Judges | Chapter 6

Chp. 6-10:5 Reluctant men, great God for the central campaign

Judges 6:1-24

“Who me?”

  1. Intro.
  2. Vs. 1-12 Does God really care?
  3. Vs. 14-24 Does God know what He is doing?

Intro

One of the great truths of the Bible is that when God looks at us, He does not see us for what we presently are He sees what we will become by His Spirit working in our lives. God is in the business of taking weak, insignificant people and transforming them into His image! And He always begins with where we are, He knows our every flaw and weakness, our every doubt and shortcomings and He doesn’t say, “If you get rid of all of these then I can use you.” Instead He comes to us in those very areas that are weak and inadequate and transforms by His strength. God loves us where we are but He loves us way too much to leave us that way! One of the clearest examples of this in the Old Testament is to be found in the story of Gideon! More is devoted to Gideon in the book of Judges (100 verses) than to any other judge (Samson is a close 2nd with 96 verses). One of the commentaries I’ve been reading this week divided this chapter in four sections each that deal with a corresponding doubt that Gideon faced:

  1. Vs. 1-12 Does God really care?
  2. Vs. 14-24 Does God know what He is doing?
  3. Vs. 25-32 Will God take care of me?
  4. Vs. 33-40 Does God keep His promises?

In other words, Gideon is a lot like you and me when it comes to our questions!


Vs. 1-12 Does God really care?

    Vs. 1-6 According to the last verse of chapter 5 Israel had 40 years of rest from their enemies after Deborah’s defeat of Sisera but in their prosperity came complacency as Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. The Midianites came from Abraham’s 2nd wife Keturah and the sons of Keturah were sent away as they kept hassling Isaac and through the years they became bitter enemies of Israel. They were the first people in history to domesticate the camel, which gave them a military advantage as these camels were over 7 feet in height, 11 feet in length and weighed 1500 pounds could travel 3 to 4 days with a heavy load traveling 100 miles a day and 300 miles before they needed water. Together with the Amalekites they waited until harvest time and would come in a take all the grain. The equivalent of this would be someone robbing you every payday. All of this caused Israel to live “underground” literally as they left  the fertile plain and head to the hills.

    Folks, Israel’s sin made all their hard work profitless, their produce and livestock was stolen after they worked hard to bring it to fruition. Sin does this. It robs us of what we work hard to gain. So after a long season of humiliation, fruitless labor, poverty, and domination by an oppressive power, Israel finally cried out to the Lord. Prayer was their last resort instead of their first resource. Why did they wait so long? I wonder the same thing about myself, why am I so insistent to do things in my own strength and power why I have the Holy Spirit available? The most difficult thing to defeat in our lives is always our stubborn pride that refuses to be broken and humbled before the Lord.

    Vs. 7-10 Before God sent a deliver He sent a prophet as Israel wasn’t ready to receive the work of a deliverer. The word from the prophet was first to remind Israel of all He had done for them in the past. Saints that’s a good place to start when you are facing a “current crisis” remind yourself of “all” that the Lord has done before in your life because in so doing you are looking squarely into God’s love for you. Since God loved you enough to deliver you from the Egyptians in your past than He will love you enough to deliver you from the Midianites in the present. Not only does this remind us of the LOVE of God for us it also reminds us of the POWER of God available to us.  

                Having reassured Israel of God’s love and power towards them in verse 10 God tells them that the Midianites weren’t their problem and He wasn’t their problem. Their problem was they “have not obeyed My voice”. So often we look to at others to find the reason for our unhappiness, how many times we want to blame others instead of coming before the Lord saying, “Change me”!

    Vs. 11-12 In chapter 2 we read that the “Angel of the Lord” came and spoke to the nation at Gilgal now He again appears. This is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ, in human, bodily form, but before His incarnation in Bethlehem. The fact that Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress was both difficult and humiliating. Wheat was threshed in open spaces, typically on a hill-top so the breeze could blow away the chaff. Wheat was not normally threshed in a sunken place like a winepress. God will prepare a country bumpkin named Gideon “hacker” the name in Hebrew describes one who destroys his own stuff and Webster’s defines this as “one who is inexperienced and unqualified at what he does”. I suggest to you that this name doesn’t conjure confidence as perhaps today we would call him Clumsy or Claude. 

    “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Oh don’t you love how the Lord sees us? Gideon didn’t look much like the Lord was with him and he didn’t act like he was a mighty man of valor. He is in a hole with a stick beating wheat, defeated, discouraged, a man full of doubts, not the typical picture of a hero. Gideon apparently has no idea that it’s the “Angel of the Lord” as He tells Gideon, “I know what you are but also know what you are going to become!” So many people look at what people aren’t, our flaws and failings and they say, “Oh he isn’t this, she isn’t that!” Oh but the Lord is not ignorant of those things He looks beyond them and says, “Oh he is my mighty warrior because that is what I’ll transform him into.” God is more than a visionary with regards towards us; He is also a God with infinite patience and sensitive love as He knows our frame as we shall God deal with Gideon.


