The Troubles (Judges 6:1-6)
To appreciate what God is going to do for the people of Israel through Gideon, we have to see what is going on in their history. We are told at the end of Judges 5 that Israel had experienced a time of rest and peace from the surrounding nations for 40 years. But this time of peace does not last because Judges 6 opens by telling us that the people of Israel returned to doing evil in the sight of the Lord. I think it is very important to read the end of verse 1. There we are specifically told that the Lord gave his people into the hand of Midian for 7 years. The next few verses show what this looked like in the life of Israel. Midian is regularly overpowering Israel. The situation is so severe that the people of Israel had to make shelters and hiding places in the mountains and caves.
Verses 3-4 record the economic devastation. Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of east would invade and ruin all the crops. Can you imagine doing all the work to plant your crops so that you and your family would have food only to have an invading nation attack and destroy all of your work so that you had no food? This happened for seven years. Not only this, but we are told in verse 4 that they would also kill the cattle and livestock as they attacked. There were so many of them that their attacks were like locusts roaming over the land. Everything was laid waste in the land (6:5). Verse 6 tells us that the people of Israel were brought low because of Midian’s attacks. They were brought low economically and brought low physically and emotionally from enduring these attacks. So finally the people cry out to the Lord.
We sometimes fail to see an important characteristic of God. This is a picture of his severe kindness. Now that probably sounds strange. How can severity be kind? In our world today we think of kindness only as softness and giving people latitude. But a good parent understands that kindness is not to allow the child to do whatever he or she wants to do. That is not kindness but abuse. You are ruining the child and setting them on the path to destruction if you let them do whatever they feel like. Kindness requires boundaries and discipline. So I want us to see this about the kindness of God. The kindness of God is to strip the people of their resources and allow these difficult times from the Midianites so that they will turn back to God. Difficulties and hardships are to push us back to God. So God allows such events in our lives to push us toward him. This is his severe kindness. As we saw in our study of Jonah, God will let you run but he is going to do his work to try to bring you back.
God’s Message (Judges 6:7-10)
But I want you to notice what God did when the people cried out to him. God did not immediately deliver them. God did not immediately send a deliverer. Instead, God sent a prophet. God sent his word to the people. God needed to deliver a message. So God sends a prophet and we do not know the name of this prophet. But the message he proclaims is clear. God tells the people that he rescued them from Egypt and their oppression and slavery. God drove their oppressors out of the land and gave them this land. God told them to not worship the gods of the land in which you live. But look at the words at the end of verse 10. “But you have not obeyed my voice.” Before rescue can come, you need to know something important. You did not do what I instructed and that is why life is the way that it is.
Your Fear (Judges 6:11-13)
Now we are introduced to a man named Gideon. Gideon is no hero. We are told that Gideon is beating wheat in a winepress. Typically you would beat wheat in the open so that the wind would blow the lighter chaff away from the heavier grains. A winepress at that time was a depression in the ground that could hold the juices as the grapes were crushed. So here is Gideon fearfully hiding the wheat in the winepress, trying to separate out the chaff. It is at this moment that an angel of the Lord comes to Gideon with these words.
“The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6:12 ESV). What do you mean, “Mighty man of valor?” This does not look like a courageous warrior in God’s army as he hides in the winepress. But I want you to see what God is doing right now. God does not look at Gideon for who he is right now. God is looking at what he knows Gideon can be. To state this more precisely, God knows what he can do through you. God knows how he can use you. Think about how many times God does this when he calls his people. God changes Abram’s name to Abraham because God says he is the father of many nations. When God did that, Abraham did not even have one single child and his wife, Sarah, was barren. Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter which means, “rock.” But Peter is still going forsake Jesus when he is arrested and he is still going to deny Jesus three times. But Jesus calls Simon “Peter” because he knew what Peter was going to be. Peter was going to be the rock. He was not the rock yet. But he was going to be the rock. Gideon wasn’t a mighty man of valor yet. But he was going to be by the power of God.
So Gideon has a question about all of this which is recorded in verse 13. You say that the Lord is with me. If the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened to us? Where are all of his wonderful deeds that our ancestors talk about? Notice what Gideon says at the end of verse 13. “But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.” In short, why doesn’t God do something? Why doesn’t God care? Why has God forsaken us and cast us off? I don’t see God doing anything.
Now I hope we see that this is a dangerous way of thinking. We evaluate God by what we can see and this is really dangerous because we cannot see all that God is doing. But I want us to see why this is really dangerous. Was God the problem? No, the people were the problem. The people had forsaken the Lord. The people had turned their back on God. God did not just randomly abandon them. But that is what they thought. They did not see that their sins had blocked God. But further, they did not see that God was still at work. Just because you cannot see it does not mean that God is not working.
Your Strength (Judges 6:14-24)
So listen to how the Lord responds to Gideon’s questioning of him. The Lord tells Gideon to go in the strength he has and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. The Lord is sending you. Did you expect God to say that? Did you expect the Lord to tell Gideon to go in his strength? Didn’t you expect the Lord to tell Gideon to go in God’s strength? What is God saying? What is God doing? You can see what God is doing in Gideon’s response in verse 15.
Gideon does not respond by saying that he does have the strength and the ability to do this. Rather, Gideon says the opposite. Gideon says that he is unable to save Israel. Gideon’s clan is the weakest in the tribe and he is the least in his family. You have the wrong guy because I do not have strength. I am not the mighty warrior that you say that I am.
Notice the Lord’s response in verse 16. The Lord does not argue with Gideon about his strength. He does not tell Gideon about how strong Gideon is. The Lord does not emphasize Gideon’s strength. Why will Gideon be strong? Why will Gideon save Israel? Why will Gideon succeed? The Lord says, “But I will be with you.” You have all of your excuses but I will be with you. Your background does not matter. I will be with you. God wants us to see that we can’t do it ourselves. This is how God makes us poor in spirit. You need God. I will be with you and you will put an end to Midian.
Your Idols (Judges 6:25-27)
Now we have another important instruction that can easily be missed in this story. Look at verse 25. That night the Lord told Gideon that he needs to deal with the idols. Now I want you to notice how big this idol is. The Lord tells Gideon to go get his father’s bull and go pull down the Baal altar. Then cut down the Asherah pole next to it. So do not think of these things as small idols. These are massive idols. God says to go tear them down and build an altar to the Lord on top of it and offer a burnt offering there. So Gideon gets ten of the family servants and they do what the Lord said. I want you to notice the end of verse 27. They went and did this at night because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it in the day. Now I do not want us to miss the point. How bad off is Israel and how steeped in idolatry is this city that Gideon knows that if he tears down these idols he is not going to be a spiritual hero! He knows that he is going to be in deep trouble with the city. He even knows that he will be in deep trouble with his family. But he does it anyway. In fact, notice in verse 30 the people of the city say that Gideon deserves to die. Bring him out so that he may die because he has torn down the idols of the city. Gideon knew this was dangerous but he did it anyway.
Friends, too often we are unwilling to deal with our idols because we are afraid of what are family is going to say about it or do about it. Too often we lack the courage to address our failings and our family’s failing spiritually because we are afraid of what they will say or do. Since they are going to make our lives miserable, then we are unwilling to make a stand for the Lord and willing to tear out the idols of our hearts. Friends, it takes courage to tear down your idols. It takes courage to stand against your family and your friends and serve the Lord the way you know you have been called to serve.
But this is an important principle. If you want God to be with you and save you, then your idols must be smashed. No more limping between two opinions. No more back and forth. No more being half-hearted. If the Lord is going to be with you, then it is time to tear down and smash those idols and then build a true altar of worship to the Lord in our hearts. Jesus said that you cannot serve two masters (cf. Matthew 6:24). You cannot serve God and your idols. Gideon is asking, “Why has all this happened to us?” God is asking us to look at our idols. How can you ask what is going on when you are not worshiping God but attached and in love with your idols?
Your Faith (Judges 6:28-32)
Trouble is going to come from tearing down your idols. This is often the reason why we will not tear down these idols. But let me ask you a question. Will God take care of you for doing what is right? Jesus said to seek the kingdom first and the rest will be added to you (Matthew 6:34). Will God take care of you for doing right? God took care of Gideon. The city is ready to kill Gideon. But Gideon’s father, Joash, makes a simple point to the city. Why don’t you let your idol defend itself? If Baal is really a god, then he can take care of himself. But our faith is believing that God will take care of us for doing what is right. This is what Daniel did. He did the right thing even though the threat was to be thrown in the lion’s den. Daniel’s three friends did the right thing even though the threat was to be thrown in a fiery furnace. The people of God always do the right thing by faith, trusting that God will take care of them. This is what the writer of Hebrews says.
35 Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:35-40 ESV)
This is what God is telling Gideon. “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” But will you throw away your idols and step out in faith? Will you believe that God will take care of you for doing right? Do you believe that God will give you the strength to tear down the idols and go forward? This is what God is telling us to do.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11 ESV)
God is with you. Are you with him? Or is there some big idols sitting in the middle of your heart that you will not tear out? Is there some sin that you are holding on to that you refuse to give up? Before we can go on, we need to tear out the idols. God is trying to tear the idols out of your hands. Let go of those idols and see what God can do for your life.