OPEN AND CLOSE

Scripture For Meditation — Judges 6:1-32; 1John 1:9; John 8:36

“When the enemy has an open door into your life, the doorways of God’s blessings in your life are closed.”

This was the statement that the Spirit of God impressed in my heart as I prepared to write today’s blog.

God had promised to increase Israel as the sand on the sea shore; but as we read in our scripture passage, their sin stopped their growth and diminished them, and then their enemies, though otherwise every way inferior to them, overpowered them with numbers.

Open Doors and Breaches

Taking advantage of the open door that the Israelites’ disobedience presented to them, their enemies tried to deprive God’s people of the blessings which God had promised them —

They tried to hinder the access and enjoyment of the Israelites to the promised land.

The Enemy’s Strategy —

A repeating pattern of failure and a cycle of defeat.

Jdg 6:3 For it was whenever Israel had sown [their seed] that the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the people of the east and go up against them.

Jdg 6:4 So they would camp against them and destroy the crops of the land as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey.

Jdg 6:5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, and they would come in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were innumerable. So they came into the land to devastate it.

They always came at the time of harvest to devour the fruits of their labour.

All their produce and livestock was stolen after they worked hard to bring it to fruition. Does that sound familiar to you?

But you have not obeyed My voice:

God sent this messenger to tell them where the real problem was. It wasn’t that the Midianites were so strong, it was that because Israel was so disobedient, they were under the curse of toiling without harvest.

Manifestations of The Curse

Some of these things may be identifiable in our own lives as well:

• Hardship — Threshing wheat in the wine press — This was both difficult and humiliating.

• Fruitless labour — They had neglected to honour God with their substance and had prepared that for Baal with which God should have been served, and now God justly permitted an enemy to take it away in what should have been the season of their harvest.

• Poverty — When Israel kept in line with God, they reaped what others sowed (Jos 24:13; Psa 105:44); but now that God had forsaken them others reaped what they sowed.

• Oppression— The Israelites imprisoned themselves in dens and caves, because of the oppressive spirit of fear that had come upon them (Judges 6:2)

Tearing Down The Altars of Baal

By Gideon – Jdg 6:25-32

By Jehoiada – 2Ki 11:18

By Josiah – 2Ki 23:4-5

In ancient Israel, the people worshipped Baal because he was thought to be the god of weather, and they relied on the weather for agricultural prosperity.

In the hard economic times because of the Midianite oppression, people worshipped Baal all the more – not understanding that they only made things worse by not turning to God.

God called Gideon to get his own house in order first –

He had to destroy the altar of Baal before he could raise an altar to the Lord, and reverse the prevailing negative circumstances in their lives!

This is the same call of God to us in this moment in time — Get your house in order first!

We have to tear down the demonic altars of lies, deceit and unrighteousness that have prevailed in our lives, and empowered the enemy at the expense of the praise and honour that is due to God and robbed us of our destiny.

Prayer Focus

Spend the day to reflect on the negative patterns in your life or family.

Repent of whatever open doors or gaps that may be in your life or family that have empowered or are empowering the enemy to work against your destiny.

Cancel every curse that’s operating in your life or in your family line that are the result of the open doors.

Prayers of Renunciation (To be read from the slides at the prayer session tonight)

Prayer & Fasting

(Online Corporate Prayers)

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