Sunday Sermons
Gideon
This book with the repeated expression, “then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judges 6:1), confirms the viewpoint that unless we are diligent, we are always only one generation away from apostasy. 6:2-5 Rather than permanently settling in the land, the Midianites had adopted a different strategy. They waited until the harvest was ready, then they would move in from the desert, cross the Jordan in huge numbers and overwhelm the land. “With their speedy, wide-ranging mounts (camels), they roamed all the way to Gaza, helping themselves to crops and animals” (Gaebelein p. 417). Then, with their camels fully loaded down, they returned across the Jordan until the next harvest. None of this should have surprised of Israelites, for the Law made it clear that covenant-breakers could expect precisely this type of treatment(Deuteronomy 28:38,31). The unfaithful Israelites found themselves captives in their own land, and out of desperation tried living in mountain dens and caves. Sin has the tendency to deprive the sinner of even life’s most basic pleasures. “Seven years of it. You are hungry, poor, and tired. Every year, as sure as income tax, Midian’s buzzards come. You’re tired of rushing your family, livestock (what is left of it), and grain (if salvaged) to the hills where you live a caveman existence till the foreign locusts get bored and move on to impoverish others. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to throw your wheat up into the wind out on the threshing floor, as a free man should (11)?” (Ralph Dale Davis pp. 91-92). In response to Israel’s cry for deliverance, God first sends a prophet who rebukes their unfaithfulness (6:6-10). Instead of relief, they now must hear a word of criticism! “Hence Yahweh sends a prophet because Israel needs more than immediate relief; they need to understand why they are oppressed. Like Israel, we may want to escape from our circumstances, while God wants us to interpret our circumstances. Sometimes we may need understanding more than relief; sometimes God must give us insight before He dare grant safety. Understanding God’s way of holiness is more important than absence of pain. We may want out of a bind, whereas God wants us to see our idolatry. God means to instruct us, not pacify us. We should not miss the kindness of God in all this. One of the kindest things God does for us is to bring us under the criticism of His word to expose the reasons for our helplessness and misery” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 92).
6:11 The angel of the Lord is also mentioned in 2:1. Gideon was threshing in a winepress, a pit carved out of rocky ground. Normally threshing floors were located in exposed areas so that the wind could easily blow away the chaff” (Gaebelein p. 419).6:12 At this moment, Gideon hardly looked like a valiant warrior. The expression probably reflected Gideon’s potential. God sees our possibilities. “The Lord is with you”, is the same type of promise and encouragement which was given to Moses(Exodus 3:12-14). If God is with us, then who can resist us (Romans 8:31)? 6:13 This statement proved to be a theological problem for Gideon, because if God is with him, then why is he beating out wheat in a winepress? And why hasn’t there been any miraculous intervention like what had happened in Egypt? Of course the answer to this should have been obvious to Gideon. It was the wickedness of his own people that brought God’s judgment (Isaiah 59:1-2). How ironic that Gideon is complaining about a lack of miracles, when the angel of the Lord is standing right in front of him! In addition, plenty of miracles had happened since the Exodus, lest we mention the events during the lifetime of Joshua, and the deliverance wrought by Deborah.
6:14 “God’s answer to discouragement is never (mere) positive thinking, but rather the promise of His presence. Quite frankly, when I look at the secular world in which we are living and realize the powerful attacks of anti-Christian forces on biblical truths and values, I feel very much as Gideon did before the Midianites---puny, helpless, and insignificant” (Inrig p. 92). 6:15 Gideon’s excuses resemble the reluctance of Moses (Exodus 3:11). He belonged to the weak clan of Abiezer, and his own position in his family division was not a prominent one, yet the Bible contains many examples of God using people who the world thought were unqualified, like David (1 Samuel 16:11; 1 Corinthians 1:26-27). 6:16 If God is with us, then we are qualified for the task. What many Christians need is not more self-confidence, but more God-confidence. “But I will be with you”. Basically, God has nothing else or more to offer you” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 95). 6:17-21 Gideon asks for a sign to confirm the Lord’s promise. On the one hand, we might agree that Gideon was weak in faith at this point, but the sign that God provided for him required that he bring certain things before the angel of the Lord. These objects included food (19), and during a time of famine, it would indeed take an act of faith on the part of Gideon to use such material. 6:22-23 The sign terrifies Gideon rather than offering him reassurance. “We western Christians do not understand Gideon’s agony. Such talk is strange to us. We long to reach our warm hand through the print of our Bible page, pat Gideon’s shoulder, and soothe him with ‘Don’t worry, brother Gideon, God’s not really scary like that—if only you had a New Testament’. This sort of talk (22) is strange to us, because we have no real sense of the terror and awesomeness of God, for we think intimacy with God is an inalienable right rather than an indescribable gift. There is nothing amazing about grace as long as there is nothing fearful about holiness” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 96-97).
