Abusing a Blessing
Notes
Transcript
Imagine you are in high school, you just got your driver’s license and your parents bless you with a brand new car. Ah! your own car, you finally have some freedom! But there are some restrictions. You can go to school, work, home - if you are going anywhere else, you have to let them know and be back home at a certain. Now what do you think would happen if they found out that after school you have been driving over to your bf/fg house after school. You consistently missed your curfew. One night, you sneaked out of the house and went to a friends party. Mostly likely, your parents are going to take back those keys because you have abused the blessing that they had given you. Your parents wanted you to have something good, but you used it to do your own thing. (This never happened to me, I was the good kid, maybe my sisters though.)
In Judges 8, we are going to see that at the end of Gideon’s life, he abused the blessing that God had given him. Remember, God had allowed the Midianites to oppress Israel for seven years before Israel finally called out to God for help. God raised up this young man named Gideon to lead the people into battle. When we left off, Gideon had just sent the Midianite army of 135,000 on the run with his small army of 300. God blessed them with a miraculous victory. Now, when we pick up the story in chapter 8, Gideon is pursuing after the two remaining kings of the Israelites, but on his journey, he has encounters with three groups of Israelites.
First, there was an encounter with the tribe of Ephraim. Judges 8:1
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.
So they’re gripe was that Gideon had not called them to join in the battle against Midian at the beginning. Now, Gideon had called them to help cut of the Midianites when they were on the run, but they wanted to be in on all the action. Ephraim was a larger tribe with much more economic and military capability. The most famous man that came from their tribe was Israel’s greatest military leader - Joshua. It’s highly unlikely that if Gideon had called them, that they would have followed Gideon’s lead since he was from a weak clan in a small tribe. Ephraim wasn’t looking to be apart of God’s plan, they wanted the glory for the victory, which was the reason that God had Gideon shrink his army in the first place. This was God’s victory and He wanted the glory.
Gideon didn’t want no problems with the stronger Ephraim, so he answered them very diplomatically. At the end of chapter 7 , the Bible tells us that Ephraim captured two princes of Midian Oreb and Zeeb, so Gideon boosted their accomplishment saying that their capture of the Midianite princes was greater than anything that they had. Of course, stroking Ephraim’s ego made them feel a little better, and the altercation ended without any violence.
But then, Gideon comes into conflict with two Israelite towns. Let’s pick up our reading at verse Judges 8:4-9
And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 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.” 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?” 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.” 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. And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”
The battle was not over until the enemy leaders had been captured and executed. So as Gideon and his 300 men were chasing after the kings of Midian, Zeebah and Zalmuna, they came upon these two cities, Succoth and Penuel. The Bible tells us that Gideon and his men were exhausted on their pursuit, so they stopped and asked the men of Succoth for some bread to give them some strength for their pursuit. Now, that seems like a reasonable request. Gideon wasn’t asking for the world, just a little food for him and his men as they pursued the kings that had been tormenting them for years. But them men of Succoth refused. They said they would not help Gideon if he didn’t have the Midianites in their hands. You see, the men of Succoth feared that if Gideon could not capture Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianites would regroup and start wiping out all the towns that helped Gideon. To them, helping Gideon was not worth the risk, and the men in the city of Penuel said the same.
Well, this made Gideon very angry, he tells the men of Succoth that when he captures the Midianite kings, he would come back and “flail their flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness.” Now I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds like it was going to hurt. He was going to make them suffer. To Penuel, Gideon said that he was going to tear down their tower.
Well Gideon and his men continued their mission. Zebah and Zalmunna still had 15,000 soldiers, but Gideon was able to take them by surprise and send them into a panic. Finally, he captured the Midianite kings, but he did not kill them immediately. He had some unfinished business.
