Gideon: A Study in Self-Destruction

Introduction

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings has at its heart, the theme of the temptation of greatness leading to destruction. Boromir is an example of someone who appears impressive at first but is tempted by the power of the One Ring and falls into its power, which leads to his destruction.

· It’s difficult to finish well. Many characters in Tolkien

Context

· James 1:14-15 is a framework for understanding Gideon’s self-destruction

James 1:14–15 ESV

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

·

Gideon Is Lured by Conceit

· The first thing that we see in Gideon’s life after driving out Midian and delivering Israel from their hand is that he is faced with a powerful temptation…become a king.

· The men of Israel, in response to the great victory over Midian, ask Gideon to form a ruling dynasty.

o They do not ask him to be “king,” only to form a dynasty of rulers…but there is little functional difference.

· Their offer shows that even though God had taken extreme measures to deliver Israel in an amazing way, so that it would be clear that God had been the true deliverer.

o They had, nonetheless, come to view Gideon as the deliverer: “For you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

· To Gideon’s credit, he does reject the offer: “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the lordwill rule over you.”

o This is something that is important to note about Gideon.

§ He is not perfect, and he will fail in many ways.

· But he remembers what the lord has done for him, and he knows who the real ruler of Israel is.

· But as we see in the subsequent events of Gideon’s life, that his apparent rejection of rulership is perhaps not consistent with what Gideon does in reality.

o And what we see in the text after Gideon’s initial victory over Midian in chapter 7 is that God becomes increasing far from Gideon’s thoughts as he lives out the rest of his life.

§ We also don’t get a strong impression that God is working in Gideon’s life.

o For propriety’s sake, Gideon reinforces that God is the real king.

§ But all the benefits of kingship Gideon will not refuse.

· At this point, it is important for us to understand how God views kingship, and what he commanded Israel about its kings.

o It was clear from the beginning that Israel would one day have a king.

§ Though, it was not supposed to be this way (The lord is King).

Psalm 22:28 ESV

28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

§ God knows the heart of man and accommodates Israel’s weakness by accommodating their inability to live in a world full of human kings without having one of their own.

· Moses gave careful instruction about who the king was supposed to be, and what he was supposed to do.

· First, Moses lays out the negative boundaries of Israel’s future king:

Deuteronomy 17:14–17 ESV

14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.

· The lord your God will choose.

o They are breaking out against this…a rebellion.

· Then, Moses explains what this king is not supposed to do, listing the practices of the kings of that time.

o Acquiring excessive possessions and wives which would turn his heart away from God.

· But then, Moses lays out a positive case…what the king should do.

Deuteronomy 17:18–20 ESV

18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.

· The king must spiritually lead his people, and it starts with him.

o He is supposed to have an intimate relationship with God’s word.

§ He was supposed to write a copy for himself, and then have it approved.

· The king was a man under authority.

§ He was supposed to read it regularly and keep it with him at all times.

o Above all this, he was supposed to be the example of humility for all in Israel.

· What we see from Gideon is that he fell into all the negative snares of kingship, while failing to keep the positive ones.

o He enjoyed the privilege of much gold that was given to him, even if he would use it for something besides treasure.

o Later in life, we see that he would accumulate a harem of wives and concubines for himself.

§ Multiple wives often foreshadow tragedy (as we will see).

· The breakdown of God’s covenant-marriage standard always ends in some kind of disaster.

o The flood (Gen. 6)

o Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19)

o Kings David and Solomon.

o And by one of his concubines, he would gain a son whom he would name Abimelech, which means “My father is king.”

· So, if Gideon was truly opposed to being king, he did a poor job of refusing its works.

· There is a lesson for the church here about the issue of consistency.

· It’s far too easy for good men to go wrong…and we should beware.

1 Corinthians 10:12 ESV

12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

· There are many boundaries in our lives that should not be crossed, and we are never as far from them as we think we are.

