THE LORD CALLS GIDEON

Judges 6: 1-32                                     Lesson 7

Key verses 6: 14                                 Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

“The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

In this passage we see God, drawing his people unto himself. He hears their cries and raises up for them a deliverer. As the passage opens we find the Israelites sinning against the Lord by worshiping the gods of the Canaanites. The Lord allowed hoards of Midianites to invade and oppress his people. Israel was impoverished and cried out to the Lord. He sent a prophet to reveal to them the reason for their suffering. He also called a young man, named Gideon. God saw Gideon for what he would be, not for what he was. God provided a sign, confirming his call. Gideon accepted the call of God, standing on the side of truth even when it was a difficult task. God calls each of us as he calls Gideon. May we see God’s sign confirming our calling. May we answer the call and learn what it means to go in the strength that we have!

Part l: Once Again They Cried Out To The Lord (1-10)

The Israelites were about to repeat their old habits. Look at verse 1, which reads, “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.” After Deborah was raised up, the land enjoyed peace for 40 years. But now the people were falling away again from being faithful to the Lord. That is often the case. Most of the time we do not quickly fall away from the Lord. It can be a slow fade that takes place over many years. When it happens however, we should not be surprised if we become beset with many problems, just as the Israelites were overrun by the Midianites.

First of all, who were the Midianties? Midian was the fourth son of Abraham by Keturah (Genesis 25:1, 2). Apparently one of the children was sent eastward with gifts from Abraham so not to interfere with Isaac’s growth as a patriarch. His descendants, the Midianites, became a people dwelling south and east of Palestine, in the desert north of the Arabian Peninsula. The Midianites and Ishmaelites intermarried, roaming the northern part of the Arabian Desert. Eventually they were known as Arabs. In the east, they had transformed themselves into camel-riding nomads. They were the first people to domesticate the camel on a large scale, which gave them increased desert mobility. They chose to attack the Israelites when the harvest was ripe, “like grasshoppers” and destroying “the increase of the earth.” This passage is the final mentioning of the Midianites in scripture (Judges 6:1-8, 28)

The Israelites suffered greatly under their oppression. Look at verse 2. “Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.” The Midianites were powerful aggressors. The lives of God’s people were miserable. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the eastern peoples invaded the country filling them with fear so that they could not function properly as a society. They ravaged the land like a plague, like a swarm of locusts, ruining the crops all the way to Gaza, not sparing a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. It was impossible to count them or their camels, nor could they be stopped. (4-5) But God was leading his people out of their darkness. Instead of becoming embittered, they turned to the Lord. Verse 6 reads, “Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.” God was with them. Their hearts turned to him in prayer. He heard their cries and set out to deliver them under Gideon’s leadership.

The ravaging of the Midianties reminds us of the ravaging that occurs because of our sins. Our sins impoverish us. Our sins hinder us from living a normal life. They keep in “dark caves”. They hinder us from bearing fruit. They make us despair, unable to live the life God wants for us. We should never blame God for this. It is not God’s fault. This is consistent with what the Bible says, Isaiah 59:2-3 reads, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.” This is the truth.

But we must know the all important truth…God is there, ready to save. Verse one of the same chapter in Isaiah reads, ““Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. “ (Isa 59:1) We may find our lives ravaged by sin, but God’s love is greater than all of our sins. Jesus’ cross is wide enough to bridge the gap between us and God. The love of God and the power of the word of God is enough to heal us of all the damage caused by our sins and free us from the oppression that we live under because of our sins. We need to muster enough strength to cry out to the Lord and Jesus sets us free! Praise the Lord!

In response to their cries, God sent them a prophet to remind them of God’s power and grace. Look at verses 8-9, “he sent them a prophet, who said, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land.’” Let’s think of the prophet’s words. The first thing the prophet did was to remind them of grace of God and of how he had delivered them by his power. The Israelites has been slaves in Egypt for four centuries. God raised up a deliverer, Moses, who led his people through the Red Sea and through the desert for forty years, all the way up to the Promised Land. Then he established his people in the land under the leadership of Joshua. He made them into a nation with the hope that they might be a light to the Gentiles. He blessed them in so many ways. Our God is faithful. He will always be faithful to send us a harbinger of truth in our times of need. And these people, sent by God, will remind us of similar things, like the grace of God.

