Gideon: Learning that God helps

Service,Peter Schütt, 6 October 2002, Evangelical Free Church Leichlingen, Kreuzkirche, more...

Introduction

Today we are talking about Gideon and the lesson he was to learn.

He had to learn that God would help him.

Gideon's story begins with a sentence in Judges 6, which we often read in the book of Judges (chapter 6, 1a):

And the sons of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.\end">bible">

And that always got them into trouble. Usually God always gave them into the hand of an enemy, and this time it was the Midianites: (v1.b)

Then the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.

And this reign was very cruel: (vv. 2-6)

2 And the hand of Midian became strong over Israel. Before Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the holes in the rocks that are in the mountains, and the caves and the mountain strongholds. 3 And it came to pass, when Israel had sown, that Midian came up, and Amalek and the sons of the east came up against them. 4 And they encamped against them and devastated the produce of the land as far as Gaza. And they left no food in Israel, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys. 5 For they came up with their flocks and with their tents, and came in great numbers like locusts; they and their camels were innumerable. And they came into the land to devastate it. 6 So Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian. And the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD for help.

I don't know if you've ever wondered whether what God is doing here is right. And it's not the only time. He often gave Israel into the hand of an enemy when they had properly turned away from God.

Why does God give them into the hand of the Midianites here? Why doesn't he act according to the motto "OK, you are free people; do what you want!"?

There are two possible points of view here:

God is all-powerful and if he wants

God knows the earth and life here

So in this case, Israel itself is to blame for its suffering. But there are of course many other cases where the sufferers are not to blame for their suffering and where the question of "why" looms large. Even as a Christian and Bible reader, I usually don't have an answer to the question of why there is so much suffering on our earth, but I know that God is still there.

Psalm 23 says: "Even if I am in the valley of the shadow of death, God is still with me.

We don't have the promise of being able to understand or even avoid all the dark valleys in our lives, but we do have the promise that Jesus, if we belong to him, will accompany us through these valleys.

I think the second is true. God has a specific plan for everything. The only problem is that we usually can't see through God's plan. We simply don't understand what is happening around us here on earth. Every now and then he lets us take a look behind the scenes, but usually we have no idea.

In the episodes described in the Bible, we often see the beginning and the end of an event and can therefore sometimes understand why God has acted in this way, and sometimes why he has allowed suffering.

This text describes how God applies the old principle that "necessity teaches prayer": Israel becomes poor, their existence is at stake, so they pray. Yes, they even cry out to God.

Let us return to the text:

V.7-10;

7 And it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD for help because of Midian, 8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the sons of Israel. He said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I brought you up out of Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all your oppressors. And I drove them out from before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God: you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed my voice.

God had predicted it: I will deliver you and give you a good land. But if you forsake my commandments and turn away from me, you will be in trouble.

They have turned away and are in real trouble.

The passage could be misunderstood to imply that God has a "see you" attitude here. Someone has sinned and has to bear the consequences and then God comes and says: "See, that's what you get." That could be misunderstood here.

But such a "See?" attitude or a similar "I told you so" attitude - more common among older people - doesn't help, of course. The most common response is "I know that myself. Leave me alone!" attitude.

God emphasised Israel's sin here because they apparently didn't realise what they had done wrong. This also becomes clear later with Gideon. And God emphasises that he keeps his word. It is therefore important that God makes the sin clear.

But it doesn't stop there. In contrast to people with a "see" attitude, God helps.

Gideon's calling

Gideon is addressed by God:

V.11-13;

11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth that was by Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. And his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to bring it to safety from Midian. 12 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, 'The LORD is with you, O valiant one! 13 And Gideon said to him, 'Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why have we been struck by all these things? And where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did the LORD not bring us up out of Egypt? But now the LORD has rejected us and given us into the hand of Midian.

On the one hand, it becomes clear here that Gideon was not aware that the disaster over Israel was due to Israel's sin. But we have to give him credit here for the fact that he was still young. Adults are often not honest enough to tell their children that they - the adults - are often to blame for the misfortune that also affects their children. But I assume that everyone present who has children takes the effects on their children into account when making decisions.

Gideon's main problem, however, is that he can no longer really believe that God helps. "Where is God?" he asks here. Do we dare to ask this question? If God is really with us, why has this or that happened to me? Where was he, where was his work? What conclusion do you come to when you look at your life? Have you experienced God's great miracles, or do you only know such miracles from stories and Christian books? Or do you perhaps come to the conclusion, like Gideon, that God is not interested in you? He doesn't do anything, you might think.

What is interesting is what the angel said to him beforehand:

The LORD is with you, you brave hero!

God is not indifferent to how Gideon is doing. God is interested in him and is already hinting at Gideon's future calling, namely to be a hero.

