Well, if you haven't been around for a couple of weeks, we have reached the Gideon cycle of the book of Judges.
And the amount of detail included by the author at this point really gives us a fantastic opportunity to slow our pace a bit from what we had done in the first few chapters.
It allows us to really examine more thoroughly each individual scene.
And I actually have found that to be quite helpful in my own study, and I hope you find that to be helpful as well as we study these passages together.
Now, we need to recognize that this does pose a particular danger for us to miss the forest for the tree, so to speak.
You ever find yourself doing that in your Bible study?
You get so caught up in the minutia of a particular verse or a particular passage that you end up misinterpreting it because you've lost sight of the bigger picture of what's actually happening and why God has put it there.
So there is a bit of a danger in this.
As we slow down our pace and we look at each individual section here, there is a bit of a danger that we'll lose the big picture and then maybe misinterpret or misapply.
So what we want to do then, as I mentioned to you last week, we want to keep one eye on the big picture of what God is doing in and through Israel,
while we're keeping the other eye on the finer details of what God is doing in and through this man, Gideon.
And as far as Israel is concerned, at this point in the book, they were facing a really quite severe season of oppression from this coalition led by the Midianites.
And we found at the beginning of the chapter that it was because of their idolatry.
God had given them into the hand of Midian, and God was using this disciplinary action as a means to lead his people to repentance.
And we talked about that. We talked about the difference between God's punitive action against unbelievers, those who are outside of the covenant.
And we contrasted that with God's disciplinary corrective action with those who are inside the covenant.
Midian is outside the covenant.
They're going to ultimately be completely decimated by the time we get to the end of this section.
Israel, however, though guilty of the same sin, though just as wicked as Midian themselves,
happen to be inside the covenant, and they receive a different form of judgment from God.
They are not completely destroyed.
Rather, God is disciplining them, and he's using Midian to do it.
And then in his intent to deliver them from their oppression, God has chosen and raised up and is in the process of raising up this man, Gideon,
whom he will use to save his people.
But as we study through this text, we find out very quickly that great men and women of God are not made in a moment.
You don't come to Christ in a moment, and then all of a sudden, you're just as mature and seasoned as any believer who has been saved for a number of years.
That doesn't happen in any of our lives.
It didn't happen in Gideon's life either.
And this section is a helpful reminder of that.
As sinful creatures, God graciously, patiently molds and shapes us into vessels fit for his use.
And that's exactly what we see happening step by step in the life of Gideon.
Now, last week, I likened the verses, verses 11 through 24, to something of a conversion experience for Gideon.
And again, I recognize that we need to be careful when assigning New Testament realities to Old Testament narratives,
using gospel language in places where the gospel has not yet been presented, at least in its fullest form.
Jesus has not yet come at this point.
We need to recognize that.
Gideon himself would have no possible concept of the cross or of the resurrection.
So, when I talk about a conversion experience, I'm not saying that what Gideon experienced in this moment looks exactly as what you and I might experience.
But, what we do find in those verses is all of the components of biblical conversion being presented.
You remember back to what we studied last week.
He was confronted by the Word of God through the messenger of God.
Paul tells us that same thing happens with us.
In Romans chapter 10, he says,
Faith comes by hearing.
Hearing comes by the Word of God.
In other words, if you are to be saved, you're going to be saved through the preaching of God's Word,
the preaching of God's truth, and the confrontation of God's Word through God's messenger.
Whether that be a preacher on a Sunday morning,
whether it be a co-worker who has courage to share the gospel with you.
We see that happening in Gideon's life.
He understood the reality of his sinfulness in light of the holiness of God.
When he finally comes to terms with the fact that he's before the messenger of God,
remember what he says,
Alas, O Lord!
He thinks he's going to die because he's seen God's angel face to face.
He recognizes his sinfulness.
He cries out for mercy.
And then he experiences the incomprehensible grace of God.
As the Lord says,
Peace be to you, Gideon.
You shall not die.
Remember what he said.
And that immediately results in genuine worship.
And all of these things are part and parcel of what it means to be converted.
It's biblical conversion.
Gideon's, the work of God's grace happening prior to the coming of Christ.
And then for us, of course,
these components take the shape of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.
And so we're going to continue on with that thought.
If verses 11 through 24 give us something of a parallel of biblical conversion,
what we find happening in the text that I just read
Gideon parallels what we might call the first steps of life for a new believer.
Just think about what we just read.
After his transformative moment with God in verse 23 and 24,
Gideon was quickly thrust into this daunting situation, wasn't he?
His commitment to the Lord set him against the traditions and beliefs of his own family and community.
And it becomes immediately relevant.
What God commanded him to do not only tested his faith,
it was actually an essential move in declaring the message of repentance and salvation
that God intended for his people to hear and understand.
And so what I want to do this morning is just walk you through this text,
and we want to note what is revealed for us about God and salvation,
and then, of course, also the progressive work of sanctification for those of us
who do experience the grace of God and salvation.
Okay, so that's kind of the roadmap that we're following.
First thing I want you to notice is an initial task.
An initial task.
Look at verse 25.
That night the Lord said to him,
Take your father's bull and the second bull, seven years old,
pull down the altar of Baal that your father has,
cut down the asherah that's beside it,
and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here,
with stones laid in due order.
Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering
with the wood of the asherah that you shall cut down.
So what we find here with Gideon is that the Lord wastes no time
in activating him in his plan and in his purposes.
On the very night that he experiences God's peace
and enjoyed this moment of genuine worship,
God gave him a task that would send an unmistakable message
to his family and his community.
It's an immediate task that God lays on him.
We're reminded with this that the call to trust and obey God
demands immediate engagement.
Engagement for God and against his enemies.
There's really no buffer.
Sometimes we expect that that would happen,
that when someone comes to Christ,
they kind of get a few moments to collect their breath,
and they can just kind of go into the backside of the desert somewhere
as we see some biblical characters and kind of be trained up.
And then once they're ready, God calls them into making their faith.
But that's not how actually it works.
It didn't happen for Gideon that way.
It doesn't happen for us that way.
And if you're only now coming to Christ in genuine faith,
it's not going to happen for you that way either.
God requires immediate engagement,
like a pebble in a slingshot.
Conversion instantly catapults us into a life that is decidedly
and dynamically different than what we've ever experienced before.
It takes no time at all for our commitment to Christ to be tested
and for God to put us in a position that demands we make our faith known.
Perhaps you can even recall back to your own conversion,
maybe the excitement of that,
and then immediately getting into a place with your friends
or your family or your coworkers
where it's going to be necessary for you to make that known,
whether it's through an explanation of why you won't do the things
that you were doing just the day before or the week before,
or why you won't behave a particular way,
or maybe it's just the sharing of that gospel message,
and immediately you're thrust into this awkward and intimidating position
of standing for God and against those who are his enemies.
And that's what's happening with Gideon.
His initial task was to destroy the community shrine to Baal and Ashtaroth.
And what makes it even more complex for him
is the fact that this particular altar for Baal was his dad's.
His own father had sponsored and built it
and was probably, as we get a sense in this text,
was probably Joash was functioning as something of a priest to Baal
on behalf of the people of the town.
Then he was to build an altar in its place.
He was to sacrifice his father's bull as a burnt offering to Yahweh.
And in one sense, as we read through this,
what God asked for Gideon to do here
was more difficult than the large-scale war
against the Midianites that we're going to see in chapter 7.
It's one thing to work against a common enemy
for the people who are closest to you and your family and community,
for everybody to kind of, in unity together,
recognize Midian is bad.
Midian is hurting us.
Midian has to be dealt with.
That's one thing.
It's quite another thing
to set yourself against your own family and friends,
to perform some type of action
or to declare some kind of message
that actually says,
no, not only is Midian bad,
but you're bad.
You're the problem.
That's hard.
Sharing Romans chapter 3 with a stranger at Costco
is pretty easy to do.
Sharing Romans chapter 3 with your wife
or your husband or your parents
or your grown children
is not quite so easy to do.
That's what we find happening with Gideon.
This task was vitally important
to the work that God was doing,
not only in Israel,
but in Gideon himself.
It was a visual demonstration
of the sermon preached by the prophet
in verses 8 through 10.
Remember, that was from a couple of weeks ago
as God sends this prophet
before he sends a deliverer
and he declares a message of salvation
through repentance.
