An Unlikely Hero

AN UNLIKELY HERO

Judges 6:1-12

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.

2. 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.

3. 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;

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.

7. And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites,

8. That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

9. And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;

10. And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

11. 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.

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

WHAT QUALITIES MAKE UP A HERO

When I say the word "Hero," who is it that comes to your mind?

John Wayne?

Arnold Schwartzenaeger?

Or perhaps, Ronald Raegan?

Or maybe, George W. Bush?

When we think of Heroes, often we think of men portrayed with Grit, Character.We think of one who doesn’t neccassarily run from a fight. And here we find where a man camed Gideon was found hiding from the Mediates yet the Angel of the Lord called him, "A Mighty Man Of Valour." How can this be? We can see that Gideon was a bit timid due to the fact he was hiding from the Midianites in a wine press.

In those days, the wine presses were generally dug into the ground. Now then, if Scared, Nervous, ’Lil ’ol Gideon was looked upon by the Lord as a Hero, (Mighty Man Of Valor), that should be encouragement to many of us. If God could see the Hero in Gideon surely he can see a Hero in us! So now let’s look and see how Gideon was changed into this Great Leader of his people.

HE HAD A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE LORD

(12) And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

Now here’s a man hiding in a wine press, and an Angel of the Lord calls him, "A MIGHTY MAN OF VALOUR."

Don’t you kind of think his first thought might have been, "Hey, you got the wrong guy!" Gideon was saying to God; "You got the wrong man." "You are looking for a Great Soldier." "You are looking for a Super Hero, but not me!" Do you ever feel like you are too weak to do what God is asking you to do? I recall the Lord impressing upon me to Preach. To those of you who remember, I wasn’t so eager to do so. I would often call my preaching, "Speaking" to keep from accepting the fact that God had placed the call upon my life. In fact, I more or less said to the Lord at times, "Hey, you got the wrong guy." Gideon told God he had the wrong guy in the begining. He couldn’t see it. He couldn’t see how if he was to be the Hero of God’s people, how then could they be under oppression by the Midianites? But God had a plan! God always has a plan!

(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?