“The Judges: Gideon”

Scripture: Judges 6:1-8:35 (selected)

Scripture tells us that after Deborah’s passing, Israel had peace for 40 years, but during that time, they began “doing evil” again, and after 7 years, the Lord allowed the Midianites to take control of the people.
And our story isn’t much different than theirs. The church grows, and then we fall back, and we cry out to the Lord, and he sends someone to renew our faith, and for a while, the church grows again. It seems that we never learn. The prophets and other leaders in faith are strong and wise, and they show us “the better way”. But just as Israel had done for thousands of years, we forget. We forget what the Lord has done for us, we forget the importance of his decrees, we forget the blessings of following in his way, we forget to be vigilant to the dangers of making our own way in the world.
And Israel would continue to forget, too – over and over again. And once again they would cry out to the very God they had denied and abandoned, until that faithful Lord would once again come to them and remind them of all that he had done for them, and that it was them who had intentionally turned away from the perfect way. But their Almighty God would not abandon them forever, and would soon send another rescuer to them – and this time his name was Gideon.

Read Judges 6:11-13

Gideon asks the age old question – “If God is truly with us, why are all of these bad things happening? Has he lead us and blessed us for countless centuries, only to turn us over to be destroyed by our enemies?” And he never gets an answer to his question, just God’s call to “Go and save Israel, Don’t doubt, don’t hesitate – just go, and I will be with you!” (v. 6:14-16).
And isn’t that enough? Do we need to know how and why God works in the world? Do we need to understand his reasons? “Just trust that I know what I’m doing!” But the lack of trust is a human trait that has plagued us for millennia.
Moses doubted that he could do any good back in Egypt - he couldn’t even speak well, but with the Lord, he lead the people on a 40 year journey and overcame obstacle after obstacle; Saul doubted that David had any chance against Goliath, and yet the giant would fall at the hand of this young boy; the widow of Zarephath doubted that she had any resources to feed Elijah even 1 meager meal, but she soon discovered that she had enough to sustain not only the prophet, but her and her son as well, throughout the years of famine; Jeremiah doubted that he, as a young boy, could carry the word of God to Israel, and yet he became a mighty prophet in the Lord’s service; The disciples doubted that 5,000 people could be fed with only 5 loaves and 2 small fish, but it happened just the same. (Based on Homiletics Online)

What are our doubts and fears? That our church may not be able to survive for another 25 or 50 or 100 years? That we are unable or unworthy to carry the gospel message to the unchurched? That we could never love the sinners of the world as much as we love the sinners within the church? Philippians 4:12-13 is our only hope of victory – “I can do all things though him who gives me strength.” Do we still doubt that God would ever give us the strength and courage and wisdom to do the things he asks us to do?
Gideon believed that God could, but he would ask for 2 signs to prove that it was, indeed, God’s desire, and not his own. (6:36-38 & 6:39-40) And he would soon know for certain that it was truly God’s will that he would be the one who would destroy Midian’s hold on the people.

And so, Gideon would lead the army out to do battle, but the Lord knew that there were just too many warriors – if they won the battle, they could claim that it was their strength that gained the victory. So the Lord began to whittle down their numbers. His first cut sent 10,000 home, but the remaining 22, 000 were still too powerful.

Read Judges 7:4-8

300 Israelites against the entire Midianite army? 300 versus 120,000? At this point, any normal person might have serious doubts as to God’s sanity, but Gideon trusted and obediently moved on to prepare for the night of battle.
But it wouldn’t be a battle in any normal sense. The judge looked to the Lord God Jehovah for instruction, and they were told that the 300 would be armed with trumpets and torches and a few swords, and that the outcome was already determined. (v.7:10-25) There could be no doubt that God was to be the instrument of the victory, but that Israel would be the recipient.

Read Judges 7:20-25

But the kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, escaped with a force of 15,000, which was still a significant force when compared to the 300 of Israel, but Gideon pursued them just the same.

Read Judges 8:10-12

And the Lord was, indeed, victorious! And Israel would enjoy peace once again for 40 years (v. 8:28), but all was not perfect in the nation.
There would be those who felt that they, too, should have been honored by being allowed to participate in the battle (v. 8:1-3). They didn’t seem to understand that the battle was to be for them, and not by them.
There were those who wanted Gideon, the hero, to be their king, but he would tell the people that neither he nor his sons would ever rule over them – that only God should serve in that capacity. (v. 8:22-23)
Gideon would create an ephod to commemorate the victory – an ephod was a priestly symbol signifying, to some degree, that God was present and honored. But the people began to worship the symbol instead of God, and Gideon would be embarrassed that he had ever created the commemorative item. (v. 8:24-27)

Israel would almost immediately begin to slip back into their old ways – they wanted personal glory instead of simply enjoying the Lord’s glory that had been delivered to them. They wanted a human ruler instead of a heavenly one, even though any human king would be imperfect and fallible, while the Godly one was perfect and mighty in every way. They wanted to worship a physical presence, even though it had absolutely no power or ability, while the divine and unseen One could do everything for them.

Gideon knew the power of God long before Christ and the Holy Spirit came into the world. Gideon trusted in that power, he depended on that power, he rejoiced in the power, he honored that power. And all things came to be because of his faith.

How strong is our faith? Do we trust God implicitly? Do we follow his call on our lives without hesitation or doubt? I doubt that any of us has ever been called to exhibit the degree of trust that Gideon had – would you intentionally go into battle against overwhelming odds, armed primarily with trumpets and torches? All we are being called to do is to simply and authentically live out our faith right here, right now.

Do you trust God enough to be in his word daily, discovering those things that you may not want to know? Do you trust God enough to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), and believe that he will give a response in not only the small things of life but also for the vitally important, and most improbable and impossible things? Do you trust God enough to go when he says go? And to stay when he says stay? Do you trust God enough to give him all that you have - to tithe - to give 10% of all of your resources - your income, your time and your abilities? The lesson that we must take from Gideon’s story is that there is no substitute for faith in Almighty God. When the people of God focus their hearts and minds in the Lord, and trust in his goodness, and follow his commands, and give him the honor and glory that he so richly deserves – and, by the way, which he shares with us, then there can be nothing, NOTHING that will ever be impossible for his Church!
But it must always begin and end with the Lord. For Gideon, he began in his Jehovah God when he asked for proof that it was God’s desire that he was hearing, and it ended with the Lord’s complete victory over the Midianites. For us, we begin when we open our entire life to the call that our Lord Jesus Christ places on us, and our task will only be complete when he is finished.

Do you trust him as much as Gideon did? Will this trust sustain you when those bad things in life seem to constantly come up against you? When our faith is solid and set in the Lord, just as Gideon’s was, the results will be no less significant.
May the Church, the Body of Jesus Christ, grow and thrive and work for his glory and good – nothing more and nothing less.