Well, what God is having Gideon to do
in this moment
is a visual demonstration
of that same message.
The people needed to understand
that the oppression from Midian
was only an indicator
of a much deeper problem.
Their circumstance was not the result
of Midian's power,
but their own idolatry.
And as long as they continued
in that idolatry,
their circumstances were only going to
worsen.
God might deliver them from Midian,
but there's just going to be another enemy
that comes along the way.
And that's exactly what happens
in this book.
Over and over and over,
God is gracious
and the people continue
and persist in their idolatry
and so their condition
never ultimately gets better.
They continue to struggle
beneath this oppression.
Why such a demand for Gideon,
asked Del Ralph Davis.
Because two altars cannot coexist
side by side.
You cannot have an altar to Yahweh
and an altar to Baal.
They're mutually exclusive,
he says.
And what we find is
this entire episode here
amounts to God's demand
for repentance.
The repentance without which
you cannot be saved.
That's the message here.
Not just to the people of Ophrah,
but to the entire nation of Israel.
Let's think about that
for just a moment,
this dynamic of repentance.
What does it actually mean?
Well, the word itself
means to make a turn, right?
It means to turn from one direction
and go in a different direction.
And repentance unto salvation
in the Bible
really has two parts
and we see them demonstrated here
in this story.
First, repentance requires
that you turn away
from sin and unbelief.
You turn away
from sin and unbelief.
It wasn't enough
for Gideon to simply
build an altar to God.
That wasn't enough.
Baal's altar, the Asherah,
which would have been
a wooden post next to Baal
that represented the worship
of Ashtaroth,
which was believed
to be Baal's female consort.
Okay, we talked about that
in another passage.
But basically,
the way this would have been set up
is an altar to Baal
and then right next to it
is this large wooden post
that represented
Baal's wife, essentially.
And both things
were involved
in the pagan worship of Baal.
Both Baal and the Asherah,
they both had to be destroyed.
It wouldn't be enough
for Gideon
just to build an altar
to God next to it
and sacrifice his bull.
He could do all
of those other things
and it wouldn't have been
the message
that God intended.
It wouldn't have been
a message of repentance
unto salvation.
Baal had to be destroyed.
The second requirement
of true repentance
is a decisive turning
to the true God.
So Gideon was not only
to tear down the altar
to Baal,
he was to build
in its place
an altar to Yahweh,
the Lord God.
And to obey God's command,
Gideon had to perform
both actions.
Turning away from sin
and unbelief,
not just to rid yourself
of that particular thing,
but to decisively turn
to the true worship
of Yahweh.
Yahwehism,
if we want to call it that
in the Old Testament.
In fact,
to leave out
one of these facets
of repentance
would have completely
distorted the message
of salvation
that God was sending
to Israel.
Their whole problem,
the reason they were
facing the judgment
of God
was because of their sin.
So if Gideon had stood
up as a leader
and attempted to be
a spiritual leader
and said,
you know what?
We're going to worship
God on Sunday.
And we're going to do
the Sunday thing
and we're going to go
to church and we're going
to sing the songs
and say the prayers
and all that stuff.
But he doesn't deal
with all the bells
that are in his house
from Monday to Saturday.
Then it's not
the message of salvation.
It's not repentance.
Because the altar
to Baal
and the altar
to God
cannot coexist together.
You cannot claim
Christianity
on one hand
and bow to Baal
on the other hand
and expect that God
will bless you
with gracious salvation
in response to that.
He will not.
What Gideon does here
is vastly important.
God also requires
this repentance
for our salvation.
It wasn't just for Israel.
In Luke chapter 13,
Jesus himself says
to a group of Jews,
unless you repent,
you will all perish,
he says.
Unless you do spiritually
what Gideon does physically,
you will die.
Eternal hell,
Jesus says.
In Luke 24,
after his resurrection,
Jesus says this
to his disciples.
Thus it is written
that the Christ
should suffer
and on the third day
rise from the dead
and that repentance
for the forgiveness
of sins
should be proclaimed
in his name
to all nations.
In other words,
with the gospel message,
what's part and parcel
to that?
How does somebody
receive forgiveness
of sins?
Jesus says,
preach the gospel
of Jesus
and repentance
for the forgiveness
of sins.
It's necessary.
