Sermon Tone Analysis

Many of us have some annoying habits that we would like to change, but to focus on that change, it takes effort & concentration

Like a child learning to stop picking their nose; or an adult having to stop scratching their skin raw or pulling their hair out; a person biting their fingernails; cracking their knuckles; or even relentlessly clicking on the end of a pen

These habits are stress relieving habits, that most people would probably rather not do

-------------------

However, the same is true of sinful habits - when the people of God are not giving effort & concentration to their obedience to God, they fall back into those wretched sinful habits

Coming out of Egypt, the people soon turned back to the old ways & habits of Egypt

The idolatry & the lifestyle that so suits the life of the pagan man

----------------

Last week, we dealt with the fall of Jericho & how Joshua spared Rahab & her family because of her faith in Yahweh that caused her to hide the Israelite spies

I mentioned that one of the reasons for Jericho being placed under the ban was because of the evil influence Jericho & the Canaanites would have been to the Israelites, if they had remained in the land & they would have turned Israel away from her faith in Yahweh

I also mentioned that the Israelites did not fulfil what God had commanded & never completely drove out the Canaanite from the land

-------------------

What we have here in the book of Judges is the evidence of that massive failure

The Israelites did enough to settle in the land, but once they settled, guess what they did?

They went to sleep - they got what they wanted & stopped obeying God

They didn’t complete what they started & not having done that, it came back to bite them hard

That’s it, isn’t it?

An easy lifestyle & our eyes are off the Lord

1.

The Cycle of Sin and Repentance

In this passage of Scripture, we see the consequences of Israel taking their eyes off Yahweh & sliding back to their old sinful, idolatrous ways

Of course, all under the influence from their surrounding culture

The Canaanites were masters in idolatry being followers of Baal, the so-called storm god

As we see in this passage, Gideon’s family & community worshipped Baal

They had an altar for Baal & an Asherah pole erected where they would worship

-------------------

Q.

How could we imagine such a thing happening, after all that nation had witnessed through God’s amazing saving actions?

Q.

Should they wonder why they are being attacked by foreigners?

Even Gideon couldn’t understand why Yahweh seemed to have abandoned them

But this is precisely the point - Gideon & his family were raised on Baalism & never saw the distinction between Baal & Yahweh & the need to change

We are the same - we come into this world & get used to our surroundings & those surroundings become the norm & the standard for our life & we don’t even think to judge it, in light of the word of God

For most people, there is way less friction when they ignore the problem - you know the problem - we have way differing standards from the world

But ignoring this problem won’t solve the problem or make it go away

The greater problem is when you have to deal with God who is not only loving, but firm & just

-------------------

When Israel came out of Egypt, God made a covenant with them at Mt. Sinai

In that Covenant, we find the Law of God that spelt out how the Israelites were to live

Plus - plus - the consequences for either obedience or disobedience to the Covenant they made with God

The Israelites, voluntarily & wholeheartedly, entered into this Covenant with Yahweh, agreeing to it all

All the blessings are then spelt out in the beginning of Deut.

28

Then, there are the warnings & consequences for disobedience

This is how neglectful the Israelites had become - they didn’t even know why God had given them over to the Midianites

Had they diligently held to His word, then they would have known why & avoided the devastating demise of their lives

-------------------

The book of Judges shows us this unrelenting cycle of sin, oppression, repentance & then deliverance - only for them to fall back into sin again & the cycle repeated ad infinitum

Perhaps, this says here something to the problem...

Doesn’t that sound like today?

