Gideon – An Unlikely Hero
Introduction:
Read Hebrews 11:32-34. “And what more shall I say? For
the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and
Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the
prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of
lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge
of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became
valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the
aliens.”
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These six men all had a tremendous impact upon the lives
of God’s people. The first name listed, Gideon, was
probably the least likely to be a hero. A hero is a
person who in the face of danger or adversity shows
courage even to the point of self-sacrifice.
Christopher Reeve said, “I think a hero is an ordinary
individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in
spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Jehovah often used
unlikely people to carry out his will. (I
Corinthians 1:26-29) “For you see your calling,
brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame
the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the
world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and
the base things of the world and the things which are
despised God has chosen, and the things which are not,
to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh
should glory in His presence.”
NKJV
Body:
I.
Gideon’s Land
·
Israel did what was evil. (Judges 6:1) They turned
from Jehovah, the only true God, to worshipping idols,
false gods.
·
God used the Midianites and Amalekites to discipline His
people. (Judges 6:1-5) “Then the children of Israel did
evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered
them into the hand of Midian for seven years, and the
hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the
Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves
the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in
the mountains. So it was, whenever Israel had sown,
Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people
of the East would come up against them. Then they would
encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth
as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel,
neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. For they would come up
with their livestock and their tents, coming in as
numerous as locust; both they and their camels were
without number; and they would enter the land to destroy
it.”
NKJV
·
Israel reached a state of poverty and deprivation.
(Judges 6:6)
·
The people cried out. It was a cry of anguish because
of their distress. (Judges 6:6-7) “So Israel was
greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the
children of Israel cried out to the Lord. And it came
to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the
Lord because of the Midianites,”
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·
A prophet was sent to them by God who reminded them of
how Jehovah had saved them in the past but they had
turned their backs on Him. (Judges 6:8-10) “that
the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who
said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I
brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the
house of bondage; and I delivered you out of the hand of
the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed
you, and drove them out before you and gave you their
land. Also I said to you, I am the Lord your God; do not
fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.
But you have not obeyed My voice.’ ”
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II.
Gideon’s Fear
·
He had fear of Midianites. A winepress was more hidden
than a threshing floor which was out in the open. We
can almost picture him nervously peeking out of the pit
of the winepress to see if Midianites were close.
(Judges 6:11) “Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat
under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which
belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon
threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it
from the Midianites.”
NKJV
·
He was scared because he believed God was not there.
(Judges 6:12-13) “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to
him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty
man of valor!’ Gideon said to Him, ‘O my lord, if the
Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?
And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us
about, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?
But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into
the hands of the Midianites.’ ”
NKJV
·
He was afraid because he didn’t think he had the
ability. (Judges 6:14-18) “Then the Lord turned to
him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours, and you shall
save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not
sent you?’ So he said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I
save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh,
and I am the least in my father’s house.’ And the Lord
said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall
defeat the Midianites as one man.’ Then he said to Him,
‘If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a
sign that it is You who talk with me. Do not depart
from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my
offering and set it before You.’ And He said, ‘I will
wait until you come back.’ ”
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“Poor” means weak, feeble.
·
He feared his father’s family and the men of the city.
(Judges 6:25-27) “Now it came to pass the same night
that the Lord said to him, ‘Take your father’s young
bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down
the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the
wooden image that is beside it; and build an altar to
the Lord your God on top of this rock in the proper
arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt
sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut
down.’ So Gideon took ten men from among his servants
and did as the Lord had said to him, But because he
feared his father’s household and the men of the city
too much to do it by day, he did it by night.”
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·
He was afraid to check out the enemy by himself.
(Judges 7:9-11) “It happened on the same night that the
Lord said to him, ‘Arise, go down against the camp, for
I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are
afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your
servant, and you shall hear what they say; and afterward
your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the
camp.’ Then he went down with Purah his servant to the
outpost of the armed men who were in the camp.”
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III.
Gideon’s Victory
·
An angel of the Lord told him that he was a mighty man
of valor. (Judges 6:12)
·
God appointed Gideon to be a deliverer of his people.
(Judges 6:14)
·
God assured him of victory. (Judges 6:22-24) “Now
Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So
Gideon said, ‘Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the
Angel of the Lord face to face.’ Then the Lord said to
him, ‘Peace by with you; do not fear, you shall not
die.’ So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and
called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in
Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”
NKJV
“Jehovah is my peace.”
·
God gave him evidence. (Judges 6:36-40) “So Gideon
said to God, ‘If You will save Israel by my hand as You
have said – look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the
threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and
it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You
will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.’ And it
was so. When he rose early the next morning and
squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of
the fleece, a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to
God, ‘Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just
once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the
fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all
the ground let there be dew.’ And God did so that
night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew
on all the ground.”
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IV.
Lessons Learned
1.
Judges 6:22-24
There are many things which cause people to be afraid:
death, enemies, failure, inadequacies, the future. We
combat fear with worship, thanksgiving, service. What
types of fears give you the most problems?
2.
Judges 6:25-27
Consecration must come first. And it’s costly! The
bulls were hidden from the enemies in the midst of a
famine. Today baptism is an important part of our
consecration. It is an open identification with God and
godliness.
3.
Judges 6:31-32
“But Joash said to all who stood against him, ‘Would you
plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who
would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he
is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar
has been torn down!’ Therefore on that day he called him
Jerubbaal, saying, ‘Let Baal plead against him, because
he has torn down his altar.’”
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We
can’t back down. We must publicly display our
Christianity and show our commitment.
4.
Judges 6:33-35
“Then all the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of
the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and
encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of
the Lord came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and
the Abiezrites gathered behind him, And he sent
messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered
behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun,
and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.”
NKJV
We don’t get to pick the time for our faith to be seen.
We must always be ready. We should desire to be the
Lord’s mouthpiece. Trumpet – a call to arms. Take a
stand. We can’t sit on the sidelines. You must join
in.
Conclusion:
Gideon was truly an unlikely hero. He is an example of
how God can use anyone to bring about His will. When
God looks at us He does not see us for what we are, but
for what we can become through Him.
Bobby Stafford
August 30, 2015
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