Judges 7
Yesterday was the Wimbledon Ladies Final. The loser described this as the worst day ever, but the winner described it as the best day ever. Here we see an example of two extremes – from worst to best. You could tell it all over their faces. Here in the book of Judges, you have the best on show – God’s salvation is at work and on display. The worst is also on show, we see God’s people and how quickly they abandoned the Lord, and the consequences that came. The book of Judges follows Moses and Joshua. The people of Israel receive rest but they also turn and see other gods and start worshipping them. Then, God gave them over to oppressors. They cry out to God, who raises a judge. This cycle of rest, refusing God, oppression, a cry out and God who raises a judge, is a pattern that repeats itself over and over.
Who does God raise up? Gideon. Who is Gideon? “Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.” (Joshua 6:11). In one sense, Gideon is a nobody who God has made into a somebody. God uses people like Gideon to bring glory to himself. God uses people even like Gideon, who isn’t unsure of himself – he asks God for reassurance. God comes down to his level and goes gives him reassurance.
Verses 1 to 8. What is power?
Here, we have the very powerful presence of the Midianites. Numbers is power. Military is power. Others view power as how much money you have. The Israelites had been oppressed for seven years, weak and hiding in caves. They have lost a sense of God’s power. Power, we see is the Lord in control. Gideon has managed to amass a large, great army. Now God is going to show what real power is, “The Lord said to Gideon, “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.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.” (v.2).
God says Gideon has got too many men. Power is not needing a really big army. With the Lord it is different. 22,000 men was too many. Those who were afraid could go back, leaving 10,000 men. There were still too many men, And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” (v.4). The numbers needed to go down even further. God told Gideon to take them down to the river and separate them even more. Eventually, 300 men were left, who God would use to save them from the Midianites.
The Lord is always in control. The Lord was the one who gave them over to their oppressors, and it is the Lord who will save them from the oppressors. The army is whittled down to 300. Gideon does not even know how many Midianites he is facing. It shows us that there is nothing too hard for our God. He knows everything. God is not someone who we can quantify. He is beyond all that. People want evidence – the evidence is in creation. We need faith.
Do you believe that God has a purpose and a plan for you? He calls you to come and serve Him, to follow Him. Don’t put God in a box. Scripture shows that God surpasses what the world expects. If we put God in a box, into some kind of framework, into a meeting that starts at a certain time and finishes at a certain time, is that who the Lord is? You can’t put God in a box.
Jesus Christ shows us who God is. Jesus is the unexpected. He did things that people had never seen and heard before. That’s power! That same power is available to you if you are a Christian. What is power? It is the way the Lord works.
Verses 9 to 14. What is endurance?
Is 300 enough? The Lord knows Gideon is weak, “But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. (v.10). Here are two resources that God gives Gideon. Firstly, he gives him Purah, a servant. Gideon was not alone. God gave him Purah to go with him. Secondly, God also gives Gideon His word in a dream. “When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread 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.” And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” (vs 13-14). As Purah and Gideon overhear the conversation, Gideon learns he is going to overturn the Midianites.
What reassurances does God give His people today? Others, His church, and his Word. They go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. You can’t say you are a Christian and not need other Christians, you can’t say you are a Christian and not need God’s word.
Assurance goes further. Assurance causes Gideon to act and worship God. It builds more assurance, and he stops doubting. It helps him to move forward. We have His Holy Spirit living inside of us. In Gideon’s anxiety, he was asked not to look at himself, but to look at the Lord. Anxiety is huge, but there is a principle here. When we struggle, we are not to focus on ourselves because we are powerless. We are to look to the Lord. Our greatest anxiety is death, but Jesus defeated death. Faith – moving forward with the assurance that God gives. Turn more to God’s word. Talk more to God’s people. Use the resources God has given us.
Verses 15 onwards. What is confidence?
Here is the master plan of how to have confidence and defeat the enemy: trumpets, jars and torches! The Midianites were defeated with trumpets, jars and torches! It is the Lord’s plan. The Lord is the one who is doing it. It is incredible what each man held in his position around the camp. The weakest battle plan ever, yet it results in triumph.
The cross of Jesus looks like the weakest plan and yet it results in triumph. Jesus hanging on the cross, dying – yet three days later He was raised to life. Do you, as Christians, ever doubt you can know God and be forgiven? God uses nobody’s like a Gideon. God used Gideon to bring glory to himself.
This story is not about Gideon. Look what happens, “22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels[b] of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27 And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.” (Judges 8:22-27).
After all that happened, Gideon does not want to rule over the Israelites – God will. But then how he acts becomes a snare. The book of Judges shows us faith and works go hand in hand. Yes, we are God’s people, but look at what God’s people do – they look to other gods. Judges shows us God is patient with His people. He is gracious despite our lack of love for him. God deliverers his people when they do not deserve it.
Were it not for God’s patience and mercy, we would be somewhere else this morning and have a different eternity. God alone rescues people like you and me. We don’t bring anything to the table. He alone is worthy of our worship. We are not always who we say we are, but look to the Lord and His goodness.
The cross is not just about forgiveness. In the messiness of Christian life and when we turn to other things we know are not good for us, Romans are reminds us, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus.” Israel had no king. We live in a time when leaders make decisions, people talk of the right of ‘I’ and the right of ‘me.’ In all the messiness, God is still the same yesterday, today and forever. God is patient, wanting everyone to come to repentance. God still wants to save people like you and me.
Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch 