Gideon's God

Gideon's Fleece 33:40

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

9:47 PM

The Title - "Judges" comes from the type of Israel leadership between the death of Joshua and the time of Saul. A Judge was supposed to stand beside the High Priest as supreme leader. They held both religious and militant responsibilities with the majority functioning as a "deliverer". They were typically called by God, sometimes in the most unusual ways.

The book of Judges is often attributed to Samuel although no proof or evidence. It had to have been written during the early stages of the Kings four times the phrase "In those days there was no king" is repeated. (Judges 17:6,18:1,19:1,21:25) Some suspect it was probably written sometime between the later days of Samuel or the early days of David.

The Theme - Judges seems to have been written to show, at least on one hand the nature and characteristics of spiritual apostasy. Using verses like "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (17:6, 21:25) and seven times the phrase is written, "did evil in the sight of the Lord."

On the other hand it tells of a people repenting and returning to God in times of crisis and moving the Lord to raise up another "deliverer" or Judge to deliver His people in mercy.

E Stanley Jones is quoted to have said, "If you do what is right you get results. If you do what is wrong you get consequences. The choice is yours.

Judges covers the times period of 1380-1043 B.C.

The Introduction Chapter 1-2Failure - Chapter 1 A long list of the Canaanite towns they failed To drive out. (Which was to help the children of Israel avoid the sins of the Canaanites. )Falling -Chapter 2 shows how they moved in as neighbors to the Canaanites and fell Into the same sins of moral corruption and idolatry (including child sacrifices)Form - 2:14-23 We see the pattern, form or cycles the people of Israel would go into for the next 2060 years. They would SinGod would allow them to be conquered and oppressedThey would see the error of their ways and repentGod would raise up and call a Judge (deliverer) This would bring about a time of peaceEventually they would sin again and start the process over. (this would be the pattern repeated for all six main judges. The Six Main Judges - Split up into six periods some overlapped. First Period - An 8-year oppression by Mesopotamians (3:7-11)Othniel (40 years)Was Caleb's son-in-lawCaptured a powerful Canaanite city Second Period - 18 year oppression by the Moabites (3:12-21)Ehud (80 Years)From tribe of BenjaminWas left-handedKilled Eglon the "fat king"Defeated the Moabites ShamgarKilled 600 Philistines with an ox goad (A long stick about 8 ft. long with a small flat piece of Iron on one side and a sharp point on the other.) Third Period - 20 year oppression by the Canaanites (mostly northern Israel) (4-5)Deborah & Barak (40 years)Defeated King Hazor and the Canaanites (Chapter 4)Jael killed Captain Sisera with a tent pegComposed and sang a victory song (Chapter 5) Fourth Period - 7 years of oppression by the Midianites (6:1-10:15)Gideon (40 Years)From the tribe of ManassehWas called by an angel "Mighty man of valor"Destroyed the family idolsFamous for his "fleece" prayerStarted his army with 32,0022,000 were afraid and went home9700 did not lap water from hands and were sent home300 stayed to defeat the Midianite army of 135000Was offered kingship but refusedMade an ephod and it became an object of worshipHad 70 legitimate sonsFathered Abimelech by his concubine who would later bring great tragedy to the family and the nationTola (23 years)Jair (22 Years) Had 30 sons Fifth Period - Ammonites on the east and the Philistines on the West 10:6-12:15Jephthah (6 years)Was an illegitimate son of a harlotWas a valiant warrior (almost like a mafia boss in the mountains)Made a rash vow to GodDefeated the AmmonitesIbzan (7 years)Had 30 sons and 30 daughtersElon (10 years)Abdon (8 years)He had 40 sons and 30 grandsonsEash of whom had his own donkey Sixth Period - The continued oppression of the Philistines on the West (10:6-12:15)Samson (20 years)Was the son of ManoahWas of the tribe of DanWas a Nazarite form the wombKilled a lion with his bare handsSlew 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkeyCarried the gates of Gaza on his shouldersTricked and betrayed by Delilah into telling the secret of his strengthDestroyed thousands of Philistines in his death. The Continued Downward Spiral - 17:1-21:25Dan's IdolatryBenjamin's Immorality

Two important things I want to talk about -

It is important to remember your history - Failure to remember one’s spiritual roots will prove to be disastrous God is a gracious guide - In chapter 6:33-40 we find an interesting series of events between Gideon and God. Judges 6 OutlineThe Midianite Mess 1-10 God Called Hero 12-24A Job to do 25-32Fleecing God - 33-40Now I don't believe this was Gideon getting direction from God. God had already made his way perfectly plain to him. Called him as Judge (visit with the angel of the Lord in 12-25Assured him that he was not going to die in verse 23Called him to action (tearing down idols) 25-32He knew what he was to do - whether he just needed more strenght or perhaps he needed his belief bolstered.It is a shame that Gideon didn't already know God's powerHe didn't understand that he wasn't the first JudgeHe didn't seem to realize that it was the sin of Israel that causing the devastation of the MidianitesHe didn't seem to realize that seeing an angel was not going to cause him to die.He didn't seem to know that the false gods of his father was wrong, until God told him to tear them down.He had an improper knowledge and relationship with God. Again I want to remind uns that "failure to remember our spiritual roots will prove to be disastrous." If we want the fire, the glory, the Lord moving like we say we do. Like we say he did back then, then we must do like they did. Clean out any false gods (anything that would distract from true worship)Repent of anything that is hindering the working of GodBe obedient and ever listening to God when he speaks. I want my children to know the voice of God. To know what it is to see the glory of God. To have God work miraculously in their lives.