Judges 6:1-8:21: Gideon's Underwhelming Strength; God's Overwhelming Victory
Introduction: Fear
Fear. It is such a strong human emotion, isn’t it? We see a threat. We are afraid. And that fear causes us to run and hide. Or it causes us to prepare to fight. Fear is what causes that ‘fight or flight’ mechanism.
There are situations were fear is completely appropriate. Think of the good things fear can do. It can keep you on the right side of the road, and keep you honest, on the straight and narrow.
Fear is a God-given emotion that saves lives. Fear makes us realistic. It makes us look at the way the world is, not as a fantasy. Take a fear of heights. I have a slight fear of heights. I experience it occasionally when I am looking out over the three sisters at Katoomba. That fear tells me, in the quickest way possible, how God has made the world. It reminds me God made gravity. And gravity is a good thing. God made rocks very hard. And they too are very useful. And the human body is a wonderful creation. And I’m glad I have one. On their own, each of these things is good. But a wonderfully made human body that falls off a cliff does not appreciate the wonders either of gravity or hard rocks. And fear tells me these things straight away. Sometimes you see a bumper sticker that says ‘No Fear’. I think it means ‘No brains’.
In our world, fear is a good thing. But our problem as sinful people, is we don’t understand our world properly. And so we choose the wrong things to fear. We don’t fear the things we should. And we fear the things we shouldn’t.
Much of Jesus’ ministry involved correcting peoples’ fears. He pointed out misplaced fear. He urged people to place their fear in the proper things. So he says to his disciples in Luke 12:4-5:
I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet, not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (NIV)
We need to place our fear in the right things and redirect our fear from the things we think we should fear, to God, the God who has the power of heaven and hell, but who is also the God who loves and cares for us. We need to fear God, so we need not be afraid of anything. And I notice there is a Christian take off of the ‘No fear’ bumper sticker. It says ‘Fear God’.
Israel: A nation in sin
We return to Judges today. Our Judge is Gideon. And Israel again has done evil in the eyes of God. And their sin stemmed from their misplaced fear. God sent them a prophet to tell them this. So in chapter 6 verse 10 we read:
I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But you have not obeyed my voice. (ESV)
Note, the NIVs ‘worship’ is better rendered 'fear', as in the King James Bible, the ESV, and other versions. So the people of Israel have chosen a wrong fear. They chose to fear the Amorite gods and not Yahweh, the God who brought them out of Egypt.
And so God gives them something else to fear: the Midianites. The picture we are given of them is of locusts. They are environmental vandals, taking over the land like locusts, chewing it up, and spitting it out. This was Yahweh’s punishment for their faithlessness. Yahweh sent it as a divine chastisement to drive them back to him. They were impoverished, starved, oppressed. And in their pain they cried out to him, just as God intended. And friends, when we are in pain and distress, we must take this as divine chastisement. It is God’s discipline for his children. He loves us enough not to let us continue our own way, but uses these hardships for our good, to bring us back to him.
Yahweh: The God who saves
It is God who has sent the Midianites. So it will be God who will save his people. God causes them to cry out to him. So God will save them his way, because salvation is from God. He has bound them over to their disobedience so that he might save them his way. And his way is mercy (compare Romans 11:32).
How does God save?
And we see throughout the Gideon story how God saves. It is by grace from first to last. It is by grace they were saved, through faith, not of themselves, it was a gift from God, and not by their works, so that none of them may boast.
It was by grace they were saved. We see that in the gracious selection of Gideon. He finds grace, or favour, in the eyes of Yahweh (Judges 6:14-24, especially verses 17, 24)
There doesn’t seem to be anything special about Gideon. He belongs to a Baal worshipping family. He is not particularly courageous. The angel visits him trying to hide the grain from the Midianites. He is afraid, and full of doubts about the angel’s message. But Yahweh says this to Gideon in verse 12:“The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:12 NIV)
It is hard to believe that Yahweh is describing the Gideon that is there. Is God looking at the same Gideon we are?
No, this is God’s creative word, the powerful word that calls things into being. God calls things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). And because God says it, it is true. It will happen, despite all appearances. Gideon is a ‘mighty warrior’ as far as God is concerned, even as he hides in the winepress from the Midianites (Judges 6:11).
So the command in verse 14, 'Go in the strength you have' (NIV) is literally, “Go in this your strength” And what is Gideon’s strength? Gideon’s strength is Yahweh. God has named him ‘mighty warrior’. And it is true, despite all appearances to the contrary. And Gideon is called to trust God, not what he sees. It is by grace they were saved, through faith.