Gideon captured a young man from Succoth who gave him the names of the 77 men who led the city of Succoth. So Gideon finds these men and brings before them the captured Midianite kings. Gideon’s like remember those guys you thought I couldn’t catch. Those guys that kept you from giving me and men some food for our journey? Yeah, here there are, and it’s time for you guys to pay for what you did to us. So he did exactly as he said. He got thorns and briars from the wilderness and as the Bible puts it, he “taught them a lesson”. In the other city Penuel, Gideon tore down their tower and killed the men of the city.
After handling that business, Gideon turns his attention back to Zebah and Zalmunna and we find out some information that reveals Gideon’s motivation behind his relentless pursuit of the Midianite kings. Judges 8:18-19
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.” 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.”
So we find out that the Midianites had killed Gideon’s brothers. That was his primary motivation for pursuing them. He even says that if they would not have killed his brothers, he would have let them live. In the next verses, Gideon calls one of his young sons to grab a sword and kill the kings. His goal was not to just end their reign of terror, he wanted to humiliate them and restore honor to his family by letting his son kill them. Gideon’s son was still afraid, so Gideon ended this himself.
We see through Gideon’s dealings with Succoth, Penuel, and the kings of Midian the first way that Gideon abused his blessing was that his mindset changed from
I. From God’s Victory to His Own Vengeance
I. From God’s Victory to His Own Vengeance
This was no longer about God using Gideon to free the Israelites and give them victory. This was about Gideon establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with. Right before Gideon tortured the men of Succoth he made this clear back Judges 8:15, my paraphrase “ Remember you taunted me, you’re going to pay for it” It wasn’t that they doubted God’s ability to deliver the kings into his hands that made Gideon upset. Gideon never even consulted God about the situation. It was that they doubted HIS ability to capture the Midianite kings.
Now, the situation with the Midianite kings was a little more tricky. It was Gideon’s responsibility to execute Zebah and Zalmuna. Gideon was the commander of God’s army, and this was supposed to be about gaining victory in God’s name. But when about to execute the Midianite kings in Judges 8:19, he makes it clear that if that if they had not killed his brothers, he would let them live. I’ve heard many people preach about Gideon and his men being exhausted but still pursuing after Zebah and Zalmuna, but when you look at the context, Gideon was tirelessly pursuing after the kings of Midian because he had a personal vendetta. Gideon slew these kings of his own will and authority, not God’s. It wasn’t about gaining total victory in the name of the Lord, it was about getting revenge for the death of his brothers.
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?’ ”
This was all about Gideon. He wanted everybody to know that you don’t mess with Gideon or Gideon’s family. So he made some examples that communicated, don’t cross Gideon!
Now if we were honest, in both of the situations, we can probably identify with Gideon. You would probably be upset if you had this army that had oppressed these people on the run, but they wouldn’t even spare you a few loaves of bread. And if someone killed your family, you would probably want revenge too! That desire for revenge is a natural feeling that many of us have when we feel like we have been done wrong.
Now, I don’t know about yall. But when I feel like someone has done something wrong to me, payback is the first thing one my mind. But think on this, what is the root of that feeling of revenge? It’s pride. It’s a sense of entitlement. We feel like we are owed something for what’s been done to us. It’s only fair. But how many of ya’ll know when we take vengeance into our own hands, it’s never fair. In our pride, we always want to dish back something worse than what was given to us.
Succoth and Penuel didn’t give Gideon bread. Gideon didn’t retaliate by not inviting them to dinner. He tortured and killed them. Even with Zebah and Zalmuna. They killed his brothers. But Gideon did not just want to kill them, he wanted to humiliate them first. You see when we take vengeance into our own hands, we always take it a step further. It’s hard for us to issue fair punishment for something that was done to us personally.
I believe that’s why Scripture teaches us that taking vengeance into our own hands is the wrong way to handle things.
