As a part of the 40 Day Prayer Plan, God spoke powerful and sobering words through Jo Hancock who heads up His Vessel Ministry in Montgomery. She said this to Alabamians “The kingdom of darkness has entered through open spiritual gates around our state. Some enemies are perched at the gate, attempting to slip in unaware. I would be bold enough to say that the forces of spiritual darkness are out in the open, waiting for us to turn our heads so they walk right through an open gate! The spirit of antichrist wants the great state of Alabama to turn from following God to bowing the knee to Satan and his kingdom of darkness. He works to infiltrate the body of Christ to ultimately divide and destroy the Name of the LORD our God, all the while demanding that this false god be recognized and served by all.” (1 John 4: 2-3) She is so right as we examine this season of the year in light of these truths. Could it be that the enemy has entered the gates around our state? She goes on to share that the meaning of the name Alabama is “the thicket clearers.” As God kept rehearsing these words in my mind, I was brought to the biblical account of Gideon in Judges 6-9 with right now words for our state, our leaders and most importantly we as the church and believers. Jesus said, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!” This phrase, or a variation of it, is probably Jesus’ most used phrase. It occurs 3 times in Matthew, 3 times in Mark, 2 times in Luke and 8 times in Revelation. May we have ears to hear what God is speaking to us at such a time as this as “thicket clearers” in Alabama!
If we are to understand the importance of being “thicket clearers” we must first define the meaning of “thicket” in the biblical sense. The word is used in Judges 9:14 as a “bramble,” in Psalms 58:9 as a “thorny shrub,” as “thistles or “thickets” in 1 Samuel 13:6. It symbolizes worthlessness, danger, and desolation in regards to poor leadership, spiritual decay, Divine judgment and futility and destruction. These are all things that defy God and present a siege on God’s order. The biblical account of Gideon outlines God’s intervention of restoration to the people of God despite the frailty of man. May we learn lessons from this account as Alabamians seeking to be “thicket clearers.”
The Israelites had done evil in the sight of the LORD and God allowed the enemy, the Midianites, descendants of Ishmael, to come into the land—to breach the gates. The Israelites had planted their seeds, but they hid in the caves in fear as their enemies encamped against them and destroyed their crops as far as Gaza. Consequently, there was no nourishment for Israel and no ox or sheep or donkeys. The enemies came in and consumed the land. The Israelites cried to the LORD and He sent a prophet with a strong message reminding them that He had delivered them from the bondage of Egypt and gave them the land and said: “I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, but you have not obeyed My voice.” (Judges 6: 9-10) They had erected an altar to Baal whose primary symbol in ancient Canaanite and Phoenician religion is the bull. It was their chief deity associated with fertility, storms, kingship, agricultural abundance and power over nature and life cycles. This symbolism was reflected in the Golden Calf in Exodus 32 where the Israelites created a bull-shaped idol during Moses’ absence, seen as a form of Baal worship. The bull’s association with Baal persists in our culture today as the Wall Street Bull is a link to prosperity and wealth, illustrating how ancient imagery continues.
God called Gideon to clear out the thicket of evil within his nation. The Angel of the LORD (the pre-incarnate appearance of Christ) said to Gideon, “The Angel of the LORD is with you, you mighty men of fearless courage…God is your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you? Surely, I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man.” We are all aware of how Gideon tested the LORD by asking for signs that He was with him. God allows us to be tested in our faith walk to prove His faithfulness and greatness. However, as with Gideon God requires cleansing and worship to Him. Gideon went and prepared a kid and unleavened cakes and laid them before the LORD. The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock and pour the broth over them. Then the Angel of the LORD reached out the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes, and there flared up fire from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. Then the Angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.” (What a beautiful picture of Christ who is the Rock who laid down His sinless and pure life as a sacrifice—taking the judgment upon Himself for all who trust Him as Savior and Lord.)
Having worshipped before the LORD in obedience, Gideon was prepared to be a “thicket clearer” for God’s people. Gideon blew the trumpet and rallied the troops to do likewise and said: “For the LORD and for Gideon.” The LORD brought victory! Afterwards, we read in 8: 22-23, “Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us—you and your son and your son’s son also for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.” Gideon said, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you, the LORD will rule over you.” Gideon knew that it was God who had given him the victory. He knew he had no strength in himself to win the battle, but he realized God had raised him up for this purpose. But we cannot end the story there as Gideon had a weakness that caused confusion after his death. Gideon had many wives and a concubine which was a real blot on his life. God used him in spite of this, but God did not approve of what he did. The record makes it clear that his actions brought tragedy to the nation of Israel. God had forbidden intermarriage outside the nation, and the actions of his disobedience split the kingdom and caused real tragedy. Gideon’s departure from God’s will resulted in the bramble in the parable of Judge’s 9:14 in the leadership of his wicked son Abimelech. As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel, turned from God and went a-whoring after Baalim. That is the sad, sordid story of Israel, and also the story of states, nations, churches and individuals. God never intended our spiritual lives to be that way but to remain faithful to Him.
