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GIDEON:  A JUDGE & A MIGHTY MAN OF VALOR

 

The Presence of the Lord

Judges 6:11-16

Lesson 4

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.     The nation of Israel felt the burden of the Midianite affliction.

 

B.      They were now in a penitent state before God.

 

C.     God sent a prophet to inform them about His blessings of the past and to remind them that they had been commanded to fear God.

 

D.     God was now poised to rescue His people from the hand of the Midianites. 

1.       He would do this through a deliverer.  That deliver, or judge, would be a man named Gideon.

2.       We read about the call of this judge in Judges 6:11-16.

3.       We have entitled this section:  “The Presence of the Lord.”

 

I.                    THE REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD (Judg. 6:11)

 

A.     The Spirit (Judg. 6:11a)

 

And there came an angel of the Lord…

 

1.       Angels are spirit beings who do the bidding of the Almighty (Heb. 1:14).

2.       Keil and Delitzsch make this comment about this representative of God:  “…i.e., Jehovah, in a visible self-revelation in human form” (K&D, e-sword).

3.       This angel reveals Himself numerous times in the Old Testament.

a.       He spoke to Hagar when she was cast out by Sarai (Gen. 16:7).

b.      He kept Abraham from offering Isaac (Gen. 22:11-12).

c.       He wrestled with Jacob at the brook Jabbok (Gen. 32:24-30).

d.      He appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Exo. 3:2).

e.       He appeared to Balaam (Num. 22:22-35).

f.        He fought for Israel in the conquest of Canaan (Josh. 5:13-15).

4.       This being manifests himself as a man, but most believe He is the second member of the Godhead.

a.       He is referred to as Lord or God (Gen. 32:30; Exo. 3:6).

b.      See I Corinthians 10:4

 

…for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them:  and that Rock was Christ.

 

B.      The Site of the Appearance (Judg. 6:11b)

 

…and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite…

 

1.       The angel sat under an oak tree that was located on the property of Gideon’s father.

2.       He lived in Ophrah.  It was locaed in Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan River.

3.       His name was Joash.  His name means “given by the Lord.”

4.       He was an Abiezrite.  He was a descendant of Manasseh, one of the sons of Joseph, through Gideon (See Num. 26:28-34).

 

The sons of Joseph after their families were Manasseh and Ephraim.  Of the son of Manasseh:  of Machir, the family of the Machirites:  and Machir begat Gilead:  of Gilead come the family of the Gileadites.  These are the sons of Gilead:  of Jeezer, the family of Jeezerites:  of Helek, the family of the Helekites:  and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites…

 

C.     The Son of Joash (Judg. 6:11c)

 

…and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

 

1.       Gideon

a.       His name means:  “hewer” or “feller,” that is “warrior.

b.      We are not told his age at the time of his call. 

c.       He had 70 sons and many wives (Judg. 8:30).

d.      He also had a concubine who bore him a son named Abimelech (Judg. 8:31).

2.       He threshed wheat by the winepress.

a.       This does not appear to be the normal place of the threshing of wheat.

b.      Normally, they would cast the wheat into the air.  The husks would blow away and the kernels would fall to the ground.

c.       The word translated “threshed” here meant to knock out.

1)      Gideon was down in the ground where wine was trampled.

2)      He was hitting the wheat in order to knock off a few grains so his family could eat during this affliction.

3.       He threshed wheat by the winepress, “to hide it from the Midianites.

a.       The Midianites did everything they could to remove food supplies from the Israelites.

b.      “And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel…” (Judg. 6:4).

 

II.                 THE REQUEST FOR GIDEON TO DELIVER ISRAEL (Judg. 6:12-14)

 

A.     The Surety of God’s Presence (Judge. 6:12)

 

And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

 

1.       In what form the angel appeared to Gideon, the text does not reveal here.  However, in verse 21, we learn that he had a staff in his hand.  Thus, he was in the form of a man.

2.       He assured Gideon that “the Lord is with thee.”

a.       God was going to be with Gideon on his mission to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Midianites, but Gideon did not know this right now.

b.      LESSON:  When God commissions individuals to do His work, He is always with them.