Paul, who suffered wrong at the hands of many gives insight as to what we should do when we suffer wrong in Romans 12:19-21
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
To me, that’s one of the toughest commands in Scripture! To leave things in God’s hands, and even tougher to be kind to those who have done us wrong. That doesn’t mean we are not to protect our loved ones or our possessions, but if something does happen pursue justice, not revenge. Handling evil towards us in the proper way can keep us from giving into that spirit of vengeance that is fueled by pride and selfish ambition.
Now let’s look at the continuation of the story down in Judges 8:22-23
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.” Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”
After Gideon delivered the Israelites from the Midianites, the people attempted to set Gideon up as king. Now, Gideon said the right thing here. He said that he was not going to be their ruler, neither his sons, but God was going to rule over them. That was exactly the right thing to say! But look at the actions that followed.
Judges 8:24
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.)
Then Judges 8:29-31
Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech.
After Gideon refuses to be king, and says that God should rule over them, he starts doing king-like things. He asks for a reward or a tribute from the people. Then he takes all of these wives and concubines so he could have as many sons as possible, which was customary of the kings at that time. Then to top it off. He names one of his sons Abimelech which literally means “my father is the king”.
So here is the second instance of Gideon abusing his blessing. He went
II. From God’s Reign to His Own Rule
II. From God’s Reign to His Own Rule
Although Gideon turned down the offer to be king. He started behaving himself as the king. Israel was to be a theocracy which means that God was the head of government, His law was to be the ruling authority. But that’s not what the people wanted, and it seems that’s not what Gideon wanted either.
Two observations here that I believe are very relevant in our world today
The first is from the nation of Israel as a whole.
A. Israel wanted God as Savior, but not as Lord
A. Israel wanted God as Savior, but not as Lord
Although God had just delivered them from the hands of the terrible Midianites, they still did not want them to rule over him. They still wanted to set up an earthly king and then worship their false gods. The nation of Israel wanted God as Savior, but they did not wanted Him as Lord. They wanted someone they could call on to get them out of trouble, but they did not want to live under his authority. I believe this happens a lot, especially down here in the South in the Bible belt where everyone claims to be a Christian. People often call on the Lord in times of trouble. When they are in need, they trust in the Lord. They may have even “accepted Christ as their Savior” at some point. But they live the bulk of their lives independent from God. A true follower of Christ lives with Jesus as Savior and Lord. Savior meaning that you trust that Jesus is the only one that is sufficient to save us from our sin and the penalty of sin through the gospel. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. But one must also have Jesus as Lord which means he becomes the authority in your life. God’s Word has the final say on how we should think and live.
Romans 10:9
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Here’s the second observation from Gideon himself.
B. Gideon’s words did not match his actions
B. Gideon’s words did not match his actions
As we said, Gideon said the right thing. He said that God was the king, but his actions said otherwise. He said one thing, but he did another. And this is important. You can say that you believe in God. You can say with your mouth that you believe that Jesus is Savior or Jesus is Lord, but your talk must match your walk. Don’t claim to love Jesus, but then live like the devil. You can proclaim whatever you want, but eventually, what’s in your heart will come out through your actions.
Isaiah 29:13 says about Israel,
And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
Basically Isaiah was saying that their relationship with God, if you want to call it that, was nothing more than a tradition handed down. Don’t let your relationship with God just be tradition. My momma believed in God, or my grandma taught me about God, so I believe. God needs to be your God. If you are going to claim that Jesus is King in your life, then you must live under his authority.
It was clear from Israel’s request and Gideon’s actions that God still was not the king in Israel, even after all that He had done from them. Maybe you find yourself in the same situation. You know the right thing to say. Yes - God is the King! But if you are honest with yourself, you’ve put yourself on the throne. Don’t exchange God’s reign into your own rule in your life.
Now there’s one more major mistake we see at the end of Gideon’s life. Remember Gideon had asked for the people’s golden earrings, and look what he did with the gold in Judges 8:25-27
And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 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. 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.