And then when it came
time for the apostles
to actually preach
that message
in Acts chapter 2,
this is what we read.
When they heard
the gospel,
they were cut
to the heart
and they said
to Peter
and the rest
of the apostles,
brothers,
what shall we do?
And Peter said
to them,
repent
and be baptized
every one of you
in the name of Jesus
for the forgiveness
of your sins
and you will receive
the gift of the Spirit.
Repentance
is absolutely necessary
for salvation.
Without it,
you cannot be saved.
And the repentance
unto salvation,
genuine,
true repentance,
requires the same
two elements
represented by Gideon's task.
It is a turning away
from sin
and unbelief
in order that you may
genuinely turn to
Christ,
Lord and Savior.
without both features,
you have not truly
repented unto salvation.
And to leave
one facet of it
out of your gospel
preaching and evangelism
is to distort
the gospel message.
It doesn't make sense
without tearing down
Baal's altar
in order to build
the Lord's.
And it is worth
a note of clarification
here of
what it actually means
to repent of your sin.
We are not talking
about getting out
a piece of notebook paper
and listing all the bad
things you have ever
done in your life.
And then praying
through that list
and saying,
Lord,
you know,
when I was 16
I did this really
stupid thing
and I disobeyed
my parents
and I snuck out
of my house.
Lord,
forgive me for that,
please.
I won't do that again.
And you check that
off the list.
And then you move
down to the next.
Well,
Lord,
there was also
this time
that I looked
at things
on the computer
I shouldn't have
looked at.
I never told
my wife about it
but it is on my mind
now.
And so,
that's not repentance.
That's not what
we're talking about.
That's remorse.
That may be necessary
to some extent
but that's not
what we're talking
about with genuine
repentance.
We're talking about
not a checklist.
We're talking about
a disposition of heart,
a change of heart.
We're on one hand
thinking more broadly.
We are pursuing
the world.
We're pursuing self.
We're saying,
I'm going to do
my thing
and I'm going to
do it my way
and no one's going
to tell me any different
and we're finally saying,
no, I'm surrendering
all of that.
Everything that I am,
my identity,
all of my desires,
everything that I want
out of this life,
everything that I want
to do,
I'm setting all
of that aside.
I'm turning away
from that
in order that I might
turn to Jesus Christ
my Lord and Savior.
I'm going to trust Him
as the propitiation
for those sins
and now I'm going
to follow Him
as Lord
which means
all of these desires
that I had over here
are now submitted
to His Lordship.
And that means
one day
you're going
to sit down
after you come
to Christ
you're going
to open your Bible
maybe six,
twenty,
thirty years later
and you're going
to read a passage
of Scripture
and the Lord's
going to bring up
something in your life
and He's going
to point on your heart
and He's going
to say,
this is it,
you're disobeying
me in this way.
Genuine repentance
is the disposition
of heart that says,
this is hard for me
to read and it's hard
for me to hear
but the Lord Jesus,
He's my Savior,
He's my Lord.
I surrender
what I want to Him.
That's what we're
talking about
with genuine repentance
here.
We're not talking
about checklists.
We're talking
about something
much deeper
than that.
A heart level
transformation
that comes
as a result
of the grace
of God
at work
in our lives.
Let's look
at verse 27.
This kind of
concludes this
particular portion
of it,
the task.
Notice what
Gideon did.
Gideon took
ten men
of his servants
and did
as the Lord
had told him.
But because
he was too afraid
of his family
and the men
of the town
to do it by day,
he did it by night.
A common
misconception
of the Bible
is that it's
a book of heroes.
The Bible's
not a book
of heroes.
In fact,
there's only one
hero in the Bible
and that's
the Lord Jesus.
No one else
qualifies.
In fact,
if you pay
attention as you
read,
you'll realize
very quickly
that all of
these people
are profoundly
flawed
and weak,
underwhelming
even.
And Gideon's
no exception
to that,
is he?
This verse
reveals,
once again,
just how relatable
he is
to most people.
He's prone
to fear.
He's in
constant need
of reassurance.
But then he
also shows
this tremendous
faith in this
moment,
doesn't he?
How does
he show
faith?
He's scared.
He does it
at night.
He's afraid
for people
to see him.
He's afraid
to be known.
How does
he actually
show faith?