They needed the right attitude towards the God who saves. Look at verse 10a. “I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live…’” God reminded his people of  who he is. He is God, the only one worthy of our worship. He is the Lord, whom they should serve. The Israelites should have a fear of God in their hearts and come to God with the right attitude, never worshipping the gods of the culture they live in. This is healthy response to grace.

Lastly, God reminds them of their sin. Look at verse 10b, “…But you have not listened to me.” Most people don’t like this part of a conversation with God. But we can not avoid the fact that God reminded them of their sin of not listening to him. This neglect got them in their present “terrible” situation in the first place. They needed to hear the truth and repent and come to God for salvation. May God raise up servants of God, like this prophet, who can follow God’s leading and deliver the word of God in God’s way. May we have the strength to listen to the truth even if it is convicting.

Part ll: God calls Gideon (11-24)

God continued help his people by calling another judge, Gideon. He was the fifth judge of Israel, and possibly the greatest of them all. Gideon means, “he that cuts down.” In his early years, the only thing he was cutting down were trees to supply firewood for his mom’s kitchen. He was the youngest son of Joash, born to an ordinary family who lived near Shechem. Gideon was a hard working man threshing grain for his family. He felt the oppression of the Midianites and so he hid in a winepress to thresh wheat, complaining to God for abandoning his people. Maybe the beaten wheat and the chaff being blown away reminded him of his peoples’ predicament. Despite of his despairing situation, he was a survivor, for he found a way to overcome and provide for his family. But he was basically on the defensive, doing nothing to set himself and his people free from their oppression.

God wanted more from Gideon than just surviving. And so, God, seeing his potential, called him. Look verse 12. “When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.’” Gideon was trying to be inconspicuous, threshing in a wine press, but God called him “mighty warrior”. God saw his inner person. He saw him for what he would become, a “mighty warrior”. Jesus is like this. Jesus saw Peter as the Rock of the church, and changed his name from Simon (Sand) to Peter (Rock). What would God call each of you if he approached you in the same way? Thank God for Jesus who sees us with eyes of hope and faith, seeing what we will become as we live our lives in him.

Gideon had the wrong perception of what God was doing. Verse 13 reads, “’Pardon me, my lord; Gideon replied, ‘but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” He could not see the love of God in all that happening. He was complaining, blaming God for the hardship of his people. He was basically asking, “Where is God in all of this?” He failed to see that God working. God allowed the situation to happen because the people had abandoned him. God’s purpose was to draw the people back to himself. Gideon didn’t see the love of God. We must always see the love of God shining through our all of our sufferings.

God didn’t give into Gideon’s complaints. He challenged him, telling Gideon to move forward in faith. Look at Verse 14. “The LORD turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’” His strength was not a lot. He had strength to just do his daily duties. His strength was sapped by the oppression of the Midiantes. But from God’s point of view, the strength Gideon had was more than enough to accomplish the task for which he was called. It was not much, but it was enough. The strength that you have is enough. This is a recurrent theme in the Bible. Jesus teaches us to offer up our five loaves and two fish. He also states in Matthew 17:20, “ …Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Faith the size of a mustard seed is enough.

Gideon was hindered by his human limitations. Look at verse 15. “‘Pardon me, my lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’” Do you remember someone else doing this? What about Moses? Gideon saw the impossibilities and forgot that with God, anything is possible. We are tempted to look at our own limitations, saying, “I am too young”, or “I don’t know the Bible enough.” It is only natural for us to think this way. But we must remember that God is with us and we are not going in our own strength. Jesus is with us. God promises us complete victory when we step out in the power of faith. Look verse 16. “The LORD answered, ‘I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.’” God promises to be with us and give us, not just partial victory, but complete victory over all our spiritual oppressors.

God obliged Gideon with a sign. Look at verses 17 & 18. “Gideon replied, ‘If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And the LORD said, “I will wait until you return.” It is ok to ask for a sign once and a while. Gideon was a sincere man who wanted to worship God from his heart. If a sign was needed for Gideon to commit his life to God then so be it. God has answered all of my questions and provided many signs to help me to commit my life to Christ. We can ask God for a sign and if it is our desire is to seek to know Jesus and follow Jesus as a servant of God, then he will provide signs. But if it is just to satisfy our curiosity don’t expect anything. God sees and knows our hearts.

