In judges 6, we find one of the great stories of the Old Testament…the story of Gideon. As the chapter opens, we are told that because of Israel’s sin, God gave had given them into the hands of the Midianites, who severely oppressed Israel for seven years. This was a familiar cycle in the life of Israel. God would give them victory over their enemies and bless the land with fruitfulness. But after a few years of blessing, Israel would forget God and reject his commands. They often pursued the “gods” of the nations around them and slipped fatally into idol worship. In an effort to turn the nation back to him, God would then discipline them by letting their enemies oppress them once again. They would then cry out to God and repent. In response, God would raise up a man or woman as a judge over Israel who would lead them in victories over their enemies and restore their freedom. After a season of blessing, they would turn away from God once more.
In Judges 6, the people began to cry out to God again and he raised up an unlikely champion to lead them in battle against the Midianites. If you read the account, you will see that Gideon was highly resistant to the call of God to lead the nation, but finally began to trust Jehovah and won Israel’s freedom. When God first commissioned Gideon to lead his people, his initial command was for Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it (Judges 6:25). Baal was the god of fertiltiy and Ashera was his concubine. He was then ordered to build a proper altar to God in place of the pagan altar.
The Old Testament is clear that behind every altar and idol was a demonic spirit. When the pagans offered sacrifices on these altars and prayed to their “gods,” demons were released to fulfill the desires of the worshipper. You may recall in Numbers 22, that Balak asked Balaam to place a curse on Israel so that he might defeat them in battle. Hoping that God would give him permission to do so, he built seven altars. We are told that Balaam was a sorcerer and we can safely assume that he would have offered sacrifices on those altars and called on the powers of darkness to wage war against Israel if he had the opportunity. God did not allow him to do so, but it was in his heart to do it if he could.
Here is the principle. When demonic assignments are made from an altar dedicated to demons, the assignment stands as long as the altar stands. The demon is honored and empowered by the sacrifices made on that altar. In addition, the altar Gideon destroyed was a family altar that would have continued to give demons access to Gideon. Perhaps, that is where his initial fear and doubt came from. That is one reason God always commanded the altars to be utterly destroyed. Not only would remaining altars tempt Israel to begin to worship at them again, but their assignments against Israel would stand as well.
You cannot maintain peaceful coexistence with demons. By their very nature, their only intent is to kill, steal and destroy. While you ignore them, they are plotting new strategies for your destruction. That is why Israel cannot trust in treaties made with their enemies because their enemies are not just driven by politics but by the dark forces of evil. Any treaty simply allows the enemy to regroup and rearm themselves for the next inevitable attack.
We would also be naïve to believe that there are not thousands of demonic altars operating in America right now where witches and warlocks are offering sacrifices and repeating incantations in an effort to curse God’s people, his churches, and those who stand for life, biblical values, and freedom in this nation. We need a worldviews that includes spiritual dimensions for Paul says our true battle is not against flesh and blood but the spiritual powers of darkness (Eph. 6:12).
As I mentioned earlier, we cannot peacefully coexist with these agents of darkness. We need to be clear that there is more than politics going on with these agendas. We are not to hate the men and women Satan is using for his enterprise, for they are truly deceived. But we must resist and take back the territory that has been relinquished in this nation to Satan in the arenas of government, media and education. Prayer and spiritual warfare will need to increase among God’s people. Holiness and alignment with the Lord will have to mark our churches. We will need to begin to operate in the authority of Jesus Christ at a much higher level if we are going to be the instruments God uses to restore America. Ultimately, turning the followers of Satan into followers of Jesus is our best strategy to save this nation.
If this sounds like an impossible task, it is not. In Acts 19, Paul preached the gospel in Ephesus which was a stronghold of witchcraft and pagan worship. God did “extraordinary miracles through Paul” (Acts 19:8) in that city. . As a result, a godly fear fell on the population and the name of Jesus was held in honor. We are told that a number of sorcerers brought their scrolls and burned them in the public square. Many Satanists have come to Jesus already in America. A Satanist does not have to be convinced of the reality of Jesus. He or she already believes that. What they need to discover is that Jesus is more powerful than Satan. Once they discover his power, they know they have been deceived by the prince ion this world and they quickly embrace the kingdom of light. In view of that, the church must begin to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit more than ever before and tear down and utterly destroy the altars of demons in this nation.
The future of America and even this election will not be determined by politics but by spiritual warfare on both sides. We must pray, fast, declare, and evangelize if this nation is to stand. I hope we will all take our assignment seriously at the altar of the Lord.
