How Could They Forget!?
Judges • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsThis sermon deals with the end of Gideon's life and his legacy, or the lack thereof.
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Today is All Saints Sunday.
In the Catholic tradition, this time honors saints who are not honored other days of the year.
Protestants do not practice this occasion as our Catholic friends do. For Schwenkfelders, it is a time to remember our friends and church members who have passed on.
The theme on this day is remembrance, which has a significant place in the Bible. The Israelites were told to “...remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.” in Exodus 20.
Jesus instructed His disciples about the Lord’s Supper: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11.
But today we see the danger in failing to remember. Thus, our Thought for Meditation in Judges 8:34
34 And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side,
British film director and journalist Paul Greengrass said:
“Remembering is painful, it's difficult, but it can be inspiring and it can give wisdom. (https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/remembering-quotes)
Our story centers around the man, Gideon, or also known as Jerubbabel.
He was a judge, which means that he was one of several that ruled Israel during the time between the death of Joshua and the reign of Saul, roughly 1400 to 1050 B.C.
Arnold and Beyer state: “These ‘judges’ were not simply legal authorities as the English word implies. They were charismatic military leaders whom God raised up and empowered for specific tasks of deliverance in order to restore justice.” (Arnold and Beyer, 157) Judges 2:16-17
16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so.
As I have said before, there is a cycle in the book of Judges. It is thus.
The people fall away from God.
The Lord raises up an oppressor. The oppressor afflicts God’s people.
God’s people cry out for deliverance.
A judge is raised up to deliver the people.
There is a time of covenantal faithfulness.
Why the cycle? It was because of sin and waywardness. Of special note is the repetition of the verse found in Judges 17:6 and Judges 21:25
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
And so we turn to one specific judge, whose name was Gideon.
Gideon was called by God to lead the people of Israel.
Gideon was called by God to lead the people of Israel.
Gideon’s story spans three chapters in the book of Judges. Gideon gathered an army of 32,000 to fight the Midianites, who were at least this in number. But this was too many. The bulk of which were coming out of obligation and not out of courage. So, Judges 7:2
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
So, 22,000 left and 10,000 remained. Notice that Israel would go up against an army much larger than this.
Then the Lord vetted more, noticing how these would drink water from the brook. Judges 7:6
6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.
Those that stood and drank were more watchful and effective than those that knelt down, signaling agility or intelligence. Judges 7:7
7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”
And He did. Judges 7:22
22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.
Gideon defeated this large army with just trumpets and clay jars. You ask, “how could this be?” The noise and the flame fooled the opposition into thinking that this was the vanguard of a great army.”
George Schwab states: “All it took was faith in God to break the spell of oppression.”(Schwab, 108). God proved once again that He is completely sovereign, governing the affairs of humankind. He gave His people victory in a most unique and unconventional way.
Things did not end well for Gideon and Israel.
Things did not end well for Gideon and Israel.
Unfortunately, things did not end in the happily ever after. In chapter 8, Gideon took the people back to waywardness and sin. His life spans several decades and is a reminder that those who appear to know God and experience His grace, sometimes do things contrary to the Christian life.
In chapter eight, we see that the Ishmaelites want to make Gideon king. He rejected the invitation, desiring that the Lord would govern them. Judges 8:22-23
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”
The people wanted to put their hope in an individual rather than in God. At this juncture, Gideon had the Ishmaelites contribute gold in order to make an ephod, which is a priestly garment. And he placed it in the city of Orphrah as a commemorative. Wrong move.
Instead of it encouraging the worship of God, it invoked worship for itself. The people committed idolatry as recorded in Judges 8:27
27 And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Volumes I–XV II. Usage > יָקַשׁ
Dt. 7:25
This was in direct violation of the instruction that God gave Moses and the Israelites in Deuteronomy 5:8-10
8 “ ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
What are we around that inevitably trips us up? What functions as a snare in our lives in our relationship with God? These are fair questions to ask ourselves.
So is the lesson that people do not stay faithful to God, but by the grace of God. And that there is such a thing as false conversion.
Later on, King Saul was an example.
Judas was one of the 12, but he did not stay faithful.
Ananias and Sapphira are examples, lying to the Holy Spirit and being selfish with their resources (Acts).
And there are others. I’ve known men that at one time in their life seemed to be so on fire for God, only to fall away a short time later. By the same token, I’ve seen the biggest rebels turn to God and be completely changed. Judges 8:33-35
33 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 34 And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, 35 and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.
Make sure you don’t fall away!
Make sure you don’t fall away!
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Humans have a propensity to fall into unbelief and apostasy. We serve the flesh, which is weak, though the spirit is willing. We must be reminded of what Calvin said: “The human heart is an idol factory.” When we fail to remember God, bad things happen.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
And Luke 10:42
42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Andrew Murray was the son of a Scottish missionary to South Africa. He wrote over 240 books and tracts before his death in 1917. He once wrote:
“Remember the great need you have of the grace and assistance of God. You should never lose sight of Him- not for a moment.” Andrew Murray