6:25-26 Almost immediately God asked Gideon to respond to His call to deliver Israel. He is commanded to take decisive action against a pagan altar that belonged to his own father! In the Law, God had clearly commanded that all such altars must be torn down (Exodus 34:12-13). God demands complete and total allegiance (Matthew 6:24; 10:37). If we are to serve God, then we cannot keep our faith hidden. “When we must declare ourselves, when we must burn our bridges and, if need be, stand alone against the religious, social, cultural expectations of the community” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 98). Before we can be successful against sin, all our idols must go. There can be no spiritual victory where the heart is still divided (James 1:6-8). Faithfulness must start at home. Before Gideon can lead the nation, he must first deal with Baal in his own family. If my commitment to God does not first affect my marriage and my parenting, then it is superficial and hollow. The very first battle that many new converts encounter is a battle with members of their own family. “Gideon’s obedience to God’s command should not be minimized by his use of 10 servants (dismantling a Canaanite altar was a massive task), or by the fact that he did it at night (the Baal-worshippers would obviously have prevented it if he had tried to do this during the day)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 392). 6:28-29 “How different from Deuteronomy 13:6-10, where Moses commanded that even close relatives must be stoned for idolatry! The heresy had become the main religion” (Gaebelein p. 422). Here we learn that evil is just as intolerant of the truth as truth is to be intolerant of evil. The idea of “tolerance” is a myth, that if we are more tolerant of religious error, such error will be more tolerant of us. When any error gains the majority, the proponents of error drop their appeal for tolerance. 6:30-31 “Crises sometimes causes people to talk sense—at least Joash found it so” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 98). Gideon’s actions appeared to have both shamed and challenged his father. The argument he offered was, “If Baal is God, he doesn’t need any help from Ophrah’s town council to maintain his honor; he should be perfectly able to kill my son”. So the issue that confronted Israel was either, continue to prop up Baal or worship at the altar of Jehovah. 6:32 As a result, Gideon was given the name “Jerubbaal” (jer uh BAY uhl). Initially this was probably given as a derogatory name (let Baal condemn him), but the longer that Gideon lived without any harmful side effects, the more evidence was accumulating as to Baal’s inability to defend himself. Hence the name Jerubbaal, came to mean, “Baal-fighter”. “Every time men looked at Gideon, they had visible proof of the weakness of Baal and the power of God” (Inrig p. 103). 6:33 The above event was soon eclipsed by the annual invasion of the Midianites. This was their eighth incursion into the fertile Valley of Jezreel, and it came during the wheat harvest in May or June (11). 6:34-35 Like Ehud (3:27), Gideon sounded the trumpet to gather the troops. The men of his own clan were the first to follow him---an indication that they now shared Gideon’s attitude toward Baalism. 6:36-40 A craving for signs can be dangerous. Some have interpreted this account as a lack of faith. Note that Gideon does not want a new word from God, but rather simply a confirmation of the word just given (37). Davis says, “He is hesitant, not unbelieving. It is not the absence of faith but the caution of faith we see here. Cautious it is. After Yahweh granted the sign of the wet fleece and the dry ground, Gideon asked for a reverse—dry fleece and wet ground. This would be even more striking and marvelous, since it is in the nature of wool to absorb moisture. The second sign would therefore go against nature and demonstrate God’s power to do what seems impossible to men even more clearly” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 99-100). Of course, in the above example we see a problem associated with asking for confirmation of a word from God that is really clear. If one doubts the truthfulness of God’s word, one will probably also doubt the sign. “You will notice that he was aware that he was treading on very thin ice. ‘Please Lord, don’t be angry, but we are going to have to run through all this again. I am afraid my test wasn’t good enough’” (Inrig p. 115). It seems reasonable that this is one reason why God condescended to Gideon’s requests, that is to reveal to all future generations the inherent problems when we don’t just believe what God has said in the first place. “If they do no listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31). God’s instructions to Gideon were clear, and God had already demonstrated that He was with Gideon (6:21). Smith reminds us, “Far better to admit weakness and ask for strengthening than to go into battle with a cocky faith” (p. 155). On other occasions God punished people for doubting His word (Luke 1:20).
