By now Gideon has come to realise that there is something special about the ″angel of the Lord″. To be sure, he decides to honour his guest and seek a sign that He is really God's messenger (Judges 6:17-18). This is a time of famine, yet Gideon prepares a feast (v. 19). It must have been extremely costly and taken a considerable time to prepare. When Gideon brings the offering to the ″angel″, the Lord takes control. Fire, a common sign of God's presence, devours the food (v. 21). Not even a doubter like Gideon could miss that message. He instantly knows that he is in the presence of God. Feeling instinctively the depths of his own sin and guilt as well as his mortality, he cries out in fear (v. 22).

God has not come to judge Gideon but to deliver His people, so He speaks with words He often uses when people are alarmed to realise they are in His presence (v. 23). In response, Gideon builds an altar, a sign of God's encounter with him. This is a major step forward for Gideon's fledgling faith. He is going public and declaring his identity as a follower of Yahweh. And this is in Ophrah, the site of a major Baal shrine sponsored by Gideon's own father (v. 25).

The mark of fire on the rock and the stones are reminders of God's promises. And on the basis of those promises, Gideon will receive power to take on his mission. In the same way, etched in the Word of God are the promises of God's presence. They are written in the indelible ink of God's faithfulness, and when we apply those promises to our lives, we are transformed.

On his own, Gideon was a weak, faltering, doubting man. But he had first-hand contact with the Lord, and he was never quite the same again. He had a long way to go, but the journey had begun. He was a new man, transformed by God's presence. God had taught Gideon that it was not his inadequacy but God's adequacy that really counted.

God is in the process of transforming people, and He does it when we spend time with Him (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). There is no need to look for His message in visions; the faith has been delivered to us and recorded in God's Word (Jude 3). Scripture contains everything we need to be complete and equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Through His Word, we behold the glory of the Lord Jesus, and as we see Him face to face, we are changed. But we must spend time with Him. Only that will truly equip us to serve Him.