fantastic thank you so much to Jamie for leading us in the first part of our service
thank you so much to Neil and to Rachel that was not an easy reading to deal with
and my deep appreciation for that last week I said that we would see God shown mighty and
weakness perhaps you were there and you saw this slide on the screen and I thought that was a fair
summation for our section this week but as I've read about it read it and talked to others about it
I've maybe realized that that is a good summary of some of the passage but it takes a back seat
to the fact that God continues to be shown gracious in folly so if you can forgive my mistake please
dig in with me as we see what God as we see God again being remarkably gracious to his people
despite their outrageous folly at almost every turn there are three major themes they're not on the
screen which go into displaying God's grace despite our folly they're the fact that there is one source
of victory in God rather than in our strengths and abilities there's one source of guidance
in God rather than in what our world says or what we might think is good and there is one source of
unity for God's people and that will be found only in God one source of victory one source of guidance and
one source of unity and you'll see these themes appearing and disappearing at different parts of our passage
as we said it's rather long there's a six point breakdown which ties into each of the sections that
Neil and Rachel read respectively and so there's too many soldiers and in verses one to eight of chapter
seven there's these pagan dreams in verses nine to fourteen there's Israel actually being delivered the actual
battle and the pursuit in fifteen to twenty three and then in that weird little section of a chapter seven
twenty four over to eight three we have this odd a dialogue between a Gideon and Ephraim
then eight four until twenty eight the bulk of chapter eight we see this odd kind of a situation with the
towns of Succoth and Peniel and then finally we get to verse twenty two to twenty eight where we have this
odd description of Gideon being asked to become king and this rather odd ephod business at the end
so that that's the the brief overview of where we're going this evening I hope that we'll get
there in relatively good time leading on from last week perhaps you weren't here last week or perhaps
you've forgotten already we saw Gideon raised up rather begrudgingly as a judge he wasn't the most
willing of volunteers and he's taken from among a battle worshiping family far less than perfect
circumstances and he has just called up the surrounding tribes of Israel to join him he has a army
around him to expel these Midianite invaders he's just been reassured twice that God is with him that God
will do what he says that he will do and then we come into verses one to eight of chapter seven
but our first section it's a surprise it's not what we would expect we would expect following this
story along that Gideon went with his army and rode down into the valley and conquered everything before
him but we find God intervening in Gideon's battle preparations Gideon has a serious problem
he has too many men I certainly have never been in a battle I don't think I've ever been in anything
I don't even think I've particularly been in a fist fight and perhaps I would say something of my
character and if I had been but I don't think there is ever a time or a place where you're in physical
conflict with someone someone or some group other than yourself where you think too many men I won't
bother with that last little group of folk that I could call out to this occasion I'll just go myself
but God has a problem with Gideon's army there are too many men so God gives them two opportunities to
leave the army firstly by their own choice if they are afraid and then by this water test and if you
want some sort of a visual sense of of how the army stack up here's the relative sizes at the beginning
each of those tiny little squares is 300 people approximately and so you start off with this rather
uneven battle the Midianites the green massively outnumbering this small army of Israel but God says that this
isn't good enough and so at the first opportunity that people have to get out of this battle they run in
their droves 22,000 men leave the army could you imagine being one of the 10,000 left
if you weren't scared at the beginning certainly you would be terrified now 10,000 against 135,000
and then eventually the one red square 300 men against this colossal army a great deal has been said about
how God has whittled down his people here particularly about that second test perhaps you've heard that
these 300 men are the most alert they're the most tactically aware there's something special about how
they've drunk the water but as we read the passage I hope that you caught that that doesn't quite fit
with what the test was the test the purpose of these culls to the army are not that God would pick out the
brightest or the brightest or the best but purely to remove the possibility of Gideon and Israel congratulating
themselves when God saves them God knows Israel's heart God knows Gideon's heart and he knows each one of our hearts
he knows what we're like that we are so keen to take the the credit for things that happen we're so keen to appear the hero we're so keen to be able to tell the best story