    Vs. 14-24 Does God know what He is doing?

      Vs. 13-16 Listen carefully to what the Lord tells Gideon “Go in this might of yours”! God never asks us to go in something that He hasn’t already provide and no matter how week and inadequate it may be in God’s hands He will deliver a nation! Gideon had six things he was mighty in:

      • Gideon had the might of humility:  He was threshing wheat in a winepress
      • Gideon had the might of compassion: He cared about the low place of Israel
      • Gideon had the might of Word: He knew God did great things in the past
      • Gideon had the might of the spiritual hunger:  He wanted to see God do great works again
      • Gideon had the might of being teachable: He listened to what the Angel of the Lord said
      • Gideon had the might of being weak: And God’s strength is perfected in weakness

      “O my Lord, how can I save Israel?” Gideon asks! “I’m a nobody from nowhere how can I be the someone that you can use to do great things?” Dear ones don’t you know that God specializes in using “nobody’s from nowhere”? God’s response is not to boost Gideon’s “self confidence” it’s rather to build his trust in Gods as He tells Him “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” It’s great that we know that God sent us but its better still that we know that God is with us! Jesus said in Matt 28:20 “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Then in Acts 1:8 He told them, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  God allows Gideon to express two concerns and they uncover two things about Gideon that he needed to realize:

      1. Vs. 13 They are found in the three words “IF, WHY, WHERE”: These three words reveal what we already noted that Gideon was a discouraged, defeated man. His discouragement was not that God couldn’t work but rather that He wouldn’t work. Most Christian’s I know don’t doubt the power of God they struggle with why He is not working on their behalf now. Gideon didn’t realize that the problem was not with God but with Israel. It is far easier to blame God for our problems than to except the responsibility. Now in verse 14 the Lord answers that question by saying “Go in the strength you have”. Friends, do you want to see the Lord work like you read about in the past? Well then “Go, right where you are at!” The Lord says, “The Lord is with you…Am I not sending you…I will be with you.” God’s antidote to discouragement is the promise that He is right beside us every step of the way, His power and presence only requires us to “Go with what we have, nothing!”
      2. Vs. 15 The key here is to see that Gideon sees that this calling has to come from himself: Simply put Gideon struggled with in adequacy because he still saw his adequacy as coming from himself and not from God.  Paul said in best in 2 Cor. 3:5 when he wrote “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God”. So to answer this problem of sufficiency God says in verse 16, “I will be with you, and you will and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

      God doesn’t answer his questions instead He calls him into service. I’m to prone to talk and not prone to action and God tells Gideon we’ll talk about all this later right now you’ve got some work to do. And Gideon’s response is so much like mine, “Uh, look Lord, you got the wrong guy, why I’m a nobody and my family is a bunch of nobody’s.” “Who am I, Lord?” “That’s not the issue Gideon, the issue is “Who I Am!” Saint’s the issue isn’t who we are or aren’t the Issue is who God is. It’s not about us; it’s about God and what He alone can do through you!

      Vs. 17-21Gideon wants what we all want before we move out in “faith” confirmation! I see nothing wrong with making sure you have heard from the Lord before you move out and personally I go right to His word and camp out there to hear from Him. In verses 18-19 Gideon provides a sacrifice that was quite costly do to the circumstances and what I glean out of this is Gideon wanted confirmation and he realized that it would be found in two things:

      • Personal sacrifice
      • Personal worship         

      Do you need confirmation in the direction you are hearing from the Lord? Well a great place to start is by asking if the direction is going to cost you more of you and is it going to cost you more worship of God! If it is then it has past the first test! There was no presumption in Gideon as he asks for confirmation from the Lord for the direction he felt the Lord was leading him in. And the Lord made it clear from the fire consuming the offering that He was indeed directing Gideon.       

      Vs. 22-24 In verse 13 Gideon was afraid because he didn’t see the hand of God on the situation then in verse 22 he is afraid because he has does! I think Gideon was a lot like most of us: “Don’t want to move without God, but don’t want God in charge just in case we don’t like His plan!” He calls this place Jehovah-shalom yet he’s about to go into the biggest battle of his entire life but he calls the altar Jehovah-shalom, “God our peace.” Saints you too can look beyond the conflict to the peace that God has promised.

      Gideon had heard about the great works of God in the past but he hadn’t seen any in his life and little did he realize that God wanted to do a miracle through him. Gideon is like a lot of us who need a touch from the Lord and think that the problem is with God.