We might ask, how this biblical account of the breach of gates, enemies entering the land, Baal worship, leadership and departure from the faith relates to Alabama and to us as believers. Let us explore some roots of Alabama history. When “Christianity” emerged in Rome, pagans began converting to Catholicism but were very reluctant to do away with their pagan roots. The Catholic church made the decision to combine Christianity with the pagan traditions that were so popular with the locals. The claim was that it was easier to marry the pagan and Christian traditions than it was to forbid or abolish them. Those pagan traditions merged with Christianity. As Christianity spread to England, Germany, France, Spain, and other European countries, so did the perverse pagan traditions. In 1702, the first Mardi Gras was celebrated in America—in Mobile—a gateway to Alabama. At the time, Mobile was part of the Louisiana territory and was later part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1718, New Orleans was established and by 1730 the people of the city were openly celebrating Mardi Gras. Some refer to it as a “Christian holiday” but 1 John 4:1 states: “Beloved, do no believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Therefore, it is important for us to explore the roots of Mardi Gras. Historians link modern Mardi Gras with ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman spring fertility festivals involving lewdness, sexual immorality, nudity, drunkenness, revelry and associate with various “gods” most typically the god “Pan.” Pan was the Greek fertility god and therefore was always represented as crude, wanton, and lustful. During these festivals men donned women’s clothing and masks—thus, the masquerade tradition and transgender began. Mardi Gras balls and parades are usually themed in honor of pagan gods. The symbol of Mardi Gras is a huge, fat bull, called the “Boeuf Gras” meaning “the fatted bovine.” Christians should remember that Baal, the ancient Canaanite god, was represented as a bull. Baal was to them a symbol of fertility, strength, and virility. Isarel’s history of sinning involved the making and worshipping of golden calves as idols. The real spirit behind Mardi Gras is the spirit of idolatry. The pagan gods want to be worshipped. They don’t care how they get that worship, they just want it. So, if they can lure believers into participating in the traditions that they are lords of, they are receiving that worship. Mardi Gras in the Bible ties back to Tammuz (and eventually Nimrod) in Ezekiel 8: 13-18 with women weeping for Tammuz—an abomination to God. God will not sanctify what He has deemed to be an abomination unto Him. God ordained His Feasts and Sabbaths!
It is clear from this history that the gateway to Alabama in Mobile was an access point where the spirit of idolatry—the enemy in the form of thickets and brambles of pagan traditions, spirits of perversion, sexual immorality, fornication, gluttony, drunkenness and more are the lords of these traditions that entered our state 324 years ago. The truth is that everything we participate in is opening doors to our spirit for those things to walk right through. We become a pagan Christian. We can’t serve two masters. If we are engaged in pagan traditions, it’s time to decide who we will serve. We can’t serve both. As a leader of God’s people, Joshua took a strong stand and said, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!” He urged them to choose their allegiance and reflects a personal and family commitment to serve God wholeheartedly.
So, what is our conclusion? How are we as Alabamians, leaders, and Christians to be “thicket clearers”? Let us return to the words of Jo Hancock: “If we do not stand firm in our faith, we will not stand at all!” (Isaiah 62:7) God says we are to have no other gods before Him. (Ex. 20:3) If we bow the knee to serve them to satisfy the pleasures of the flesh, we swing the gate open to the principalities. The spirits of darkness just want to be our friend to infiltrate our territory/life, to ultimately dominate/control our life…as “thicket clearers” we are to spiritually position ourselves with a mission to clear the thicket so the Messiah can be offered to the whole world. (Gen. 22: 13-14) Do you see why we as a state are in a battle for life or death? We must be spiritually minded, understanding our mission so we do not lose our way by falling into the hands of false gods!!! It’s a slippery slope to destruction, and we stand in the gap to fight it off! Let’s all stay strong in the fight. The next generations need us NOW!”
According to 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Christians are to “abstain from all appearance of evil.” Not only do we flee from that which is evil, we flee from that which appears to be evil. Avoiding the appearance of evil, or abstaining from evil, means to live in God’s light by the power of the Holy Spirit. We “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11) It is the same spirit that has contended against God for the souls of man since we were created. That same spirit, Satan, works to turn man away from the Holy God and towards false gods. We must not worry about the perceptions of others but about the integrity of our own walk in Christ. We must stand and claim His lordship! 1 Corinthians 10:14 says, “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.” Titus 1: 16 says “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” (1 Jn. 5:21) Prayer: Heavenly Father, I know how easy it is for people and things, activities and customs, to creep into my life and push You from the throne of my life. Help me to stay ever close to You in thought, word, and deed, knowing that only as You are lifted up on the throne of my life, will the things of this world take their proper, subordinate place. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN