Gideon: From Fearful to Fearless to Forgetful
Notes
Transcript
There are some people in the Bible, where we have enough information we can gain a glimpse of their personality, who they are and how they would act. Gideon is one of those characters for me, we 3 chapters devoted to his story.
The more I read Gideon’s story, the more I can identify with him. I see many of personality defect and faults. I see the choices he mad and think “that is what I would be doing” As I read the story of Gideon it always drives me to pray asking God to rescue me from myself.
We are going through the life of Gideon like a whirlwind, so I encourage to go home and read Judges 6-8. But we are going to divide his story in 3 Parts
Gideon the Fearful
Gideon the Fearless Warrior
Gideon the Forgetful
I. Gideon The Fearful
I. Gideon The Fearful
We find the Israelites falling into another cycle of sin and this time the Lord gave them over to Midianites and the Amalekites for 7 years. The Midianites and the Amalekites would come in like locusts and devour all the produce and livestock and leave the land in waste. They did this for 7 years.
And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.
Israel cries out for help, what we have seen in the past is God raises up a judge. We see God changing things up here, instead of immediately raising up a judge, God raises up a prophet to deliver his word.
When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”
Why is God doing this?
We need God’s word because it is a reminder of God’s goodness and his grace because they reveal when we are exchanging God’s goodness and grace for cheap substitutes.
We need God’s word to reveal our sin to us.
After the sermon we are introduced to Gideon, God’s chosen liberator. It is interesting where we find him.
Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
To understand this we have to understand the process of beating the wheat. Normally it is done on a high hill and you would get a winnowing fork and through the wheat in the air and the breeze would separate the wheat from the chaff because the chaff would fly away in the wind and the wheat would fall to the ground.
Now a wine was pressed in a wine press, which are usually in caves.
We find Gideon, beating wheat in a wine press. Why?
He is afraid! Afraid of the Midianites.
Later on in this chapter we discover that Gideon’s family has an altar to Baal, which God instructs Gideon to destroy. Which Gideon is obedient in doing it, but Gideon does it at night when everyone is sleeping because he is afraid of his family.
Gideon is afraid, But God shows up and says
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
God says listen up, The Lord is with you, and that is enough.
I am the youngest of 3 brothers, I was the runt of the family so I would get picked on at school. But whenever one or all of my brothers was with me, no one would even look at me. It had nothing to do with who I was and had everything to do with who is with me.
Essentially God is building up Gideon’s faith and courage by letting him know Gideon, I am with you.
God says the same words to you.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
What does Gideon tell God?
And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.
Where were you?
Isn’t interesting that when we are in sin and turning away from God, leaving a reckless life we still expect God to bless us.
God’s response is interesting, listen up Gideon, tough guy, you want to talk to the creator of the universe this way, go and take Care of the Midianites in this strength of yours.
Then we get to the root of Gideon’s fear I am not good enough.
Which Gideon is right he isn’t good enough, buy God’s Grace says “I am with you”
God’s active presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit which is given to us when we surrender to Jesus is is what allows us to live by God’s grace and for his glory and accomplish the mission he has sent us on.
Gideon was the chosen person God desired to use in his generation. You know what, you and you and you and you are the person God wants to use to do a work in this city, among the Latino community and in this generation.
We are a lot like Gideon we sit and complain and say God where are you, why are you not working in the world like you have done in the past.
God is shouting very loudly from heaven you want to see God work in this generation, get up and do something, I am with you!
Before I can use you, I want complete devotion from you.
Tear down the altar to Baal at your fathers house.
In this process Gideon asks for a sign, for confirmation with God, people call it throwing a fleece or fleecing God.
Some people choose to interpret this as Gideon trying to discover the will of God, so he asks God for several signs. Some try to do the same today, God if you want me to take this job, they will call and offer it to me today at 1 pm. This is not what is going on in this passage.
Gideon knows the will of God because God just told him very plainly what he wanted. What Gideon wants to know if the Lord is really who he says he is and is going to do what he says he is going to do.
The Lord is gracious enough to provide this to Gideon.
So what is the difference between me and Gideon?
Gideon does not have a completed Bible, at this point all Gideon has is Genesis - Deuteronomy, which is known as the Torah.
We have God’s completed revelation filled with God’s revelation for our lives.
Gideon’s knowledge about who the Lord is, is very limited at this time.
Our knowledge concerning who God has revealed himself is complete in this book right.
God is telling Gideon I am with you, you are a mighty man of valour, I am going to use you in your generation to deliver your people.
Gideon wants to know, Lord can I trust you?
God is telling you, I am with you, you are a mighty man/woman of valour, you are a child of God, I am going to use you in your generation.
You might be like Gideon asking God, how do I know?
You don’t have to walk out to your porch and say let the dew be on my door mat and dry on the ground.
God has provided the ultimate fleece over 2000 years ago when he sent his Son to die on the cross for you and me. In Jesus we have the proof we need that God is for us not against us, that God loves us and has made a way to enter a right relationship with him. In the life death and resurrection of Jesus we have all the proof we need.
We know that God gives Gideon 3 confirmations to assure him that God is with him and he will defeat the Midianites.
So Gideon sounds the alarm and calls on certain clans and tribes to join him.
II. Gideon: The Fearless Warrior
II. Gideon: The Fearless Warrior
At this time Gideon has an army of 32,000 men going up against an force larger than 120,000.
God comes to Gideon and says listen up Giddy, you have too many men....
If you win with the Army you have now, Israel is going to say, we saved ourselves. They are going to take the glory for themselves and fall into another trap.
God is so gracious, I often wonder how many times has God saved me from myself.
So he tells Gideon, whoever is afraid tell them to go home. 22,000 men go home.
Gideon, you still have too much people.
at this point Gideon, may be starting to get fearful again.
God tells him, take them to the water, anyone who brings the water to their hands separate them. which were 300, the rest were sent home.
Now Gideon has an army of 300
God tells Gideon, if you are afraid go down to the enemy camp with Purah and listen to what they are saying.
The Midianite dream -
Gideon wins the battle
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
III. Gideon The Forgetful
III. Gideon The Forgetful
Judges 8:22–32 (ESV)
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.” 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.) 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. 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.
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. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Gideon begins to forget all the Lord has done for him and Israel and moves from whole hearted devotion to the Lord to half hearted devotion.
Gideon moves from to everything in life being about God receiving glory to wanting some of the Glory for himself.
Which in turn cause the people to do the same.
One of the many lessons I learn from Gideon is, it is difficult to finish strong. Stay the course, keep your eyes on the prize, remain faithful to God.
What I am thankful for is a God who forgives, In the NT when we read about Gideon, God remembers him for his faith not for his forgetfulness.
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
How does Gideon point us to Jesus?
Jesus was fearless, in the face of temptation, adversity, suffering, and public execution on a cross.
Jesus heard the words of God and whole heartedly obeyed, In Jesus we do not find him asking for confirmation, we see humble submission, nevertheless not my will, but your will be done”
Jesus is the perfect fearless warrior who fought a battle for the deliverance of others.
Jesus does not forget. In Christ we are blessed, chosen, holy, blameless, redeemed, set apart, adopted, loved, given a mission and I could go on and on. Jesus does not forget about you, he does not lose focus, he is with us and he who began the good work in you will complete it when he comes back for his church.