we want to be able to say we want to be able to claim the victory but there is only one source of victory
and God is that source yet how often do we come to this passage and we try to congratulate
Gideon for his brilliance I flicked the internet on a few days ago and started scrolling through sermons and just from the sermon titles
on this chapter time and time and time again the title was isn't Gideon great
isn't Israel doing it wonderfully isn't this a fantastic thing that Gideon does
and I hate to be controversial but that is completely not the point of what happens here the point is that Israel is a complete
underdog and God takes them as an underdog and strips them of all strength
so that nobody else can get the credit but God
and this is our same God
and perhaps we can bring this idea forward a few thousand years into our lives
and perhaps there's something of a similarity
don't we sometimes hear the statistics of Christianity in our society
and we are dismayed
we hear
I think it's Robert Murdoch who's been
saying it most frequently at least in my hearing
that
under 2%
of Scottish
people are evangelical Christians
but that's us only outnumbered 98 or 99 people to 1
these Israelites were outnumbered 450 to 1
and yet God chose to win through those people
if God can relieve his people
back then against these odds
he's certainly able to relieve his people here and now
regardless of what government we find ourselves under
regardless of what line we see our nation going down
we may feel weak
and we may feel outnumbered
we may tremble for our lack of strength
and worry for our little ability
but our God is able
even now
but let us be clear
there is only one source of victory
by God's power working through
broken people
like you
and like me
this strategy
looks utterly foolish
and Gideon is dismayed
but God preempts any of
Gideon's attempts to make excuses
he tells Gideon to go
and to scout out
the camp of Midian
and this is perhaps one of the strangest parts of our story
did you notice in the reading
that the Midianites are described as both a plague
they're like locusts in the valley
but they're also
blessed the same way Israel should be
did you notice that it said that their camels
outnumber the sand of the sea on the seashore
that was the promise made to Abraham
of his descendants
of his chosen people
but here is this Israelite deliverer
Gideon
the one who is
the truly chosen one
he knows what God would have him do
but rather than listening to God
and being confident based on his word
he hears
he goes and he hears this improbable dream
and it's impossible interpretation
isn't it funny
a barley loaf flying into a tent overturning
it's just completely silly
but on the basis of these pagan Midianite dreams
Gideon is strengthened to carry out God's will
it just makes no sense
why would Gideon believe
these dreams
but not believe what God has said to him several times
was it that this was corroboration
this was somebody else saying it
and therefore he could kind of take that
I don't know
or was something so messed up in Gideon's mind
that this dream makes more sense
than God speaking to him
and yet so often we can go through similar experiences
I have a friend who came to mind
when I was reading this section
and I messaged him
and got him to share a bit of his story with us
this is what he says
basically I hadn't a clue of what I was supposed to do
and at that stage
couldn't even really see
why I had even went to Bible college
we just played volleyball
and everyone else was inside
and I was lying on the grass
looking at the sky
and didn't they
they being the miners club
that's over the back of the Bible college
didn't they just start playing
don't stop believing by the journey
it was so weird
but it was like a word to me that night
and probably the beginning of me getting out of the rut
that I was in
and then he laughs at the end
and says thankfully I got more clear guidance
from the Bible after that
though
now this is a good friend of mine
I'm not criticizing Johnny in any way shape or form
but doesn't that just sound like me
that I would need the pagans
to play a completely un-Christian song
about something completely
inappropriate
and completely nothing to do with my situation
for me to actually take God serious
in what he's told me to do
and to go and do what he's told me
I'm not telling that story to show how silly Johnny is
but rather I want us to see how easily we
like Eve in the garden
will slip into a complete lack of confidence
in God's word
and the only reason that any of us are still here
the only reason that any of us are still believing
the only reason that any of us are still listening to God's word
is because of his work in our life
it's not our wisdom
and it's not our insight
it's purely God's grace
and likewise with Gideon
he was seeking guidance from all of the wrong places
but God graciously gave this dream to this pagan
the interpretation to another
and had them just at the right place at the right time
that Gideon could go and hear
so that he could go and deliver Israel
there's
the story moves on
Gideon is
given strength
by the hearing of the dream
and he goes back
and he arms his people
you think great
the story's going to get going
we're going to get some good
gory story here
he goes back and he arms his people
and what does he give them?
