WEBVTT 00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:05.360 Well, it is an honor to be here this morning to open God's word, and I would just love to begin with prayer. 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:09.279 Um, Lord, we thank you for your word and for your faithfulness to us in it. 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:35.280 And as we read um this text and process and learn from the book of Judges, pray that our hearts would be drawn to you, that we would see your grace and your mercy towards your people, and that we would be given strength and hope that we might endure today and whatever challenges that uh we face as a community, as a church, or in our lives, remembering that Christ is faithful through all of it. 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:37.119 And so we praise things in Jesus' name. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:38.000 Amen. 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:46.159 And so my relationship with James and Megan actually goes all the way back to 2012, which was a minute ago, 13 years ago. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:53.039 Uh, when I was going into my freshman year of college, I got to know them through an organization called the Navigators while we were at a program with the Navs. 00:00:53.119 --> 00:01:03.359 And so it was encouraging because uh for the last 13 years they've been friends, and we I got to know them more in that season, and then now coming back and being here with you as a church is a blessing. 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:08.000 And James is one of the people in my life who has really helped me understand and grasp the gospel. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:18.400 And so, for many ways, I'm grateful to be here and to preach the gospel this morning, and also grateful for the ways that James has played a key role in helping me understand the grace of God towards me. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:26.640 Because one of the things that I really struggled with was a sense of my own shame, sin, and different challenges in my life. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:33.680 And as a young 19-year-old, James uh took me under his wing and helped me understand and see the gospel, understand the scriptures more clearly. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:39.920 So I'm grateful that James is consistently the same person you see today, that who has been who he has been for years. 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:44.719 Um, and the same encouragement he's given us today in church planting is consistent with what he's done. 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:46.560 And so thank you for having us here as a church. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:53.040 It's a blessing to be here, and I think a picture of the unity of the body of Christ to be blessed by this church, um, in many ways sent out by it. 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.599 Um, today we're looking at the story of Gideon from the book of Judges. 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.680 And James said, you know, it's the week after Easter, we're done with a series. 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:05.359 You can preach on anything you want from the book of Judges. 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:08.240 Um that's not what he said. 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:14.240 He's he gave me a good amount of freedom, but this is a great story, and my hope is that as we look at this story, that we'll see two things. 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:25.439 We'll see the grace of God towards us, and that we will be given strength to endure for whatever you're facing or challenging today, as a church, as a community, or as individuals. 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:34.479 And we just read a moment ago from James or from Judges 2, and that kind of gives an overview of the book, but now we're gonna be in one of the more particular stories. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:41.120 Uh, but there's a question that we could ask as we jump into this, and this is a question we've probably all asked at one point in our lives, a couple questions. 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:45.039 God, where are you and what's happening in my life right now? 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:47.759 Where are you and why is this happening? 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:50.639 Why am I going through this challenge? 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:53.520 Why is our church in this situation? 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:55.360 Why is my family in this situation? 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:57.919 Why am I going through this loss of a job? 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:01.520 Why am I going through this grief, through this pain, through this challenge in my marriage? 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:04.240 Where are you in the middle of this? 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:07.039 And that's really where our story begins. 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:19.840 As we're going to be doing a character study of one of the judges in the book of Judges, our character begins in a place of fear and insecurity and questioning where God is in the midst of their crisis as a nation. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:22.800 And so Judges 6:1 begins and it says this. 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:35.919 So the people of Israel did what was evil, the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:45.120 Now, to catch you up on where we're at, just in the Bible, because I know we're jumping into the book of Judges, here's where we're out that God has promised that he's going to make a people for himself. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:46.560 He is a covenant God. 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.439 I will be your God, you will be my people. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.000 And he's promised this from the beginning. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.599 He gives a promise to Abraham, calling him out of his country. 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:03.520 But then the people of Israel, who are descended from Abraham, go into Egypt and they are slaves under their taskmasters in Egypt. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:12.639 And for 400 years they are in slavery, crying out under the taskmasters, and eventually the Lord brings them out of this slavery in Egypt. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:17.680 And the story goes on that God delivers them through a man named Moses. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:22.560 Moses frees them from Pharaoh, he shows the great power and demonstrates the power of God. 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:29.839 Then they're brought near to the land, but they wander in the wilderness for 40 years because they're unfaithful, they keep testing God, they keep disobeying. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:35.439 But eventually they're brought into the promised land of Canaan through Joshua, their leader. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:41.920 Now the people are in the land, but the passage we just read a moment ago gives the overview of what happens when they're in the land. 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:45.040 They've made it, they've been delivered, they've been brought into the promised land. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:46.879 They are the people who belong to God. 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:48.319 He has made a covenant with them. 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:50.000 I will be your God, you will be my people. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:51.360 This is how you should live. 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:54.079 You should follow me with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:55.839 This is what they are to do. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:05.839 But you see quickly that when they're in the land, they look to the gods of the nations around them, they begin to worship these false gods, and they fall away from God. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:20.319 And so God, in judgment for his people and their forsaking of him and his covenant, raises up their enemies who overpower them and overtake them, and the people in this place of anguish and mourning and pain are then delivered. 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:25.519 In the book of Judges, they often cry out to God for help, but sometimes they don't even cry out. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:28.480 And it you just see that God raises up a deliverer. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:32.959 It doesn't even in the text say that they've been crying out, and perhaps they have been, but it's not there. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:38.720 It's just this image of God as this father who loves his children and he sees them and he pities them. 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:41.839 He afflicts them and then he saves them. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:48.639 And a judge comes, like Gideon, who will deliver the people, but then they go back into the idolatry. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:54.000 They continue to look around at the nations around them, they see the gods that they worship, and they begin to worship those gods. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:58.959 And so here we are, and you could imagine the book of Judges like a bad song on repeat. 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:04.480 So the bad song on repeat, but you keep turning the volume up, and it just ends in a record scratch. 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:15.120 Because the end of the book of Judges is just a scene of darkness and horror, where the people of God have forsaken their God, forgot their God, and it looks abysmal. 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:18.399 And so we're in one of these cycles, and here we are. 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:21.040 The people again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:28.480 They begin to worship gods of the nations around them, they do these evil things, and the Lord gives them into this hand of their enemy called Midian. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:35.439 And in this story, Midian and the Amalekites and the people of the East are kind of grouped together as one army. 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:40.560 And what we're gonna do is we're gonna kind of go overview of what's the story, and then we're gonna say, what can we learn from this story? 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:42.399 So that's what we're gonna do today. 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:47.839 So the Midianites and the Amalekites and people of the East, they're pictured like locusts in abundance. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:53.439 And they were on camel, and so they would come into Israel and they would devour their land. 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:55.600 They would devour their food, their crops. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:00.480 And it puts Israel in such a place that the people are living in dens and caves. 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:17.759 Um, their their fruit is being taken away, and they're described their camel, and they are just are said to be with unable to be counted, and they're like locusts, which the locusts come in with power in a swarm, um, and they leave them desolate. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:19.279 And this is the story. 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:31.120 And so it begins with Gideon in this place of desolation, and God sends uh a messenger, a prophet, and he comes and proclaims, Don't you remember I'm the God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and yet now you've worshipped these other gods? 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:37.600 And then God himself appears as the angel of the Lord in Gideon in Judges 6, 11. 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:39.279 And that's what we're gonna pick up. 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:42.240 So here we begin our character study with Gideon. 00:07:42.560 --> 00:08:02.480 And when the story begins with Gideon, it's in a really unique spot because verse 11 says that this angel of the Lord, who's often identified with Yahweh himself, with God Himself, appears to Gideon, but he appears to Gideon in an odd circumstance because he appears to Gideon while Gideon is beating out wheat in the wine press to hide it from the Midianites. 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:03.839 Judges 6.11. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:06.160 So Gideon's beating out wheat in a wine press. 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:10.800 Now, I know probably not all of you are scholars in the ancient Near East, but I bet you can answer this. 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:12.959 What do you think a wine press would be used for? 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:15.360 Wine, yeah, that's right. 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:17.199 So there's something odd here. 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:20.399 He's dealing with wheat in a wine press. 