The God Who Loves Gideon to the End

As God had commanded, Gideon took ten of his servants by night, tore down the altar of Baal, cut down the Asherah pole and offered a burnt offering. When the townspeople saw it in the morning and came crowding in, furious, Gideon did not step forward boldly but hid behind his father, and it was Joash’s wise words that saved his son’s life.

When God told him to offer the second bull, he was in fact calling Gideon to present himself as a living sacrifice. God had accepted his gift, promised that he would not die and even brought him the recognition of the people; yet Gideon put God to the test once more with the sign of the fleece. That request was answered not for Gideon’s sake but because God had a greater plan to save Israel.

A temple may fall short of perfection, and so may long years of faith. But God waits patiently, to the very end, until the one he has chosen has wholly fulfilled the calling entrusted to him. In later years Gideon came to betray God, and yet the love God had shown him was a love without conditions.