GIDEON

Judges 6

Gotta admit it. Gideon is my favorite judge, and one of my favorite OT stories. For one thing, the tale takes away any excuse you or I have about why we cannot serve the Lord. Whatever else this judge's success teaches, we learn the Lord can use anyone. If Gideon, then why not me?

This time when Israel sinned, Midian was the nation or people that harassed Israel. Think of settlers of the old American west living among “wild Indians,” for the Midianites functioned more like tribal raiders than systematic warfare. They made raids during harvest to confiscate the crops. Year round they might roundup cattle or sheep. Isralites camped out in caves to escape these vicious people.

So one day, the Lord sends an angel to this dude named Gideon. We find Gideon threshing wheat – or trying to – in a wine vat. Now consider. A wine vat is a hole in the ground for crushing grapes. Threshing is done on a hilltop where the wind more easily can blow the chaff away and let the grain fall on the ground. This guy was so scared he tried to do the impossible.

That's why I always picture the scene with the angel leaning against a tree, picking his teeth, while he sarcastically comments, “Hail thou mighty man of valor...” Man of valor indeed, this coward. But listen as he continues, “The Lord is with you...”

Now Gideon gets sarcastic: “Oh yeah? If the Lord is with us, why do I have to be in this hole. If He did all that stuff they say He did for our ancestors, why doesn't He help us?” Don't let anybody tell you it's a sin to argue with God. Many of the heroes in the Bible did. But be careful. God always won!

The angel continued: “Go in this might of yours to deliver Israel. Am I not sending you?” Like Moses in Exodus 3 (and maybe you and me), Gideon answered, “Who? Me?” He continues, “Look, God, I'm a nobody from a family of nobodies. My family is at the bottom of the pecking order in our tribe, and I'm the youngest of the bunch.” Doesn't he sound pitiful? And don't we when the Lord calls us to do something we don't want to?

And then God gives the basic promise that He gives over and over in the Bible and that underlies EVERY promise in the Bible: I WILL BE WITH YOU! And God feels that's always good enough! He tells Gideon he will take down the whole tribe of Midian as if they were only one man. Gideon still needs convincing, so he asks for a sign. The angel said he would hang around a while longer. So Gideon goes and prepared a meal of goat and bread and some broth. The angel instructed him to put the meat and bread on a rock and pour the broth over it, which he did. The angel extended his rod to touch the offering, and fire blazed up to consume it. Then he disappear briefly, but apparently returned now and then with instructions.

The fire and disappearance impressed Gideon to believe in what happened as being a true appearance of the Lord. So the Lord then told him what to do next. Part of Israel's sin that got them in trouble was worshipping foreign gods. In Gabriel's village was an altar to Baal. Following instructions (but at night for fear of being seen) he tore down the altar of Baal, built a new one the the Lord (YAHWEH) and offered a bull on it. The next day the villagers went to his house and asked the father, Joash, to bring out his son to answer for his crime. But Joash showed there was ssterner stuff in his family after all. He answered, “I thought Baal was a god. If he is, he should be able to take care of himself. Let him deal with it.” so they went away.

Next, Gideon sends out a call to war. While they were answering his call, our hero turns to the Lord for another sign. “I'm going to put out a wool fleece on the lawn tonight. In the morning, if it's soaked with due and the ground is dry, i'll know you will help me deliver Israel.” So he did and the Lord did, and Gideon said, “How about two out of three? “Tonight I'll do the same thing, but this time let the fleee be dry and the ground wet.” So he put the fleece out again, and the Lord filled his request and took away his last excuse.

>Note on “putting out the fleece:” I believe in putting out fleeces provided that the fleece is related to the proposed action. Examples: If you want me to visit, let the weather be clear, so I can travel that dirt road easily. Or – if you want me to start this class, let some people show up after we advertise it. I do not believe in fleeces unrelated to the event (as Gideon's was).

To Gideon's surprise a huge number or warriors showed up in answer to his call. He began to feel better already. But then the Lord demonstrated He used a different form of military strategy and mathematics. “Too many,” He said, “Tell those scared to go home.” Out of 32,000, 22,000 went home. Still, 10,000 was a good number. “Still too many,” saith the Lord. “You'll brag if you win with that many.

Take them to the water to get a drink. Then divide them based on how they drink/” Israel went to the water. Most of them knelt and brought the water to their mouths with their hands. Only 300 of the 10,000 lapped the water like a dog. “Those are the ones I want. Send the rest home,” said God.

So with so few men, the Lord must have some powerful secret weapons, right? Indeed! Trumpets, ceramic pitchers, and lamps or torches! In the middle of the night, Gideon divided the men into three companies and scattered them in the hills above the Midianites. Imagine being wakened from a deep sleep by the crash of 300 pitchers breaking againsst the rocks, hearing the sound of 300 trumpets blown by men who had never blown a trumpet before, climbing to your feet and seeing the hills ablaze with lights all around! Then they heard the battle cry, “A sword for Yahweh and Gideon!” apparently they blew the trumpets again, and the Midianites must have begun stumbling in the dark to get out of there. As they did they ran into each other, thinking the one they ran into was attacking and so defended himself. The Midianites started killing each other in the dark as they escaped, or tried to.

At that point Gideon called back the men he had excused and sent them to head off the fleeing enemy, which they did.