Do you really believe God’s word about you, despite what you see? Do you believe that you are righteous in God’s sight by Christ’s merit, despite all your sinful thoughts, words and deeds? Do you really believe that God has the power to call things not being into being? Do you really believe that God has adopted you as his son and heir, despite all appearances to the contrary? God’s word is creative. If he calls you ‘mighty warrior’, or ‘righteous’, or ‘my son, my daughter’, that is what you are. Trust him.
And it was not of themselves, lest anyone boast (Judges 7:2). This is what lay behind God sending most of Israel’s troops home. We see this in chapter 7 verses 2 and 3:
The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” (NIV)
Israel did not save herself. God chose a way of saving them which left them in no doubt. They were not saved by their own strength, nor works, nor deservings. Their salvation was God’s gift. So they could not boast about it.
So it is with us. God chose a way of delivering us, savings us, that excludes all boasting: Christ crucified. The sin bearing death of the Lord Jesus Christ for us, is the way we are saved. If we had the power or strength to save ourselves, God never would have sent his Son to die for us. If righteousness could be gained by ourselves, Christ died for nothing. May we never boast, except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So that is how God saves his people, both then and now. By grace. Through faith. Not of ourselves, lest anyone boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The Ministry of the Word ...
But we must notice the power of God’s word and sacraments here. Gideon is full of doubt, fearful and anxious. He is slow of heart to believe. But again and again, God patiently, mercifully and graciously, repeats his promises.
- Chapter 6 verse 12: The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.
- Chapter 6 verse 14: Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?
- Chapter 6 verse 16: I will be with you and you will strike down all the Midianites together.
- Chapter 7 verse 7: With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand.
- Chapter 7 verse 9: Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.
And God gives Gideon his Spirit, enabling Gideon to take God at his word.
- Chapter 6 verse 34: Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.
God has enabled what he has commanded by giving his Spirit.
…and the Sacraments
But God is not simply content to give his word. He also gives sacraments to Gideon, tokens of God’s kindness and condescension. God knows Gideon’s weakness. God knows Gideon desires to see something more tangible. He knows Gideon has only little faith. And so God consents to use three visual aids, three visible words, that God uses to confirm His promises to Gideon.
First, God accepts Gideon’s sacrifice (Judges 6:17-24). Gideon with his own eyes sees his offering miraculously burnt up. It was a sign that God was talking to him, and that God’s word could be trusted.
Second, there are the fleeces (Judges 6:36-40). Gideon knows that putting the fleeces out was testing God. God’s word should have been enough for him. But again, God graciously gave him the signs he sought, to confirm his word.
Third, there is the dream, which Gideon hears from his enemy. Gideon is like a loaf of bread, a bread roll, rolling down the hill, and overturns the enemy’s tent (Judges 7:9-14). And when a bread roll knocks over a tent, as it does, of course you would think that it couldn’t be anything but Gideon, could it? Gideon is a little bread roll, but God is going to use him to knock down the entire enemy army. Here are three signs, three visible words, which God graciously gives to confirm God’s promises and strengthen Gideon.
Friends, God still is kind to us. He gives us sacraments, signs of his promises and word. He gives us the Lord’s Supper, this little visual aid of eating the bread and drinking the wine in remembrance of Christ's death and lifting our eyes to where Christ is now, seated in heaven, to confirm God’s promises to us, that Jesus died for our sin, and that God forgives our sin, on account of Jesus.
And God gives us baptism, a visual aid of our union with Christ. We were joined to Jesus in his death. We were joined to Jesus in his resurrection. We are new creatures in his sight. We are dead to sin and alive to God.
Friends, are you doubting, are your fearful. Then trust God’s word. And use the means he has given. After examining yourself, come to the Lord’s Supper. Take the bread and the wine to strengthen you. To remind you that Jesus’ death was for you. And if you haven’t been baptized, why not? What a great opportunity to celebrate dying and rising with Jesus. Use the sacraments God has given to strengthen your faith. God is kind. He has given us these things to confirm and seal his word to us. So let’s use them.
Gideon: God’s Judge through faith, fear and failure.
Lastly, let’s take a brief look at God’s chosen judge, Gideon. And we see a man developing and the declining. He grows into faith, but then he falls. God moves Gideon from fear to faith. But after bringing forth faith, we see Gideon fall and decline. His failures are likewise painted for us.
Fear (Judges 6)
The first picture we have of Gideon is characterized by fear. We’ve already seen him at the start of the story. He is working secretly, hiding the grain from the Midianites. And we can understand this, for God has given his people up to them to punish them.
