The Holy One bade Gideon lay the food on the rock, and pour out the broth. What man designed for a feast, God would receive as a sacrifice. With the end of the staff which was in His hand the sacred Guest touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and the stone on which they lay became as an altar. Fire arose from the rock and consumed the offering of Gideon, and the divine Being—who had thus accepted as God what was presented to Him as man—vanished out of the sight of His servant.
THE SACRIFICE.
The first emotion of the astonished Gideon seems to have been that of terror. “Alas! O Lord God,” he exclaimed, “because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.”
A gracious promise of love came in answer to that cry of fear; we know not whether the divine voice sounded in the mortal’s ear, or but spoke with mysterious power in his soul. The Lord said unto Gideon, “Peace be unto thee, fear not; thou shalt not die.”
Then, in that holy spot where the Lord had deigned to appear in human guise, Gideon built an altar, and called it Jehovah shallum, which is, The Lord send peace.
And now, beloved friends, let us apply to our hearts the lessons contained in this portion of the history of Gideon. Hath not the Lord appeared unto us with a promise of help and deliverance, if we in His might will struggle against the enemies within? He comes to us not only in the house of prayer, not only in seasons of holy communion, but when we, like Gideon, are following the common occupations of life. His eye is fixed upon us in tender compassion, and His message to the lowly Christian entering on the battle-field of life is this: Go in this thy might: have I not sent thee? I will be with thee.
Let us glean from the Scriptures some promises of this blessing of the Lord’s peculiar presence with His people. To those obeying His command to preach the gospel amongst all nations, how precious through centuries of toil and peril has been the gracious assurance: Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. To those almost sinking under the heavy trials of life, how full of comfort is the promise: Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. Through life, even unto the grave, the power of that promise extends, so that the Christian can add in lowly trust: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.
But who are they who can thus take to themselves the precious promises of Christ? They who have come to Him in lowly faith; or rather, they to whom the Lord hath come in the power of redeeming love. In the history of Gideon we see a type of the Lord’s dealings with His people. He is found of them that sought Him not; He comes to the sorrowful, the oppressed, the tempted, and offers to them the free deliverance which His mercy alone can bestow. We have nothing to give the sacred Guest but the offering of a sin-stained heart, a heart wholly unworthy of His acceptance, till He touch it, as He touched the offering of Gideon, and the flame of divine love is kindled, and the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart becomes acceptable unto the Lord. Then, like Gideon, may we raise our altar with grateful thanksgiving; and, while preparing for the struggle with indwelling sin, feel assured that the Lord will “send peace.”
We are also reminded, by this transient visit of the Son of God to the world, of His longer sojourn with the children of Israel, when for more than thirty-three years the Redeemer waited on earth till the bitter cup should be filled to the brim—till the great Sacrifice should be offered—and then ascended to His Father in heaven, thereby granting additional proof of His divinity to His adoring people. “The Lord send peace,” was the name given by Gideon to his altar, and our Lord’s words on the night before His crucifixion sound like a response to that name: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.