A Prideful Warrior

INTRODUCTION

First—Third graders, you are dismissed for Rise & Shine.

Let me echo what has already been said and wish all of you fathers and grandfathers a “Happy Father’s Day.”

In Greek mythology, there was a young man named Icarus. His father, Daedalus, was a brilliant inventor who made two sets of wings from feathers held together with wax so they could escape from the island where they were trapped. Before they took flight, Daedalus gave his son a simple warning: “Don’t fly too low, or the sea will soak your wings. But don’t fly too high, or the heat of the sun will melt the wax.” At first, Icarus listened to his father. But as he soared through the sky, the thrill of flying filled him with pride and overconfidence. He kept climbing higher and higher, convinced the warning didn’t apply to him. Eventually, the sun’s heat melted the wax, the feathers fell away, and Icarus plunged into the sea and drowned. Pride led to disaster. I can’t count all of the times, growing up, that my own father quoted to me Proverbs 16:18—“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

This morning, as we come to Judges 8, we come to the end of Gideon’s story that serves as a cautionary tale.

We’ve followed the arc of Gideon’s leadership story and now we’re on the downward trajectory.

MPT: Even after great victory, both Israel and Gideon are their own worst enemy.

The first thing we see as we come to the text this morning is…

1) The Criticism of Gideon’s Leadership (Judges 8:1-3)

Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely. 2 And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger against him subsided when he said this.

If you are in leadership of any kind, you’re going to face criticism. You can do a really great job—God used Gideon to deliver the people—and they still found things to complain about!

The Ephraimites are ticked because they got snubbed and weren’t asked to take part in the nighttime attack on Midian and they took it personally. Now, if you look back to 7:24-25, yes, they were called into action and they wound up killing Oreb and Zeeb, but, it was only when the Midianites were in their territory.

Look what Gideon does…

He butters them up…pumps up their ego a bit.

(vs. 2)—your grapes are far superior to my own family’s grapes.

(vs. 3)—you are the ones who God allowed to capture and kill Oreb and Zeeb. Compared to that, I’ve done nothing!

Leadership 101, right here.

But, this reveals to us that the tribes are not as cohesive as they once were. There are fractures below the surface that are going to ultimately lead to a crack and break.

As we move through this text, we see not only CRITICISM of Gideon’s leadership, we also see…

2) The Rejection of Gideon’s Leadership (Judges 8:4-9)

4 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 5 So he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 And the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”

Succoth is Israelite territory—these are Gideon’s own people. You would expect a hero’s welcome, right? He’s just delivered the people from the Midianites.

He’s probably expecting to be treated like a hero…like a ticker tape parade and people just emptying their kitchens of food for he and his men…instead he’s rejected.

Not sure why they rejected/treat Gideon like this…but his ego definitely takes a hit.

7 So Gideon said, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”

You know, as a kid, there was one statement that sent shivers down my spine—Wait until your father gets home…you know it’s gonna be butt whipping time.

But, again…every indication we have in this text is that this isn’t righteous anger.

8 And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”

Again, rejection! And, again…anger…again, Gideon is saying, I’ll have my revenge.

3) The Downfall of Gideon’s Leadership (Judges 8:10-27)

Summarize vs. 10—12 (Gideon captures the two kings of Midian—Zebah and Zalmunna—and it’s in this text that we’re going to find out the real reason why Gideon is so intent on finding and killing them. In vs. 19, it’s revealed that these two men are responsible for killing Gideon’s brothers.

The journey he goes on with these 300 soldiers to find Zebah and Zalmunna would have been approximately 81 miles. That’s a LONG WAY to walk.

This is how I imagine that long walk going—and hopefully some of you will get this reference— “Hello. My name is Gideon, son of Joash. You killed my brothers. Prepare to die." FOR 81 MILES.

13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’ ” 16 And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. 17 And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

“Taught them a lesson”—literally “threshed.” Gideon’s story begins with him threshing wheat and now he’s threshing his own countrymen. These are the people he was appointed a deliverer for and now he is killing them.

The irony of all of this is—Gideon’s name literally means “hacker.”

18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Striking—in the story that Gideon is best known for—the nighttime invasion of the Midianite army—the author does not record any account of Gideon killing anyone.

Now…all we see in chapter 8 is Gideon shedding blood—the blood of his own countrymen and the blood of these two kings—not killed in battle but out of vengeance.

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.”

THEY ARE TRYING TO SET UP A DYNASTY

Important—Gideon does not correct the people. This is exactly what God was “wanting” to avoid in 7:2.

24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 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. 28 So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

Notice the subtlety of what’s happening, here—Gideon humbly rejects kingship but he requests the riches and ornaments of royalty.

Let me put this another way—Gideon knows its wrong to become king but he wants to be treated like a king. Even though he turned down the offer to be king, Gideon had actually disqualified himself.

Deuteronomy 17:17 “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.”

And, shockingly, we see Gideon make an “ephod” out of this gold. Now…what is this? We know that the priests of the tabernacle and temple wore a golden ephod—but that’s not what this is. See what the author says—Gideon makes this “ephod” and “put it” or “set it up” in Ophrah. Whether this was an image/a monument to honor YHWH or himself or this is a monument to Baal…the point is clear—the people “whored” after it and it became a snare. Gideon has reintroduced idolatry to the people. He is leading them back into the very sinfulness that caused their destruction at the very beginning!

