Judges: The Least Grain of Grace

SERMON TITLE: Judges: The Least Grain of Grace

TEXT: Judges 4:1–24 (ESV)

SPEAKER: Josh Hanson

DATE: 9-17-23

TURN MIC ON / WELCOME

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

And we’re continuing in our Finding Jesus series this weekend. This is a series where I introduce you to a book of the Bible that you may or may not be familiar with. I’ll give you an overview of the book — followed by a closer look at a particular section of it. And then — and this is what I hope will be most helpful — each week I’ll show you how to find Jesus. I’ll show you how to find the one story the whole Bible is telling — the story of Jesus. Because the whole Bible is ultimately pointing us to him.

Now — you may be wondering why I think it’s possible to find Jesus in all of the Bible. Well in the end of the gospel of Luke, there’s an interesting story where — after Jesus was killed on the cross — he appears to two men who thought he was still dead. Somehow — Jesus hid who he was from them — so they have no idea who they’re talking to. And Jesus gives them — and us — a hint as to how we’re to read and understand the whole Bible.

Luke 24:17–27 (ESV)

17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

You should circle the phrase “all the Scriptures” in verse 27. That’s why we do this series — where I help you find Jesus in the Old Testament — because Jesus tells us the whole Bible is about him.

And in this iteration of our Finding Jesus series — we’re going to look at the books referred to as history. What these books have in common is that they cover historical events in the life of God’s people. Some of the books cover hundreds of years while others cover a brief period of time — but — together — they tell the historical account of God’s people. And — today — we’ll be looking at the book of Judges. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Judges chapter four.

This week we’re looking at Judges. In previous weeks we’ve looked at the book of Joshua and in the coming weeks we’ll look at Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles. Then we’ll take a break for our Christmas series before we finish up the last few books in the Old Testament.

So — early next year — Lord willing — we will have completed our journey through the entire Old Testament. And — on our website — you can search for our Finding Jesus series where you can find one sermon on every book in the Old Testament so you can discover what each of the books are about and how to find Jesus in each of them. And I hope that you’ll grow to know and love these books and spend time in them — finding Jesus — and the joy that’s found only in him.

BACKGROUND OF JUDGES

Now — let’s take some time to get our bearings in the book of Joshua — and I hope you’ll see that Joshua is a book you’ll want to go read for yourself.

First, what do we know about the author of Judges? We don’t know. There is a tradition that says that Samuel is the author — this is based on the time when the book was written and some clues you pick up in the book that the author must have lived shortly after the period of the judges — but there’s no indication from the book itself as to who is it’s author.

Second, what about the title of the book — Judges — is this book about experts in the law or something? Not quite. Though the judges did — from time to time — make a decision regarding a situation relating to the law — their primary role was that of a savior or deliver of the people of God from their enemies. We see this earlier on in the book in chapter two where we read...

Judges 2:16 (ESV)

16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

So the judges were the leaders of the people of Israel before the kingship was established. You could say that Judges highlights Israel’s need for a king — which the overview will make clear.

We’ll dive into this a bit more — in just a moment — but the book is structured as a compilation of a bunch of different independent historical stories — thus it’s in the history section of the Old Testament.

Finally, the book of Judges covers over 300 years of Israel’s history. For comparison, last week’s book — Joshua — covers somewhere between 20-40 years. So know that — as you read the book of Judges — you’re covering a lot of ground as far as history goes.

OVERVIEW OF JUDGES

So that’s the bird’s eye view of what’s going on — now — let’s turn to the book itself. To understand Judges you have to remember how the book of Joshua ends — which should be somewhat easy given that the end of Joshua is the passage we looked at last week.

Joshua ends with the Word from the Lord — through Joshua — to the Israelites about choosing this day whom they will serve. Joshua says to them those famous words — words many of us may have in our homes somewhere — “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Later he said to the people...

Joshua 24:20–24 (ESV)

20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

Then the book of Joshua ends — and Judges begins — tying the two books together — with some overlapping historical details. And one would hope — right — that after such a bold, and compelling, and — I mean — worthy of being hung on walls of our homes today — that surely after such a display of commitment the people will fulfill their vow to God and serve only him.

