基甸开始为神工作
士师记六章24至32节
24于是，基甸在那里为耶和华筑了一座坛，起名叫“耶和华沙龙”（注：就是“耶和华赐平安”的意思）。这坛在亚比以谢族的俄弗拉，直到如今。
25当那夜，耶和华吩咐基甸说：“你取你父亲的牛来，就是（注：或作“和”）那七岁的第二只牛，并拆毁你父亲为巴力所筑的坛，砍下坛旁的木偶。
26在这磐石（注：原文作“保障”）上，整整齐齐地为耶和华你的神筑一座坛，将第二只牛献为燔祭，用你所砍下的木偶作柴。”
27基甸就从他仆人中挑了十个人，照着耶和华吩咐他的行了。他因怕父家和本城的人，不敢在白昼行这事，就在夜间行了。
28城里的人清早起来，见巴力的坛拆毁，坛旁的木偶砍下，第二只牛献在新筑的坛上，
29就彼此说：“这事是谁做的呢？”他们访查之后，就说：“这是约阿施的儿子基甸做的。”
30城里的人对约阿施说：“将你儿子交出来，好治死他，因为他拆毁了巴力的坛，砍下坛旁的木偶。”
31约阿施回答站着攻击他的众人说：“你们是为巴力争论吗？你们要救他吗？谁为他争论，趁早将谁治死！巴力若果是神，有人拆毁他的坛，让他为自己争论吧！”
32所以当日人称基甸为耶路巴力，意思说：“他拆毁巴力的坛，让巴力与他争论。”
信息分享
如果在基甸家后院，就有敬奉异教的祭坛和偶像，他又怎能去事奉神呢？神要基甸将它们拆毁，基甸便依照神的吩咐去做。他甚至用了父亲所养的牛、父亲的仆人和工具，来拆毁偶像的祭坛，再为神筑一座新的坛献祭。
这原则今天仍然适用。有时在祝福和使用我们之前，祂也希望我们能在我们的生活中拨乱反正，也许是在我们的家中或亲人中间。倘若神吩咐你将妨碍你得着祝福的东西挪开，你会怎样回应呢？神是否仍在等候你将它们除去呢？
基甸父亲对祭坛被毁的反应十分有意思。他是否已在心里相信神呢？翌日，当众人看见祭坛被毁（那处除了作家庭祭祀之外，一定也供公众敬奉），便要基甸的父亲把破坏祭坛的儿子交出来。基甸的父亲没有责备儿子，却挑战假神巴力的能力，他说：「巴力如果是神，让他为自己争论吧！」巴力当然办不到，以利亚多年后在迦密山上又证明了这点。
这是基甸为神工作的开始。随着他踏出第一步，神便会指示他第二步，逐步带领他作最重要的工作。神就是这样带领人的。祂为我们每个人都预备了工作，祂首先要我们踏出第一步去清除路上的障碍，然后便逐步带领我们走上祂的计划。
紧记：顺服之路就是蒙福之路，也就是事奉之路。
GIDEON BEGINS HIS WORK FOR GOD
Judges 6:24-32
24 So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-LORD-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it;
26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.”
27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the LORD had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built.
29 So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”
30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.”
31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!”
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”
Message
How could Gideon ever serve God with a pagan altar and idol in his own backyard? It had to be destroyed. Gideon did exactly as he was told. He even used his father's bull, his father's servants and no doubt his father's tools to accomplish the destruction of the false altar and the building of the new.
The principle still holds good today. Sometimes before God can really bless and use us, he wants us to put right things in our own lives. It could be in our home or family circle. If God has said anything to you about a similar matter, something standing in the way of blessing, have you done anything about it? Is God still waiting for you to put away what he has put His finger on?
It is interesting to see the re-action of Gideon's father. Was he a secret believer? When the crowd gathered next morning (it must have been a public place of worship as well as a family shrine) instead of condemning Gideon, he challenged the false god, Baal.
'Let Baal defend himself if he is a god.' That was something Baal could not do, as Elijah proved many years later on Mt. Carmel.
This was the beginning for Gideon. With that out of the way God could give him his next instruction and lead him on to the main task God had for him. It is always the way. God wants to keep moving forward. He has work for us all to do. He waits on our clearing the way for him to do what he has planned.
THE WAY OF OBEDIENCE IS THE WAY OF BLESSING AND LEADS TO MORE SERVICE FOR THE LORD.