Gideon’s Call

Many times, we get the idea that because we believe in God there shouldn’t be any problems.  This is an unrealistic idea.  Some four thousand five hundred years ago, Job said, “Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.”    Trouble is a natural part of human life, as a result of Adams sin in Genesis 3.   It is almost always the result of our own or someone else’s bad choices.   In Gideon’s day, Israel’s sin had caused God to withdraw his blessings, according to Judges 6:1.  “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.”

 

Without God’s protection, they were unable to protect themselves from invasion by the inhabitants of present day Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia, particularly the Midianites and Amalekites, who inhabited the desert areas.  Judges 6:2-6 describes the effects of their invasion.  “And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.  And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.  For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.  And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.”

 

Like the looters and protesters of today, the invaders were more concerned with destroying Israel than with bettering things for their own people.  They brought in huge herds of livestock which ate the vegetation into the ground, even pulling it out by the roots.  The Israelites were forced to leave their homes and hide out in the uninhabited areas of Israel.  When the final realized they could not resolve the problem themselves, they called out to God for help, and he sent a prophet to rebuke them for their sin.      

God did not instantly solve all their problems.  Instead, he chose a man to lead them in solving their problems.  Judges 6:11-12 describes God’s initial contact Gideon.  “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”

 

Like people today, Gideon questioned how God could be with them when they were going through such a tough time, in Judges 6:13.  “And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

 

When God told him he was to deliver Israel, Gideon didn’t feel qualified.  He had no great following or leadership experience, and his family was not well known.  God promised to be with him and give him the victory, in Judges 6:14-16.  “And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?  

 

And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

 

And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.”

 

Believing The angel was sincere, Gideon asked for reassurance he was from God.  Acting on his belief, he went and prepared a sacrifice and brought it to see how the angel would respond, in Judges 6:17-19.  And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me.  Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.  And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.”

 

There is a modern saying, “trust but verify,” and that is what Gideon was doing.  In Deuteronomy 18:22, God commanded, “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”  It is foolish not to double check whether something is really what God said.  The people in Berea were greater than those in Thessalonica because they followed this principle, according to Acts 17:11.  “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

 

God was not offended by Gideon’s request.  Instead the angel showed a miraculous sign to reassure him.  Assured the message was from God, Gideon took time to worship, as Judges 6:20-24 describes.  “And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.  Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

 

And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.

 

And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.  Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”

 

Israel’s problem started with their ignoring God’s law, setting other things in God’s place.  If he was to lead Israel in straightening things out, Gideon needed to eliminate the problem in his own life first.  Judges 6:25-26 tells us, “And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.”

 

Although Gideon was afraid he would be punished for doing what God said, he obeyed, as Judges 6:27 describes.  “Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.”

 

Gideon’s own father had paid for construction of the altar, but when the people threatened to kill him for destroying it, he stood against them, insisting that if Baal were a god, he should be able to kill Gideon himself, in Judges 6:28-32.  “And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.  And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.  Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.

 

And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.  Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.”   Despite the threats, God blessed Gideon’s obedience.