World Trade Centers were destroyed . The Pentagon was set aflame . Yet only a small remnant among Christ ' s body recognized God ' s hand in these things . Just as he did with Israel centuries ago , God momentarily handed us over to an enemy . Our sins have alienated us from him , and he ' s wanting to drive us back to himself . Think about it : over the past six months , America has seen the worst fires in its history . A full one - third of the nation has been in flames . We ' ve also seen drastic weather changes and devastating floods . And Japanese beetles are devouring vast acres of forest . Now we ' re seeing an outbreak of deadly West Nile virus . And in the upper Midwest , a terrible brain disease has overtaken the deer population . Over 50 , 000 deer had to be shot in an attempt to contain the disease . But some experts say 200 , 000 more deer may need to be killed before it ' s eradicated . Every time we turn around , it seems we face another crisis . I ask you , could God make his message any clearer ? He ' s saying , " I ' m tapping your shoulder , trying to wake you . Yet you continue to ignore me . That ' s only going to make me tap you harder . " Let me ask you : do you believe God could have stopped those Moslem hijackers who flew the planes into the Twin Towers ? Of course he could have . He has exposed such plots time after time . But he didn ' t last year . Why ? He ' s trying to speak to us , to get our attention . He allowed the destruction of our symbols of prosperity , because that ' s where we ' ve placed all our pride and reliance . Our President , our Congressional leaders and security officials have been warning us , " The big attack is still to come . " Now I hear some Christians saying , " Just wait for the big one . It could be a suitcase bomb . Or , someone might release smallpox or anthrax in a major city . Whatever happens , there will be thousands of casualties . And that will get America ' s attention . People will know God is calling this nation back to himself . Multitudes will cry out to the Lord . " I disagree . Let me tell you why . Even if America " cries out to God , " as Israel did , God desires something more . Israel wept loudly , crying out to God in their anguish . So the Lord sent a prophet to show them that sin had brought down judgment on them . Now , to be truly repentant , Israel had to recognize their sin as the cause of their troubles . And they did just that , acknowledging they ' d sinned . But there was yet another step to take . You see , even though we may cry out to God in repentance , he requires something more of us . And if this step isn ' t taken , God will not show his mighty arm on our behalf . We see exactly what this step is , in God ' s next command : Tear down Baal . The Lord spoke this word to Gideon : " Take thy father ' s young bullock , even the second bullock of seven years old , and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath , and cut down the grove that is by it " ( Judges 6 : 25 ) . Before this , Gideon probably thought he had been sufficiently repentant . After all , he had cried out to the Lord . He had heard the prophetic word God sent to Israel . And he had responded to it fully , acknowledging his sin . I see the same sort of repentant attitude among many Christians today . In churches from coast to coast , people are on their knees crying out to God . And that ' s good . But according to the Lord , a problem still remains . It ' s an idol in our midst : Baal . Yes , Baal is still very much an idol today . And if our repentance is to be complete , we have to tear this idol down . Otherwise , it won ' t matter how much we cry out to God , pray or fast . None of our actions will have any impact whatsoever , until we pull down the idol that has taken hold of so many hearts . You may ask , " So , what is this Baal ? Where do I see it at work ? How could an ancient false god be present in our modern society ? " In the Old Testament , Baal was represented by a carved idol , made of wood , stone or metal . It was formed into the image of a man , a handsome Adonis type . Even though this idol was only a dead piece of material , there was a powerful spirit behind it . In our enlightened age , we can ' t imagine any intelligent person bowing down to a carved idol . Certainly , there are still heathen religions that use such images in worship , including Buddhism , Hare Krishna and Hinduism . But whether the idol is Baal , Buddha or any of the millions of Hindu gods , the same demonic spirit is behind it . And this spirit is sent forth from hell for one purpose : to cause people to doubt the reality of God . It is a spirit of unbelief , plain and simple . And it assaults our minds with doubts about God ' s faithfulness . It is absolutely dangerous to entertain this spirit . If it isn ' t cast out immediately upon the first attack , it will infiltrate the mind . And once doubt and fear are allowed to enter , the Baal spirit takes possession of the soul . Left unchallenged , the Baal spirit of unbelief moves in and sets up an altar . Without question , unbelief is an idol . It bends you down in submission to its power . And it opens up your soul to all kinds of evil . In fact , the verse we see repeated throughout Judges - " The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord " - refers not to some gross sin , but to the people ' s unbelief . This is clearly illustrated in Ezekiel 8 . The Holy Ghost took the prophet Ezekiel on a vision - journey into the holy sanctuary . There he revealed to the prophet four deplorable