Well…I hate to burst your bubble — if you’re not familiar with the book — but the book actually records the people breaking their vow to God — it shows — in vivid details — their unfaithfulness, idolatry, and sinfulness. From a human perspective — there aren’t many books in the Bible that can compete with the horrors we find in the book of Judges.

One Old Testament scholar suggests that the book of Judges naturally divides into three major sections. And listen to the titles he gives to the three divisions of the book. The Roots of Apostasy — chapters one and two. The Downward Spiral of Apostasy — chapters three through sixteen. And The Results of Apostasy — chapter seventeen to the end. You don’t even have to know what apostasy means to know that it’s not a nice sounding word. But — in case you’re wondering — apostasy means to “turn away from the faith.”

So the book of Judges is the historical recording of the people of God turning away from their faith in God — in the time right after they made this great declaration, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” And a recurring motif in the book is a cyclical pattern — of sorts — where the people turn away from God, which results in them experiencing the consequences and punishment for their apostasy. In response to these consequences and punishment — eventually the people cry out to God for help. God responds by sending them a judge — a deliverer — who will rescue the people and turn them back to God. Then — after usually a brief period of time — the people turn away from God again — experience the consequences of their apostasy — cry out to God for help — a judge is raised up by God — the people are rescued — only to turn away from God starting the cycle all over again.

That’s the recurring cyclical pattern — but there’s also a recurring phrase — a phrase found four times in the book of Judges — a phrase that brings the book to a close.

Judges 21:25a (ESV)

25 In those days there was no king in Israel.

Thus — as I said earlier — the book of Judges is setting up the need for a kingship to be established. But — twice in the book — this phrase is accompanied with even more sobering words. Words that — though we live in a nation without a kingship — these additional words describe our country a little too eerily accurately.

Judges 21:25 ESV

25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

In this book you encounter some of the stories of our faith that you may remember from your childhood if you grew up in the church. There’s Ehud — the left-handed judge — who rescues the Israelites by driving his dagger into the belly of a wicked man. The story contains a bit of potty humor when — after Ehud had stabbed the evil king — and...

Judges 3:24–25 (ESV)

24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

Judges contains the story of Gideon and his fleece which — by the way — is not teaching us a lesson about how we’re to determine whether or not to obey God. God was clear to Gideon. Gideon’s fleece was due to his fear — not an example for us to follow. God was gracious to Gideon — for sure — but that’s the lesson in the story of the fleece — God’s grace to Gideon — it’s not a lesson about how we’re to “throw out some metaphorical fleece to God.”

And there’s the story of Samson — the strongman whose weakness was a love for certain women that led to his end.

MAIN PASSAGE

And today we’re going to look at another judge whose story — I’m guessing — many of us will be familiar with. We’ll look at her story — but we’ll focus on another individual as well and learn how — just like in Gideon’s story — and in all of the judges in the book — our focus isn’t to be on them — but on Someone else — the One who gives us grace. So hopefully you’ve had time to find Judges chapter 4 — we’ll begin in verse one. And notice the cyclical pattern of apostasy, a consequence, them crying out to God, and the raising up of a judge that I mentioned earlier.

Judges 4:1–24 (ESV)

1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’ ” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

THE LEAST GRAIN OF GRACE

Let’s talk about the two heroic women in this story — Deborah and Jael. Deborah — who’s not only a judge but is also a prophetess — without Deborah stepping up the people of Israel would not have experienced deliverance from the king of Canaan. She calls out Barak, she reminds him of God’s command to him, reminds him of God’s promise, and even goes with Barak into battle. In a few words the author of Judges tells us much about Deborah and her faithfulness to God and to the people of Israel.