I set my own standard - what I will accept, what I will do

Oh no, that’s your truth, I have my own truth to follow

------------

The sin cycle here comes to bear on the issue of idolatry

They have come under oppression & cry out to Yahweh for deliverance (salvation)

2. When You Have to Stand Against Family

With the Midianites terrorising Israel, Israel leaves the open land & hides in huts or dens they have made in the hills

They have to crop & harvest, but the Midianites would come when harvesting is on & they would steal the crops, as well as the animals

No doubt, it made life unbearable - so they cry out to God

------------------

Gideon receives a visit from an angel while he was using an undercover winepress to beat out wheat

You usually beat out wheat outside &, preferably up on a hill, where the wind would blow away the chaff - but the risk outside is too great & so Gideon does it undercover in the wine vat

Gideon wonders why he would be so privileged to receive a visit from an angel since he is a no one with no real family prominence

Well, we can see why from this story - even to when God tells him to lower the number of fighting men - God is avoiding the opportunity for Israel to boast that she saved herself

Gideon’s no one status fits perfectly with God’s plan

----------------------

Q.

What does a young man do when his family, & indeed his community, worships idols?

Q.

What does he do after Yahweh tells him to pull down the altar of Baal & the Asherah pole & then erect an altar to Yahweh & offer burnt offerings using the wood of the Asherah pole as firewood?

He’d do it at night when no one is looking - just like Nicodemus when he came to Jesus at night

But what a ruckus in the morning when all the town found out what had happened

--------------------

But this gives us an insight into the state of Israel at the time

They had abandoned Yahweh for the Baals & the Asherahs

The young man Gideon had to stand against those he loved - his family & his community in order to obey & honour God

You thought you were alone in that!

But no, there are many Christians in the same boat where you are having to chose God over all else

But this is the essence of faith & this is what Rahab had done as well

To the great danger to herself & her family, she chose to side with Yahweh over her community

---------------------

What Gideon had done was a public dethronement of Baal & the recognition of Yahweh as God

The community demanded that he be put to death for that act

But, interestingly, his father comes to his aid & challenges the community that if Baal is God, let him defend himself

His father then changed Gideon’s name to Jerubbaal meaning “Let Baal contend against him”

Q. Was his father a closet Yahwehist?

A secret believer in the true God?

Perhaps, Gideon’s actions was the very thing that sorted the issue out for his father

You never know if your strong stand for the Lord is what causes some members of your family to chose God for themselves

3. The True Controller of the Dew

Q.

How do you defeat a storm god like Baal?

Baal is so entrenched in the minds of the people - they believe, he is the bringer of the rains & the dew

Gideon seeks confirmation from Yahweh that He is going to deliver the people through him

What better way than to see Yahweh demonstrate to him that He, not Baal, is the bringer of the rain & the dew

-------------------

Gideon’s fleece, therefore, is not so much about the wool being either wet or dry - the miracle demonstrates who is the true God

I’s a showdown between Yahweh & Baal

---------------

Remember Elijah on Mt.

Carmel - it was another showdown between Yahweh & Baal

Yes, we know that Baal does not exist, but in the people’s minds, he does

The people must be freed in their mind of all this Baal nonsense

After Elijah decisively shows that Yahweh is God in that lightning (fire) came down from the sky (something they all thought Baal would do - the so-called storm god) & this lightning from the Lord consumed the sacrifice of Yahweh

Notice, however, that at that time Israel had been in a severe drought for some 3 yrs

After the victory, Elijah prays, & it rains - demonstrating that Israel’s faith was wrongly placed

Yahweh is God, not Baal

------------------

Here, in our passage, Gideon asks for dew on the fleece one night, along with dry ground & on the following night, dry fleece amidst wet ground - & it was so

For Gideon, then, it confirmed that Yahweh is the true God who controls the weather & all that is - not Baal

Jerubbaal - the name given to Gideon - meaning let Baal contend or take vengeance against Gideon

God has just shown that there is no threat to Gideon from Baal

Gideon has clearly seen that Baal is totally impotent

------------------

In an ancient Baal myth, Baal even names his daughter “Tallaya” meaning “Dew”

Now we talk about these ancient people’s & laugh at how ridiculous it seems

However, it still comes back to the importance of people - the way they think & what they believe