“That night the LORD said to him [Gideon], ‘Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.’” – Judges 6:25-26
If you served in the military, you are very familiar with the word “stronghold.” A stronghold is the most secure base of operations. From it you plan, strategize, and attack your enemies. Then after you attack, you return to your safe, fortified compound so that you can plan your next attack. What happens if an enemy combatant or an invading military force does not have a stronghold? They’re vulnerable. They’re doomed. So, the difference between winning and failing in a war is whether or not you have a stronghold. What the Bible says is that “our war is not just against flesh and blood, but powers, principalities and spirits.” What we see in Judges 6:25-26 is spiritual warfare. Gideon’s father allowed a demonic stronghold in his house. This means that Satan now has a base of operations in the family. He can make plans and come out to attack members of the family. Then once he does damage, he and his demon minions retreat back to their secure fortress or stronghold where they plot to do more damage and harm.
Both Satan and God want to set up a stronghold in your house. They both want a base of operations at your house. Here is a question for the men: Who decides whether God or Satan sets up the stronghold in your house? As the head of household, you do. You are the patriarch, you are the husband and father, and it’s your decision. It’s your decision whether Satan sets up a stronghold in your house or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sets up a stronghold in your house. There are two ways that men allow or cause strongholds to be created in their household.
Some men work with Satan to build that stronghold in their house and other men are more passive. They allow other people to decide what stronghold gets established in their household. You must remember this: If you tolerate evil, evil will dominate you. Evil never stops itself. That’s why God made men to stop evil. You need to think of your home as a place of war and battle. Think of competing forces wanting to set up a stronghold. It’s either God and the angels or Satan and the demons. If they are living in your house, they have a stronghold. From there, they are planning either to bless or to curse, to either help or to harm your family.
Let’s end today’s devotional with a prayer:
Holy Spirit, we thank You that you reveal the truth to us. I pray for divine revelation in Jesus’ name that You would reveal any strongholds in families or homes as they were growing up. Would you show that to the person reading this devotional right now? Would you let him/her see where the altar was? Would you give him/her spiritual eyes to discern what the stronghold was? And I thank you for doing that, Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name. Amen
What is the sin, or sins, that has created the bondage and stronghold in your home?
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