Gideon, the Reluctant Judge - Judges 6:1-31

One of the more famous Judges in the Bible is a man named Gideon. Part of the reason we know the name is from the Bibles you sometimes find in hotel room drawers. This organization is named after this man, but the organization is not our focus this morning.

Gideon came to the forefront because the Midianites were terrorizing the Israelites. They were slowly killing them by destroying their economy. When it came time for the crops to be harvested, the Midianites would come into Israel and burn the crop and then steal all their animals. The people were hungry, afraid and suffering. No one was eager to confront their foes but something needed to be done.

The people cried out to the Lord but this time, God does not immediately send a judge to rescue them.

When they cried out to the Lord because of Midian, the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of slavery in Egypt. I rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who oppressed you. I drove out your enemies and gave you their land. I told you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live.’ But you have not listened to me.” (6:8-10)

The people cried out to God to fix their situation but there is an important principle here: We must right our own relationship with God before he will help us with other relationships!

In 2 Corinthians 7:10 Paul says,

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

Worldly sorrow just wants problems to go away. They want things to go smoothly. Godly sorrow recognizes rupture in our relationship with God. Godly sorry and repentance confesses personal sin and is ready to change direction to right their relationship with God. Until we deal with our own sin before God we will not experience His transforming power in our lives.

That confrontation begins with Gideon! We read, The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon while he was in a winepress . . . pressing wheat. Why is this significant? He was hiding from the Midianites in the hope his crop would not be stolen!

The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” (6:12-13)

Gideon has the audacity to blame God for the mess Israel was in! He suggests God was not true to His promises. This isn’t something new. Adam blamed God for the very first sin and we have been blaming God for our failures ever since! When difficult things happen in our lives, the first thing we often say is: “God, why are you doing this to me?” Perhaps what we should be saying is: “Lord, I there something that I have done or am doing that has caused me to drift from the protection of your promise?”

I remember an old story about a man and a woman driving down the street. They had been married for a while. The man sat behind the wheel and the woman was as far over to the right as she could comfortably be. She noticed this distance and said, “Do you remember when we used to sit real close? You used to put your arm around me and drive with one hand. The woman sighed and said, “What happened to us?” The man looked at the steering wheel and then looked at his wife and said, “Who moved?”

God had not changed. Israel had wandered way! Tim Keller wrote,

How easy it is for us to make both of Gideon’s mistakes! First, we tend to see our troubles as evidence that God has left us, instead of asking how God is working in and through them for our good, as he promises to (Romans 8:28). Second, we are often waiting for God to do something to us or for us or wondering why he doesn’t use someone to bring help. We essentially say: Lord, why don’t you remove this problem? instead of saying: Lord, please make me the person who can handle this problem. (Keller Loc. 956)

If you feel far away from God, it is wise to start by looking at your own heart and life. Have you drifted from Him? Have you chosen sin over obedience? Ask God to restore you to fellowship. Make the necessary changes. God is eager to welcome us back into fellowship, but He can’t do this until you recognize there is a problem in your life that needs to be addressed.

Ask some important questions. Ask the Lord to help you answer truthfully:

Am I doing things I know are contrary to God’s will?

Am I making excuses rather than repenting?

Am I resisting doing what is right?

Am I “using God” in some way?

If you answer “yes” to any of those questions, then you need to repent before you ask God for anything.

Reassurance

The next part of the story is a little strange and hard to understand.

14Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

15“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”

16The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

The angel of the Lord is now called “The Lord.” God is present in the angel. He promises he would go with Gideon in the battle. When God goes with someone the result of the battle is not left in doubt!

Gideon wasn’t too sure the angel came to the right place. He does not see himself as a rescuer. Gideon doesn’t seem to understand. He was not going to be the rescuer . . . God is the Rescuer. Gideon was simply the tool He would use to do so!

Where did we ever get the notion that God is looking for the talented? Why do we think God is looking for the star quarterback or the Homecoming King or Queen? This is why we feel we aren‘t good enough to be used by God. It is wrong thinking!

