Gideon - Judges 6

This month we are going to be discussing the story of Gideon - one of God's chosen judges to lead Israel out of the Midianite oppression. This week, the conversation will be focused on Judges 6. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Thank you for listening to Cultivating Growth. We find ourselves at the beginning of a new month and thus the beginning of a new topic. And so John and I, over the next several weeks, and then at the end, we'll bring uh have a guest with us to close it out. But these first three weeks, we're gonna spend some time in the pages of the Old Testament, specifically in the book of Judges. Uh, spending some time in Judges 6, 7, and 8, all centering around the Judge Gideon. Uh, it's a significant story, a lot of uh moving pieces, and a lot of uh things that we'll be able to pull out of it and make application of. And so I'm looking forward to this month, looking forward to the beginning of this conversation as we get right into it in Judges chapter six.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Jeremy, you mentioned that we're gonna be in the pages of the judges all month. Uh, we're gonna be explicitly talking about one judge, Gideon, and he is uh the judge that we know a lot about. I was about to say the most about, but there are a couple others that we know a lot about too. But but his story is pretty well told as uh God calls him into service all the way through the end of his work with the people of Israel. But I think it's really interesting as we begin in chapter six, which is where we'll be today, we're told a little bit about where the children of Israel are, and it speaks to the cyclical nature of the story of Judges, where the people have turned their backs on God, and God in turn has punished them using other nations as a way of bringing about his judgment on the people for their sin. The people then cry out to God, and he sends a judge to them to bring them back to God, and the whole cycle continues on. And Gideon is one of those judges that is being sent here in chapter six. The people are being oppressed by the people of Midian, and it seems as if that oppression is so severe that the people are living in caves, they have very little food to eat, what they do have they're trying to hide. That's what Gideon is doing when God first comes to him. He's he's trying to hide food so that they have food to eat. It's a very dire situation that the people of Israel find themselves in when God approaches Gideon in chapter 6.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Yeah, and you even at the beginning of this, I mean, the oppression itself is pretty diabolical. I I mean, there's lots of even up to this point, uh, there's been other judges that have talked about, and you're right, it the book itself is very cyclical. It kind of goes on the, you know, the people don't do what they're supposed to do. Uh God sends an oppressor upon them, and they're oppressed for some amount of time, they cry out for deliverance, and God sends a deliverer, and things go back to normal and for a certain amount of time, and then they turn away from God, and it kind of rolls through. And in a lot of ways, that's what's happening here in Judges 6, 7, and 8. But there are some differences. And one of the interesting differences is I mean, this oppression, as you made the point, is very, very severe, but it is just nasty. Yeah. Because it the text kind of leads you to believe that the Midianites are waiting for, you know, the crops and you know the all the food to kind of come in, and they don't come in and steal it as what would make the most sense. They seem to just come in and destroy it, you know, kind of in the uh almost mocking the people, even more so. I mean, it's bad enough if they just take it for themselves, but they just come in and just destroy it. And you're right. When we're introduced then to Gideon, I mean he's hiding. He he's hiding and he's threshing wheat in a place that you wouldn't normally be uh, you know, threshing wheat in the wine press, and they seem to be in caves and they're um they're beaten down and they're fatigued and they're impoverished and they're in really, really bad shape. And there there's not tons of crying out to the Lord as we've seen to the point, but there is a lot of uh God kind of now gently, you know, coming to the people, and that's kind of what he does here at the beginning of the story with Gideon.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

