AN UNLIKEY HERO - JUDGES 7: 1-2

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7) - JUDGES 7:1-2

7 Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops who were with him, got up early and camped beside the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them, below the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many troops for me to hand the Midianites over to them, or else Israel might elevate themselves over me and say, ‘I saved myself.’

BIG IDEA: GOD USES US IN SPITE OF US!

THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL HAD BEEN CAUGHT UP IN A VICIOUS CYCLE! THIS VICIOUS CYCLE INVOLVED:

SIN (WORSHIP OF IDOLS/ERECTION OF ALTARS)

THE ENSUING PUNISHMENT

CRYING OUT TO GOD (FOR MERCY)

GOD RESPONDING BY SENDING AN ADVOCATE

ISRAEL REPENTING

GOD RESTORING

AND THEN ISRAEL SINNING AGAIN… IT WAS A VICIOUS CYCLE.

THEY WERE THE ORIGINAL “CAN’T GET RIGHTS!”

GOD HAD BEEN FAITHFUL - DELIVERED THEM OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE EGYPTIANS AND INTO THE PROMISED LAND…AND YET, THEY TURNED THEIR BACKS ON GOD!

THEY CHOSE IMAGES OVER THE IMMORTAL...

IDOLS OVER THE ALMIGHTY…BAAL OVER YAHWEH...AND THEY GOT PUNISHED…JUDGES 6 OPENS: 6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord handed them over to Midian seven years, 2 and they oppressed Israel. Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people of the east came and attacked them. 4 They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey.

WHY DO WE MESS UP A GOOD THING?

WHY DO WE DO WHAT GOD HAS ASKED US NOT TO DO?

WHY DO WE NOT TO DO WHAT GOD HAS ASKED US TO DO?

BECAUSE OF POOR CHOICES...

BECAUSE OF A LACK OF FAITH...

BECAUSE OF INSECURITY...

BECAUSE OF IMPATIENCE...

BECAUSE OF SIN...

BUT NONE OF US IS IN A POSITION TO TURN OUR NOSES UP TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL (IN THIS DISPENSATION).

SO, WE SEE THAT THEIR DISOBEDIENCE LED TO THEIR DESTRUCTION!

THEY’VE BEEN HANDED OVER TO THE MIDIANITES - GOD GAVE THEM TO THEIR ENEMIES...

THE MIDIANITES (THEN) “COPPED THEIR CROPS!”

ISRAEL BECAME “POVERTY-STRICKEN,” ACCORDING TO THE TEXT…THEY THEN “CRY OUT TO THE LORD!”THE CYCLE CONTINUES....

THEN THE PROPHET SPEAKS:

JUDGES 6: 7 When the Israelites cried out to him because of Midian, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to them. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought you out of Egypt and out of the place of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you: I am the Lord your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey me.’ ”

DISOBEDIENCE LEADS TO DESTRUCTION...

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL...

DOUBTS HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH:

AWWW BELOVED, IN COMES GIDEON…OUR UNLIKELY HERO!

BEFORE I READ ABOUT HIM, PERMIT ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT HIM. GIDEON WAS:

FILLED WITH FEAR & FRUSTRATION: HE WAS UPSET WITH GOD, BECAUSE OF THE SEASONAL OPPRESSION OF HIS PEOPLE. HE KNEW THE PROMISES OF GOD, YET, HE HAD NOT WITNESSED WHAT HAD BEEN PROMISED…HE WAS AFRAID & FRUSTRATED! BUT ALSO, GIDEON:

DOUBTED HIMSELF: THIS NARRATIVE READS SIMILAR TO MOSES’ ACCOUNT - QUESTIONING THE COMMISSION OF THE LORD - NOT BELIEVING IN GOD’S ABILITY THROUGH HIM, AND THUS LIMITING (IN HIS OWN MIND) THE POTENTIAL FOR HIS IMPACT…FINALLY, WE SEE GIDEON:

DEMANDED PROOF: NOW WHILE ASKING GOD FOR PROOF OF WHAT GOD PREDICTS WAS PERMISSIBLE DURING THIS DISPENSATION, IT STILL SEEMS WEIRD. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS IN THIS NARRATIVE, GIDEON ASKS FOR PROOF - A SIGN - FOR CONFIRMATION. AND THE LORD OBLIGES...

