House Cleaning

Last week we started learning about Gideon, and how he was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord tries to send Gideon to deal with the problem. Gideon wonders here God is in the current oppression by the mideanites and when sent by the angel, gives a aeries of excuses. We ended last week with Gideon asking how could he save Israel? The answered was that God was with him.

We ended with the discussion that we are no different than Gideon, we are thrashing around in a winepress and we must come out.

Let’s pickup with our scripture This morning,

Judges 6:17

Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you."

And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return."

Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"

Gideon is out of the Press and hears that God wants him to do something and most importantly is promising to be with him. His response, If and I mean IF, I am the one you are talking to, hold on for a few minutes and let me make an offering…Wait Right here.

Gideon is not at all sure that he is the right guy. He has crawled out of the press and took the messenger, the angel, some physical manifestation that God created and he wants to make a meal.

A young goat and an epath of flower, they say that a epath was about 3 /5 of bushel. A bushel of wheat would weight 60 pounds, I don’t know if a bushel of flower would weight more or less. If it is 60 pounds then 3/5 is 38 pounds of flower to make bread.

The amount is not as important as the idea that Gideon was making a sizable sacrifice to this representative of God. It was a lot more than one man or two could eat. He brings the meal and the angel gives him instructions.

Put the meat and the bread on that rock over there then pour that gravy all over it. And Gideon does as he is told.

All this looks to me like a test. This fella, was just sitting there by the wine press talking really big and Gideon, decides to test the messenger. He is saying make me believe. Make me really know that God is with me, that God wants me to do something.

The angel takes the end of his staff and touches the meat and bread and flames jump put of the rock and consume the offering. While Gideon is staring with his mouth open, the angel disappears.

Gideon gets it.. God has been present. God was with him. And instead of joy and excitement he panics.

I have seen the angel of the lord face to face. From what he knows, he is gonna die. That is the deal, If you see the face of God you die.

But God responds in the next verse,

23 But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."

24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon seems to be pretty impressed. He marks the spot. He makes an alter, which is a decent size stack of rocks. So he is not dead and because of his encounter he honors the event with a pillar of stones. That is a pretty good day don’t you think, Thresh a little wheat, meet with the angel of God, make an offering that God accepts in a miraculous way.

Gideon is not finished. You see, when God says he is going to be with you, and you listen and respond. You will never be done. God calls people to be in service and as long as you respond, He has plenty for you to do and he will stay with you and give you direction.