7:1 Along the foothills of Mount Giboa, Gideon began to marshal the troops together. The spring of Harod (spring of trembling), is probably modern Ain Jalud at the foot of Mount Gilboa. The Midianites were located some four miles north of them in the Jezreel Valley. “The invaders knew about this 32,000-man army and their leader (Gideon) (14), but apparently they did not view them as a serious threat” (Gaebelein p. 424). 7:2 What a surprise to hear from God the message, “You have too many men”! Already, Gideon was outnumbered four to one. God knew that Israel would be tempted to believe that when victory came it was due to their own strength. To this day we are tempted to pat ourselves on the back when things go well in life. “The Bible is not obsessed, as we are, with our image. God usually calls servants, not heroes, and many of his servants simply don’t fit the mold that Madison Avenue has taught us to prize” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 101). God is much more concerned about trying to teach us trust in Him than making our lives run smoothly all the time. “If our victories make us self-reliant, they are ultimately more disastrous than defeat” (Inrig p. 125).
7:3 Gideon was instructed to use the provision of the law of Moses (Deuteronomy 20:8), and dismiss all those who were afraid, which reduced his army from 32,000 to 10,000. Two-thirds of his army was gone! 7:4 Still too many! 7:5-8 Some suggest that the non-kneeler, scooped the water up in one hand (holding his weapon in the other) from which he lapped the water with his tongue. The writer doesn’t tell us if the method of drinking revealed anything about the soldier’s character. Some suggest that the 300 were more watchful, while Josephus argued that the 300 men were less watchful. Davis notes, “Those who were kept appeared to be the ones who stood upright while drinking the water from their hands, thus prepared for a sudden attack” (p. 116). Be impressed that God chose less than 1 percent of the group with which Gideon began. The Midianites now outnumber Israel, 450 to 1. This example should always remind us that God doesn’t need numbers and vast resources to accomplish His purposes. 7:9-15 God gives Gideon one more sign to strengthen his faith. Obviously, Gideon is fearful (7:10-11). From these verses we learn that the Amalekites and other desert tribes had joined forces with the Midianites. The Midianites knew about Gideon (14) and his army. We see a beautiful demonstration of God’s providence. It just so happened that when Gideon arrived he overheard the dream that one of the soldiers in the Midianite camp was relating to his friend. “The other Midianite responded, perhaps in jest (or in faith), that this must refer to the sword of Gibeon, the divinely intended symbolism is clear (barley bread aptly described the poverty-stricken Israelites, and the tent referred to the nomadic Midianites)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 394). “In light of this, we may need to alter our current stereotypes of what a servant of Christ is. We sometimes dupe ourselves into thinking that a real servant of Christ is only someone who is dynamic, assured, confident, brash, fearless, witty, adventuresome, or glamorous” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 106). 7:16-22 The middle watch would have been at 10:00 p.m. The confusion in the Midianite camp was unbelievable as they imagined a much larger Israelite force attacking them and as they perhaps mistook their own returning guards for Israelites. Note the weapons issued, “A horn, a torch, and a jar! No shields, no arrows, no swords. I can imagine Gideon’s 300 looking at those things and wondering how they could ever win a victory with such unmilitary objects” (Inrig p. 135). “To the half-asleep men, everything that moved became an enemy. Every shadow was an Israelite. In all the confusion, the camels stampeded, and, in the chaos and tumult that resulted, the panicked Midianites began to slaughter one another” (Inrig p. 136).