Then there’s Jael — a woman who seizes the opportunity presented to her. An opportunity — unbeknownst to her — that had been prophesied by Deborah. Though violent to our ears — and maybe off putting to our modern civilized times — she knew the wickedness of the man who stopped by her tent. Though her husband had been on friendly terms with the king of Canaan and — by default — the general of his army — Jael was used by God to help bring about the deliverance of his people. Again, another extraordinary act of bravery — of courage — of being used by God for divine judgment against his enemy while helping to rescue the people of Israel.

But I want to turn our focus on someone else in this story. Not to draw our attention away from these brave women — but to help us discover the comfort of God’s grace that’s offered to each of us. For — I don’t know about you — but it can be hard to relate to the heroics of women like Deborah and Jael — just like it’s hard to relate to men like Stephen in the New Testament who faithfully stood for Jesus as he was being stoned by others — there are these moments in the Bible — right — where the people are so heroic that sometimes the best I can think is, “I sure hope I’d be that heroic if a situation like that came upon me.” But — until it does — we just don’t know what we’ll do.

But — then God graciously records the fumbles, and floundering, and unfaithfulness of his people — revealing to us how his grace, mercy, and faithfulness towards us covers a multitude of our fumbles, floundering, and unfaithfulness. The faith of Abraham is praised in the New Testament, but the times when he doubted God are recorded to show us something about our faithfulness and God’s. The same is true with Moses, King David, Jonah, Peter, Paul, and so on. Their stories aren’t just full of success and faithfulness — their highlight reels include their foibles so that we learn something about God’s grace and faithfulness.

And the same is true for Barak. Barak — a man who displays nothing but cowardice — is a man whose story is one seemingly of only folly and failure. In our day and age — he’d canceled or — at the very least — fired from his job. I mean — sure his side wins the war — but not because of him, right? So if we were choosing who deserves to the grace of God — surely it’s Deborah and Jael. Barak hasn’t done anything to deserve God’s grace. But — as some of you are already anticipating — grace isn’t earned. That’s the lavishness of God when it comes to his kindness towards us — his mercy — his patience — his love — and his grace.

You may be able to relate to Barak. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m just not good enough” or “I don’t deserve God’s grace” — both of those statements are true, by the way — true for all of us. Yet — are you ready for this — God gives his grace to us anyway. How unexpected that is — or should be — to all of us “not deserving of his grace” people.

I’m reading a book with my Life Group called The Bruised Reed. It’s by Richard Sibbes — he was born in 1577. There are some challenges — in reading really old books — but in this book there are many soul encouraging sentences. One is where I got the title of this sermon from: The Least Grain of Grace.

Here’s the quote:

Nothing in the world is of so good use as the least grain of grace. - Richard Sibbes

Sometimes we can view ourselves — or others — through the lens of their faults, failures, and screw ups — ignoring how the least bit of God’s grace in their lives is changing them, transforming us, doing a powerful supernatural work. It’s easy to view Barak this way — what a coward and loser. Yet — in the book of Hebrews — in chapter eleven — a chapter known as the Hall of Faith — the author goes through story after story of Old Testament heroes of the faith. Abel. Enoch. Noah. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob. Joseph. Moses. Rahab. And then the author says this.

Hebrews 11:32 (ESV)

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets...

Did you see it? Right there — in the Hall of Faith — Barak is mentioned. Though we don’t see it in his story — God’s grace was at work. It had to be at work — otherwise how would his name end up on a list of those who are remembered as those who were faithful? Just the smallest amount of God’s grace in his life was used to rescue the people of God from the king of Canaan. And if this is what God could do in Barak’s life — what might God do in yours with the least grain of grace? How dare we disregard the power found in the tiniest amount of God’s grace in our lives or in the life of someone else. Can you see his grace in your life — no matter how small it seems? Can you see his grace in the lives of others — even those who don’t have their life all that well put together?

Do you want to know something that’s refreshing when you start to look for his grace in your life and in the lives of others? You experience the blessing of seeing yourself and others as God does. And he sees us as who he’s shaping us to be — who we’re becoming — who we’ll be for all eternity because of his grace in our lives. God give us eyes to see both ourselves and each other as you see us. Give us eyes to see your grace at work in our lives. Can’t you see how this would sweeten our relationships, and shape the words we speak to ourselves and each other — words of encouragement and hope and joy because of God’s grace in our lives.

