Gideon - The Mighty Man of Valor
Part 1 of a Series
Intro: I love to preach Series. You know, where you teach on a thought or topic for several weeks in a row. One of my favorite Old Testament guys is Gideon. With that being said, today we will begin a series of sermons about the life and times of Gideon the Mighty Man of Valor. I think there is a little bit of Gideon in all of us.
Gideon is listed in the Bible in Hebrews 11:32 among the great hero’s of the faith. And, he deserved to be listed there. After all, he became a champion by taking 300 men and liberating the entire nation from its oppression.
But, he didn’t begin as a great man of God. As a matter of fact, he would probably not be anyone’s first choice or even last choice for that matter. But God chose a most unlikely man and He raised him up as a great leader to save a nation.
With that being said, let’s not talk about Gideon the champion of military accomplishment and instead let’s look at the early part of the story of Gideon and see where God brought him out from and why God chose this guy rather than someone else. You can learn a lot about someone if you take the time to see who he really is and where he came from.
We have to start by understanding the spiritual climate of the day. Israel was in a terribly backslidden condition.
Judges 6:1-10 New King James Version, “Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. 3 So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it. 6 So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites, 8 that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'I brought you up from Egypt and brought you 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 who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 Also I said to you, "I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell." But you have not obeyed My voice.'"
Look at who the Israelites had to deal with while they had drifted away from God. There were a few reasons they fell away from God and we can view these things as warnings for us today:
1. They forgot who they were; God’s chosen and special people.
2. They forgot where they came from; Egypt, Wilderness, etc…
3. They forgot their present day purpose
Because of all this, God allowed their enemies to oppress them. Yes, it was more than just the devil; God allowed it.
It is during the oppressive times, the hard times, the stressful times that we have our hearts and attitudes revealed to us. This is when the refiner’s fire comes. Sometimes when we are going through hard times it’s because we are living according to our own terms rather than God’s plans for us.
When God allows us to become prey for our enemies it’s not designed to annihilate us. The hard times are not designed to destroy us but to get us back on track.
Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 1:10, “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” And, sometimes in our own lives God must:
Root out….
Pull Down….
Destroy….
And Throw Down ….. before he can build and plant.
Now, let’s look at the actual enemies Gideon and Israel were facing.
Midianites = Inhabitants of strife and contention.
Amalekites = A people that lick up or exhaust.
Midianites = Inhabitants of strife and contention.
It always intrigues me how certain patterns or cycles exist and are actually quite predictable. Just like there are physical Laws of Nature, there are also Spiritual Laws that are just as unfailing and consistent.
Over the years I have observed several things about those who have backslidden, fallen away from God or grown cold in their faith. One of those things is what I call the Midianite Curse.
That means when someone is not in a right state with God they will often become connected with strife or contention in one way or another. That means they will often either become toxic and extremely unpleasant, or they will become the victim of it.
We talk about drama queens and kings. These are people who seem to always keep things stirred up in a negative way; but you cannot be a drama queen or king and be in right standing with God. It’s impossible. Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
The second of the enemies that Israel had to deal with in their backslidden state was …….
Amalekites = A people that lick up or exhaust.
There is a level of poverty that is identified as the Amalekite Curse. This is the draining away of everything good and positive in a person’s life. You work and labor and exhaust yourself trying to get ahead but it is just like Dust in the Wind.
In Deuteronomy 28 we have the blessings bestowed upon the obedient and the curses bestowed upon the disobedient. When we preach from this chapter we usually focus on the blessings but you must read the whole thing to get the full understanding. So, let’s look at some of the curses of disobedient. Here is just part of it.
Deuteronomy 28:38-42 “You will plant much but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops. 39 You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you will not drink the wine or eat the grapes, for worms will destroy the vines. 40 You will grow olive trees throughout your land, but you will never use the olive oil, for the fruit will drop before it ripens. 41 You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, for they will be led away into captivity. 42 Swarms of insects will destroy your trees and crops.43 "The foreigners living among you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker. 44 They will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail!
Now, this seems a lot like the Amalekite curse with the licking up and bringing exhaustion. And this was the state of the union of Israel in Judges Chapter Six because of their disobedience. It was a hard time for everyone. It was a time when they had turned their backs on God and were in a completely backslidden state; unrepentant, and suffering for it.
But there is some good news to talk about in all this. And that is, God saw they had suffered enough and were willing to turn back to Him. The Lord was declaring that the season of oppression was coming to an end if they would submit to certain conditions. You see, there are always conditions when you have backslidden and are now returning to the Lord.
So first things first! Before they could live in prosperity they had to repent and they had to remove the enemy from their territory. You see, you cannot co-exist with the enemy that once ruled over you. You must get rid of him or he will keep coming back to bite you.
So hopefully now you can see why it was so important to take the time to focus on the background of the story; we need to see the bigger picture.
Now we pick up the story of Gideon…..
Judges 6:11-12, “Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!"
Now as we read through these verses, we must pause a little and think about each part of all this. For example, the bible mentions a particular tree here, not just a tree but a terebinth tree. Think about it, why mention that particular type of tree? And what is a terebinth anyway?
It is actually a real tree, usually a huge oak tree that is deeply rooted and really tall and spread out. These are the kind of trees that live for hundreds of years. In researching this tree and its significance, I found it was often mentioned in the Bible when something is referred to as long lasting, strong, or significant. Other times it served as a survey marker, marking a boundary or property line.
