Judges Series - Gideon

Gideon

This series that we are going through is on the book of Judges. But more specifically we are doing an overview of three of the people God called to be judges, how He used them, and how that translates to our lives.

Judges takes place in the years just after the conquest—a period of struggle as the Israelites’ faith weakened. Their stories follow a cyclical pattern: Israel turns from God, so God sends their enemies to oppress them. Israel cries out to God, so God raises up a judge to deliver them. While that judge lives, Israel follows God. When the judge dies, the cycle begins again, but at each cycle Israel falls further.

The judges were temporary and special deliverers, sent by God to deliver the Israelites from their oppressors. Their power only extended over portions of the country, and some of them were actually simultaneous.

The judge we are going to look at today is Gideon.

I love this story of Gideon. It's a very good picture of how the vast majority of people today act, and how God still uses us in spite of that

Now before I start there is something we need to get out of the way.......Last week after my sermon Mrs.Hand very politely informed me that there of the people here are actually left handed. Soooooo with that being said I would like to point out that neither I or anyone else in todays time see that as a defect. That was the strange thinking of people in the Bible Times. Also I believe my exact words were : I know three people who are left handed. And yea they are a little weird but I wouldn't say they are unuseble. Those three people I now are not the three people at this church. I just want to make that clear.

Alright back to Gideon.

So at the time when Gideon was called up the Isrealites were being heavily oppressed by the Midianites. They had come into theIr land and were killing crops, stealing animals, killing animals.

Judges 6:4–6 KJV 1900

And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.

The Midianites were terrorizing Isreal so much that the people of Isreal were fleeing and hiding out in caves and camps in the mountains.

And in fact in verse 11

Judges 6:11 KJV 1900

And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

So back in those times the way you threshed wheat was you would go somewhere outside where the wind was blowing and you would throw up the wheat and the wind would blow the sticks and trash out of it leaving you with just wheat.

But Gideon was so scared that his wheat would be taken by the Midianites he was hiding in a wine press. Now I'm sure you can imagine there probably wasn't much wind in that winepress.

So as we move on I want to go ahead and tell you the point of our lesson in Gideon today.

God can use us in spite of our lack of faith.

Last week with Ehud are takeaway was God can use us in spite of us being left handed.

Im just kidding. It was that God can use us in spite of our defect.

And today God can use us in spite of our lack of faith.

So Gideon meets with this angle of God under this tree and the angel of the Lord tells him that he will deliver Isreal from Midianites. verse 13 tells us Gideon response.

Judges 6:13 KJV 1900

And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

So Gideon admits to us and to the messenger that he knows the stories of his ancestors. Ho God brought them out of Egypt. I sure they were all amazed at the stories of the pillar of fire. The bread from heaven, the ark and everything that came with that, the parting of the Red Sea and many other stories that show the power and sovereignty of God. But here He is saying well if He really is with us than where is he.

And we can kinda roll our eyes at this and scoff or whatever but church let me tell you we are the same exact people. We know all the same stories and miracles the Gideon knew and even more and yet we sit here and a lot of the time put that same God in a box. And question Him when he calls us out into the deep waters.

And we can think we called hasn't called me to be a Judge. That's baloney!! These judges were called to deliverance. And we are called to share the Gospel of Jesus so others can find deliverance. We are all called to the same thing.

Luckily for Gideon he gets to see the power of God in front of him to remind him who God is.

Judges 6:18–21 KJV 1900

Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

What an honor that would have been to see. I want us to keep this in mind as we move forward.

Let's look at Gideon next version of a lack of faith.

Judges 6:25–27 KJV 1900

And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

Back in verse 23 God already told Gideon that he wasn't going to die. But still Gideon was so scared that he waited until night so no one would see him.

How many times have we heard the instruction of God and waited around until WE felt it was a good time. Or until OUR fear was dwendled down enough.

Church we are not on OUR timeline. We are on GODS timeline. He has given us clear and precise instruction. And every moment we wait is more proof of our lack of faith and our deliberant dis obedience to God.

I want us to look at one more example really quick.

So Gideon started rounding up men and gathering an army but before the “battle” and i say that in quotes because I'm sur ewe all no there was no battle . God lessened Gideon army to 300 men and they gathered around the camp of the Midianites, blew some trumpets, lit some torches, and shouted. Then the Midianites started killing each other and fleeing.

But before the battle even after all he had see God do and heard about God doing he still was lacking in faith.

Judges 6:36–40 KJV 1900

And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

So Gideon threw his fleece down and said God id this is for rea when I wake up if there is dew on the fleece and none on the ground “then I shall no that you would sav Isreal by my hand, as you have said.”

AND GOD DID IT.

AND it still wasnt enough for him so he asked God to do the opposite and God did it.

It took so many miracles and signs for Gideon to truly believe that God was going to do what He said He would.

Church at what point is all the goodness, miracles, signs, wonders, stories, and everything else going to be enough for us to finally pursue God and His call to our lives.