Jerub-Yahweh

In Judges 6, God calls Gideon to lead the nation of Israel back to faith, and to defeat the Midianites who had invaded the land. The first thing God told Gideon to do was to destroy the altars of the pagan gods that the people had begun to worship. One of these gods, Baal, was worshiped as the god of war and storm. When Baal’s devotees saw what Gideon had done, they demanded his death for his act of sacrilege. Gideon’s father Joash told the angry mob, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar” (Judges 6:31). His words made sense to the people. If Baal is a real god, he can fight his own battles. He doesn’t need anyone to fight his battles for him. So they gave Gideon a nickname: Jerub-Baal, which meant “Let Baal contend.” Or, to put it in more common lingo, Let Baal Deal With Him. Because Baal really isn’t a god, he wasn’t able to deal with Gideon. The altar remained broken down, and Gideon faced no supernatural punishment. The moniker “Jerub-Baal” changed from being an accusation against Gideon into a mockery of Baal. Baal couldn’t deal with him, after all.

There are times when we need to heed Joash’s advice ourselves. We see people mocking and violating the things of God that we hold dear. God’s ways are disregarded, and his laws are scoffed. We are as outraged as the people of Gideon’s village. Like them, we want to grab those blasphemers and make them pay for their disregard of the Lord and His ways. You may not have to think very hard to come up with at least one example of someone, or some group in society, that is performing some sacrilege. But we need to remember Joash’s words. If the Lord really is God, He can defend Himself. He doesn’t need us to do His dirty work for Him. Call these people “Jerub-Yahweh:” let the Lord (whose name in the Old Testament is Yahweh) deal with them.

God is a big boy; He can take care of Himself. He doesn’t need us to fight His battles for Him. It’s only natural for our blood to boil when we see people attack or disregard things that matter so much to us. But, as Paul said, “‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Part of the submission that comes with discipleship is to recognize that we do not need to take charge of God’s battles for Him. Yes, we have the responsibility to act when God calls us to do so. But we must be careful to distinguish between God’s call and our own desire to act. Perhaps it is our anger that is leading us to want to respond. Or it may be our own sense of self-importance, as though the forces of good and decency depend upon us to make things right. When you begin to feel this, just tell yourself, “Jerub-Yahweh. Let the Lord deal with it.” Then, not only can we avoid the danger of having zeal without knowledge, of being hasty and missing the way (Proverbs 19:2), but we can find a sense of peace and security. God is in charge. We can rest secure in His power and providence.

Letting the Lord deal with such things has an additional benefit. Sometimes, the offenses that we want to fight against may not actually be sacrilege. Because of our sinful shortcomings and incomplete process of sanctification, our own moral compasses may be a bit out of whack. That which seems terrible to us may not really matter that much to the Lord. In fact, there may be times when we’re the ones who are on the wrong side of God’s will. So we need to be “Jerub-Yahweh” as well, and ask the Lord to deal with us.