he gives them trumpets and torches
this is the famous part of the story that we know
and I love a bit of military history
but of all the strategies I have ever heard of
this is definitively the worst that I have ever come across
notice the lack of weapons
notice taking this tinily outnumbered force
and dividing it even more
so that it's even more scattered
and less potent
notice that their whole plan
is that the enemy would kill themselves
which normally isn't a good plan
when you go to war
all of this is pure folly
in the eyes of this world
but then we look at the results
and even though the text is silent
about whether God told Gideon
to use this plan
or whether Gideon just dreamed it up on the spot
we must conclude that God was working in it
we cannot help to see
that this was a truly great plan
here this little dot
that you can probably barely see
the force under Gideon
the massive section over here
the massive force that started out
under Midian's control
and the red
the number of folks that fell
to Gideon's strategy
God used these 300 men
with their trumpets and torches
to rout the entire army
but did you notice
the true folly that appears here
verse 8 and then again
in verse 20
there's this
you could call it a slip of the tongue
a sword for the Lord
and for Gideon
twice the author brings it to our attention
this isn't just some passing
information
this flies in the face of
what God has already been up to
God has taken such drastic action
to ensure that his people
would not claim the victory
but here they are
and they're already showing signs
that they're going to give the credit
to Gideon
and as we consider
that there is only one source
of victory
in his gospel
and not in our plans
perhaps we should take a moment
to ask ourselves
whether we're falling into the same error
as Gideon's little group
will our tongues slip
when God does great things with us
do we think back
to the great men and women of old
and maybe not of that long ago
and do we put our trust in them
and in their legacies
in their ability to preach
in their ability to see people converted
and do we find ourselves
slipping into this very same folly
of these Israelite soldiers
oh it was great when so and so was preaching
oh wasn't it wonderful
when those campaigns were on
God did great things
yes
but it was God that did great things
yet God does not abandon
these men
God still graciously uses Gideon
despite this problem
and perhaps there's a comment
that needs to be made
we should never look at the work
of Christian ministry
and think that it reflects
how honoured God is
through that ministry
what I mean is
everyone who speaks the word of God
is a flawed vessel
right
and every person
reached by any gospel ministry
is reached and converted
purely by God's grace
and sometimes we look at how well
some people do
and we put it down to
their abilities
and sometimes we look at others
and see how little fruit there is
of their preaching and conversions
and we think that they are bereft of God
but the opposite is true
there's a lot more that should be said
about that
but this is not the time for it
but there is one source of victory
and that is God
there is also one source of unity
the Midianites are routed
and all the Israelites
of the surrounding tribes
all those who were sent home
come down to join the pursuit
but Gideon sees a brilliant opportunity
he calls out the tribe of Ephraim
who are down here at the bottom
the battle happens up here
up around Ophrah and Mount Tabor
Ephraim down here at the bottom
are in a brilliant position
to go ahead of the retreating army
to capture rivers and river crossings
to stop the Midianites
from going home safely
and whether again this is part of God's strategy
or whether this is Gideon being clever
we don't see
but clearly God is using it
the Ephraimites managed to control much
of those crossing the Jordan to the east
and they managed to capture these two
Midianite commanders
Oreb and Zeb
the raven and the wolf
but Ephraim isn't happy with this
they're not content
remember that there is still no king in Israel
it's not comfortably united by a single monarch
and Ephraim seems to consider itself
as one of the more prominent tribes
they're one of the good guys
and here's this so-called judge
from little tribe Manasseh
who's he to be leading us in battle?
there's a bit of tribal rivalry going on here
and it threatens Gideon's position in leadership
they don't seem to care that God has raised him up as a leader
or that he has done great things through God
but Gideon's very deft in how he answers Ephraim
he uses this lovely little bit of flattery
to sate their wrath
and their resentment just dissipates
it's a brilliant example of what Proverbs 15 talks about
a soft answer turning away wrath
it's an excellent example
but as I come across this
I start to wonder
when's the foot going to fall?
you see when Gideon does something right
it usually has something behind it that's wrong
but no this seems to be good
until we get to the next little bit
we get this larger section
of Gideon and his soldiers
needing supplies from these two Israelite towns
Succoth and Peniel
these two towns are just over the Jordan
on the eastern banks of the Jordan
and we maybe need to remember
a couple of background things here
if you lived on the east of the Jordan
the Midianites had nothing stopping them
from raiding your land
and for seven years
the Midianites have been strong
these towns would have been
oppressed most of anywhere
in Israel
and they had no ability to really stop
anything that was going on
the past seven years have doubtless been a harrowing time
for these towns
and can you imagine the position that Gideon puts them into
with this request
they can align with this nobody called Gideon
who's managed to win one battle
who has only 300 men following him
and what happens when Midian recovers
they'll come back and they'll wipe us from the face of the earth
I doubt many of us would stand on the walls of those cities
and look at Gideon and his little group of exhausted men
and say that's who we're siding with
and they taunt Gideon
oh Gideon you're going to kill Midianite kings
oh very good
where are they then
are they in handcuffs with you
oh maybe if that happens
maybe then we'll give you bread
and Gideon promises revenge
on them
and there's irony
incredible irony in verse 9
when I come in triumph
I will tear down this tower
that word triumph
it can also be translated peace
what sort of peace is this going to be
if the first thing he does is come back
and destroy Israelite towns
as we read that Gideon pursues
his enemies
the numbers are still outrageously against Gideon
but the Midianites think that they're safe
and in the comfort of their own camp
they're attacked
they're routed
and the two kings are captured
and so Gideon returns to Succoth
and in a brutal fashion
he disciplines the elders of the town
then in Peniel he comes
tears down their stronghold
and kills their townsfolk
and we read that
and we wonder
what on earth is going on here
here is Gideon
the victorious judge
God has just delivered his people
this should be the pinnacle of the story
but his wrath against his own people
is repulsive
these are Israelites
these should be brothers and sisters
these aren't the enemy
the battle's over Gideon
stop killing
yes they were misguided
yes they made the wrong call
but was Gideon's revenge really necessary?
no
and I think the detail
that the author is giving us here
is pointing us to Gideon's character
as a warning bell
here's a judge
here's a deliverer
used by God
but that doesn't sanctify
what Gideon does
here we see Gideon's strength
seeping out
and I hinted to this way back
when we were talking about Gideon's call
God says go and deliver
Israel by the strength
that you have
and here we see this strength
and it's beastly
it's fearsome
it's indiscriminate
Gideon's relying on his own strength
he has no pity
no compassion
for his fearful fellow Israelites
surely there's no application of this
to us as Christians
no preacher or group
that has ever seen God's blessing
has ever demonised others
who failed to support them
at a time of trouble
it was interesting
that this coincides with
our morning teaching
on Philippians
where Paul is talking about
our need to be united
and of one mind
and perhaps some of us
have been party to
some very hurtful disunity
in the past
whether we play the part
of treacherous Succoth
or vengeful Gideon
or somewhere in the middle
do we need
to have our names
written in a letter
by Paul
to cause us
to take steps
to mend those bridges
I hope not
in this section
we also find
Gideon dealing with
Ziba and Zalmunna
it seems that
they've murdered
Gideon's brothers
in some sort of
an altercation
at Tabor
it doesn't seem
that they were killed
in battle
rather that
they were murdered
and again
we see Gideon's character
coming through clearly
he wasn't going
to kill
these pagan kings
who caused so much
trouble for Israel
but on discovering
that these men
were responsible
for the death
of his brothers
he is set on vengeance
and he attempts
to use his child
as a way of shaming
the memory
of these kings
a character
building exercise
if ever I've heard
of one
but his son
Jether
he looks like
a younger version
of Gideon
he isn't
self-assured
and full of wrath
and spite
rather he's like
the man that we met
at the beginning
timid
and fearful
and halting
and so Gideon
steps up
and executes
the kings
in cold blood
he's proving
what sort of man
he is
and I doubt
many of us
are thinking
that he's showing
stellar qualities
in many areas
our last section
as we come
into this
we have a
quite interesting
little finisher
we see what sort
of man
Gideon is
and we're repulsed
or at least
I hope we are
but the people
of Israel
they've forgotten
the characteristics
that God requires
for a king
they're just set
free from