Yeah, we see in verse 11 that an angel of the Lord comes to the household of Gideon. Uh, we're told that he's in his father's household. And the first thing that the angel says in verse 12 is really interesting. He speaks to Gideon and he says, The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor. And I have to imagine, I'm trying, I'm trying to picture. Here's Gideon hiding in a cave, trying to make enough food to maybe supply his family for a short period of time, hiding it from the Midianites, probably very scared, just like everybody else in Israel. Gideon doesn't feel like a mighty man of valor. The last thing he expected to hear was something like this. Right now, anybody else would look at this situation and think, you guys are cowards. You guys are scared. You're hiding in caves, hiding food so that the big bad Midianites don't take them from you. Like, these guys aren't no nobody among the people of Israel right now is a mighty man of valor, right? And so I can only imagine the shock that Gideon felt when he hears this, and it's very clear as Gideon responds, he doesn't think of himself in this way at all. He he's the last thing of a he's he's the furthest thing from a mighty man of valor, but yet that's exactly what God is calling him through this angel that he sends.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Yeah, you know, chapter six as we're introduced to Gideon is really, really interesting because you know I read it again just a little bit ago, and and it really it kind of it puts you in a position to ask the question, is Gideon is he a man of faith or is he not? And that really, you know, is thing. So yeah, you're right. He's kind of he's kind of tasked with this, and he's like, hey, you're a mighty man of valor, you're gonna get this job done. And he's like, man, I mean, that's just simply not the case. My tribe is the weakest, uh, my piece of that tribe is the weakest, my family is the weakest in that, and I'm the weakest in my family. And you're you're you're seeing this incredible kind of back and forth. Now he has uh acknowledgement of Jehovah and who he is and what he has done. He showcases some knowledge uh about that, um, of knowing the power that God possesses. He's very respectful uh to this messenger of God that's that's sent, and he's open to you know that conversation. Um there's a sign that's kind of given to him with the food here at the outset. He's given a task to tear down an idol. He does that at night instead of during the day, and that's kind of that odd, you know, situation, and he has another contact, you know, the conversation with God towards the end of this, and you know, he asks for a sign from God, and God delivers a sign, and then he asks for another sign and he delivers that sign. And so, you know, there's a huge piece of me that reads chapter six, and you're like, Well, there is some faith in Gideon and how he operates, but at the same time, you're also kind of going back and forth on, well, uh what is his level of faith? It is really an interesting chapter, you know, that kind of opens up this story, and it's really, you know, certainly the way Gideon uh interacts, but there is a lot to be even said with God and and you know, the messenger that he sends, and then his own interaction, it seems, by way of conversation with Gideon.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

I think one of the things that stood out to me was God's patience with Gideon. Yeah, no doubt. And it's very reminiscent of God's patience with Moses in Exodus 3 and 4, where God approaches Moses with this task, this call into service that honestly takes Moses by surprise, is shocking to him, he doesn't feel equipped or adequate for the job that God is giving to him. And as such, he has some concerns and he has some apprehension, he has some fear, and God is patient with Moses as he works through that. I think the same thing is happening here with Gideon. God knows what he just dropped on Gideon. He understands, he's not arguing with Gideon as he describes the lowliness of himself or his family. God understands what he just dropped in Gideon's lap, and so he's gonna be patient to allow Gideon to work through that. And I think what that really teaches us is, you know, there are gonna be times where where we may have some apprehensions in this life when it comes to our spiritual walk, and there may be times where there is fear, and there may be times where there is doubt. God is gonna be patient with us as we work through that, if we're working through that toward him. And I think that's the the important part of a story like Gideon, the important part of a story like Moses. God is going to allow them to work through those fears and those apprehensions, as long as as they do so, they are gradually moving closer and closer to him. That's what he wants. He doesn't expect Gideon to just flip a switch and all of a sudden go from a guy who's threshing grain in a secret cave to hide from the Midianites to being a valiant warrior that's gonna lead Israel against them. And it that that's not gonna happen. That's not realistic. God understands that, and so he's patient with them. And I think there's applications certainly for us to make about God's patience with us as well as we work through some of these things that we're going to experience. His expectation is that we're working closer and closer to him as we work through them.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Yeah, I mean, we'll talk about this again next week when we get into Judges chapter seven. But even all the patience that God showcases to Gideon here in chapter six, he continues to do that in chapter seven. I mean, he it continues to work with Gideon. And I think you're right, you do see Gideon inching closer to God, you know, kind of each and every time. And I made mention before, he's starting with an understanding of who God is. And he makes mention, you know, our fathers have told us about Jehovah as he talks to the angel, that messenger from God. You know, our fathers told us about the power that he has when he he brought his people out of Egypt. And you're right, he voices some concerns here and asks some, you know, pretty deep questions of why is he has he left us? I mean, we're things are really, really bad for us right now. Does that showcase you know that God has left us? But most certainly God is going to show that that isn't the case at all, that he hasn't left them. You know, certainly that he is right here. But that's a big part of what Judges chapter six is. It is God's patience. Gideon seems to be front and center of this story, but I think in a lot of ways, especially in chapter six, God is at the center of this story. And there is incredible lessons to learn. We could see ourselves in Gideon, I I think a lot. But really, God, he is the one that's showing care, he is the one that's showing compassion for his people, he is the one that's showing patience.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

Yeah, and that and that really is the case throughout Judges, throughout not I mean the Old Testament, throughout human history. I mean, God's abundant patience with mankind is just simply remarkable. There is nothing like it. Israel doesn't deserve God's patience in this situation. I don't deserve God's patience in my life. I I I have I have I have I've done things that I am ashamed of, and I I have done things that that would be in disobedience to God. He has every right in those moments to say you had your chance. That's it. He has that right. He is the just God, but yet he gives us patience, he gives us time, he calls us to repentance and gives us the opportunities to do that. His his patience is remarkable, and the and the story of Judges really highlights that. And what you see then is as someone like Gideon begins to work through some of his own apprehensions within God's patience, then what ends up happening is Gideon does start to take steps forward. And like you said earlier, one of the things that he's tasked with is tearing down this idol in the midst of the people. Okay, well, he he does it at night because he's still scared of the people. But you know what? He does it. That's right. And so there is momentum for Gideon, there is movement in the right direction for Gideon, and that's what God's looking for from him. That's what God's looking for from us. Are we taking steps that lead us closer to him? And that's really what his patience is all about. It's about giving us the time to do that. And that you're right, that that is really the focal point, I think, of chapter six.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

Yeah, I mean, I'll add just one other quick thing to that. You know, uh especially back in verse 13 when Gideon is kind of voicing some questions about, you know, why has God allowed these things to happen to us? Has he has he forsaken us and he's delivered us into the hand of the Midianites? And and certainly um, you know, God is still there and he is still acknowledging all of what you know is happening to the people, and certainly he cares about that, but there is a damage relationship. And, you know, you see that really throughout all of the Old Testament. You you see this, you know, the people damaging their relationship with God and it being repaired, and the people damaging their relationship with God and it being repaired. And I think there's also this certainly for Gideon is tearing down this idol, but I think that's also communication from God uh of letting Gideon know that listen, yeah, there there is a problem with our relationship, and here's the culprit right here, right? The the this is the culprit. There's no worship of me. Yeah, there's only worship of these idols. And and listen, for us to move forward, that thing has to that thing has to go. And Gideon understood that. And I think you're right. He does it at night, but he does it. And listen, the people are worked up with the thing. The people are worked up about it. You know, and and Gideon knows the people are worked up about it, and then that led us, you know, then to the very end of the chapter where he continues with this conversation with God. He's like, Listen, I'm on board, but just to make sure, you know, can you provide a sign? And God does. And then Gideon's like, just to doubly make sure, can you provide another sign? And God does. Because that's what God wants. He wants that relationship to be right. He he doesn't want to you know throw Gideon to the wolves. He wants that relationship to be right, and so that's where his patience is going to come in.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah, he needs he needs Gideon to have confidence in God, and he needs Gideon to be reminded of the fact that any success he's going to have, any strength he's going to have comes from God. And that that kind of takes us back, I think, to the original call of God to Gideon in chapter 6 and verse number 14. The angel, as we mentioned earlier, has referenced that the Lord is with you, you mind who made a valor, in ch in verse number 12. And then in verse number 14, the angel of the Lord turns to Gideon and he says, This go in this might of yours and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?

SPEAKER_01 15:46

Thank you for listening this week. If you haven't already done so, we'd appreciate it if you would take just a second to subscribe to the podcast, whatever platform you're listening, rate and review the show so we can continue to spread the good news of Jesus as widely and effectively as possible. Thanks again for joining us this week, and we'll talk again next week.