I believe God is looking more for common and ordinary people than superstars. Do you know why? The superstars will trust their own talent, charisma, and charm. God is looking for people who know they need His help. He is looking for those who will give Him the glory rather than try to bask in it themselves.

What comes next is strange. Gideon asked the Angel for a sign (this won’t be the last time he does so). Then he asks him to stay for dinner. What was the point of this? Gideon apparently doesn’t realize who he is talking to. The angel said he would wait for Gideon to make him a meal and when the meal was put on the rock, the angel lifted his staff and touched the food. Fire came from the Rock and consumed the food. (And you think the meal you prepared for Sunday dinner disappears quickly!)

As a result, Gideon is terrified! He realizes now He has seen the Lord and also remembered from Sunday School that no one can see God and live. He fears for His life. The Lord responded,

23“It is all right,” the Lord replied. “Do not be afraid. You will not die.” 24And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the Lord is peace”).

Did you hear it? I don’t mean the words . . . I mean what God was saying to Gideon. I think it was something like this: “Gideon, there is no need to be afraid of me. I love you! I have come to rescue you and save you. I stayed for dinner not because I was hungry, but because I wanted you to know I really am with you and will give you my strength.”

Gideon was now “on board.” He set up an altar and worshipped God. His heart was in the right position. Until our desire is to worship the Lord alone . . . we will not be used in a significant way. A common man or woman trusting God can be used in great ways!

Assignment 1: Getting Rid of Our Idols

God gave Gideon his first assignment: pull down the altar to Baal and cut up the wooden Asherah pole beside it. Then He was to use the wood from the pole as fuel for an altar to the Lord he was to build. Don’t miss this: these were idols that belonged to his Father’s household!

Verse 27 says Gideon obeyed even though he knew the people would respond aggressively. He pulled it down and chopped the wood at night. The important thing is, he did what he was supposed to do.

The next morning (probably as people came to make their offerings) the people found Baal on the ground, the Asherah pole was cut up and burned, and the remains of a bull that had been built was on a new altar. They were furious. When the people learned Gideon was responsible, they wanted to execute him.

Gideon’s dad however, rallied to the side of his son. This is interesting because dad apparently had been a staunch worshipper of Baal. What happened to him. Why wasn’t he angry? Was he simply protecting his son? Or maybe, the courageous and faithful actions of his son convicted his father of his unfaithfulness. Perhaps dad had a change of heart. We don’t know what was going on, but it is interesting to speculate.

Gideon’s father has a simple and compelling argument: “If he (Baal) is who you think he is, then he can defend himself.” In other words, if Baal is god, then let him act like god!

It is difficult for God to help us until we first deal with the demons and idols in our own heart! The Lord will not share His glory with someone else! The first step to overcoming those who oppress you is to first repent of the idolatry in your own life. We don’t generally worship God’s of wood or stone but there are many idols we pursue. Let me get you started thinking about this:

The idol of pleasure. We know God’s standards. We know God has told us we should not marry unbelievers, but we choose what brings us pleasure rather than what God has said is good and right. He has told us we are to be faithful in our marriages, but we excuse our infidelity because we were “in love.” He has told us to save sex for marriage but that is a command which goes largely unheeded. We know we are to control our appetites, but our greed, gluttony, and lust, are constantly at flood stage. We are called to be generous and God loves a cheerful giver, but we spend all we have on our indulgences and then have the temerity to say we don’t have anything left to give! We worship what feels good. When we choose to satisfy our pleasures rather than obey the Lord, we are dealing with the idol of pleasure.

The Idol of Power. We know we should deal honestly with others. We know we should give credit to others when it is due. We know Jesus told us to serve those around us. However, the idea of promotion, esteem, and applause drives us. We love the idea of having servants rather than being servants. We slander other believers because we want our church to “win”. Pastors become celebrities and they begin to believe they are immune to accountability. Anytime we choose to advance our "cause" or "promote ourselves" over the commands of Scripture, we bow before the idol of Power.