1)      God was with Noah (Gen. 7:16).

2)      God was with Moses (Exo. 3:12).

3)      God was with Joshua (Josh. 1:5).

4)      God was with Jesus (John 8:29).

5)      God was with the apostles (Mark 16:20).

6)      God was with Paul (Acts 18:9-10; 2 Tim. 4:17).

3.       The angel describes Gideon as a “mighty man of valor.”

a.       Perhaps there were experiences in the life of Gideon wherein he had shown himself to be a man of valor.

b.      His knowledge and skills would now be used against the Midianites.

c.       LESSON:  When we have trained and proven ourselves in various endeavors, God can then take us and use us for even greater works in His kingdom.

 

B.      The Skepticism of Gideon (Judg. 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 hand of the Midianites.

 

1.       Gideon mistook the words of the angel to mean that God was with Israel.  This led to the statement of skepticism from Gideon.

2.       Gideon knew that if the Lord had been with them

a.       They would not be in this affliction.

b.      His miracles would be manifest among them like in the days when He delivered the Jews from Egypt.

c.       He was certain the Lord had forsaken them and delivered them into the hand of the Midianites.  As a nation, he was correct (See Deut. 31:16-18).

 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers in the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.  Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?  And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

 

C.     The Savior of the Nation Called (Judg. 6:14)

 

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?

 

1.       Notice, the text begins with the words:  “And the Lord looked upon him…”  This confirms that “the angel of the Lord” was deity.

2.       God exhorts Gideon to “go.” 

a.       The Lord’s work often requires the people of God to leave the comforts of their home and accomplish the mission God has for them.

b.      Others who had to go.

1)      Abraham had to leave his homeland (Gen. 12:1-4).

2)      The apostles were commission to go into all the world (Mark 16:15).

3.       The Lord told him to “go in this thy might.”  Gideon’s valor combined with the help of God would give him all the strength he needed to do God’s bidding.

4.       It was time for Israel to be rescued from the hands of the Midianites.

5.       “Have not I sent thee?”

a.       There are times when God sets His sight on certain people to do His work.

b.      Examples:

1)      Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt.

2)      Esther to save Israel from the evil Haman.

3)      Peter to open the doors of the church to both Jews and Gentiles.

4)      Ananias to go to Paul and convert him.

5)      Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles.

c.       LESSON:  When there are needs presented to the church that we can fill, we should ask ourselves:  “Has God called upon us to do this work?”

 

III.              THE RELUCTANCE OF GIDEON (Judg. 6:15-16)

 

A.     The Scruple Presented by Gideon (Judg. 6:15)

 

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.

 

1.       Wherewith shall I save Israel?

a.       When a man is called to do a big work, it can be a daunting task.

b.      There are many things that might cause him to be reluctant to take the task on.

1)      Humility

2)      Fear

3)      Worry

4)      Lack of faith

2.       One’s reluctance usually comes with some excuses.  Gideon has two.

a.       My family is poor in Manasseh.

1)      This could indicate the socio-economic position of Gideon’s family.

2)      Some believe he is talking about the number of people who exist in his family.  His family had been diminished greatly.  Thus, they could do little against the Midianites.

b.      I am least in my father’s house.

1)      He was referring to his birth order.  He was the youngest.

2)      Most of the time, the elder son is the one who is chosen to head the work.

3)      God did not always choose the older child.  He chose the person who could and would do the work (i.e., the selection of David to be king of Israel, 1 Sam. 16:7, 12).

 

B.      The Security Presented by God (Judg. 6:16)

 

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

 

1.       God promises to be with Gideon.

a.       God’s promises are true (Tit. 1:2).

b.      If God is with us, we have the strongest force imaginable (Rom. 8:31b).

 

If God be for us, who can be against us?

 

2.       God promises victory:  “thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

a.       Again, God cannot lie.

b.      “As one man,” that is, as if they were fighting just one man.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.     God has called a deliverer to save Israel.

 

B.      He has promised to be with him and to give him victory.

 

C.     The question is:  “What will happen next?”  A couple of interesting events will transpire before Gideon prepares for battle against Midian.