It is no different today. Whoever has given his life to Jesus, Jesus has promised that he will always be with him until the end of time (Matthew 28:20). This also applies no matter what you feel and think. Just think of the dark valleys mentioned earlier.

God now gives Gideon a general commission:

V.14;

Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?\end">bible">

God gives him, who cannot really believe that God is interested in him, a mission. And it is an extremely important mission. God has something in mind for him.

God has something in mind for everyone who has given their life to Jesus. It may not always be a mission like "Save my people", but everyone is good for something in the kingdom of God.

Do you believe that? Gideon didn't believe that.

V.15;

But he said to him, "Please, my lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my thousands are the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house.

Me, Lord? What can I do?

The reader of this text naturally thinks that this Gideon is stooping low. It's like in some films where the supposedly ugly woman really only has ugly glasses on and is dressed inconspicuously. In the same way, Gideon already has bravery in him and is still insecure.

But I - the reader continues to think - I am really not very gifted to move anything in the kingdom of God, I - to use the image from the film again - am really not very pretty.

But God is not bound to what you think of yourself. He may have tasks in store for you that you may not even be aware of.

Even Gideon is amazed:

V.16;

Then the LORD said to him, "I will be with you, and you will strike Midian like a single man.

Is that possible? Psalm 18:30 says:

With my God I can leap over a wall.\end">bible">

Perhaps also the wall of my fears, the wall of my "I can't do it anyway"?

It is interesting that Gideon does not throw himself into his new task with a "Yay, here we go". He wants to make sure that God is really with him: (vv. 17-24a)

17 Then he said to him, "If I have found favour in your sight, give me a sign that it is you who are talking to me. 18 Do not leave here until I come back to you and bring out my gift and set it before you. He said: I will stay until you return. 19 So Gideon went in and prepared a kid of the goats and unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. And he brought it out to him under the terebinth and set [it] before him. 20 And the angel of God said to him, 'Take the meat and the unleavened bread and put it on this rock. And pour out the broth. And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Then fire came up from the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened bread. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon saw that it was the angel of the LORD, and Gideon said, "Alas, O LORD, I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face! 23 Then the LORD said to him, "Peace be with you! Do not be afraid; you will not die. 24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it Yahweh-Shalom (The LORD is peace).

Gideon asks for a sign to be really sure that it is God who is calling him.
Is this now small faith along the lines of "I only believe what I see"? Or to put it piously: is this a change in seeing and not in believing?

I think that this attitude of wanting to be sure that it is really God who is calling him is very positive. Throughout the history of mankind, there are always people who claim to act in God's favour and who then cause a lot of suffering through their actions, which unfortunately are not in God's favour.

We should adopt the attitude of wanting to be sure that what we do is really God's will.
But finding out God's will should not mainly be about asking for a sign. This does not occur in everyday life in the Bible, but only at extraordinary points. And I think that at special points in life or before particularly difficult and far-reaching decisions, you can also ask God for a sign for confirmation.

Gideon takes the consequences of the sign he receives and builds an altar first.

Gideon's first task

He then receives his first concrete task: (vv. 25-27)

25 And it came about that night that the LORD said to him, "Take a young bull from the herd that belongs to your father, the second bull, the one seven years old. And tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is by it. 26 And build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this mountain fortress in the [right] way. And take the second bull and sacrifice [it] as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you are to cut down. 27 So Gideon took ten men from his servants and did as the LORD had spoken to him. And it came to pass, because he was afraid of his father's house and of the men of the city to do it by day, that he did it by night.

Gideon begins. He is still somewhat limited in his fear, but he starts.

We don't have to jump 5 metres over our shadow, but let's start with 10cm; that's still better than not jumping at all.

Joseph of Arimathea has become an example for me of a fearful Christian who nevertheless acts within his means: (John 19:38)

Afterwards (after the crucifixion) Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one, out of fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to allow him to remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate allowed it. So he came and took away the body of Jesus.

Obviously he was afraid, but he acted within his means and what he did was important and right.

Are you afraid? Are you afraid of ridicule if you say something about Jesus? Start with people who don't mock. Start and the fear will diminish.

But Gideon's deed comes to light and he experiences God's help for the first time: (vv. 28-32)

28 And when the men of the city rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was overthrown, and the Asherah that had stood by it was cut down, and the second bull was sacrificed as a burnt offering on the [newly] built altar. 29 Then they said one to the other: Who has done this? And they enquired and asked, and it was said, 'Gideon son of Joash did this. 30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son! He must die because he overthrew the altar of Baal and because he cut down the Asherah that was by it. 31 But Joash said to all who stood with him: Do you want to accuse Baal, or do you want to save him? Whoever brings a charge against him shall be put to death until morning. If he is a god, let him bring charges against himself, because his altar has been overthrown. 32 And on that day he was called Jerub-Baal, that is, let Baal bring an accusation against him because he has overthrown his altar.