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:26.480 And the reason for this is because where you would normally thresh wheat is on this open floor, a threshing floor. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:31.279 But here, Gideon is actually in hiding, because a wine press would have had some covering. 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:36.320 And so whether he's stooping down or he's down in this wine press, he's hiding from his enemies. 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:39.679 And the Lord appears to him in this moment of crisis. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:48.000 Verse 12 says, And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor. 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:53.039 Which is quite an interesting way to approach him in hiding, O mighty man of valor. 00:08:53.200 --> 00:09:00.879 And Gideon says to him, He says, Please, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:08.159 And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:12.799 But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian. 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:14.480 Do you hear Gideon's question there? 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:17.679 If the Lord is with us, why has this happened? 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:19.600 And where are all your wonderful deeds? 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:34.559 We've heard of your wonderful and mighty deeds, how you saved a people, how you demonstrated your power over the other gods of the nations, of over the gods of Pharaoh, and you showed these plagues, your great deliverance that you all have been preaching throughout redemption for a time in the book of Exodus. 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:35.600 He shows his power. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:37.679 He says, Where are those deeds? 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:40.879 Where are you in the midst of this crisis? 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:47.759 And the Lord commissions him in verse 14 says, Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:49.600 Did I not send you? 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.120 Gideon says, Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:57.840 Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:04.799 But the Lord assures him, in verse 16, I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianite, says one man. 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:08.240 This is the greatest assurance that the Lord could give him, I will be with you. 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:10.799 This is the assurance that he's given his people throughout time. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.279 I am with you always to the very end of the age, says Christ. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:19.519 It was in the burning bush that God, Yahweh, reveals himself and tells Moses, I will be with you. 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:24.399 It said to Joshua, who then leads the people into the promised land, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.879 And God is saying to Gideon, I will be with you, Gideon. 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:31.679 You may be from a small tribe, you may be from something little, but I will be with you. 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:33.840 And this is his assurance as he goes in. 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:35.919 But Gideon wants to know. 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:39.200 He wants to know that the angel of the Lord is really Yahweh. 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:41.919 He wants to know that who is speaking with him is really God. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:43.519 And so he asks for a sign. 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:48.080 And so Gideon prepares a sacrifice, he prepares a meal, and he puts it on an altar. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:58.320 And we're told in verse um 20 to 22 in that area that the angel of the Lord reaches out the tip of his staff and he consumes this offering that Gideon's provided. 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:12.080 So this is a sign to Gideon, seeing the con his his offering consumed, it says, Gideon says in verse 22, Alas, O Lord God, for now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face. 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:13.679 He believes that it's the angel of the Lord. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:17.440 He believes that God is commissioning him, and he's sent out to do this task. 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:30.879 Now, there's an issue because if if Gideon's gonna bring about a sense of uh reform in Israel, he's gonna have to deal with their enemies who are coming and attacking them, but he's also gonna have to deal with something inside of Israel. 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:35.759 Because the reason they keep coming under their enemies is because they themselves are worshiping other gods. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:40.240 And you actually see in the story that Gideon's own family are idol worshippers. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:45.279 His dad, Joash, is involved in the worship of Baal and Asherah. 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:52.799 And so God commissions Gideon, but in verse 25, we're told that Gideon is supposed to do this first. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:57.279 Before he goes and deals with the enemies he has, he has to deal with the problems at home. 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:11.519 And so Gideon's commissioned by the Lord after seeing the sign, and Gideon's told in verse 25, take your father's bowl and the second bowl, seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the asherah that is beside it. 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:35.039 And then he's told, Build an altar to the Lord your God, and take this calf, the seven-year-old calf, which would have likely been used in some sort of ritualistic pagan sacrifice, take that sacr calf, sacrifice it, and burn it on the altar of Baal that's been cut down, and the altar you construct over it, and use the asherah pole as the fire for uh this offering. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:38.159 So this is just a slap in the face to these false gods. 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:44.080 That Baal and Asherah are broken down, cut down, and this offering to God is going to be offered. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.399 And this is what he's told to do. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:50.720 And you see this happen throughout Israel's history, where they continue to worship these other gods. 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:56.240 Something that's helpful to know is that Baal and Asherah are often brought together in their worship. 00:12:56.399 --> 00:13:06.000 Um, and there was often associated with Baal and Asherah some sort of, or gods like them, these sorts of cult prostitute rituals. 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:14.639 And the idea was you go into this practice and you're uh inciting the gods to bring fertility to your land. 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:25.519 You're going and practicing these evil practices so that you might incite the gods to bring fertility and life and crops and abundance to you. 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:34.240 So it's it's a sexual perversion as well as a desire for security, going away from Yahweh. 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:40.639 And God says, Okay, this is the this is the way I want you to go about this, to offer the sacrifice. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:51.759 And we're told in verse 27 that Gideon does this, but we're told he does it by night because he's afraid of the men of the town and his own family. 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:55.600 And so he's obedient in the dark, but he does it. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:12.240 Now the next morning, people wake up and they come out and they see that that this has happened, that the asherah pole has been cut down, that the that the altar has been broken down, that an altar to God has been made, and that this bowl has been sacrificed. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:16.080 And all of a sudden it becomes a scene of people are saying, Who did this? 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:17.440 Who did this? 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:20.799 Um, and they begin to search and they find out it's Gideon. 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:24.000 It's Gideon, the son of Joash, who did this thing. 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:28.639 And they say, Bring out your son in verse 30 to Joash. 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:35.360 They say, Bring out your son that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the asherah beside it. 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:38.960 But Gideon's dad, Joash, gives this defense of him. 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:39.840 Listen to this. 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:44.480 He says, Will you contend for Baal or will you save him? 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:48.159 Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by mourning. 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:54.399 If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down. 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:58.480 So he says, Look, Gideon broke down the altar, right? 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:04.399 But if if Baal's a god, why don't you just let Baal contend for himself? 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:06.320 Can't he take care of himself? 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:12.720 And so this is where Gideon gets his nickname, which is Jerobal, which means let Baal contend against him. 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:20.720 Gideon has contended against Baal, and he gets a name for it, Jerobal, which becomes a name that he takes on. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:31.519 Now, the enemy begins to bat uh gather for their normal hoarding or raiding activities, and they're in this valley called the Valley of Jezreel. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:34.080 And there's a massive horde that comes in and encamps against them. 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:36.240 And so Gideon begins to draw his people together. 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:41.919 But before Gideon now goes and deals with the external enemy, he wants another sign from God. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:45.440 Because he really wants to know that God is with him when he goes about this. 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:50.720 In verse 36, we're told that Gideon does this sign with a fleece. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:58.080 Verse 36 says, If you will save Israel by my hand as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:07.120 If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said. 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:08.720 And we're told that it was so. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:13.440 The next morning he wakes up, he put this fleece of wool, this garment on the threshing floor. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:20.240 He comes out and he wrings it out, it's soaking wet, so he fills a bowl with the water from the dew that's on the fleece. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:24.080 But then Gideon says, Okay, let's run to this back one more time. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.679 The fleece was wet and the ground was dry, but let's flip it. 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:30.960 Let's have the fleece be dry and the ground be wet. 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:36.480 And let's run this one more time, God, so that I can see that you're with me, so that I can see you're going to use me to save your people. 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:38.960 And so God does it again. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:46.399 The next day he wakes up and the dew has covered the threshing floor, but the fleece is dry. 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:48.960 And so it's almost time for battle. 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:51.919 And so Gideon and his men, they they camp out. 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:55.519 In the camp of Midian, their enemy is north of them in the valley. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:57.200 And it's time to prepare for battle. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:03.600 And Gideon has his army all gathered to him, and there's 32,000 of them ready to go against their enemy. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:07.599 And their enemy is about a hundred and thirty-five thousand down in the valley. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:13.119 But before they go into battle, God looks at Gideon's army and says, Uh-oh, there's a problem, Gideon. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:18.960 Verse 2 of chapter 7 says, The Lord said to Gideon, the people with you are too many. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:27.839 The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, My own hand has saved me. 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:30.160 God looks at the army and says, You have too many men. 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:33.039 If you win this battle, you're gonna think, We did it. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:35.680 We were great warriors, we conquered the enemy on our own. 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:39.039 He says, So if anyone's afraid, just let them go home. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:47.200 And this army of 32,000 all of a sudden dwindles down to 10,000, because 22,000 men here, I can go home, and they leave. 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:52.559 So the Lord looks at the army in verse 4 and says, The people are still too many. 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:54.400 You still have too many men, Gideon. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:55.599 This is a problem. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:18:00.400 So now go down to the water, and based on how they drink, there's two different ways they're gonna drink. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:02.960 Um, we're gonna separate them into two groups. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:08.799 Verse 5 says, Everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, you s you shall set by himself. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:11.599 Likewise, everyone who kneels down to drink. 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:14.880 And those who lapped the water like a dog was three hundred men. 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:22.960 And so God says, You can send the rest home, and let's take these three hundred men to go into battle against a hundred and thirty-five thousand men. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:41.519 Now they begin to get ready for this battle, but it's still not quite time for the confrontation, because in verse nine, it's the night of the battle, and the Lord comes to Gideon, and he says, Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:54.400 He says in verse 10, though, but if you are afraid to go down, go down with purr to the camp with Perrh your servant, and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hand shall be strengthened to go down against the camp. 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:57.440 So it says, Gideon, arise, it's time for battle. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:03.200 But if you're afraid, just take Perh, your servant, and go down to the camp, and you're gonna be strengthened by something you hear. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:13.599 So Gideon and Perh go to the outpost of their enemy's camp, and while they're there, they happen upon this story of a dream that one comrade is telling to his other comrade of their enemies. 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:15.359 And this is the story that they hear. 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:16.799 This is the dream. 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:30.960 One comrade of his enemy is telling another, he says, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat. 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:40.480 This is a cake of barley falling through the tent camp, hitting a tent, um putting it on its turning it upside down, making it flat. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:44.720 And the comrade, his enemy who hears this dream, says, I know what this means. 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:49.680 He says, This is no other than the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel. 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:53.359 God has given into his hand Midian in all the camp. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:20:01.519 So Gideon's there, hearing his salvation proclaimed on the lips of his enemy, saying, This is a salvation that God is working. 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:04.240 This this dream means that we're gonna lose. 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:05.920 And Gideon goes back. 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:07.440 After hearing this, he worships. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:12.559 Then he goes back and he returns and he says, Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand. 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:17.440 And he divides his three hundred men into armies of a hundred, and they encircle their enemies. 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:19.599 He says, You do what I do. 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:23.279 They go into battle with a bit of an interesting tactic. 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:27.680 Uh, they have trumpets in their hands, as well as empty jars with torches. 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:40.319 And Gideon says, When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of the camp, and shout for the l a sword for the and shout for the Lord and for Gideon. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:42.880 And so they go around the outskirts. 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:58.160 Gideon and his men prepare for the battle, they blow their trumpets, they smash their jars, and then the three companies together blow their trumpets, smash their jars, and they shout, A sword for the Lord and a sword for and a sword for the Lord and for Gideon. 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:07.039 And while they're encamped around their enemy, their enemy just loses it, and they turn their swords on one another, and their enemy in the camp begins to fight amongst themselves. 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:15.039 And these armies, the three hundred men who are around them, just see their salvation be accomplished as their enemy turns upon themselves and they begin to flee. 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:22.640 And the story goes on as Gideon and his men track down and defeat the princes of Midian, and then eventually the kings of Midian. 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:28.960 And this is a story of how God gives Israel salvation in the day of Gideon. 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:32.720 And the question I want to ask is: what do we learn from this story? 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:35.200 What do we learn from this story? 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:41.279 I think one thing that we see in this faith, this story in this story is the faith of Gideon. 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:44.880 Gideon is in this time of crisis. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:47.200 The land is being overrun. 