Small Army, Big God

Small Army, Big God

Judges 7

Context

Judges

People crossed into the land

God raised up judges to save them

Israel oppressed by Midian

6:1-6

Gideon

Son of Joash

Beating wheat by wine-press rather than oxen

Angel of the Lord shows up (Theophony)

I’m going to send you to save the Israel

Fearful & Reluctant

Hide it vs 11

How can I save? 6:15

Clan is the weakest

I am the least

Asks for sign

Meat & unleavened cakes on rock and pour broth

God touches it and its consumed with fire

Because he was too afraid 6:27

Fleece

“IF you will save… as you have said” (I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face” 6:22

Fleece

Not once but twice!

You shall not test the lord your God

Mighty man of valor vs 12

“Go in this might of yours” vs 14

This might is God’s

The Army

Camped next to a river above the midianites who were in the valley

Midian is 135,000 men

Gideon has assembled 32,000 men

Midian has 135,000

Outnumbered 4 to 1

“Too many men”

Sanctified imagination of conversation

“Lest Israel boast over me, saying my own hand has saved me”

Is that not our great problem

Army’s

Kingdoms

Presidents

Our finances

Our skills

Our degrees

Our salvation

Public test

Fearful & Trembling

22,000 leave

Imagine the scene. Perhaps a while until the first leaves, then a few more, then a few hundred, and thousand, and tens of thousands

Now you are outnumbered 14 to 1

“Too many”

“YEA I KNOW TOO MANY LEFT AND WENT HOME”

Private Test

Water test

Lap like a dog

Kneels down

10,700 do it one way, 300 the other

Outnumbered 450 to 1

With the 300 I will save you vs 7

Think about those sent home

The ones who left out of fear we may condemn but the reality is that would be most of us.

But what about the ones who were sent after taking a drink?

They never got to see the victory up close. They never got to be the hero

What did they think?

It’s my fault

What did I do?

Why does God not want me

I stood in the face of fear and yet God didn’t use me

Maybe they figured out the pattern.

God is only looking for the ELITE

I’ve got a drinking problem

God used their ABSENCE to accomplish his means and show his might.

You may not end up in the role that you intended or desired but God can still use you to accomplish his purposes. And if you are his, that is for your greatest good.

They still got to benefit from the blessings of God.

“With the 300 I will save you” 7:7

Reminds me of the feeding of the 5,000

Jesus, with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Seemingly an impossible task, gives thanks for the 5 loaves and 2 fish and God supplies more than enough.

Here, God says with your 300 Gideon, I will save

Comfort & Compassion

God says “get up, go take the camp, because I have given it to you”

“But if you are afraid”

Take Purah and HEAR what they say

God understands the fear of his servant Gideon

He has 300 men going up against a seemingly insurmountable army

Goes and hears the dream and interpretation of the dream

Camp is not destroyed by an asteroid, or a flood, or a raging fire,

It is a bagel that destroys the camp

Right about Jesus or relationship w/ him

Gods comfort is wed to his Sovereignty

Just so happens

Gideon goes

He gets to a certain section in the camp (HUGE)

There are two men there

They are talking

One of the men had a dream

Tells the other man the dream at that moment

Dream is a cake of barley that crushes the tent

His friend interprets it as “The sword of Gideon. & That God gave him victory over the camp of Midian

God’s sovereignty stretches farther than the universe can reach.

The path of Gideon

The location of the men

The dream

The conversation

The interpretation

ALL OF IT

Prov 16: 9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” Ps 115:3

This ought to be an anchor for your soul

God’s sovereignty is only comforting if you are in his army (Trusted in Christ)

Doesn’t mean we’re robots

Finally, we see the proper response from Gideon

He worshiped

Bowed down

Adored

Is that our response?

Gideon returns to camp and the once fearful, reluctant man now has a confident assureful leadership

The Strategy

The art of war sun zu

3 companies

Surround the enemy

Armed with a trumpet, a jar, and a torch

Ambush - Blow trumpet, smash jar, hold torch, Shout

Practice rehearsal

Gametime

300 men armed with a trumpet

Our sword is the word of god & prayer.

What a silly weapon

A sword for the lord and for Gideon

the only swords were the enemies

Vs 21 “Every man stood in his place”

God get all the credit

Gideon goes on to defeat Midian and others

Gideon dies and the people go back to worshipping Baal

This doesn’t mean things always go our way (sorting teams)

We’re fighting a battle church

Paul tells timothy “Fight the good fight of faith”

This doesn’t mean things always go our way

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Rom 8:35-37

Gideons & his army are a picture of the reality of Christ.

It is through one man, Jesus Christ that the battle is won. And like gideons 300, we look at the cross. In a couple of Fridays we will look at the cross and it will seem like a sure defeat. But Sunday we will look at an empty grave and see that the war has war has been won. at his cross, when death it appeared, had won and the enemy seemed insurmountable, God raises his son from the dead to defeat sin and death and win the battle.

Church we are fighting a war that Jesus Christ has already won. Let us not think we have won this battle on our own. We cannot say “by my own hand have I been saved” because it is in fact through his nail scar hands that victory is ours.

So church, let us, like gideon, see what God has done for us in Christ and let us respond appropriately in worship of him.