"When to Build, And When To Burn."

I. Introduction.

Gideon is a Bible name and story that is well known.

But did you know that there is a story before the story and a story after the story?

Most often, when we speak of him, it’s really only the middle portion, the highlights of the game if you will.

But there is a story before that and after that!

And if you read your book and read the prestory and the post story, you can learn from Gideon and avoid much heartache and loss.

Pay attention and you can learn: “When to Build and when to Burn!”

Judges 6:1-10, Is where we see the problem and the prophet:

The Problem then the Prophet

Judges 6:1–10 KJV 1900

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

The children of Israel had established a pattern.

A cycle in which they would turn from God only to be victimized by the inhabitants of the land who they should have driven out in the first place but didn’t.

Things would get so bad until they cried out to the Lord and he would send them a judge a prophet, a leader, sometimes a man and sometimes a woman.

God would then bless that leader, give them a plan and deliver the people.

Everything would go great for a while until the people would fall back into their sin and the whole cycle began again.

By the time we reach our text, they are on the fourth such cycle!

And like those of us who are being honest, they realize that their own behavior is the source of their problems and their suffering!

The midianites and the Amalakites would come in like locusts!

They waited until Israel gathered their harvest and then the Midianites came in!

The classic bully, the classic thug extortionist. Waiting till payday to rob you!

Not willing to work at all, but only rob others once the harvest has been brought in!

So bad was it, that when the Midianties came, Israel would flee to dens and caves in the mountains so that they might survive!

Knowing that when they returned, everything would be destroyed!

You can’t fight a horde of enemies without number!!!

The situation was bad!!

But friend, we serve a God who is rich in mercy!

aren’t you glad: Even though our mess is a mess we made ourselves, when you finally get honest and desperate, He still reaches down to you!

And just before your head slips beneath the miry clay, he pulls you up to put your feet on solid ground!

Our God is Mercy!!!

Why don’t we just thank him for that right now!!!!!!

(Give God thanks!)

He loved you when you didn’t love yourself!

The Protagonist

Our narrative began with a problem then came a prophet and now we meet the protagonist:

Gideon!

Judges 6:11–16(KJV 1900)

And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. I know it might sound cowardly, he’s hiding and all that, but notice that Gideon has not run to the mountains like a lot of others have. He is trying to feed his family. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

Gideon is in awe of this angelic being!

He then gives the angel his sob story: “Why are we in such bad shape? Where are the miracles? Where is God in all this?

The angel does not comment on that.

He could have said: “Get a clue Gideon, this is the fourth cycle where you guys have turned your back on God!”

Perhaps he didn’t becasue the problem was obvious to all and Gideon was just processing outloud.

Whatever the reason, the Angel does not go into the failure of Israel.

He’s not a prophet or a preacher, he is a messenger on a mission!

He tells Gideon: “Go, destroy the bad guys, I’m with you!” (the angel speaking for God.)

In verse 22-35, see see Gideon at his best!

Here is the pre story if you will!

Before the lamps and the torches, before all of that.

A decision had to be made.

Somebody in that hometown and that family of Gideon had to make a choice!!!!!

We are going to serve God!

Judges 6:22–35 (KJV 1900)

And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. (There comes a time in every life, where you have to build and altar! And if you will listen, God will even tell you how!)

And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. (The groves were stands of trees where Baal worshippers would hold thier child sacrifices and orgies that they called worship! God told Gideon to cut them down and burn them!) Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. (This behavior is an example of why God punished the people! The whole town was caught up in this Baal worship! And even Gideon’s dad Joash who seems to be a decent sort, seems to have been desensitized over the years, or perhaps even intimidated by the prevailing sin of his age. Listen, if change is ever going to happen, somebody has to be willing to burn a few things!)

Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

To each of us, there comes a time to build and a time to tear down that which was builded!

In the defining moments of his life, Gideon built an altar to God and tore down a false altar that had been status quo!

When Gideon build his altar to God, the BIble tells us that he sacrificed on that altar a seven year old bull!