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:49.839 Their enemies have come and camped against them. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:54.640 And now Gideon is called to follow God in a time of crisis. 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:56.880 A time where he's wondering, God, where are you? 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:59.519 And yet this is when God appears to Gideon and says, Now is the time. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.440 To deliver my people. 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:09.680 But think about the fate that it would have taken Gideon to go against this army of 135,000 men, which is 300 men. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:20.640 The Midianites, the Amalekites, the people of the east, this massive horde, they're described like locusts and abundance, and their camels are described without number, as the sand that's in the sh on the seashore. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:22.160 This is a massive horde. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:29.119 In Judges 7b, though, when God looks at this army, he says, The people with you, Gideon, are too many. 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:30.799 You have too many people. 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:36.480 Now, if you were Gideon in this scenario, you might want to say, wait a second, Lord, let's let's do the math. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:38.880 You just said, the people with me are too many. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:45.119 I think you meant to say the people with them are too many, or the people with us are too few. 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:49.359 We're actually outnumbered about one to four, so the people with them are too many. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:54.640 But the Lord says, no, the people with you are too many, because I know that if you got this victory, you would think it was you. 00:22:55.039 --> 00:23:03.039 You would tell stories of how heroic these 32,000 men were to take on an army of 135,000, and that's the wrong lesson. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.319 And so those who are afraid are allowed to go home. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:11.359 And now it's just 10,000 men, but God still looks at that army and says, it's still too many, still too many. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:17.680 You would tell the story of the heroic 10,000 and how they accomplished victory over their enemy. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:22.640 And so now they're outnumbered 13 to 1 when it's whittled down to just 300. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:26.000 Or now they're it's below that. 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:27.359 So before it'd be 13 to one. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:28.640 Now it's 450 to one. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:33.039 So for every Israelite, they have 450 enemies who they would have to defeat. 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:36.640 God's trying to make a point here that the salvation does not belong to them. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:38.960 Now it's interesting the way that he whittles it down. 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:50.559 There's this drinking test, and some people drink water one way, some another way, and some have made points to that to say that there's perhaps a reason that it's more virtuous to drink water this way or that, so they could see their enemy. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:59.839 I don't know exactly what to make of that, but I don't think the point in this story is the virtue of the 300 men, but it's the power of God. 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:08.000 And the point is he's taking this army of 300, whittling it down to show that the salvation belongs to God alone. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:12.640 But imagine forgetting how much faith does it take to go into this battle? 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:15.039 Even with his battle strategy. 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:18.880 Because the 300 men, they don't really even do anything. 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:25.200 They break jars, they blow trumpets, and they yell, and they receive salvation. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:31.039 God is showing that the power in this belongs to him, but it would have taken faith. 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:39.359 And it took faith for Gideon in this time of crisis to believe that God is the type of God who can go against the 450 to 1 odds. 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:43.680 That he is the type of God who is faithful to save and deliver his people. 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:51.440 And I think what we see then is an example in Gideon of faith in the times of crisis, faith in times where things seem impossible. 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:53.440 And we'll and we'll face this in our own lives. 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:58.240 I think about the challenges that you all have gone through as a church over the last years. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:06.799 Surely there were many times, or there would have been times when you had to move across town, when you went through a pandemic, where you'd say, How is God getting us through this? 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:08.640 What is he doing in the midst of this? 00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:11.599 I don't understand and see how God is working in this. 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:19.279 And yet it takes faith to trust that God is working and moving when things just aren't seen. 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.160 I think about this as we're going about the work of church planting. 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:34.160 There's very much this trust that God is going to accomplish his purposes and whatever place we get to play in that, we're going to be faithful, believing that God is going to continue to reach people with the gospel, continue to move forward. 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:42.079 No doubt there's times in your own life, whether it's in loss of a job, in a marriage, in relationships, or you just wonder, God, where are you? 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:43.279 Why is this happening? 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:50.400 And it takes faith to believe that the 450 to 1 odds are okay because God is with you. 