Gideon Part 1

Gideon Part 1

Our text begins with the familiar phrase, "and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD."
We have seen the pattern, which all to often reflects the pattern of spiritual instability in our society, our churches and in many Christian's lives.
Last week we saw the great heroines of the time of the judges, Deborah and Jael.
They were used by God to deliver Israel from the Canaanite enemies, and Barak was inspired to lead Israel to victory in battle against Sisera's army.
Israel's stability lasted for forty years.
Then we see that Israel had drifted back into her old ways.
The false gods of the pagans around her were so much more attractive than a God they could not see.
They began to make the same compromises as before, bringing in idols to worship, perhaps first as good luck charms but soon as a very real and dangerous demonic presence in their society.
Once again we will see in our text God raises up a nearby nation to afflict Israel until His people come back to Him.

READ TEXT
Judges 6:1 ¶ 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.
2 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.
3 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;
4 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.
5 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.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
7 ¶ And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
8 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;
9 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;
10 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.
11 ¶ And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

PRAY

To quickly recap our opening text, it is the Midianites that God brings in to judge Israel and to make His people want to come back to Him.
The Midianites were quite different than the Canaanites with whom Deborah and Barak had to deal.
The Midianites would wait until harvest time and come into the land with intimidating forces.
They would strike in raids throughout the land until they had loaded their camels with enough grain and produce to last them through the year, and then they would return home.
This left Israel in a defenseless and fragile position.
However, the turning point for Israel is in verse 6 when the people cried unto the LORD.

God responded by sending a prophet to remind them that He could deliver them yet again.

Now with the background set, the story begins in verse 11 with:

A HERO IN HIDING
Gideon was living in "survival mode" keeping out of the sunlight, hiding what he did to stay alive.
> Threshing ill.
It is with some implication of sarcasm that The angel of the Lord addresses Gideon in verse 12
Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

Gideon was not only hiding but was disheartened and losing faith in God
Judges 6:13 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.

God had a greater plan for Gideon - one that involved heroism instead of hiding.
Judges 6:14 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?

Gideon had all kinds of excuses as to why he was no hero.
Judges 6:15 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.

God made it very clear, it doesn't matter who you are or what natural advantages you might or might not have.
What matters is that I will be with you.
Judges 6:16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
God's only solution to our inadequacy is, "I will be with thee."

Gideon then looks to prove God's calling and we see in the next few verses -

A COMMONER COMMISSIONED
When we are called of God to do something great for Him, there need be only one question in our mind:
Is it God?
Gideon asked this question in the only way he knew how, He asked for a sign.
Judges 6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.

He then asked the Lord to wait for him while he prepared a meal for this man whom he must have suspected of being God's prophet.
Judges 6:18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

So Gideon went and prepared a meal, taking probably several hours to do so and then returned with the fruit of his labors to give what he had to God's messenger.
Judges 6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.

The Angel of God had a strange request for Gideon.
He told Gideon to place his well-prepared meal on a nearby rock and pour out the soup so diligently made.
Judges 6:20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

It is here that the Angel of the Lord put forth his staff and touched the offering.
It was immediately consumed by fire.
Judges 6:21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
So it is when we put what we have on the altar, God confirms our gift of service in a way that is meant to encourage us to take courage and move forward in His name.

There are several ways we can confirm God's calling in our life.
Gideon could not go to the pages of first and second Timothy to read of God's calling on a person.
There was no pastor or fellow believer with whom he could counsel to confirm his calling. He simply asked for a sign.
We need not asked for a similar burst of flame as we have great advantages that Gideon did not.
We can follow the following protocol:
1.) Confirm your calling with Scripture
2.) Confirm your calling with Christian advisors
3.) Confirm your calling with Service

Judges 6:22 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.
23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

It wasn't long before this newly commissioned commoner received his first mission.

A MIDNIGHT RAID
It is not a direct assault on the Midianites that God requires of Gideon.
It never is.
God always is concerned with cleaning house before going to battle.
Judges 6:25 ¶ 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:
26 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 mission was specific and pointed.
Get the idols out and rebuild the altar to God.

Gideon went to work that very night.
Judges 6:27 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.
28 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.

If you begin to clean up your home life, and rebuild the altar of worship to God so that He is the center of everything as He should be, you will face opposition and criticism.
Judges 6:29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30 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.

Gideon's father was challenged by his son's actions and stood by him.
Judges 6:31 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.
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.


There is much left to this story of Gideon, but today we must examine ourselves.
Is God calling you out of hiding?
Is God commissioning you to do some great work for Him?
Is God challenging you to change your life overnight?

Take the challenge.
Confirm the calling, and do something great for God.