Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Intro:
We are going to add some things to our Wednesday nights in 2022
Next week is Equipping Dinner
Communion on 1st Wednesday night
Short Prophecy update on 2nd Wednesday
That video has over 2000 views on Youtube so there is definitely an appetite
Tonight we are going to start the well known stories of Judges
We start looking at Gideon
It also introduces a theme we see throughout all of the Bible
God likes to work through the Least Likely
In fact, he shows that those are the most open
That doesn’t mean they don’t have doubts or express suspicion at God’s intentions
Gideon personifies all of that
If you think there are more qualified people for God to use then you are in the perfect position to be used.
Read Judges 6:1-6
I. Overpowered and Oppressed vs. 1-10
vs. 1 Given to the Midianites
We are not told that Deborah dies but we can assume she has because the people of Israel are once again doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord
This is different than doing what was right in their own eyes, but it is the same thing
We aren’t told what that is but we will find out later that they are worshipping Baal and erecting Asherah poles
God is a jealous God and won’t compete with other gods
He judges Israel and gives them into the hand of the Midianites
This gives us the image of it being a gift
Israel didn’t have a leader and weren’t looking to God so it was easy for these nations to conquer Israel
One thing we need to understand is that these punishments keep increasing in intensity
That is what happens with rebellious people
The Midianites are a people living in the southern portions of the Transjordan region.
They are described as the descendants of Abraham and Keturah, and in the Joseph narrative they operate as traders and caravaneers .
Moses joins the Midianite clan of Jethro after fleeing Egypt, but the Midianites do not join the Israelites in the conquest of Canaan.
In the Balaam narrative the Midianite elders are allied with the Moabites and participate in the hiring of the prophet to curse Israel
It’s easy to say relations weren’t good between the two nations
vs. 2-6 Brought Very Low
Because of Israel’s sin they were brought very low
The Midianites were raiders
At harvest time they came and devoured their crops
vs. 5 says they would come with their lives stocks and tents and it would look like locust
They laid waste to the land
The timing of the invader was very important.
If harvest time had passed, the villagers would have stored and hidden all of their grain and could withstand attack more easily.
If the grain was still in the fields, the invader would have ample provisions and the villagers none.
This would suggest April or May as the time of the invasions.
The villages could easily be crippled if they were deprived of their year’s supply of grain, so what the invaders did not use or steal, they destroyed.
The trampling of the fields would also jeopardize future seasons.
Israel was a free lunch because they worked hard and God still blessed their labors
One of the hardest punishments can be to have the fruits of your hard labor taken from you without anything in return
vs. 4 The Midianites would leave no sustenance
In response Israel had to go into hiding
They took their crops and put them in dens and caves in the mountains
With few fortified cities, the Israelites’ only protection was to hide out in the hills, where they could preserve their supplies and their families.
Every time it would happen the people were brought low
That means they were losing hope with no end in sight
This is what forsaking God does to believers
You work hard and have nothing to show for it
This makes Israel cry out to the Lord
vs. 7-10 God sends a prophet
In response to their cries God sends a prophet
We don’t know the name of this prophet because it wasn’t of importance
This is all to ready Israel for the next judge
He points out what God has done in the past
He also tells them there is nothing to fear their gods
Here he is seen as a defender of the covenant, and his message focuses on worshiping Yahweh exclusively.
Then he tells them that Israel has not obeyed my voice
II.
Least of the Weakest vs. 11-24
vs. 11-13 Might Man of Valor
Now we are introduced to one of the great characters in the Bible, Gideon
He is the everyman of the Bible
No great qualifications and full of doubt
The Angel of the Lord appears and sits under the terebinth tree
Trees were often a place where an oracle of God was given or a place of worship
The is the Pre-incarnate Jesus
He comes to a place called Ophrah
Interesting note is that this is where Oprah got her name but her parents spelled it wrong
Gideon was in a winepress beating out the wheat
Threshing floors were large areas of dirt or stone that were usually out in the open so that the breezes could be used to blow away the chaff.
They would generally be used by the whole community.
Threshing was done mostly in June and July, using a stick or by walking cattle over the sheaves.
A winepress was a square or circular pit hollowed out of rock big enough for a few people to walk around in.
Threshing activity in a winepress would be much less conspicuous than on a threshing floor.
It was easier to hide but it could also mean that he didn’t have as much wheat as normal
The Angel of the Lord interrupts his work and calls him a might man of valor
He also tells him that the Lord is with him
This elicits a rather desperate and whiny response from Gideon
“If the Lord is with us, why has this happened?
Where are all his wonderful deeds?
The Lord has forsaken us.”
I find this interesting
If he has heard the recounted stories he has also heard the teachings of the law
There is no self-assessment of wrongdoing or realization of current circumstances
He also doesn’t reference the words of the prophet
This is typical of people in dire straits.
They blame those who haven’t helped them
vs. 14-16 Go In Your Might
The Angel of the Lord doesn’t even respond to his complaint
Instead he gives him marching orders
What a great response!
“Go in this might of yours and save Israel”
Gideon responds: “how can I save Israel?”
He describes himself as the least in his fathers house and they are part of the weakest clan of the tribe of Manasseh
This has to do with standing and authority
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