      Judges 6:25-40

      “Who me?” (part 2)

      1. Intro.
      2. Vs. 25-32 Will God take care of me?
      3. Vs. 33-40 Does God keep His promises?

      Intro

        This story reminds us of our own history as a small band of “Texans” banded together in a small mission church simply known as the Alamo. Colonel Travis sent out a letter hoping to gather reinforcements as they were facing 3000. His final words in the note was a “P.S.” that said, “The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beef.” He drew a line on the dirt with his sword and said “Those prepared to give their lives in freedom’s cause, come over to me.” Gideon now faces his own “Alamo” and it’s the Lord that will draw the line in the sand of his own home. Gideon’s story reminds us as believers “private commitment must produce public discipleship”.


        Vs. 25-32 Will God take care of me?

          Vs. 25-26 Gideon’s father (Joash) had built a shrine to Baal as well as to Asherah the fertility goddess. Apparently this wasn’t just for private worship as the men of the city were frequent worshippers based upon their protest.

          Dear ones until the church takes care of its own “backyard idols” God can’t use it to deliver the nations faulty worship. We can’t fight the gods of this world while maintaining their worship in our own homes! Gideon was to take one of his father’s bulls at its prime and use it to tear down the altar to Baal and then chop down the Asherah pole and use the idols wood sacrifice the bull on it. A bull was a much more valuable animal then a heifer and Gideon’s father had two. Note, the bull was the same age as was the Midianite oppression and as this bull was offered God was saying, “If you place me first in your life then your oppression will go up in smoke!” There are three important truths that were established:

          1. Baal must go before Midian will leave: Saints, before you will have victory over the habits that enslave Jesus must first be Lord over all your life. You can’t have two alters, you will never have victory if you try to worship at alters of this world and alter of God. You’re going to have to chop down alters of this world if you are going see the things that enslave you go.
          2. God’s alter can’t be built until the world’s is destroyed: You can’t blend the worship of the things of this world with the things of God. Ever drive around and notice the bumper sticker made up of religious symbols that reads “Coexist”? I wonder how the driver of the car or their spouse would feel if that sticker was not a reflection upon their religious tolerance but rather on their marital tolerance? We live in a liberal, pluralistic, inclusive age but God calls us to choose!
          3. We must start at our own house: If our commitment to Jesus and His word doesn’t start in our lives and the lives closest to us then it loses credibility before it ever steps outside our front porch.                

          Vs. 27 God was asking Gideon to fight the most difficult battle first the battle in his backyard! Faith is not obeying without fear; faith is obeying despite fear! Trust is not made visible be the observation that we are fearless but rather but that we still obey even when we are afraid! The Lord didn’t remove Gideon’s apprehension He strengthened his resolve in spite of it!

          Vs. 28-32 Even obedience done in the dark will produce visible results as the next day what Gideon had done a night was clearly seen; you can’t hide evil you can’t hide a glorious one either! How little faith God can use to build on in our lives so don’t get discouraged keep giving Him what little you have and He will keep doing more! This produced three results:

          1. The anger of the town: Apparently the worshipers of Baal never missed their morning devotions. The “True and Living God” had done great things for the nation but they had turned away from Him to worship idols made by their own hands and were ready to destroy the man who made their worship go up in smoke.
          2. The transformation of Joash: When Joash realized what his son had done he defended his son over his idols and the loss of two bulls. It seems that his son’s actions awakened more than mere parental protection as it revived his heart for God. Joash had a moment of clarity with regard to manmade objects of worship saying, “If they can’t defend themselves they aren’t worth our worship!” Gideon who had been so afraid of his father’s actions that he attacked Joash’s idols at night in the end finds his father his greatest ally.
          3. The reputation of Gideon: Gideon had destroyed Baal as Baal he stood as the statue he was and in so doing Gideon got a name change from clumsy to “Jerubbaal” or “Baal-conqueror”. Every time they looked at Gideon they saw living proof that Baal was not worthy of worship.

          John Knox the Scottish reformer was chained to a boat for his refusal to submit to Roman Catholicism. One day the guards came with a wooden statue of Mary and demanded that John Knox kiss the statue. He refused, grabbing the statue throwing it overboard he said, “Your lady can float but let’s see if she can swim and save herself!” Two things happened as a result of Knox’s actions, they never again forced believers to worship Catholic Icons and the people of Scotland saw Knox as a leader which resulted in the Scottish reformation.


          Vs. 33-40 Does God keep His promises?