A fortune!!!

And you say, “ Wait a minute, I thought the Midianites had stolen everything?”

Everything they found! This bull was hidden!

The bull represented the length of Midianite oppression!

According to the Law (lev 4:13) a bull was to be offered when all Israel had sinned.

That’s exatly what Gideon did!

Then he tore down the false altar to Baal!

He used the trees from the grove where they worshipped Ball to fire his sacrifice!

He did it at night because if the townspeople had seen him tear down their altar, they’d most likely have killed him then and there!

Did you know this was in the BIble?

Did you know that before God can use you, he expects you to build some things and to burn some things?

Next morning, everyone wakes up to see the smoking ruins of their false altar!

And on that altar is the charred remains of a bull, the animal that represented Baal!

Those people pulled out their torches and pitchforks and came for Gideon!

The Mob was gonna take him!

And that’s when his dad said essentially the same thing Elijah would later say at the showdown on Mt. Carmel:

“If Baal is real, let him take care of himself!”

That day, Godeon was given a new name: “Jerubbaal” which means “Let Baal Contend.” or essentially, let Baal fight for himself, if he can.”

At this very point in the drama, guess who shows up?

The Midianites!!!! The Amalakites!

A host beyond number!!!

This now is where the story of Gideon picks up that we know so well.

The fleece, the expedition to fight the enemy.

God thinning the ranks in order to work a miracle!

And it was a miracle!!!!

God had sown seeds of panic and fear in the camp of the midianites!

God had the fire ready to go, and he used Gideon as the match!

It was a rout! A slaughter! Deliverance!

And in the coloring book, this is where Gideon’s story ends.

But as you continue to read, you see that his story does not end there.

It’s so sad, I’m not gonna even read it, you can do that later, in your devotions. Chapter nine. it is a cautionary tale!

After all that victory and the rout that followed, the men of Israel said unto Gideon “Rule thou over us, both thou and thy sons.”

Gideon said no. (Which made me very hopeful at first!)

Gideon said “No, I will not rule you nor my sons. God will rule.”

In effect, the people were asking Gideon to replace God.

Gideon declined with his mouth but it went to his head and his actions did not meet his words.

He took forty pounds of Gold from the people and built a metallic robe out of it. An Ephod. A robe worn for sacred events.

Only, they soon worshipped that creation and not God!

It was the downfall of his family!

He should have burned that too!

Gideon died said one thing but did another.

I wish he would have burned that stupid ephod!

40 lbs of gold, not even $100K in today’s money.

That’s like a tenth of a house in the bay area!

A room, a laundry room.

About all you get for $100 K.

I wish he would have burned it!

He knew how to! He’d done it before!

In this he failed. And it cost him.

Seventy one sons had Gideon.

Seventy by his wives.

And one son by a concubine.

This one son, got funding from a temple of Baal, hired a bunch of thugs and killed 69 of his half brothers on the same executioner’s block.

Gideon is in his grave, and his sons are slaughtered by murderers with Baal’s money in their pocket.

A truly awful outcome.

Gideon had said the right thing when the test came!

Only what he said and what he did were two different things!

Once opon a time he had known when to build and when to burn.

But when the final choice came, he built something that should have been burned.

We don’t talk about it much, because it’s just so sad.

But tonight we can talk about it and remember there is a time to build and a time to burn!

II. Application

Are there any relationships in your life that need to burn?

Are there any bridges that you have left, bridges that connect you to an old life an old way of thinking and old way of worship?

Don’t let your story end like Gideon’s did!

He started well, but ended in tragedy!

Brothers and sisters, please build your alters to God.

And please, burn everything else!

Everynow and then, we all have to do it!

All of us!

We’ve have to evaluate from time to time.

Sit down and ask ourselves: Does this relationship bring me closer to God or pull me farther from HIm?

Is this Gold going to get me in trouble?

Now give some examples of burning an old life and staying right Elisha?

Ruth walked away from everything! Rahab left it all!