Here is what one young lady blogged…….. she said, “A year ago, my mom shared with me that God had impressed upon her heart that I have found my ‘terebinth tree’ – a place where I belong, a place where God is, a place where I have met with God, a place where I would not have found if I had remained where I was, and it’s my hiding place in Him.”
So, it’s pretty important to note that the Angel of the Lord came and sat under this tree which actually belonged to Gideon’s family. And it was in the area known as Ophrah.
The name Ophrah translates to mean “A Fawn” which to me denotes the birth of something new and beautiful.”
Any time an angel and especially the Angel of the Lord appears in the Bible, it means that something is about to change, to shift, and to go in a new direction. And from that time on, nothing is ever the same. And, that’s usually a really good thing.
So, let’s keep building the foundation for this series of sermon. The terebinth tree in Ophrah actually belonged to Gideon’s father. His name was Joash the Abiezrite.
Joash the Abiezrite
Joash means… “Jehovah is strong, Jehovah has built, Jehovah supports; the substance of the Lord.”
Abiezrite means “My father will help; Father of Helps.” But is this really who he was? Was he really a helpful father full of Jehovah’s strength and substance?
In order to further understand the backslidden state of the nation, you can see what Gideon’s father’s identity was supposed to be. But, Joash had turn away from God and was a Baal worshiper. He had totally turned his back on God, betrayed his faith and worshiped demons & idols instead. And, much of Israel had also followed in Joash’s footsteps.
It is into this mess of famine, rebellion to God, the wrath of God, the consequences of being in a backslidden condition that Gideon enters the story.
Gideon’s name means a “Feller or Ax Man, One who cuts down, a great warrior.”
So, the time of God’s judgment has been fulfilled and has run its course.
Aren’t you glad that judgment has a time limit?
And with the changing of the seasons; changing into a better season,
God is looking for a man or woman…….
God is looking for potential
God is looking for a right heart
God is looking for the raw materials and not necessarily the finished product.
God is looking for someone He can work with
And while he is searching the land looking for His man, He sees Gideon? You have to ask yourself…….
Who? .........
Who? .........
The man who is named The Ax man, the Great Warrior. But he appears to be anything but what his name suggests!
His father Joash is a backslidden version of “Jehovah is strong, Jehovah has built, Jehovah supports; the substance of the Lord.”
Yet, the Angel of the Lord calls Gideon a Mighty Man of Valor!
So of all people, why Gideon? After all, he is threshing wheat in a wine press in an attempt to hide it from the Midianites (Inhabitants of strife and contention.) so they won’t confiscate it.
Why choose Gideon when he said that he is the least person in the smallest tribe and belongs to the weakest clan in the tribe? And, he wasn’t the most confident and faith filled person as we’ll find out later; even after an Angel of the Lord visited him.
The call of God is a mystery, and I must confess that I just don’t get it. The selection process makes no rational sense to me.
The United States and many other countries have a form of selective service by which they call up qualified young men and women during times of war or extreme crisis; and so does God. But God’s draft system is nothing like man’s selective process.
Would you have selected Gideon over everyone else? I am sure I would not have. I would have probably picked out some handsome, popular, wealthy, influential, super talented Adonis with tiger’s blood flowing through his extra-terrestrial, superhuman body. But God is different; He chooses a nobody, a commoner, an Average Joe.
I remember when God was selecting another guy named David. During the selection process God told the Prophet not to select this other guy. He told him in 1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
Sometimes when I think about Gideon I scratch my head and try to understand. You see when the Lord appeared to him, he did his best to talk God out of using him. He really did. And then he did the fleece thing that we will look at another time. Gideon did everything he could think of to disqualify himself.
But if you think about it, if God calls you to something and wants to raise you up and you try everything you can to say no, the black and white of it is, you really are being rebellious and disobedient.
I mean, if God is calling you to do something and you refuse, what is that really?
That means you would live the rest of your life doing your own thing.
That means you reject the purpose and plan God has for your life.
That means you think refusal and rebellion is the better way to live.
That means you think that if you say no to God you can still live under the covering of His favor and blessing in spite of your refusal to accept His calling?
Nothing good can come of it. I know what I am talking about. I tried it. I was miserable and cursed and completely void of happiness and satisfaction. I could really relate to Jonah who spent three days in the belly of the whale because of his rejection of God’s calling. Been there, done that, but I ain’t ever going back!
Nothing good ever comes out of refusing God and rejecting the very purpose of your existence.
And, another thing while I am at it, playing the stupid game doesn’t work either. And playing the hard of hearing game? You know….
The stuff like:
“I know that cannot really be God speaking to me.” Or ….
“I don’t know what God made me for.” Or ……
“I don’t know what my purpose is.” Or …..
“I know what others have prophesied over me, but ……”
“If I actually admit to my calling, life will never be the same.” …Duh!
For most of us, to acknowledge what God is saying to us does not necessarily mean we must go out tomorrow and plant a church, or move to some jungle in a foreign land. But it does mean we begin a process of preparation with an anticipation of being ready to step into your destiny when the command to do so is given.
1 Corinthians 1:26-30 NKJV, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
1 Corinthians 1:26-28 THE MESSAGE, “Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. 27 Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, 28 chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"?
We don’t choose ourselves, its God. If I had it my way, I would have just continued my life as an Army man, or took a job in a saw mill in Oregon or something like that. But man, when God called me I had to stop threshing wheat in a winepress just trying to get by. God had to raise me up, I couldn’t do it by myself.
Conclusion: I believe there are some Gideons right here today. I believe God is speaking to some people and saying it’s time to step up and be the kind of Christian you were born to be.