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:54.640 So we see an example before us in this story of Gideon. 00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:59.440 And so the first lesson I want you to get from this story is that you should be like Gideon. 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:02.720 Gideon trusted God in a time of crisis. 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:09.279 So the first lesson is you should be like Gideon, which leads us naturally to our second lesson, which is that you should not be like Gideon. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:14.319 I edited some some parts out in that first point. 00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:16.559 So, of course, Gideon is used by God. 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:17.680 I wanted that to be clear. 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:19.759 He's used by God and he exercises faith. 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:23.119 But Gideon is not a perfect character throughout this story. 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:27.920 And you see this pretty clearly that he has some major flaws as a character. 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:31.039 And one of those is that he's actually characterized by doubt. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:34.400 You notice it was three signs that he asked for from the Lord. 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:42.400 He asks for the offering to be consumed or to be given a sign when he gives this offering to the angel of the Lord, and the angel of the Lord does that. 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:49.839 But when it comes time now to go and tear down the altar of Baal and cut down the asherah and sacrifice the bull, he does it at night. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:53.680 There's this fear of his family, this fear of this men of the town. 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:56.000 And so he's obedient in the dark. 00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:00.640 There's a sign of God's faithfulness, but there's still this trepidation. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:03.680 And then before he goes into battle, he asks for another sign. 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:08.160 He says, Okay, let's do the thing with the we uh the fleece of wool. 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:12.240 I'm gonna lay it on the ground, and if it's wet, then I'll know that you're with me. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:13.440 And he wrings it out, and it's wet. 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:16.240 But he says, Okay, let's let's do it, let's run it back one more time. 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:17.599 I need to know that you're with me. 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:20.319 Let's have it, the fleece be dry and the ground wet. 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:23.519 And you might be wondering, what's up with the fleece of wool? 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:24.640 Why would he do this? 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:26.880 But here's something that's really good to know. 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:32.720 He's been given a nickname, Jerobaal, which means let Baal contend against him. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:43.920 Now, Baal is known as the storm god, the God who controls the rain, the dew, the thunder, the lightning. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:47.920 And so when Gideon's doing this, you can imagine what might be going through his mind. 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:50.160 God, they've given me a name, Jerobaal. 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.079 Let Baal contend against him. 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:54.640 But what happens if he does? 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:57.759 What happens if Baal contends against me? 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:00.640 And so he asks for a sign with the dew. 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:05.599 To know that God is more powerful than Baal, the God of dew. 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:08.720 To know that God is truly with him and that he will deliver him. 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:12.960 Can you show me that you are the God who controls the dew? 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:19.839 There's this uncertainty, this need for assurance from God before he goes into the battle. 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:28.319 But not only does Gideon seem to have this struggle with doubt and uncertainty and asking for signs from the Lord, he also leaves a really poor legacy. 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:35.200 So after this salvation is accomplished for the people of Israel, they come to him and they say, Gideon, you're the best. 00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:38.559 We want you and your sons to be our king. 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:41.839 We want you to rule over us and your sons to rule over us. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:45.119 And Gideon in Judges 8 23 says this. 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:54.880 Like, good job, Gideon. 00:28:55.039 --> 00:28:58.480 It's like, I'm not going to take the place of king, I'm not going to rule over you. 00:28:58.640 --> 00:28:59.680 The Lord is your king. 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:01.599 The Lord will rule over you. 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:09.119 But even though he seemingly rejects the role of king, he goes on to do some of the things that bad kings do. 00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:13.440 In Deuteronomy 17, there's a number of things they're told not to do. 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:16.799 Don't get a lot of horses, don't get a lot of gold, don't get a lot of wives. 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:22.160 And what we see that Gideon does is he gets a lot of gold and a lot of wives. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:28.559 And with that gold that he gets, he makes a golden ephod. 00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:38.240 Now, an ephod was a garment worn by the priest, and that often is tied to discerning the will of God because of what was housed in a the umun and the therm. 00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:39.759 Oh, someone can help me with that. 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.480 Uh but the umen and the thermin, so thummin. 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:45.759 Umun and thumin. 