abominations that God ' s people were committing . Then , he showed Ezekiel an even greater abomination : " He said unto me , Son of man , dig now in the wall : and when I had digged in the wall , behold a door . And he said unto me , Go in , and behold the wicked abominations that they do here . So I went in and saw " ( Ezekiel 8 : 8 - 10 ) . What Ezekiel saw horrified him . The walls of the room were filled with paintings of " every form of creeping things , and abominable beasts , and all the idols in the house of Israel " ( 8 : 10 ) . Facing these walls were seventy elders of Israel , swinging censers of incense . They were worshipping the spirit behind the paintings . The Holy Spirit told Ezekiel that this scene revealed what was filling the minds of Israel ' s elders . And here is what those men were thinking : " The Lord seeth us not ; the Lord hath forsaken the earth " ( 8 : 12 ) . Beloved , here was the Baal spirit fully exposed . Through a vision given by the Holy Ghost , Ezekiel saw firsthand how this spirit sets up an altar in a person ' s mind and takes control . As a result , Israel ' s leaders dismissed God ' s care for them . As they compared their poverty to the apparent prosperity of the Midianites , they thought , " Where is our God ? Our prayers aren ' t being answered . We don ' t see any evidence he ' s at work for us . The Lord has forsaken us . " Satan had accomplished his single , overriding mission : to implant in the minds of believers that God isn ' t who the Bible says he is . The devil wants to convince you God isn ' t all - knowing , all - powerful and all - caring . He ' s constantly at work planting seeds of doubt in you . He causes you to think God doesn ' t hear your prayers , that he doesn ' t keep his promises to you . And he sends forth the Baal spirit to complete this work in you . The Baal spirit is always present at the bedside of a dying child or a stricken family member . As we watch our loved one suffering , we wonder about God ' s purposes . And suddenly , a fear is injected in our mind . Later , when death strikes , that seed of doubt is watered . Soon we find ourselves asking , " How could a loving God allow this to happen ? " Last month , I was listening to radio reports on the anniversary of the 9 / 11 attacks . Hundreds of people were being interviewed . The vast majority said that after the attacks , they lost all confidence in God . The typical response was , " How could a just , loving God stand by and let this happen ? I can no longer believe in a God who allows so many people to die . " Several people declared , " My God died on September 11 . " It doesn ' t matter if you ' re a devoted lover of Jesus or a non - believer . After every disaster , calamity or fatal accident , Satan dispatches hordes of demonic spirits to do the work of Baal . They move in immediately , whispering , " Where was God ? How could he allow such a thing to happen ? " Right now , there is widespread uncertainty in our society . Bankruptcies are at an all - time high . Workers are afraid of losing their jobs . As people look at the future , they ' re overwhelmed by fear . I tell you , in just such a time , Satan launches an all - out attack . He wants to get into your mind , to plant seeds and build a Baal altar . He wants you to doubt everything you ' ve ever known about God ' s WordWhat does God ' s command to " tear down Baal " have to do with us ? You may think , " I don ' t have any idolatry in my life . How can I tear down an altar to Baal ? " Let me re - emphasize , Baal is a spirit of unbelief . You may have repented of sin , cried out to God for mercy , heeded all prophetic warnings . But if you have doubts in your heart about God ' s faithfulness to you , you ' re subject to the Baal spirit . And God is telling you , " You must tear out that spirit of unbelief from your soul . " I believe we simply don ' t understand how much God hates unbelief in his people . We don ' t see it as the dreadful curse that Scripture calls it . We don ' t realize that every doubt , every thought of unbelief , is of the satanic spirit of Baal . The prophet Jeremiah describes unbelief as a sin " written with a pen of iron , and with the point of a diamond : it is graven upon the table of their heart " ( Jeremiah 17 : 1 ) . According to him , God told Israel , " Ye have kindled a fire in mine anger , which shall burn forever " ( 17 : 4 ) . What was their sin ? " Cursed be the man that trusteth in man , and maketh flesh his arm , and whose heart departeth from the Lord . .. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord , and whose hope the Lord is " ( 17 : 5 , 7 ) . Keep these strong words in mind as we turn our attention back to Gideon . Here was a man who cried out to God , who was visited with a strong prophetic word , and who heeded that word . Yet Gideon still harbored doubts and fears . Why ? Gideon ' s father had erected an altar to Baal on their property . It was only a statue made of wood . But the spirit behind it had built a stronghold in Gideon ' s heart . Each time Gideon walked by , the voice of that idol spoke to his soul : " Look at your poverty , your hardships , your unmet needs . Where is God ? " Indeed , the idol stood as a testimony to every Israelite who saw it : " God isn ' t with you . He doesn ' t care . He ' s too busy with world affairs to be concerned about feeding and protecting you little people . The Lord has abandoned you . " Now , in Judges 6 , an angel brings this word to Gideon : " The Lord is with thee , thou mighty man of valour " ( Judges 6 : 12 ) . God speaks