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 6)

11 The angel of the LORD came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “The LORD is with you, valiant warrior.”13 Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the LORD brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!”15 He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.”16 “But I will be with you,” the LORD said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”

GIDEON’S FEAR OF THE MIDIANITES HAD HIM THRESHING WHEAT WHERE WINE IS PRESSED…AS THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CALLS HIM INTO HIS PURPOSE BY CALLING HIM BY HIS POTENTIAL (VALIANT WARRIOR - MIGHTY MAN OF VALOR), GIDEON REJECTS HIS POTENTIAL BY DECLARING HIS OWN WEAKNESS…HE’S AN UNLIKELY HERO!

I TOLD YOU THAT GIDEON WAS FILLED WITH FEAR AND FRUSTRATION. HE RECALLS THE PROMISES OF GOD, WHICH HE CLAIMS HAVE NOT BEEN FULFILLED, BUT NEGLECTS TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF HIS PEOPLE’S SIN…

LET ME HELP SOMEBODY: DON’T GET AMNESIA WHEN YOU’RE KNEE-DEEP IN YOUR CONSEQUENCES…YEAH, WE’RE FAMILIAR WITH BEING CAUGHT IN OUR FEELINGS....WE CAN ALSO BE CAUGHT UP IN OUR CONSEQUENCES!

PRETENDING THAT OUR CURRENT STATE IS GOD’S FAULT...

FALSELY CONCLUDING THAT GOD HAS BEEN UNFAIR OR UNJUST, SIMPLY BECAUSE HE PERMITS WHAT WE CHOSE!

AWWWW, BELOVED, WITH EVERY “IF” AND “HOW” THAT GIDEON SPEAKS, THE ANGEL OF THE LORD RESPONDS WITH FAVOR AND POTENTIAL:“Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!” 16 “But I will be with you,” the LORD said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”

AND THERE IT IS: THE LORD MAKES THE DIFFERENCE…WHO MAKES AN UNLIKELY HERO A HERO? THE LORD...

WHO KNOWS OUR WEAKNESSES, BUT USES US ANYWAY? THE LORD...

WHO SEES US IN OUR SIN, BUT GIVES US TIME TO “GET RIGHT?” THE LORD...

WHO LOOKED BEYOND OUR FAULTS AND SAW OUR NEEDS? THE LORD...

FROM THE REQUEST FOR SIGNS, AS GIDEON BEGINS TO BELIEVE, HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CONCLUDES WITH WORSHIP: 23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites today.

Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Jdg 6:23–24). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

DISOBEDIENCE LED TO DESTRUCTION - DOUBT HAD TO BE DEALT WITH…AND NOW DUTY CALLS!

GIDEON’S FIRST ASSIGNMENT WAS TO ADDRESS THE MESS - THE SIN OF ISRAEL - IDOLATRY!

THERE COULD BE NO VICTORY IN BATTLE, UNTIL THEIR WAS REPENTANCE AND SUBMISSION!

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 6)

25 On that very night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old. Then tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26 Build a well-constructed altar to the LORD your God on the top of this mound. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.”

IN THIS ONE ACT, GIDEON WAS REJECTING IDOLATRY (BAAL), WHILE REDEDICATING THEIR FIELTY TO YAHWEH…((CONSTABLE CALLS IT GIDEON’S PUBLIC CONFESSION))!!

DUTY CALLS!!!

HERE’S A PRINCIPLE: WE MUST DEAL WITH OUR ISSUES (SIN STUFF) BEFORE WE CAN MOVE FORWARD FOR GOD…HEB. 12:1- Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

SO, GIDEON’S PUBLIC CONFESSION IS ALSO HIS PUBLIC AFFIRMATION (AS GOD’S CHOSEN ONE TO LEAD HIS PEOPLE TO FREEDOM - TO VICTORY)!