Fearing death (Judges 6:22)
But Gideon’s journey from fear to faith is a long one. God brings him to understand that there is someone more scary than the Midianites. For the man under his tree is no ordinary stranger. He is the Angel of Yahweh. And once he realizes this, he cries out in a new kind of fear. Verses 22 and 23:
Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” 23But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die. (NIV)
I think there are some good elements in this fear. He is now seeing Yahweh as he is. God has the power of his life and death. But it is also the sort of fear that shows he hasn’t really been listening. Despite all the assurances, 'I am with you', 'I am sending you', he still thinks God means to harm him. Yahweh hasn’t come to take Gideon's life, but to save his life, and through him, to save the Israelites.
Fearing the family (Judges 6:25-32)
Gideon’s first task is to hack down his father’s idols. Charity begins at home. But so does change. He needs to take the log out of his own eye. If it is Yahweh who saves, it is Yahweh who will be served. So we read verse 27:
So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime. (NIV)
I can sympathise with Gideon's mode of operations. But we must say, Yes, through faith he obeys, but it is faith mixed with fear. Perhaps you know this fear, especially if your family or your workmates aren’t Christians. At one level, it is completely understandable. Why not show a little bit of discretion? We can sympathise with him, especially because the town wants to put him to death.
Fearing the enemy (Judges 6:33-7:14)
And so we shouldn’t be surprised, that as the great confrontation with Midian approaches, Gideon again gets cold feet. Despite having the promises of God and the Spirit of God, he is still fearful.
That, I think, is what motivated the fleeces. That whole process was faith giving way to fear. You see it in chapter 6 verse 37:
“Look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” (NIV)
That is not trusting God. That is testing God.
However, the turning point for Gideon is overhearing the dream. Chapter 7 verses 10 and 11, God says: 'If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah, and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.' (NIV)
Faith (Judges 7; Hebrews 11:32-34)
What turned this fearful man into a conquering General? It was when he finally trusted God’s promises and acted on them. It was faith. So the author to the Hebrews says of Gideon, that he…
‘through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice and gained what was promised… escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies…. (Hebrews 11:32-34 NIV)
In the end, we can take heart from Gideon. Despite the long and winding path, he became a person who trusted God’s promises.
Failure (Judges 8)
However, almost no sooner than we see Gideon’s faith, we see another change. We see failure, in the form of pride, presumption, vengeance.
Kings are better than princes (Judges 7:24-8:9)
We see this new ruthless Gideon in the relentless pursuit of the two Kings. Ephraim have come out and defeated two Midianite princes (Judges 7:24-25). And they sharply criticize Gideon. And Gideon answers wisely, ‘What was I able to do compared to you?’ (Judges 8:3). But Gideon is about to show them what he is able to do compared to do Ephraim. Ephraim got the two princes. But Gideon is going to get the two Kings. So he relentlessly pushes his exhausted men on. He promises to torture, kill and ruin his own people and their towns when they won’t help him (Judges 8:7,9). Gideon doubted God, yet God mercifully spared him. His fellow Israelites doubted him, yet Gideon mercilessly kills them.
Gideon’s vengeance breaks Israel’s peace (Judges 6:23-24; 8:9; 13-17, 18-21).
The victory has not yet been won, yet Gideon’s vengeance breaks Israel’s peace, even as it is just being won (Judges 8:9, 13-17, 18-21). When Gideon thought he was going to die, Yahweh said ‘Peace, do not be afraid, you are not going to die’ (Judges 6:23-24). But the victorious Gideon fails to bring peace to his people. This is the failure of Gideon. He was called to Judge Israel. Yet Gideon is the first Judge who turns on his own people. And he sets the pattern for Abimelech his son and Jephthah, and the disasters at the end of the book of Judges.
The Ephod (Judges 8:22-27, 33-35)
And Gideon’s failure doesn’t stop there. At the beginning of his career, he hacked down his Father’s idols. But by the end of his career, he has set up his own Ephod, something which God didn’t ask for. It wasn’t as if Israel didn’t have an Ephod. The Priest had the Ephod, and Gideon could have gone to him to inquire of Yahweh any time he wanted the way God wanted. But we read in chapter 8 verse 27:
Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family. (NIV)
And this foolish decision led to Israel’s quick fall into apostasy. Chapter 8 verse 33:
No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. (NIV)
This was Gideon’s problem. He would not unfailingly trust God’s word. Before his victory, he doubted God’s promises. After his victory, he ignored God and his Word. Gideon served God on his terms. And therefore Gideon is a warning to us. Even those with faith can fall. In our presumption, in our confidence, we can make up our own religion, our own way to serve Yahweh, and this will be a snare, not just for us, but for the generations that will follow us. We will see this next week, in Gideon’s Son, Abimelech.
But now, let’s pray.