He obeys
God in
spite of
that fear.
That's the
key here.
Only those
of us with
a perfect
faith should
feel comfortable
coming down
hard on
Gideon for
doing this
at night.
this is a
cast the first
stone kind
of situation
where we
come to a
passage like
this and
we think,
man,
Gideon,
come on,
man,
pull yourself
up a little
bit.
He's so
scared.
You wouldn't
be scared.
Of course
you would.
You know
what true
faith is?
Obeying
God when
you're scared.
Yes,
he should
have trusted
more confidently
in God's
promises.
But let's
not ignore
the fact
that he
still performed
a task
most of us
would be
unwilling to
do.
Gideon
knew his
life was
on the line
with this.
We often
falter under
the threat
of far less
severe consequences
than what
Gideon was
under here.
Let's give
the man a
break for
just a second
and acknowledge
and rejoice
in the fact
that he
obeyed the
Lord.
We should
be encouraged
by that.
Faith is
not the
absence of
fear as
many have
defined it
wrongly.
Faith is
trusting and
obeying God
even when you
are completely
filled with
fear.
Fortunately
for us
and fortunately
for Gideon,
God doesn't
require heroism.
He just
requires
obedience.
And that's
what we see
in Gideon.
We should
read this
text and
remember
again that
it's not
the strength
of our
faith that
ultimately
matters.
It's the
object of
that faith.
And the
object of
our faith
will get
the job
done.
We should
take comfort
in the fact
even that
God is so
patient and
merciful with
Gideon's
weakness here,
isn't it?
It's funny,
we come to
texts like
this and we
want to
condemn people
like Gideon
when God
doesn't even
do that.
There's no
correction of
Gideon here.
Just a simple
statement.
He does it
at night.
This was
tremendous
faith.
This is why
Hebrews 11
says Gideon
is somebody
we need to
look to
as an
example of
faith.
That's the
initial task.
Second,
let's see
an incensed
mob.
An incensed
mob.
28,
when the
men of the
town rose
early in
the morning,
behold,
the altar
of Baal
was broken
down.
The
Asherah
beside it
was cut
down.
The second
bull was
offered on
the altar
that had
been built.
And they
said one
to another,
who has
done this
thing?
After they
had searched
and inquired,
they said,
Gideon,
the son of
Joash,
has done
this.
And the
men of
the town
said to
Joash,
bring out
your son
that he
may die,
for he's
broken down
the altar
of Baal
and cut
down the
Asherah
beside it.
They want
Gideon
dead.
So then
Gideon's
fears are
realized the
very next
morning.
People of
the town
wake up,
they realize
what's
happened,
they immediately
begin to
inquire as
to who is
responsible,
and when they
find out that
it's Gideon,
they stand
outside of
Gideon's
father's
house,
and they
say you
need to
send out
your son
because it's
time for
him to
die.
Look at
what he
did.
His faith
in and
obedience to
God set
him at
odds with
his family
and community,
and they
were out
for blood.
That's
terrifying.
Sometimes
the gospel
message is
unhelpfully
presented to
us in an
idealized
form,
and people
come and
they're told
that if they
just come to
Christ,
things are
going to
get better,
and we
convince
ourselves
sometimes
that if
we do
what's
right and
we say
what's
right,
that the
people around
us are
going to
be very
respectful of
that,
and they're
just going
to admire
our
conviction,
and that
is not at
all what
happens.
That's not at
all what
happens.
That's not
what happened
for Gideon
either.
That's why
the first test
of faith for
a young
believer is
often to deal
with vehement
opposition from
people that
we actually
care deeply
about being
accepted by.
Like mom
and dad,
and the
family that's
around us,
and the
community of
friends that
we've developed
over time,
and our
coworkers.
We want to
be accepted
by these
people.
We want to
be included
by these
people,
and loved
by these
people.
And yet
our new
faith in
Jesus Christ
often sets us
in opposition
to them.
And those
relationships,
and those
blessings are
then at
risk.
the call
to discipleship
is a public
identification
with Jesus
that will
always,
always put
us at odds
with the
world.
That's the
thing.
And we
know it
will always
do that
because that's
what Jesus
said it
would do.
Remember
his words
in Luke
chapter 9.
Jesus says,
if anyone
would come
after me,
in other
words,
if anyone
will follow
me,
be my
disciple,
trusting
me for
salvation,
if anyone
will come
after me,
let him
deny himself,
repent,
take up
his cross
daily,
follow me.
What is
that all
about?
The cross
for them
is a
symbol of
death.
In other
words,
Jesus says,
come prepared
to die.
Come prepared
to die.
Identifying
with my
cross,
identifying
with me
will bring
great
hardship.
And if
you're going
to come
after me,
you need
to be
prepared
for that.
You need
to be
prepared
to do
that.
Jesus
also
warned
that
belief
in
and
faithfulness
to
his
gospel
runs
the
risk
of
being
persecuted
even
by one's
family.
Matthew
chapter 10,
brother will
deliver brother
over to
death,
Jesus says,
and the
father,
his child,
and children
will rise
against parents
and have
them put
to death,
and you
will be
hated by
all
for my
name's
sake.
God
will
be
saved.
This
brings
further
light to
Gideon's
faithfulness
in spite
of his
fear.
A
fundamental
conviction
of a
true
Christian
is to
fear God
more than
man.
It is to
desire the
pleasure and
glory of
God
more than
the acceptance
of this
world.
It is to
lose one's
life for
the life
that Christ
offers.
If following
Jesus and
standing for
his gospel
meant that
your family
would disown
you,
would you
still follow
him?
What if
that's what
was at
risk for
you?
Would you
still do
it?
What if
your kids
decided,
as long as
you're going
to do this
whole Christian
thing,
you're not
going to
have me,
I'm going
to have
nothing to
do with
you anymore?
What if
it was
the vice
versa and
your parents
say,
you know
what,
if you're
going to
continue on
this Christian
thing,
you're going
to have to
find another
place to
live because
I'm not
going to
tolerate it
in my
house.
Is
Jesus still
worth it
even then?
Is
Jesus still
worth it
when it
comes with
the risk
of losing
really close
friendships?
What about
your business
and your
work and
your ability
to climb the
ladder in your
business?
What if it
even means
your life?
Is Jesus
still worth
it?
Jesus
continues in
Matthew 10,
whoever loves
father and
mother more
than me is
not worthy
of me.
Whoever
loves son or
daughter more
than me is
not worthy
of me.
Whoever
does not
take up his
cross and
follow me is
not worthy
of me.
Whoever
finds his
life will lose
it, Jesus
said, and
whoever loses
his life for
my sake will
find it.
Gideon was
faced immediately
the very next
day with that
exact predicament
and we don't
need to be
surprised when
it's a
predicament that
we face as
well.
Why do you
suppose the
people had
such a strong
reaction?
The Torah
sentence, the
law of Moses
that is, the
sentence for
idolatry was
now being
pronounced on
the one who
destroyed the
idol.
It's completely
reversed now,
isn't it?
Shows just how
severe the
spiritual decline
in Israel had
become.
They were now
thoroughly
Canaanized and
were sentencing
the righteous
one for his
righteousness.
How wonderfully
amazing that
God was still
interested and
intent on
delivering them.
Isn't that
amazing?
The people in
Gideon's community
are not Gentile
people.
These aren't
Canaanites.
These are
Israelites.
The very people
that should have
been supporting
him in this
endeavor are the
ones that are
now calling for
his life.
Why?
Because he was
faithful to the
God that they
supposedly belong
to?
And yet God
still comes in
and the whole
time what he's
doing is he's
raising up Gideon
in order that he
might deliver the
people that are
calling for Gideon
to be murdered.
What love is
that?
What grace is
that?
If you want to
see yourself in
any of the people
in this passage
probably best not
to look at Gideon.
Probably best to
look at the people
of the town.
You want to
understand God's
love for you in
salvation.
Look at God's
intent to save
them despite their
vehemence against
his man.
Isn't that the
picture of the
cross that we
see?
We sing songs
about it.
City of Light
has a great song
about this called
Jerusalem where
it walks through
the different
scenes of the
crucifixion and
it talks about
Jesus being
nailed to a
cross by the
very people that
he came to
save.
In that exact
moment of
death and
treachery the
whole point of
it is to save
the people who
are doing it.
What grace is
this?
What love?
It's possible
that the people
are enraged
here because
they were
fearful of being
under a curse
from Baal.
They are
Baalites for
sure.
And how ironic
that they would
fear the wrath
of a God that
doesn't even
exist more than
they feared the
wrath of the
true God who
had proven
himself to
them time and
time again.
But the
vehemence against
Gideon really
just reflects the
fact that we
love our sin.
We love our
sin and we
hate anyone who
would try to
stand in the way
of us getting
what we want and
living the way we
want to live.
We hate those
people.
John says it
this way in
John chapter
3.
He's interpreting
Jesus' exchange
with Nicodemus in
John 3 and he
interprets it this
way.
He says,
This is the
judgment.
The light has
come into the
world and people
loved darkness
rather than the
light because their
works were evil.
For everyone who
does wicked things
hates the light and
does not come to
the light lest his
work should be
exposed.
But whoever does
what is true comes
to the light so
that it may be
clearly seen that
his works have
been carried out
in God.
Watch John
getting on out
with that.
What's your
typical response
when somebody
confronts you in
your sin?
John says that
the wicked in
heart despise
light because it
exposes that their
works are evil.
They don't like to
be told that
they're sinners.
They don't like to
be told that
their works are
evil, that they're
set up against
God.
People don't like
to go to church.
You're unbelieving
friends.
Don't be surprised
when you invite
them to a service.
They don't want to
come here.
They know when
they come that the
light exposes the
darkness and we
love our sin.
We love the darkness
more than we love
the light.
But then John
continues on.
Those who care for
their lives to
reflect the glory of
God.
They love the light.
They love the light
of God's truth
because they desire
to do what is true
and right.
It's painful, but
they're not afraid
for the light to
expose their
wickedness because
that means that
they're going to
move forward in
glory, forward in
glorifying the
Lord.
Just as Gideon's
actions expose the
wickedness of his
community, so does a
confrontation of God's
word expose what's
really in our hearts
as well.
So that when we
come to church Sunday
by Sunday and we
see the passages that
are read and we
read them or we hear
their sermons, whoever
it may be that's
preaching, and we're
confronted in our sin,
what's our response to
that?
Do we want to run
away from the light?
That would be an
indicator that your
heart is wicked.
There's wickedness
there.
You don't actually
have a true desire to
please the Lord.
Or do we love the
pain?
Hurt so good,
right?
Because we know
what's happening
there.
The Lord is
transforming us.
He's sanctifying us.
He's exposing our
sin in order that he
may reveal more of
his light.
An incensed mob.
Thirdly and finally,
we see an illuminating
conclusion.
An illuminating or
clarifying conclusion.
Verse 31,
Joash said to all who
stood against him,
will you contend for
Baal?
Will you save him?
Whoever contends for
him shall be put to
death by morning.
If he's a god,
let him contend for
himself, because his
altar has been broken
down.
Therefore, on that day,
Gideon was called
Jerob Baal.
That is to say, let
Baal contend against
him, because he broke
down his altar.
In the end, it's Joash,
the idolater, the very
one who built and
sponsored this altar to
Baal, who comes to
Gideon's defense.
That's quite the twist in
the story, isn't it?
When we're faithful to
stand for God's truth,
most people will hate us
for it.
But then, God will also
use us to soften the
hearts of others.
I think that's what's
happening with Joash
here.
The text doesn't say
that he fully turns to
God in this moment, but
at the very least, he's
questioning the
existence and power of
Baal.
This is an exchange
between him and the
people of the town that's
similar to what happens
with Elijah and the
prophets of Baal in 1
Kings 18.
You remember that great
war over whose God is
real, and they build the
altars and they do the
thing there.
This is so similar to
that, isn't it?
The language of it.
Joash appears like
Elijah to be mocking
this supposed deity now.
Now, gods are supposed
to save their own
people, but Joash charged
the men with having to
save Baal instead.
If he is a god, let him
contend for himself, says
Joash.
And then he gave Gideon a
new name, Jerob Baal.
Means, let Baal contend
against him.
Let Baal contend.
Let Baal come to his own
defense, essentially.
It's meant to be a
mockery of Baal, I think.
And everywhere Gideon
went from then on, his
very name would remind
people that the gods of
Canaan were powerless
against the God of Israel.
He's a marked man now in
the best of ways.
This conclusion, it
illuminates and clarifies
the real significance of
the story.
This was not ultimately a
war between Israel and
Midian, but between
Yahweh and Baal.
God was reminding his
people that he alone is
God, that he would not
tolerate their idolatry,
and that their repentance
was necessary for their
salvation.
Gideon becomes a marked
man.
He gets this new name,
man moving forward.
He would be known for his
faithfulness to God and his
stand against the worship
of Baal.
And such is the case for
believers who stand for the
truth.
We become marked individuals
in the best possible way.
Coming to Christ, we
surrender our identities to
be identified with Jesus.
our faith and obedience
should then follow us as an
illuminating message that
declares the glory of the one
true God.
As we bring the study to a
close, I want to remind you of
something that I haven't
mentioned in a few weeks, and
we focused on it a little bit in
the introduction to this book,
but we need to remember that
Judges is not merely a history
of ancient Israel.
It's a prophetic message about
God and about salvation.
So when we come to each
section of the book like we
have this morning, we aren't
simply looking to gain more
knowledge about the events
that took place, but we are to
hear and to respond to the
message that God has given.
And with that in mind, I think
there's two primary takeaways that
we need to consider in this text.
First, we need to examine our
hearts to see what kind of
altars to bail might need to be
destroyed.
What kind of bells are you
bowing to day by day in your
life?
A fundamental tenet of a covenant
relationship with God is found in
the first commandment.
You shall have no other gods
besides me.
I have no other gods before me.
And the chances are that you
don't have a shrine set up to a
false deity in your home.
But for us, bail is anything that
stands between us and faithfulness
wholeheartedly to God.
And bail takes many shapes.
Bail for you may be materialism.
Bail for you may be your work.
Bail for you may just be selfish
desires that you have.
Bail for you may be your family.
Bail for you may be all kinds of
things.
It will take many shapes, but it
ultimately comes back to the worship
of self.
We're chasing our own wills at the
expense of God's will.
And what we need to remember is that
you cannot expect God's blessing
while you're bowing to bail.
You cannot expect salvation
while you persist in willful sin.
And what you need to do is repent.
Destroy the altar to bail in your life
and genuinely worship God in spirit
and in truth.
That's takeaway number one.
But then we also need to follow
Gideon's example of faithfulness
in spite of his fear here.
So first application comes from the
big picture.
What's this message God is sending
to Israel?
Second one takes a little closer look
at Gideon and what did he do here.
And I think there's a lot for us to
learn.
Following Christ is always going to
set us at odds with the world.
And we need to be willing to count
the cost of discipleship.
Trusting that Jesus is better than
anything we might experience in this
life.
He's better.
He said as much.
I love the parables that he said
when he talked about the gospel of
the kingdom being like the man who
stumbled upon the treasure in the
field.
You remember the parable Jesus told?
Is it Luke 15?
Something like that.
And he says that this man he stumbles
over this treasure in the field and
what he does he he sees such tremendous
value in this treasure that he goes
and he sells everything that he has.
All of it.
In order that he could buy that field
so that he could have that treasure.
That's a picture of repentance isn't it?
I don't need this life.
I don't need all the things that I'm
longing for and aching for now.
I don't need those things.
All those things can be realized in
Christ.
And then he says that he gives us a
second one.
If we didn't get that one he gives us a
second picture and he says it's it's
also like the merchant.
Who finds this pearl of just tremendous
value incalculable value and he goes
and he sells his whole business in order
that he could have this one pearl of
great price and Jesus Jesus says that's
what the gospel is.
That's what the kingdom is like.
It's people who have decided that this
life that I'm better than anything this
life offers.
That knowing me is better than the
closeness that you long for with your
family and your friends and your
community.
That pleasing me is better than pleasing
self.
That what I offer is better than anything
that this world can offer you.
And what we find in Gideon here is an
example of that kind of faithfulness.
That the weak certainly not perfect still
says I belong to God and I'm going to
trust God and I'm going to obey God even
when it costs me everything.
A stand for Christ might create a new
group of enemies in your life.
It probably will.
But God might also use it to work on the
heart of a Joe Ash in your home or a Joe
Ash in your community.
And how exciting is it to think that God
would use us in that way.