Gideon set out to seek God’s answer in a sincere way. Look at verse 19. “Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.” Gideon knew the basics about religious practice. He did the best that he knew to please God. His worship of God contained elements of humility, sacrifice and obedience. God accepted his sincere seeking after the Lord. Look at verse 20-22, “The angel of God said to him, ‘Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. Then the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”” God is pleased to reveal himself to, and to call those, who seek him out of a pure heart.

Gideon’s encounter with the Lord, brought him peace. Look at verse 23-24, “ But the LORD said to him, ‘Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.’ 24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” Gideon had been afraid, that he would die for he saw an angel of the Lord with his own eyes. But in this event, Gideon’s heart was filled with peace.

God’s peace is something that all of us need. Before meeting Jesus we had no peace from God. Our souls were like restless wanderers in this world. We were tossed back and forth like ships tossed in the waves. More than that, we were at odds with God. It was like our hearts with its many sins, and dark desires, were at war with the holy God. This lack of peace manifested itself in so many ways, in fear, in condemnation, in anxiety and sorrow and a restless spirit. But when we have a sincere heart and offer up our hearts in worship to God, like Gideon and especially when we take hold of the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus who died on the cross in our behalf, then we can have the peace of God. Jesus once said, in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” This peace of God can only be found in Jesus and his precious Gospel.

Part lll: Gideon Was Called Out to Be Separate (25-32)

God wanted to Gideon to break free from all spiritual comprises and live a holy life. Look at verse 25-26 “That same night the LORD said to him, ‘Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.” Apparently, Gideon’s family was severely compromised as a people of God. They were Israelites, but they were worshipping Baal and Asherah, the god of the Amorites. The should have given their whole hearts to God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt; the God who made them into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation; the God who brought them into the Promised Land.

What they did was like a Christian family having the shrines and altars of other religions in their house and yard. It seems weird to us. But in so many ways the Christian is doing the same thing when they worship the gods of this land and set up altars in their hearts and homes. When we corrupt our faith with the religions and godless philosophies of the world, then we are doing the same thing that Gideon’s father did.

God was going to rebuke them through one of their own. God was very clear about what Gideon needed to do. He needed to eradicate the comprises of his father’s family. He obeyed God’s command. One night he tore down the altar of Baal and sacrificed his father’s best bull. In the present age, this is how we are to deal with idols in our own hearts. A personal experience with the living God turns indecisive people into bold and fearless servants of the Lord.

Whenever one stands up for the things of God, persecution is sure to follow. Gideon was not exempt to this rule. Look at verses 29-30. “They asked each other, ‘Who did this?’ When they carefully investigated, they were told, ‘Gideon son of Joash did it.’30 The people of the town demanded of Joash, ‘Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.’” Gideon stood up for the Lord. He was afraid but he overcame and he was persecuted for his faith. Even by his own people. It took a lot of courage for what he did. He had to go against the grain. He had to tell his parents and his people that they were wrong. He was like a living fish swimming upstream.

The Bible tells us that the same will happen to those who live a sincere life in Christ. They will be persecuted. (2 Tim 3:12.) This should not surprise us. Jesus was persecuted by his hometown people also. Matthew 13:56-58 reads, “Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.’ 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Has there been any persecution, or opposition to your faith in Jesus? Hold fast to the Lord. Obey his will and he will be at your side, seeing you through it.

God protected him through his father. Look at verse 31-32, “But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, ‘Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.’ 32 So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal[f] that day, saying, ‘Let Baal contend with him.’” God stepped in through his father. Gideon had just broken down his altars and killed a bull and brought shame upon the family in the village and yet his father stuck for him. This is an act of God! He was a good father, standing up for his son. We need to always stand up for our kids, even if we don’t agree with them.

In this passage we find God, who heard the cries of his people and came to them, reminding them of his grace and helping them to repent of their sins. We see God who called a young man, named Gideon, seeing him for what he would become as he lived out his calling. God provided a sign, confirming his call. We thank God for Gideon, who accepted the call of God and stood on the side of truth even when it was difficult. May we come to know the God who hears our prayer. May we know the God who calls his people in times of crisis. When God calls us, may we answer the call like Gideon knowing that the strength that we already have is more than enough! If you must, ask God for a sign. He may oblige you.