Judges 6 - The Call of Gideon
A. Apostasy, servitude and supplication
1. (1) Israel's apostasy brings them into servitude
a. Sin causes Israel to be in bondage; we often deceive ourselves into thinking that we can find freedom through sin, but it always brings us into bondage
2. (2-6) The details of Israel's bondage to Midian
a. Their sin has brought them humiliation and fear; they become cave-dwellers, hiding in fear
b. The Midianites did not continually occupy the land, but only came at the time of harvest to confiscate what the Israelites had grown
i. Their sin has made their hard work profitless; all their produce and livestock is stolen after they have worked hard to bring it to fruition. Sin does this; it robs us of what we have worked hard to gain
ii. In May of 1990, the president of an American University was charged with two misdemeanor counts of making indecent telephone calls. Police had evaluated about a dozen obscene calls made by the educator. He was later fired, and his wife left him. He lost everything for what, in retrospect, seemed like nothing
c. Because of their sin, Israel also lost their sovereignty; they were ruled over by tyrants
i. The Midianites had a new "secret weapon" at their disposal - the camel, which made quick, efficient raids possible. "It is clear that the use of this angular and imposing beast struck terror in the hearts of the Israelites." (Cundall)
d. It can be summed up by saying that Israel was greatly impoverished; they were made poor in every way imaginable, spiritually, materially, socially, and so forth
e. It took this kind of misery before Israel cried out to the Lord; what will it take before you cry out to God?
3. (7-10) In response to Israel's cry to the Lord, God sends a prophet
a. The people had to be prepared by this un-named prophet before God raised up a Gideon to deliver them
b. God sent them a messenger to first remind them of all that God had done for them before
i. This reminded them of the love of God; the God who loved them enough to deliver them from Egypt still loved them enough to deliver them from the Midianites
ii. This reminded them of the power of God; the God who was powerful enough to deliver them from Egypt was still powerful enough to deliver them from the Midianites
iii. When we doubt the love and the power of God, we need to be reminded of the great things He has done in the past
c. God sent them a messenger to tell them where their real problem was: you have not obeyed My voice
i. Israel thought the problem was the Midianites; but the real problem was Israel. At root, many of the things we go through are really spiritual problems, that need to be addressed by getting right with God
d. Even through Israel cried out to the Lord, they didn't really know that they were the problem. Crying out to God for help does not always mean we have recognized our sin or repented
B. The calling of a deliverer
1. (11-13) The Angel of the Lord appears to Gideon
a. Gideon is threshing grain in a winepress, so that he can't be seen; this is so the Midianites won't take away the grain he is threshing
b. When the Angel of the Lord appears to Gideon, we know this is a theophany - and Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ, in human, bodily form, but before His incarnation in Bethlehem
i. We know that this was no mere human or angelic messenger of the Lord, because in verse 14 it says then the Lord turned to him and said; verse 16 says again And the Lord said to him. This is Yahweh Himself speaking, and Jesus is Yahweh appearing in human form
ii. However, this is probably not incarnation in the sense that Jesus was as a baby in Bethlehem. At Bethlehem, Jesus was truly and fully human (while also being truly and fully God). Here, it is more likely that Jesus takes the mere appearance of humanity, for a specific purpose
c. The greeting of the Angel of the Lord to Gideon no doubt took him by surprise; both the statement that the Lord is with you and the title mighty man of valor
i. Gideon was not a man oozing with self-confidence; when he heard mighty man of valor, he probably looked behind to see who the Angel of the Lord was speaking to
ii. But he also was more interested in how God could really be with them if Israel was in such desperate straits
d. Gideon had heard about the great works of God in the past; yet he wondered why did not see the same great works around him in his own day. Gideon thought the problem was with God, not with him and with the nation of Israel as a whole
i. Gideon thought now the Lord has forsaken us; but it was Israel who forsook the Lord, not the Lord who forsook Israel
2. (14-16) Gideon's call to God's service
a. When the Angel of the Lord said, Go in this might of yours, what did He mean? Gideon's might was not that he was a great military man, nor that he was a great leader, or even a great man of God. His might was that he cared, and that he was available
i. There are many great leaders, deep thinkers, spiritual giants in the church who are never really used by God because they really don't care all that much about helping other people, and they don't make themselves available
b. Though Gideon cares, he can't see himself as one who could ever do great things for God. He things of himself as a nobody, from the smallest clan in his tribe, and he himself is the least in his own family
i. Gideon's specific reasons for thinking he couldn't be used by God are wrong; yet in the larger sense, he is right. We are all unfit to be used by God
c. God's assurance to Gideon is not to build up his self confidence, but to assure him that God will be with him. This is the right way to assurance for anyone wanting to serve God: surely I will be with you
i. It is important to know that God has sent us; but it is even more important to remember that He will be with us.