one set
of tyrants
foreign tyrants
and instantly
they begin
to think
that maybe
another bloody
tyrant
will help them
maybe we'll give
Gideon
the reins
for a while
maybe he'll
reign
well as a king
and don't think
that they're
fulfilling
what Deuteronomy
is talking about
and setting over
a king over
themselves
who is one
who is
caring about
God's law
and who
is just
rather they're
looking for a king
in the same pattern
as all the Canaanites
around themselves
and our hearts
sink when we hear
them making this
request of Gideon
because Gideon
almost always does
the wrong thing
but Gideon
surprises us
in a good way
he rejects
the offer
has Gideon
finally got it
has he finally
twigged
is this whole
tale going to
end well
with Gideon
finishing well
after a few
rocky parts
maybe Gideon's
going to turn
around his life
and God's
going to use
him as a good
judge that's
going to lead
his people well
under God
not as a king
but as a judge
and we read
his response
and it sounds
great
I'm not going
to be your
king
my sons
aren't going
to be your
king
no no no
no God's
your king
but he doesn't
stop
he then
makes
just one
request
I just want
one thing
from you
what he asked
for we may
not quite get
it from what's
said in the
text
it's the
spoil that a
king would be
due in winning
a battle
and the people
have no problem
with giving
Gideon
what he wants
19 kilos
of gold
were collected
over 19
kilos
at current
day gold
prices were
talking well
over 600,000
pounds
to give you
some sense
of the
monetary
amount
and that's
beside the
spoil taken
from the
Midianite
kings
which would
have been
substantial
and he
takes all
this gold
and he
puts it
to fantastic
use
he invests
it
into making
an ephod
now
there's
controversy
over this
we can't
be exactly
sure what
it was
or what
it looked
like
it could
have been
kind of
styled on
what the
priest wore
at the
tabernacle
a kind
of a
top
breastplate
it could
have been
some sort
of an
idol
or some
sort
of an
image
we're not
quite sure
but whatever
intention there
was in
Gideon's
mind
it certainly
wasn't
particularly
well thought
out
there was
no reason
for him
to make
this
except if
he was
attempting
to resurrect
the Baal
worship
that his
father
sponsored
and that
he put
an end
to himself
at God's
behest
this wasn't
in the
law
he wasn't
commanded
by God
to make
this thing
this isn't
sanctioned
by God
in God's
worship
Gideon is
acting like
a Canaanite
king
sponsoring
his preferred
religious
cult
and we
find that
the end
of Gideon
is even
worse than
the beginning
he starts
off the
son
of a
man
who
sponsors
Baalism
that seems
to capture
this area
just around
Ophrah
and now
Ophrah
becomes the
place of
established
idolatry
for the
whole nation
of Israel
and again
Israel just
plays the
whore
and forsakes
Yahweh
who should
be their
God
yet we
get this
incredible
summary at
the end
of our
passage
and it
doesn't
look like
it fits
in
it flies
in the
face of
everything
that we
would
expect
despite
the
depravity
despite
the
disunity
despite
the
idolatry
and the
utter
stupidity
displayed
by all
and sundry
in the
passage
we get
to the
end
and we
read
so Midian
was subdued
before the
people of
Israel
and they
raised their
heads no
more
and the
land had
rest 40
years
in the
days
of Gideon
God
used
Gideon
as flawed
as feeble
as wayward
as he
was
to bring
about this
incredible
salvation
for his
people
and I
don't know
where many
of our
minds are
at
I don't
know what
you think
about the
state
of our
nation
I don't
know what
you think
about what's
going on
in your
life
but surely
we can take
comfort
that if God
can use
Gideon
he can use
anybody
if God
can bring
good from
what happens
in Gideon's
story
he can
bring good
from anything
if God
can use
Gideon to
give his
people rest
for 40
years
what can
he do
with each
one of
us as
we seek
to follow
God's
word
as we
seek
to hear
from
him
as we
seek to
live by
his
standards
place
because I
think we
all agree
there is
one source
of victory
it is
God
there is
one source
of guidance
it is
God
and there
is one
source of
unity
it is
God
and if we get all that
that Gideon completely missed
how much more
should we be able to accomplish
through
God's power
in our lives
can we pray just before we finish
Father
we're very aware
that
there is a lot to take in
in this passage
there's a lot of material
and this has been
but a scratching of the surface
and yet
Father we long that we would
have heard your voice
we long that
you would have spoken and that
you would continue to speak
and as
we seek to do
your will
as we seek to see
your name glorified
as we seek
for you to bring
the victory
in our lives
and to this nation
that has wandered far from you
we pray
that you would do
incredible things
in these days
that you would open our mouths
to speak
that you would give us courage
Lord
that you would unite us
to go
and to tell
this world of ours
the incredible good news
that you have
for them
Father we need
your help
and Father
we long that you would get
all of the glory
in Jesus name
Amen