· And if we fall to our temptation, our sins may indeed be forgiven in Christ, but the effects can be long-lasting, and devastating.

o So it is best not to flirt with danger…it can be a slippery slope.

You think that you have boundaries you will not cross, until you do.

· One of the biggest problems we will face in our lives is the issue of consistency.

o We say we believe something, but practice another…another word for this is hypocrisy.

· Further, Gideon accepted the trappings of kingship but did not take the responsibility that comes with it.

o Though he was a faithful man in his personal life, he conducted himself as judge in a way that did not match it.

· There is a pridefulness about Gideon’s conduct after the victory over the Midianites that taints his legacy somewhat.

· Theologian Dale Ralph Davis notes that the snare of conceit (thinking too highly of ourselves) is a common one.

It is ever our danger that after being used of God in some way, we mouth humility but practice pride.

· In the church, this means that we should temper our expectations of those who are leaders in the church.

o This does not mean that we ever excuse their sin.

o But what it does mean is that we should not despair when they fall.

o We cannot hitch our faith to that of another person, no matter how seemingly great they are.

· Greatness is a powerful snare, and we should take heed lest we come to think that we are great in our own eyes.

· Rather, we need to make God great in our lives.

Jeremiah 9:23–24 ESV

23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

· Our better example is Jesus Christ, who never succumbed to conceit, despite the fact that He is indisputably the greatest person to have ever walked the earth.

o He resisted this temptation in the wilderness:

Matthew 4:8–10 ESV

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ”

o And Paul spoke beautifully of the example he set for us in Philippians 2:

Philippians 2:3–8 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

· Gideon fell into the snare of conceit, and it caused him to make the next mistake of failed kings, not taking up the responsibilities of a leader of God’s people…leading them into all righteousness.

Gideon’s Conceit Gives Birth to Idolatry

· The first way in which Gideon failed in his duty to lead Israel away from idolatry is in his making of an ephod out of the gold rings he received as spoils.

· In order for us to really understand why this is bad, lets investigate exactly what an ephod is.

· An ephod was part of the high priests’ garments. They were of a very particular make in the mosaic law:

o The entire garment was made of a mixture of fine and beautiful materials: Gold, purple and blue, linen.

§ These garments were to be beautiful in order to reflect the glory of the lord.

o There were two shoulder pieces with two onyx stones.

§ These would have the names of the sons of Israel written on them.

§ This is so the high priest would bear the weight of Israel before the lord.

o There was also a gold breast plate with four rows of precious stones.

§ Twelve different precious stones would be set in the breastplate, representing the twelve tribes of Israel with their names written on them.

§ This was so the priest would bear the cares of the people of Israel as he ministered before the lordon behalf of the people.

o The final major piece was the Urim and Thummim, a pair of objects used to discern the will of God.

Numbers 27:21 ESV

21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.”

§ These would be stored in the breastplate close to the High Priest’s heart.

· So, when Gideon makes an ephod, it sets a troubling precedent that would have terrible effects on Israel in the future.

o God had ordained a certain way for the His will to be known. It was through the Levitical priesthood.

§ Judges and kings were still supposed to be obedient to the Mosaic law.

o Gideon’s ephod, however, honorably intended became a way to associate Gideon with God’s will.

o Whether he intended it or not, he was laying claim to speak for God.

This is like an ancient version of a pastor saying, “God told me…” When someone speaks, God’s word is the ultimate standard, not the person.

· Gideon’ calling as judge over Israel did not authorize him to become an alternative to the Levitical priests.

· And so, whether intentional or not, Gideon’s ephod became an idol that ensnared the chronically idolatrous Israelites.

· What kind of parallels do we see like this in the church today?

o We have a similar hunger for more than what God has already graciously given. \\ for our sustenance, nurture, and direction.

o This hunger is as old as Genesis 3, when Eve was tempted by her desire for more than what God had provided.

Psalm 23:1 ESV

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

· This discontent shows in us when we overlook the means of grace.

o We aren’t content to obey what the Scripture says and entrust ourselves to His good providence.

o We don’t take seriously the opportunity to renew our faith at the lord’s table.

o We don’t go to the lordin prayer as we should to ask from him what we need.