just eight words here . And the first five are directed not just to Gideon , but to all of his people , including the church today : " The Lord is with you . " The Lord is saying , in essence , " This promise is all you need : I am with you . " Beloved , this truth has to become the very foundation of our faith . No matter what we face - hardship , tragedy , sickness , poverty , temptation - our Father ' s promise holds true : " I am with you . " In all of our trials , especially as we ' re being flooded and overwhelmed , we must cling to this word . We ' re to cry out in faith , " I know you ' re with me , Lord . And if you are with me , who can be against me ? " Yet when Gideon encountered the angel of the Lord , he had a spirit of unbelief in his heart . He answered the angel , " If the Lord be with us , why then is all this befallen us ? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of , saying , Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt ? But now the Lord hath forsaken us , and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites " ( 6 : 13 ) . Do Gideon ' s words have a familiar ring ? He was saying the same things that filled the minds of those seventy elders in Ezekiel ' s vision : " The Lord seeth us not ; the Lord hath forsaken the earth " ( Ezekiel 8 : 12 ) . They said to themselves , " Yes , there is a God . He exists , and he is Creator of all . But he takes no notice of us . He doesn ' t see our situation . He has abandoned us . " God had already commanded Gideon , " Go , deliver Israel . I will be with you . " But there was still a heart - issue to deal with . The Lord told Gideon , " You still have doubts that I ' m with you . That ' s idolatry , Gideon . It ' s the spirit of Baal . Now go , get your father ' s bull , and pull down that idol . Then cut down all the trees in the grove , and use them to build a new altar . You ' re going to consume your father ' s idol on that altar . I want you to bring down that symbol of unbelief and destroy it completely . " Why did the Lord choose this unbelieving man to tear down Baal ? It was clearly an act of God ' s tender mercy . Here was a man with strong doubts , struggling to believe that God even cared about him . He was so filled with unbelief , he could tell an angel , " God has abandoned us . " And he tested God , time after time . But on every occasion , the Lord answered Gideon ' s doubt . Let me give an example . Later , when Gideon was about to go into battle , he tested God . Israel ' s situation looked impossible . So Gideon prayed , " Lord , if you ' re really with us in this battle , show me . I ' m going to lay some shorn wool on the grass tonight . Tomorrow I ' ll know you ' re with us , if the wool is wet but the grass around it is dry . " You may be flabbergasted by Gideon ' s audacity . Yet , the next morning , Gideon saw that the ground was dry . And when he picked up the wool , it was dripping wet with water , just as he ' d asked . Most of us are like Gideon . God faithfully meets us in trial after trial , delivering us and providing for our needs . But then we face yet another situation , causing us to say , " Lord , this is my biggest crisis yet . I ' ve never faced one like this . I ' ve got doubts . " Is there a measure of unbelief in you ? Are you struggling , asking questions , such as , " Where are you , Lord ? Haven ' t you seen my tears ? Where is there any evidence you ' re with me in my trial ? Have you abandoned me ? Doesn ' t my faith move your heart ? Why won ' t you remove these burdens from me ? " The Lord doesn ' t condemn or belittle anyone for their times of doubt and fear . The truth is , God knew Gideon ' s doubts weren ' t accusations . They were questions . Gideon was simply looking for answers . I tell you , the God of mercy who met an unbelieving Gideon and called him to action wants to do the same for you . He has great victories planned for you . And he desires to defeat every enemy in your life . Therefore , he wants to give you his power and authority to pull down every stronghold : every doubt , every fear , every thought of unbelief . The Lord has impressed on me that he ' s about to do a particular work in many Christians ' lives . In fact , he ' s about to bring them into their most important victory ever . He ' s already leading them into new places of peace and rest in Christ . And he ' s about to reveal his strong arm on their behalf . I believe this is God ' s purpose for many readers of this message . He ' s about to do a new thing in you . But first , you must pull down every thought of doubt , and lay down every fear . God wants you to tear down the spirit of Baal completely in your heart , and begin to live and speak in faith . The Lord will provide the mighty bull necessary to pull down that idol . He ' ll give you his Holy Ghost power and strength . So , put the enemy on notice : " God is with me , devil . You can ' t hurt me . And you can ' t stop his plans for my life . The Lord has victories ahead for me . " October 21 , 2002 Copyright / Reproduction Limitations : This data file / publication is the sole property of World Challenge , Inc . It may be printed in its entirety for the reader ' s personal use or to pass on to family and friends . It may not be altered or edited in any way and all reproductions of this data file / publication must contain this copyright notice . This material is not to be posted or transmitted publicly / electronically on any Web site , Web page or FTP site other than : worldchallenge . org , davidwilkerson . org or tscpulpitseries . org