            Vs. 33-35 Things begin to change as one man was now empowered by the Spirit of God. Amazingly the same men who wanted him dead for destroying their idols were now the same men who were willing to follow Gideon to destroy more. They came:

            • Not because of Gideon but because of God
            • Not to a program but to the power of God
            • Not to indoctrination but to inspiration        

            The trumpet blast hadn’t been heard in 7 years because it was a work of the Lord in powered by the Spirit of the Lord! Oh how God can take the little we have and when the Spirit of God comes upon us He achieves great things! According to Judges 7:3 the Holy Spirit’s work upon Gideon inspired 32,000 to follow him into battle.  

                        Paul says in Galatians 3:27“as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  The phrase comes from the idea that we are to “clothe ourselves in Jesus” but here in verse 34 the Hebrew reads that the “Spirit of the Lord clothed Himself with Gideon”. The Spirit of the Lord wore Gideon as a man would put on a suit and personally that is what my prayer is: “I don’t want to merely cover my flesh with a Jesus suit, I want Spirit of God to so posses me that I am but a thin veneer and He is the substance!” Howard Hendricks was fond of saying every morning, “Lord, here I am. I want to be your suit of clothes today. I want you to take me and use me. Lord, just walk around in me today.” Gideon had three essentials that produced change in him and those around him:

            1. He had a encounter with Jesus
            2. The encounter with Jesus was revealed by following the Lord obediently
            3. He became a man possessed by the Spirit of God

            Vs. 36-40 Most Christians are familiar with these 5 verses and have used them to determine a direction in their life. There is a problem with using them to determine a direction as it assumes that God only has a few choices. Years ago a fellow was having trouble with his Model T Ford and for hours he tried this and that but nothing would get it to go. As he was working a limo rolled up along side of him and the man in the back got out and asked what the problem was, he then suggested they he try a few things that he hadn’t and the car started right up. Amazed he asked “How do you know so much about cars?” The man replied, “I’m Henry Ford and I designed and built that car I know everything there is to know about that model.” Friends, God knows everything there is to know about everything so when you are done tinkering with the model why not ask the Maker? Four things stand out about Gideon’s action:

            1. Vs. 36-37 He was not ignorant of God’s will: Twice in these two verses Gideon acknowledges that God had told him that he was going to use him to deliver the nation from the Midianites. Gideon’s problem was not direction it was application! This in spite of the fact that God had given Gideon clear understanding of His will, a clear revelation of His identity, and a thorough experience of His power.   
            2. Vs. 36-37 The fleece proved Gideon’s doubt and did nothing to strengthen his faith: Twice we hear Gideon use the word “IF” after he had clearly heard God’s word on the matter. In offering the fleece Gideon is saying that God’s Word is not enough even after God had promised that He would save the nation through his hand.
            3. Vs. 38-39 The fleece showed that Gideon was not being honest: What would have happened had Gideon simply said, “Lord I know you told me you would do this, I know that you revealed to me that You are who You claim to be and I know that you have demonstrated Your ability to do what You said you were going to do. But Lord You know my heart and I’m still afraid! Help my overcome my fears and doubts!” Instead Gideon said, “I’ve heard Your plan now here’s my plan and I’ll do your plan if You first do my plan!” 
            4. Vs. 39-40 The fleece did nothing to cure Gideon’s doubts: If the fleece worked why do it twice? “Double or nothing, Lord!” Doubt was still plaguing Gideon even after the Lord granted his request because the problem of doubt is a problem with Gideon not God! A fleece only puts God in a box that we have to keep opening!

            There is one way of looking at this practice of the fleece that may have application for us today. In Hosea 14:5 God says to the nation, “I will be like the dew to Israel” and as such a fleece had a spiritual aspect as dew was likened to the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon the people. So we could apply this principal by saying, “Before I go out and do your work I need to be saturated in your Spirit, I lay my dry life out before You pour upon me your Holy Spirit!” And indeed the fleece came back soaked but we can take it a step further saying, “Lord even if I should become dry soak the ground around me in your Power and presence. Make those folks next to me to drip in your power so that your work will not fail!”                   

            Vs. 40 There is a remarkable point in this whole story right here and that is “And God did so that night!” These five words reveal that the five verses have nothing to do with revealing God’s guidance and everything to do with revealing God’s grace! The Lord knew Gideon, He knew Gideon’s fear even if Gideon wasn’t admitting it and God in His abundant Mercy and Grace work with what Gideon gave Him because God is that kind of Father! In Exodus 34:6-7 God describes Himself that way saying, “I am the Lord, I am the Lord, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.” Amazingly like Barak before him Gideon too is mentioned in the “Hall of Faith” in Heb. 11:32. Dear ones our weak faith is still more powerful in the hands of the Holy Spirit than no faith, so give to the Lord so He can add your name to the “Hall of Faith”.  Friends, God does not give us guidance He reveals Himself as our Guide!       


            This is a placeholder. Notes will be added