The idol of Amusement. Church attendance is down around the country because everyone is out running around on Sunday (or they were up too late Saturday night!). They are busy pursuing their hobbies or other activities of amusement. We come to the house of the Lord when we don’t have anything better to do! God is all for us having fun . . . but when the motivation of having fun, comes before obedience to Him – we have a serious problem with idolatry! When we choose our amusements over the commands of God, we bow before the idol of Amusement.

The idol of Politics. When we determine right and wrong by how it lines up with our political platform, or determine whether people are good or bad based on their political affiliation, we ignore the commands of Scripture and are guilty of bowing before the politics idol.

If we had the time this list could extend much further. Anytime we put something else ahead of What God has said we are giving authority to someone or something other than the Lord. That is idolatry!

Conclusions

We are just getting started in the story of Gideon. There is much to learn from this Judge. Let me summarize what I hope we have already learned.

First, God is loving and patient. God came to Gideon to rescue him and the nation of Israel. Instead of being welcomed, He faced accusations, tests, and resistance every step of the way. We would have understood if God said to Gideon, “I’ve had it with you! I will get someone else who is willing to do my will . . . and you? Maybe you would like to be a pillar of salt.” But that isn’t what He does. He patiently endures the accusations, He patiently waits while Gideon cooks a meal, He continues to be faithful as Gideon drags his feet.

God is equally patient with you and me. Don’t you love God for that fact? He tells us clearly what we are to do, and we ignore Him time and again. He blesses us with grace beyond measure and we accuse Him of not doing enough. He forgives us, and we presume upon that grace and sin even more. He endures this for generation after generation and then sent Jesus to save us! What an incredible God He is!

The story in the book of Judges is not about the men called to be Judges, they are incidental. The real story is that of God’s mercy and grace. Each story we read in Judges should deepen our worship and our devotion. God loves you! He wants you to draw close to Him. He waits for you to repent and run to Him.

Second, we should stop using God as a scapegoat for everything that goes wrong while taking credit for every blessing we enjoy. The biggest problem Israel (and Gideon) had was their unwillingness to accept responsibility for the sin that led to their oppression. Gideon was quick to blame God and impugn God’s character when bad things happened. “Where is God?” is a common question in painful times. We seem to assume that God must give us comfort and ease or He is not good.

I find myself wondering how much of the crime, immorality, greed, abuse, divorce, sickness and ecological weirdness we experience is due to our decisions to ignore God’s commands, abandon the notion of absolute truth, redefine sexuality and marriage, eliminate talk of God from our schools and public life? And this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Like Gideon, we cannot bring real change to our nation until we first address these matters in our own life. Are you blaming God for bad things in your life or are you using hard times to drive you back into the Word of God? Are you shutting God out, or grabbing hold of Him in prayer? Are you searching your heart or slandering His motives? Which way you turn in a crisis will determine whether you grow closer to the Lord or drift farther away.

Finally, we must take seriously the impact of idols on our lives and the lives of those around us. We are not more “enlightened,” we are more subtle and devious in our idolatry. We even try to make it sound like God approves of our idols! Many of our idols are socially acceptable. We may be fooling ourselves, but we are not fooling God.

The Lord not only commands that He should occupy first place in our lives . . . He DESERVES to have first place in our lives! We must constantly inventory our lives to root out idols before they take hold. We are by nature worshippers. We were made that way by God. Unfortunately, we will awe for cheap substitutes that make no demands and are under the control of our own desires and whims for awe for Almighty God. We will worship people, places, things and positions. But every time we worship something or someone that is not the true God, we step further away from Him. And that leads to trouble, misery, and bondage.

The story of Gideon is instructive. It is filled with lessons that will teach us how to live with wisdom and enjoy God’s blessing. Of course, that will be true only if we actually pay attention.