Think about what we’ve seen—the trajectory of Gideon’s life & leadership. He started weak and fearful, then, clothed in the Spirit of God, he was a strong and courageous leader. Now…he’s like a general out of control and his authority unquestioned/unchallenged.

At the root of Gideon’s downfall—PRIDE.

MPS: The greatest threat to the work of God is a prideful heart. It’s the greatest threat to a church, it’s the greatest threat to your own life and your own family.

If we’ve learned anything from Gideon’s story, it’s this—If anything positive happens in the lives of the people of God it is by His grace alone—not on the basis of our merit. And, yet, here we’ve seen Gideon make this about him.

This is a cautionary word for all of us. I want to give you four truths that I believe this story reveals to us. Four characteristics of a prideful heart.

1) A prideful heart is impatient and independent.

Gideon is set apart from all of the other judges/leaders in this book—only HE is “clothed” with the Spirit of God.

Gideon’s story starts with him hesitating and doubting God…God has been incredibly patient with him and walked him through this holding his hand…up to this point in Gideon’s story, Gideon has had a childlike—sometimes immature—faith and has followed God’s instructions step-by-step.

Now, at the end of his story, it seems as though Gideon is driven more by his own anger and desire for satisfaction than he is by the Spirit of God.

It’s pretty telling that at no point in this text does God give Gideon any instruction. In fact, the references to God are the generic “Elohim” name—not YHWH.

There is constant temptation to exchange God’s agenda for personal ambition.

When a church experiences “success” // blessing

The greatest blessing you can give you kids is to lead your family to obey the Lord in ALL things…to not just say that your faith and that Jesus is a priority but to live it out.

2) A prideful heart disguises itself as humility.

Important point—Gideon “humbly” rejects the idea of being king but he does claim for himself the symbols of royalty taken from the enemy.

Pride has a sneaky way of looking like it’s honoring God. This is a trap so many Christians fall into. “I’m just doing _______ to serve the Lord…” but when they don’t get recognition for it they get upset.

You know, I’m going to serve but, secretly, I want to be seen.

The Pharisees were like this.

Challenge to fathers—do your children see humility in your life? Willing to apologize and seek forgiveness from those they’ve wrongee? Repentance? A man who is willing to weep over sin? Weep over their children?

3) A prideful heart think's its owed something.

Gideon believes he is owed honor. He believes he is owed vengeance. He believes he is owed the spoils of war.

“You don’t know who I am, do you?” I DESERVE RESPECT!

Even the bread—look at how he responds—you don’t give me what I deserve, I’ll come back and show you who is boss.

"I've served faithfully...God owes me." “I've sacrificed...people owe me." “I've been obedient...I deserve better than this."

A prideful heart comes from a place of Self-Focus/Self-Centeredness—me, me, me…I deserve to be heard or appreciated or seen. We live in an age of entitlement and if we’re not careful we will let it seep into the church and into our homes.

Are you serving one another sacrificially and selflessly or are you seeking to BE served?

The gospel reminds us that God doesn't owe us anything.

Everything we have is grace.

4) A prideful heart takes others down with it.

Two examples in this text:

Some of the saddest verses of this chapter. Look again at verses 20-21.

"So he said to Jether his firstborn, 'Rise and kill them!' But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man."

Imagine being Jether. He's just a boy.

Instead of protecting his son, Gideon thrusts him into an impossible situation. He asks his son to carry out an act of personal vengeance that he wasn't emotionally, spiritually, or physically prepared to do.

This wasn't about God's mission anymore. This was about Gideon's anger. And his son paid the price. Parents, that's what pride does.

Parents/Fathers, specifically—Your hopes, your dreams, your aspirations for your kids…or maybe it’s your apathy.

How do we project onto our kids? Are we protecting and preparing our children to hear and obey the voice of God or our own agenda?

2. (Verse 27)—All Israel whored after the golden ephod and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.

Gideon has failed as a leader and a father. This father’s pride affected a whole nation and it affected his family.

Fathers, your children are watching what you worship. They are learning what matters most by watching your life. The greatest inheritance you can leave your family isn't success, wealth, or influence. It's a father whose life consistently points them to Jesus instead of himself or the things of this world.

MPS: The greatest threat to the work of God is a prideful heart.

CONCLUSION

Gideon began as a deliverer. He ended needing a deliverer. The judge who saved Israel ultimately became part of Israel's problem.

Every judge in this book eventually disappoints us. Every deliverer eventually needs deliverance. Every leader eventually fails.

But there is a greater deliverer. Jesus never sought His own glory.

Philippians 2—Though equal with God...He humbled Himself. Gideon grasped for honor. Jesus laid aside honor. Gideon made an idol that became a snare. Jesus became the sacrifice that breaks every snare. Gideon shed innocent blood. Jesus shed His own blood. Gideon hunted down and shed the blood of His enemies. Jesus died for his enemies.

It’s this Jesus who saves us through His death and resurrection and it is this Jesus that we bow in worship and submission to as King.

Don’t forget—BASEBALL TICKETS