OF COURSE, THE PEOPLE WEREN’T READY TO RELINQUISH THEIR IDOLS....

GIDEON, DESTROYING THE ALTAR TO BAAL, AND CONSTRUCTING AN ALTAR TO YAHWEH, PLACED HIM AT ODDS WITH THE MASSES…BUT THE LORD!

BELOVED, WHEN GOD TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING…JUST DO IT!

GOD’S PRESENCE ACCOMPANIES HIS WORD!!!

GOD’S POWER ACCOMPANIES HIS COMMAND!!

GOD’S PURPOSE ACCOMPANIES HIS WILL!!!

JUST DO IT...

THE TEXT IS MOVING:

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 6)

33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Jezreel Valley.34 The Spirit of the LORD enveloped Gideon, and he blew the ram’s horn and the Abiezrites rallied behind him. 35 He sent messengers throughout all of Manasseh, who rallied behind him. He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, who also came to meet him.

A FAMILIAR MANIFESTATION ABOUT THE JUDGES THROUGHOUT THE BOOK OF JUDGES IS THE PRESENCE AND POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD, AS THEY DO GOD’S WORK...

GIDEON IS NOT ON HIS OWN....

GIDEON IS NOT FULFILLING HIS OWN AGENDA...

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS EMPOWERING - GUIDING - ENABLING HIM TO DO GOD’S WORK!

AFTER A FINAL PROOF THAT GIDEON NEEDS TO PROCEED, HE IS (((NOW))) READY TO DO ALL THAT THE LORD REQUIRES...

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7)

2 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many troops for me to hand the Midianites over to them, or else Israel might elevate themselves over me and say, ‘I saved myself.’ 3 Now announce to the troops, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand of the troops turned back, but ten thousand remained.

GOD KNEW HIS PEOPLE! THEIR PROPENSITY TOWARDS IDOLATRY…THEIR BENT TOWARDS SIN AND SELFISHNESS....SO THE LORD SAID, “NAW, 32,000 IS TOO MANY! HOW ABOUT 300?”

DISOBEDIENCE LED TO DESTRUCTION - DOUBT HAD TO BE DEALT WITH…DUTY CALLS, FINALLY DELIVERANCE GOD’S WAY!

BELOVED, THIS FINAL MOVEMENT IS MOST PROFOUND, BECAUSE IT IS NOT LIMITED TO GIDEON...

WE CAN APPLY THIS PRINCIPLE TODAY...

I AM CONVINCED THAT GOD REMOVES PROPS - PEOPLE - AND PROVISIONS TO ENSURE THAT WE DON’T GET THE BIG HEAD, AND GIVE OURSELVES GLORY!

AS YOU READ THE THE FINAL VERSES FOR THIS NARRATIVE, YOU SEE THE LORD GOING THROUGH SIMPLE METHODS TO REDUCE THE PEOPLE’S ARMY...

THESE SOLDIERS DIDN’T QUIT, THEY JUST WENT HOME...

GOD USES WHO HE CHOOSES TO FULFILL HIS PURPOSES!!!

THIS WOULD BE DELIVERANCE GOD’S WAY!!!

NOT WITH NUMBERS, BUT WITH BELIEVERS...

NOT WITH THOUSANDS, BUT WITH HUNDREDS...

GIDEON LED HIS PEOPLE TO AN UNUSUAL VICTORY…BUT WATCH THIS: NO ONE DOUBTED WHO GAVE THEM THE VICTORY!!!

OH GOD - BELOVED, WHEN GOD REDUCES NUMBERS - ELIMINATES FOLKS FROM ASSISTING - KEEPS FOLK AT HOME!!! KEEP PRESSING...

KEEP MARCHING FOR HIS GLORY!!!

AND YOU WATCH: HE’LL LET YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO - WHAT TO SAY…AS YOU GO!!!