Gideon had been afraid of his father's house (v. 27) - the altar of Baal and the Asherah idol belonged to his father - which is why he had carried out his deed by night. And now his father Joash stands by him and protects him. And Joash apparently had something to say in the city, so everyone listens to him.

Help from completely unexpected quarters: That will often happen when you are travelling in the kingdom of God.

This was Gideon's first lesson in the subject "God wills and will help".

Gideon's great mission

V.33-35;

33 Then all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east gathered together, and they crossed over and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon. And he sounded a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout the tribe of Manasseh, and they too were called together to follow him. And he sent messengers through Asher and through Zebulun and through Naphtali. And they went up to meet them.

Now it starts. Gideon accepts the mission and gathers his troops.

But he remains uncertain:

36 And Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken, - 37 behold, I am laying [freshly] shorn wool on the threshing floor. When there is dew on the wool alone and dryness on all the ground, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken. 38 And it came to pass. And he rose early the next morning, and he pressed out the wool and squeezed dew from the wool, a [whole] bowl full of water. 39 And Gideon said to God, "Do not kindle your anger against me. And I will speak only this time. Let me try just this once more with the wool: Let there be dryness on the wool alone, and let there be dew on all the ground! 40 And God did so that night: there was dryness on the wool alone, and dew on all the ground.

This is certainly the best-known passage in connection with Gideon.

He asks for a miraculous sign so that he can be absolutely certain.

It is sometimes said that if you are unsure, then lay out wool or a (sheep) skin (depending on the Bible translation) and that means that you should then ask God for a sign.

The difference to the sign before is that in the previous sign Gideon left the nature of the sign up to God.

Generally speaking: somehow make it clear to me through a sign that this is my mission. But the sign must also be so clear that I cannot misunderstand it under any circumstances. That was the idea behind the first sign request.

But now with this sign with the wool, Gideon sets the sign.

And that's actually nothing more than throwing dice. You could also take a die and say: a six means yes and the rest means no. And then you pray: Lord grant that the die falls as you wish, and then, bang, you have God's will. If it's a tilt, you have to repeat it. And if you have more faith, then you take 5 dice and 5 sixes at once mean yes and the rest no. 5 sixes are very unlikely. Or if you want to be sure, then you ask God that you roll a six eleven times in a row if it is to be "yes", because then the chance is statistically lower than a six in the lottery. You could also take a pack of cards and say the ace of hearts means yes and the rest means no, but that's where we start to feel uneasy, because card games are often misused for fortune-telling.

What I'm getting at is that there are certainly cases where we don't know what to do and ask for a miracle and God in his grace then grants us the miracle. But IMHO that should remain an absolute exception, because otherwise you could really be rolling the dice.

But Gideon now marches off: (chap. 7, 1-8)

1 And Jerub-Baal, that is, Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early and encamped at the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was north of him, on the hill of More, in the valley. 2 And the LORD said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too numerous for me to deliver Midian into their hand. Israel shall not be able to boast against me, saying, My hand has delivered me. 3 And now proclaim in the ears of the people: Let him who is fearful and despondent turn back from the mountains of Gilead! So 22,000 [men] of the people turned back, and 10,000 were left. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are still too numerous. Bring them down to the water, and I will purify them for you there. And it shall be done, of whom I will tell you: This one shall go with you! - he shall go with you. And everyone of whom I will say to you: This one shall not go with you! - he shall not go. 5 So he led the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "Everyone who licks the water with his tongue, as a dog licks, set him apart; and everyone who sits down on his knees to drink. 6 And the number of those who licked [by bringing the water] to their mouths with their hand was three hundred men; and all the rest of the people had sat down on their knees to drink water. 7 Then the LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men who licked, I will save you and deliver Midian into your hand. But all the [rest of the] people shall go, each to his own place. 8 And they took the provisions of the [rest of the] people and their horns. So he sent all the men of Israel away, each to his tent, but he kept the three hundred men. And the camp of Midian was under him in the valley.

That is the next lesson. We humans think that if we work together with many people, everything works better, and the more people are involved, the better. We organise something together, we do a joint evangelisation with other churches, for example, and then everything works much better.

Of course, we cannot deduce from the text that co-operation with a larger number of people is in principle a bad thing. But we should avoid God having to say to us:

"Your co-workers are too numerous for your project to succeed. You should not be able to boast: We have succeeded."

The following text describes how God gave victory to 300 Israelites against 120,000 Midianites.

Gideon experienced here that God really helps and learnt his lesson.

Are we also prepared to learn again and again that God helps?

AMEN