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:47.599 So um thank you. 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:53.279 Uh so these two things are often used for discerning the will of God and housing the golden ep and get housing the ephod. 00:29:53.440 --> 00:30:02.240 And so it appears that there's a sense of perhaps some have suggested maybe Gideon's trying to still, he still needs more discerning of God's will. 00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:03.920 He's still asking for signs from God. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:11.599 Um it's not exactly clear from the text, but there is this point, which is he makes this golden ephod, and it becomes a snare to Gideon. 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:22.720 Judges 8.27 says that he puts it in his home city, and that all Israel hoard after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:26.160 Now there's a scene when God brings his people out of Exodus. 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:36.160 It's called the golden calf incident, and Aaron, who's one of the leaders, takes the earrings and melts them down to bring out a golden calf that they worship. 00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:46.480 And the fascinating thing is that Gideon takes a spoil in earrings, they melt it down, he builds this golden ephod, and the people begin to worship it. 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:48.160 It becomes an idol to them. 00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:49.599 So what is Gideon doing? 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:51.839 He's repeating this fall into idolatry. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:58.720 Gideon, Jerobal, the one who contends against Baal, is now leading his people back into idolatry. 00:30:59.119 --> 00:31:03.599 And his legacy is tarnished because of it. 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:09.920 And we're told that there's 40 years of rest, no more war for 40 years after Gideon accomplishes his victory. 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:13.359 But it's Judges 8:33 to 35, this is what we read. 00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:20.880 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals, and made Baal bereath their God. 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:35.039 And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerobael, that is Gideon, in return for all the good that he had done to Israel. 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:38.319 And just like that, Gideon and his legacy are gone. 00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:45.759 He brings the people rest and salvation, but at his death they turn away, and they make Baal Barith their God. 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:53.119 Now to top it off, if that wasn't bad enough, Gideon has a son, and he names him Abimelech. 00:31:53.599 --> 00:31:58.480 And this is one of his sons through one of his con or through his concubine, or one of his concubines. 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:02.640 Um he has a concubine, and Abimelech comes through that line. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:04.400 No, here's something interesting. 00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:07.039 Abimelech is means this. 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:09.920 It means Abby, father, and Melech king. 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:12.000 It means my father is king. 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:14.240 So Gideon might be telling the story one day. 00:32:14.319 --> 00:32:17.440 Yeah, and then they said, let's have you be king over us. 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:21.680 And he said, and I said, I'm not gonna be your king, and my children won't be your king. 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:24.559 And he says, Hey, my father is king, get over here. 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:26.319 I want you to meet this man. 00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:28.000 You imagine the scene, right? 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:34.000 It's like he's betraying his own words by naming his son, my father is king, when he said, I won't be your king. 00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:37.680 And so Abimelech, through the concubine. 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:42.319 And Abimelech, after Gideon's dead, says, I want to be king. 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:45.920 And so he kills the 70 sons of Gideon. 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:49.519 His 70 sons, and he kills them, all except for one Jotham. 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:58.319 And then eventually Abimelech's own legacy is that he gets a upper millstone thrown on his head from a tower, and it crushes his skull, and he dies. 00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:07.359 And so, if you want to do a Bible study on intergenerational leadership, I would not recommend Gideon as your character. 00:33:08.160 --> 00:33:10.160 Unless you're looking for negative examples. 00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:14.000 What that means then is Gideon's not the hero of this story. 00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:15.440 Who's the hero? 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:19.440 I think clearly the answer is that God is the hero of this story. 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:22.319 God is the true savior of his people. 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:26.000 He's and that's why he chooses to use this army of 300. 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:30.480 But the incredible thing is this: that he really does use Gideon. 00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:37.759 That he really does call Gideon, that he really does strengthen the faith of Gideon to be used in that. 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:45.920 And so it's accurate on one hand to say you should be like Gideon, but it's also accurate to say you should not be like Gideon. 00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:48.079 And that brings us to our third point. 00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:49.680 Point one, you should be like Gideon. 00:33:49.839 --> 00:33:51.119 Point two, you shouldn't be like Gideon. 00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:52.480 But here's point three. 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:54.559 You you are like Gideon. 00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:58.559 And you're you're a lot more like Gideon than you might recognize. 00:33:58.799 --> 00:34:04.720 You see, Gideon's this ordinary, flawed, weak, sinful character. 00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:06.720