Who’s someone God wants you to encourage because of his grace in their life? How about we encourage them right now? Let’s do something a bit different, shall we?

First, get out your phone — and I know we’re all about silencing our phones in church — but if your phone is on silent right now — turn the sound on and turn your phone up all the way. I’m serious — phones out — sound on — volume up.

Now — that person’s name who came to mind — that person that God wants you to encourage because of his grace in their life — I want you to text them right now with a word of encouragement. Something like, “I am so thankful for God’s grace in your life. I’m a recipient of his grace through you when you open the door to the worship center for me.” Or “Because of God’s grace working through you, my daughter learns about Jesus’ love for her each week.” Or “That time you brought me a meal — I now realize that not only was I physically fed — but I tasted God’s grace because of you.” Or whatever way you’ve experienced God’s grace through someone else in this congregation.

If you don’t have their number in your phone — text someone else. Text two people — I don’t care. If you don’t have Shaun Meloy’s number and you want to text him — we’re going to put his number up on the screen. Totally kidding!

While you’re texting — know that we also have postcards in the lobby at your campus — not at the Resource Center — but there’s another cart in the lobby with the postcards. Grab one of them and write that note to the person who you’re not able to text.

FINDING JESUS

How are we to find Jesus when we’ve been reminded of the grace we need — grace we cannot earn? How do we find Jesus in a story like Barak’s?

Here’s one way we can find Jesus. We find him by remembering that he is always faithful — even when we are faithless. We looked at the Hall of Faith chapter in the Bible — but all of those folks — like us — needed God’s grace in their life in order for them to be faithful. But not Jesus — for he is always faithful and his faithfulness is the reason why we experience God’s grace in our lives. Jesus is faithful. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy we read these words...

2 Timothy 2:11–13 ESV

11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Jesus remains faithful — for he can’t deny himself — he can’t deny who he is. He is God. He is kind. He is gracious. He is truth. He is just. He is many things — but — never forget that Jesus is faithful to his people. He gives us the least grain of grace — not based on our merit or our works — but because he’s good and kind and gave his life — in love — for his people. In fact — before his crucifixion — Jesus said this about his death.

John 12:24 ESV

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Just as wheat needs a seed to give its life in order for a harvest to be produced — Christ gave his life as a seed — dying on the cross — in order to produce a harvest of life in his people. A people who he sees —not as we are right now — but a people he sees as who he’s shaping us to become.

Back to Richard Sibbes and his book The Bruised Reed. He writes...

Christ values us by what we shall be, and by what we are elected unto. — Richard Sibbes

CONCLUSION

If we were to conclude Barak’s story based on what we read in Judges chapter four, we’d have sold him short of the grain of grace that God had bestowed upon him. And God used that least grain of grace in Barak’s life for his good — God had a plan for Barak that Barak wasn’t even aware of.

And the same is true for all of God’s people. His grace is working in our lives in ways we are aware of and in ways we’re oblivious to. His grace is working in the lives of the family you’re surrounded by — a family of faith — in ways we’re aware of and in ways we don’t have a clue about. God give us eyes to see your grace in our lives and your faithfulness to us. For gracious and faithful is who you are. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, give us eyes to see your grace in our lives and your faithfulness to us. For gracious and faithful is who you are. Spirit, give us eyes to see your grace in the lives of our brothers and sisters among us and your faithfulness to them. For gracious and faithful is who you are. Jesus, what wonderful news it is to know that you are always faithful — even when we’re unfaithful — especially when we’re unfaithful. May your work in Deborah and Jael’s lives inspire us — but may your faithfulness in Barak’s life give us great hope and sweet comfort. For you do not change — and your grace that we see in his life is the grace you give to us today. May we rest in, trust in, believe in, and hope in your grace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go with eyes that see God’s grace and faithfulness in your life and his grace and faithfulness in the lives of others. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.