· Rather, we want a special word from the lord.

o We want a special calling on our lives.

o We want a special dispensation of the gifts of the Spirit.

o We look forward more to the next conference, seminar, revival than we do to gathering with each other on the Lord’s Day.

§ If special events become our focus, we will miss most of what God has given us.

· Gideon’s failure was that he did not strive to lead others to follow God as He did.

o He retired to his home and enjoyed the spoils of His victory, and left Israel to its own spiritual devices.

Gideon’s Idolatry Leads to the Death of Rest

· Gideon’s legacy is muddled because of his conduct.

· Gideon dies at a good old age.

o God is gracious to give Gideon and Israel rest during his life.

o Gideon is in rare company. Only Abraham and David end this way.

· The consequences of this are made clear first in the death of Gideon’s good legacy.

· Abimelech will be the focus of our sermon next week.

o But his legacy will be his own.

· Rather, I want to take a look at two things that happened after Gideon’s death that highlight Gideon’s failures.

· First, Israel was not positively affected by Gideon’s life.

o They experienced 40 years of rest, but there was no spiritual renewal.

§ As soon as he was gone, Israel returned to its sinful ways.

· They quickly forgot the deliverance the lord had work among them.

· Further, they did not give any loyalty to Gideon’s family as they had loudly proclaimed after Gideon had delivered them from Midian.

§ This double indictment illustrates the deteriorating character of God’s covenant people.

· They are becoming so wrapped up in their own lives, that they acknowledge neither God, nor his judges, no matter what they do.

· Second, there is a hidden consequence that will only become apparent in the future.

o This is the last rest that Israel will experience in the book of Judges.

§ There will not be another rest for Israel until 2 Samuel, when David sits the throne of Israel.

· The lesson for us here is that choosing sin in our lives will ultimately lead to a forfeiture of blessings.

o The cycle of sin in Judges is evidence that there can be no balance and rest in our lives if we continue to choose sin over faithful obedience.

· It is very important that we be obedient to teach the next generation faithful obedience to Jesus Christ.

o Because the only way that we can have the kind of rest that truly endures is through Him.

1 Corinthians 1:4–8 ESV

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

· Gideon was an amazing figure, even with his faults. There are things that we should learn from his life and seek to imitate in ours.

o They are listed in Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11:32–34 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— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

· Gideon, for all his failings, was a man of faith.

o And he is rightly remembered for being one of the weak things that God used to do mighty things.

§ He obeyed even when he was fearful and doubting.

§ He persevered in obedience even when he was exhausted (8:1)

· Perhaps greatest of all, we learn what it means to live as if the lord rules over us.

o Making Him great in our lives.

o Making our greatest desire to be poured out in His service.

o As the psalmist said:

Psalm 99:1–3 ESV

1 The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2 The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!

· Gideon looked forward to a reality that we have born witness to.

Hebrews 11:39–40 ESV

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

· Christians are as prone to falling into sin as anyone if we give in to the lure of our sinful desires.

· But, when Christian leaders fall, we need to lift our eyes.

o Fix them on the true leader of God’s people, the Lord Jesus Christ.

o Jesus doesn’t disappoint.

1 Peter 2:6 ESV

6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

o In Him, there is no sin.

1 John 3:5 ESV

5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

o No one can bring a charge against Him.

John 8:46–47 ESV

46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

· The cure for cynicism in the church has always been the same…fix your eyes upon Jesus and follow him.

· Grace and rest come from Him.

Matthew 11:29–30 ESV

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

· And having come to know the rest and peace that is in Jesus Christ, let’s not keep it to ourselves as a private matter.

· But let’s be committed to passing on what we have come to know to the next generation of believers so that they might be able to endure to the end, and leave behind a legacy of faithfulness…that’s finishing well.

Paul agreed.

Acts 20:24 ESV

24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.