ii. This was the same assurance God gave to Moses (Exodus 3:12); this is the same assurance Jesus gave all believers (Matthew 28:20)
3. (17-21) Gideon requests a sign; the Angel of the Lord provides one
a. It was not wrong for Gideon to ask for a confirming sign. It makes sense to ask God to confirm some area of direction that is not specifically detailed in His word, and in regard to something as life-or-death as leading Israel into battle against an enemy
b. For example, we don't need a special sign that God loves us (He has forever demonstrated His love at the cross [Romans 5:8]) or for other areas specifically detailed in His word; yet God may confirm more specific aspects of His guidance in different ways
c. The miraculous sign alone should not have persuaded Gideon (there are miraculous deceptions); but the miracle of fire together with the other aspects of this whole experience should have persuaded Gideon that this all was from the Lord
4. (22-24) Gideon reacts with awe and worship to the miraculous sign
C. The beginning of Gideon's ministry
1. (25-27) Removing Baal worship from his midst
a. In Gideon's community, Baal was worshipped along side of Yahweh; God calls Gideon to get his own house in order first, and to make a stand for God right where he is
b. Yet, Gideon is lacking in the courage department; he does what he needs to do, but he does it under the cover of darkness. But it is better to timidly obey the Lord than to boldly not do what He says
2. (28-32) The removal of an altar raises a ruckus
a. They didn't have a hard time figuring out who was responsible for the destruction of the altar. This is the irony of being a timid Christian - you'll be found out any way, so why try to hide it at all?
b. The great objection and offense at the destruction of the altar shows just how entrenched the worship of Baal worship was
i. "The heresy had become the main religion." (Wolf)
ii. We understand even more when we appreciate that Baal, the god of weather, was relied on for agricultural prosperity. In the hard economic times because of the Midianite oppression, people worshipped Baal all the more - not understanding that they were only making things worse by not turning to God!
c. Joash, Gideon's father, shows true wisdom - if Baal has been offended, let Baal defend himself. From this, Gideon received the nickname Jerubbaal
3. (33-35) Gideon gathers an army
a. Because the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, he is able to gather an impressive number of troops on short notice - 32,000 men come to follow him into battle (Judges 7:3)
i. Unfortunately, they are facing 135,000 Midianite soldiers (Judges 8:10)
b. But the numbers really don't matter, because Gideon has the vital ingredient: the Spirit of the Lord came upon him
4. (36-40) God assures Gideon's doubts
a. Gideon asks God to do another miracle to confirm His word; then he asks God to a third miracle to confirm it again!
i. Sometimes Christians talk about putting out a "fleece" before the Lord; what is meant by that is asking God to confirm something through some kind of sign
b. Gideon shows that he has a weak, imperfect faith. We can understand (and encourage) his asking for one sign; but to ask for a second and a third shows that his faith is weak
i. The test was wrong because it was essentially a trick, and it had nothing to do with fighting the Midianites. Gideon didn't realize that he was actually dictating his terms to God.
ii. In Luke 1:18, when Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, asked for a confirming sign, the Lord made him mute until the birth of his son.
iii. Gideon also did not keep his word. God fulfilled the sign once, and Gideon said that would be enough for him. But he went back on his word after God fulfilled the first sign. But the Lord was still merciful and gracious to Gideon
iv. Yet, before we are too hard on Gideon, we should consider the challenge that is ahead of him. How many of us would dismiss such a calling out of hand, without even considering allowing God to confirm it? No wonder Gideon is included in the "hall of faith" (Hebrews 11:32)
c. We must also appreciate the difficulty of seeking God's will through circumstantial confirmation. We have a habit of trusting in the confirming circumstances we want to, and of ignoring the circumstances which would argue against God's guidance
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