Some People Hate The Truth

Each generation must decide for themselves whether they will serve God or not.  Forty years after Barak and Deborah defeated the Canaanites, another generation turned away from God, and Israel was invaded by the Midianites and Amalekites, whose only purpose was to destroy the Israelites, as Judges 6:3-5 tells us.  “And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.  For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.”  We see the same attitude toward Israel today by descendants of these same peoples.  When they turned to god, he sent them another Judge, named Gideon. 

One of the reasons God had stopped blessing Israel vs because they had started worshipping other gods.  If God was to bless them, they needed to stop worshipping those other gods.  That was the first assignment Gideon was given, in Judges 6:25-27.  “ And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, 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: And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.  Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.”

Even those who are not deeply into their religion tend to get very defensive when their beliefs and practices are questioned.  Fearing the people’s reaction, Gideon waited until everyone was asleep to follow God’s command.  The next morning, when they found out what he had done, they were very upset, according to Judges 6:28-30.  “And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.  And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.  Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.”

Obeying God frequently brings us into conflict with those who do not worship him.  Mankind as a whole has chosen to reject God, substituting other things for him, as Romans 1:21-23 states.  “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.”  As a result they have rejected the principles and standards He has set, and they resent being reminded how foolish and wicked they are.  The world hates Christ because, as he said in John 7:7, “…me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”  Christians are hated because they remind the unbelievers of Christ.  John 16:2 warns, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”  They become so caught up in their own beliefs they think they are doing the world a favor by killing Christians. 

When the people demanded that Gideon be put to death, his father pointed out that if their beliefs were true, they wouldn’t need to destroy people who disagreed, in Judges 6:31-32.  “And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.”  If something is true, it will still be true whether people believe it or not.  If people have to destroy or kill those who have a different opinion or belief, it indicates they are afraid to let people find out whether it is true or not, whether we are talking about human caused climate change, Islam or some other religion,  or about a political party or system.  We mustn’t allow them to prevent us from finding out the truth and acting on it.