Judges 6: Gideon, Strength in Weakness

The Spring of Harod

Play video

Idols will be satisfying to us for a while and even make us feel strong, but they will always end up making us weak in the long run.

Alchol, Money, Drugs, Sex, Power, Control, Leasure, Fame, Sport, Politics, friends and even family can be become idols to us. They can become more important to ys than Jesus.

What are Your Idols, It is not hard to pick them because you have brought them to Church with you toight. They will be trying to teach you how to listen to this sermon tonight.

In Israel at the time of Gideon there was rampant Idolitory. The Israelites who should have been following the one true God Yahweh were worshiping foriegn gods. They had made them weak.

As we shall see from the sermon tonight, Yahweh was punsihing Israel for their Idolitory raising up their enemies to punish them.

Idolitary Fuels Weakness and Doubt

The author fills in more detail of various parts of the downward cycle Israel was in as he tells the story of Gideon in 6:1-10:5. Idolitary, God gives them into the hands of their enemies and they cry out and God rescues them. In this case by raising up the Judge Gideon.

The story begins with the start of another cycle of Idolitory.

“Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord” (6:1).

Judges 6:1 NIV

1 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

This verse is a summery of the begining of each of Israels downward cycles.

What was the evil that Israel was doing “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” is short hand for they again turned to the worship of the baals. We see that from Judges 2:11 where the author shows us that idolitory or worshiping other gods is always at the root of Israels disobedience and that angers God.

Judges 2:11 NIV

11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.

Well In Chapter 1 of Judges the author reminded us of the warning to the people of Israel from Joshua who warned the people not worship idols escpecially the god’s of the amorites.

The amorites were cannanites who lived in what we call the trans Jorden to the east of the River Jorden. They were one of the tribes of Cannan that God commanded Joshua to drive from the land. But Israel did not drive them all from the Land.

We read about it in Joshua 10:10

Joshua 10:10 NIV

10 The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.

Joshua did crush the anomites but did not completely drive them from the land.

The problem was that the cannanites would keep worshiping their gods and so the israelites would be tempted too.

In judges 2:3

Judges 2:3 NIV

3 And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’ ”

One of the Amorite gods was Amurru a god of the monutains sometimes called a shepard or a storm god. He was sometimes called Bêl Šadê. This idol of the amorites could also have become the fertility-god 'Ba'al', the god of the Canaanites, a rival and enemy of the Hebrew God YHWH.

When the Israelites worshiped the Baals God gave them into the hands of their enemies.

This time it is the midiantites

Who were the midiantites?

Lived in the South. They came from the son of Abraham Midian who was born to him to his second wife Keturah after Sarah Died. Gen 25

It was to the midiantites that Moses fled when he ran away from eygpt.

They worshipped the baals and now they were terrorising Israel.

Judges 6:2–3 NIV

2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.

The Weakness of Idolitary

They were unable to thelp themselves, but they cried out to the Lord

Judges 6:6 NIV

6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

Ethiopian conflict.

My heart breaks at such senseless destruction.

The rebels have attacked again in the districts we are connected with in North Shewa zone.

There are many causalities from both sides .

Tere (our home base) has been able to withstand the attack over the past day with no reports of death. The village is surrounded. Many family and friends are at great risk.

Shewa Robit (the main town) is under attack but resisting.

In Yelen (neighbouring village) the rebels went door to door and more than 30 civilians were killed. Houses have been burnt and animals slaughtered.

The rebels (TPLF and OLF) have declared that if they can't rule then they will destroy Ethiopia.

In this roller- coaster of emotion I am not sure what to pray, however God hears the prayers of his people.

God sends a prophet in v8

Judges 6:8–10 NIV

8 he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

The Saving Word of God Fuels Strength

God calls Gideon

Judges 6:11–12 NIV

11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Responding in Weakness and Doubt

Gideon’s 1st Doubt:

Judges 6:13–14 NIV

13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

Gideon’s 2nd doubt:

Judges 6:15–16 NIV

15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

In verses 19 prepares a sacrifice to God of a goat and bread. The angle blesses the sacrifice by touching it and it is consumed by fire. Again Gideon doubts:

Gideons 3rd doubt:

Judges 6:22–24 NIV

22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” 23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Living in God’s Strength

God Commands Gideon to tear down the Idols

Judges 6:25–26 NIV

25 That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”

Gideon’s 4th Doubt:

Judges 6:27–28 NIV

27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime. 28 In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

from v 29 we read that the towns people want to kill him in the morning, but his dad says if Baal is offended let Baal kill him.

The people called him Jerub-Baal let Baal contend with him.

Gideon is to be a Strong Warrior

Judges 6:33–35 NIV

33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

The Spirit of God on Gideon is what makes all the difference. He has gone from a doubting weak idolitora to a spritual Judge and leader of Israel.

But he is still Doubting

Gideon’s 5th Doubt:

Judges 6:36–38 NIV

36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

Gideons 6th Doubt:

Judges 6:39–40 NIV

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

Ch 7 Camped at the Spring of Harod

Judges 7:2–3 NIV

2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

God said still too many:

Judges 7:4 NIV

4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

Judges 6:5–7 NIV

5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help. 7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian,

Gideons 7th Doubt:

Judges 7:9–12 NIV

9 During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.

Listened to the dream and was emboldened to attack

God told him to divide the me in 3 groups and in a moment reminsisent of Joshua and jericho the army took pots flames and trumpets.

They smashed the pots and blew the trumptes and the midianites and am alaktes were terrified and they fought each other and ran.

So God used the doubting Gideon to win a great victory that Isael were in no doubt was from God.

Judges 7:24–25 NIV

24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they seized the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. 25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.

Ch 8 ephranites why did you not call us

They want Giodeon to rule over them but he says no only the Lord

Judges 8:23 NIV

23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”

But after his death his son Abimelek would seek to rule after his death

Turn From Your Weak Idols and Be Strong