III. From God’s Worship to His Own Will
III. From God’s Worship to His Own Will
So Gideon melts down their gold and makes a golden ephod. An ephod was something that was supposed to be worn by the high priest in the tabernacle. On the front of the ephod were two stones called the Urim and Thummim which were used to determine God’s will for the people in crisis situations. By making his own copy, Gideon is basically saying that the people no longer needed to go to God’s high priest for answers. They could now come to him. Gideon was establishing his own will as the will for the people. Of course, the people who were already rejecting God as their king worshipped this golden ephod. To them, it was just another idol. Look what happened after Gideon’s death. Judges 8:33-34
As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 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,
By establishing His own will above the worship of God, Gideon had paved the way for Israel to go right back into idolatry which is the reason they had been oppressed by the Midianites in the first place. After the other judges, there was at least a period of time when Israel returned to worship the true God, but not this time. There was no repentance here. There was no revival. There was no worship. They got the deliverance they wanted, and went right back to the same thing. God definitely took notice. Honestly, Israel never really recovered from this. In verse 28, we are told the Israel had rest for 40 years, and this would be the last time that the Bible mentions that they had rest until the time of King Solomon, and even that was short lived. They’ve been in turmoil ever since.
Gideon failed miserably after God had given him great success. If we were to sum up Gideon’s failure into one statement it would be this. Gideon glorified himself instead of glorifying God. God had blessed Israel and especially Gideon to defeat the Midianites, but instead of lifting up God, Gideon lifted up himself. Notice all the things that caused Gideon to abuse the blessing that God had given him. His own vengeance, his own rule, his own will. It became all about Gideon. It seems that Gideon had forgotten where his success came from. He forgot that he was just a scared farmer who needed constant reassurance that God was with him. He became too self-confident, too self-sufficient, too self-motivated, too self-focused, and it caused him to abuse the blessing that God had given him. At the beginning of Gideon’s story, God had to tell Gideon he was a mighty man of valor. Now, Gideon believed it, and he wanted to make sure that every one else knew it too.
I think there is an important principle we learn from the end of Gideon’s life. Leaving our position of weakness, can cause us to abuse our blessings. And the same is true for us. If God blesses you with something. He gives you victory in some area, he delivers you out of some trouble, he allows you to see success in some area of your life. Don’t forget that position of weakness that led you to call on the Lord in the first place. When Gideon was scared and realized his weakness and inability to lead Israel, God strengthened him and used him. But once Gideon gained the confidence to handle this thing on his own, he forgot God and made it all about him. There’s nothing wrong with having confidence or being aware of your abilities, but we must always remember where our helps comes from.Because it’s in our weakness that God shows himself strong. Don’t make the same mistake that Gideon made - glorifying self instead of glorifying God. We must always acknowledge that all things good in our life are the result of God’s blessing upon us, so we must be careful not to rob God of his glory, but to always give him the praise.
Hey Christian, have you robbed God of His glory? Are you abusing the blessings of God in your life and using them to glorify yourself? I want to challenge you to do this this week. List 10 things that you feel that God has blessed you with and examine how are you using those blessings to glorified God. It could be a material blessing like your home or your care, it could be something from you past the God delivered you out of, it could be your family, or a job or a talent that you have - you name it. Think through, how am I using this blessing to glorify God.
Little hint, the first thing you should put on the list if you are a Christian is your salvation. If Jesus has delivered you from sin and death, how are you using your salvation to glorify God? Are you sharing your testimony? Are you making disciples? How are you using your own salvation to point others to glorify God?
Maybe you are watching this morning and you are not sure about your relationship with God. Perhaps like Gideon you claim Jesus is king with your words, but not with the way that you live your life. Being a good person and doing good things is not what saves you, but they should definitely be the overflow of a true relationship with God. If you say that you know Christ, but you have no desire to dig into God’s Word and learn what God expects from you as a follower of Christ, if you have no desire to change your life to look more like Christ. I would seriously question who is king in your life. If you are not sure about your relationship with Christ or what it means to be saved or be a Christian, please drop us a message.