Flexibility - A Crazy Idea
Judges 6-7
We are in the second half of a series called “Heroes of Hope.” It is a 5 week series that looks at some Heroes from scripture that had a huge faith in God. We started by looking at the story of Moses and the Israelites departure from Egypt. We discovered that we can have confidence in God even in the face of impossible odds. We heard about Joshua and the battle at Jericho that is found in Joshua 6. We learn that to move into the Promise Land with God, we must enact the willingness to do things God’s way. Last week we heard the story of Deborah and learned that peace comes, through our complete service to God.
This week we are going to hear the story of Gideon. His story is found in Judges 6-7 and the details are once again movie worthy in my book. Gideon becomes a Judge of Israel when they are in another one of those cycles of rebellion and oppression. As always, God truly wants to rescue and deliver his people from oppression to freedom, from poverty to plenty. But to do this He needed a people and a leader with flexibility.
Flexibility - being ready to try something different or new for the kingdom. It’s when I’m willing to change my plans if that’s what God needs me to do.
As we work our way through this story, continually ask yourself: Am I flexible enough for God to use me in His Kingdom?
Let’s start by setting the stage for what God is about to do:
Judges 6:1-6 (NIV)
6 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.
God hears the cry of his people and He is ready to respond with redemption, but will there be anyone with enough flexibility to allow God to use them in His Kingdom. God called upon the right man and Gideon set for us the following steps for our flexibility in serving God. The first step in flexibility to:
Surrender who you are
God had a plan to chase away Israel’s enemies who were stealing and destroying their food. God wanted to use Gideon to lead the army and he called him a mighty warrior, but first Gideon had to surrender his own opinions about who he was. He thought, “I’m just a farmer” while God said, “You are a mighty warrior!” Although there was doubt and a lack of confidence in himself, Gideon was ready to be obedient to God.
Judges 6:11-18 (NIV)
11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18 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 professes himself to be not just a simple farmer but the weakest person in the weakest family that is a descendant of the former king Manasseh. Let’s not forget that Manasseh lead Israel away from God and brought destruction upon them. Gideon is saying that he has nothing to offer but failure and a heritage of poor leadership. This is not the guy that Israel is going to want leading them into battle. This is not they guy that Gideon wants leading Israel into battle, but it is the guy God want’s leading them.
Gideon struggles with doubt, but he has just enough humility and just enough curiosity and just enough courage, to ask God for a sign. In fact, he is so unsure of all this that he asks for a sign three different time. First he brings an offering to the Lord for proof. He begins to believe and calls for the army to gather. Then more doubt hits him. So he asks God to place dew on fleece. And finally, he asks God to keep the fleece dry in the presence of dew. Clearly Gideon was faced with doubt, but eventually he surrendered who he was and accepted who God said he was.
Are you flexible enough for God to use you in His Kingdom? You will have to surrender who you are. In a world that is screaming, “Hold on to your individuality. Fight for your identity!” God needs you to surrender your identity and individuality to Him, so that He can make you into a mighty warrior for His kingdom.
The second step in flexibility is to:
Surrender your old habits
Now, scripture does not tell us if Gideon actually worshiped Baal or any of the other gods of the area, but it is clear that his family and the townspeople did. It is likely that Gideon participated in many of their rituals and worship times in some form or fashion, so he was going to have to provide a sign of his own to prove his dedication to God and God alone.
Judges 6:25-27 (NIV)
25 That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”
27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
We need to understand the severity of what God is telling Gideon to do. He is not simply saying to abandon his old ways of life; he is being told to tear down, destroy, repurpose, and burn up the things and places where his whole family worships. It is not good enough for him to simply walk away. He must rededicate the things in his life into the service of God. This is no easy task. Emotionally or physically. He had to get 10 guys to help him. (There is a good plug for accountability groups if I’ve ever heard one.)
His whole family and his whole town were going to be furious. That’s why he did it at night. He knew the only way to get it accomplished was swiftly, without warning, and in the cover of darkness. And although we are not going to read the account, you need to know that they actually gave him a new name as a result of his actions. That’s right, the townspeople looked and treated him differently after he followed God’s leading. But it was all necessary because following God requires dedicated hearts and lives.
Are you flexible enough for God to use you in His Kingdom? You will have to surrender your old habits. There is no room in God’s Kingdom for your others gods. The habits, structures, and articles will have to be completely destroyed and the resources repurposed for God’s way of doing things. Instead of sacrificing for and worshiping things of this world, God’s people are called to sacrifice only for His kingdom and His worship.
The third step in flexibility is to:
Surrender your to-do list
Just as Gideon is starting to feel comfortable with what God is calling him to, God calls for more flexibility. He puts on some soldier gear and gathers thousands of men together. He gets them equipped and ready for battle. And just as they prepare to leave for the battle field, God says, “You have too many soldiers. Let me help you whittle that number down some.” Gideon’s plans had to change.
Judges 7:1-8 (NIV)
7 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.
For a weak farmer, Gideon certainly knows how to throw together an army. Even after upsetting all the people in his town, he was able to gather 32,000 men willing to fight in battle. I’m sure this was encouraging to him. They might actually stand a chance in battle. If nothing else, they were going to put up a good fight. But God’s plan does not include us trusting in our own abilities and resources.
Instead of gathering up more troops for battle, Gideon had to surrender what needed to be done and send 31,700 soldiers away right before they would go to war. Gideon’s to-do list probably contained things like: ensure there is enough food, sharpen and pass out swords and spears, appoint leaders of groups, and form an attack plan. God’s to-do list for Gideon and Israel included only one thing: Rely on God.
Are you flexible enough for God to use you in His Kingdom? You will have to surrender your to-do list. The things that you feel are important to do right now, might get delayed or canceled all together so you can focus on what God needs you to do. The things you have been working for and relying on might need to be released and sent away. Like the Israelites, God wants us to be completely reliant upon Him for victory.
The fourth step in flexibility is to:
Surrender how you do things
God’s crazy plan for victory with only 300 men didn’t end with limiting their numbers. He would also limit their weapons and even approach of attack. Gideon continued to be flexible and changed his plan to follow God’s. Instead of clashing swords there would be smashing pots, trumpets, torches, and grown warriors running away like little babies.
Judges 7:16-21 (NIV)
16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
17 “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”
19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
Now, I’m no military man, but even I know that when you head into battle, you don’t want your hands tied up with trumpets, pots, and torches. Your hands need to be free to use weapons for offense and defense. I can only imagine that this is the plan that Gideon and his men would have used as well, but that plan had to be surrendered as well. God would give them complete victory in such a way that only He could get credit.
This is always that hardest part of fulfilling God’s plan. Most of the time we are okay with being who God calls us to be, we are okay with getting rid of the old outdated hindrances of life, and we are even okay with changing our to-do list. But, when God tells us to do something in a way that we are uncomfortable with, we put our foot down with lightening speed. We make excuses why we can’t do it a particular way or we look for reasons that another way would work better. This mindset and reaction has to be surrendered as well.
Are you flexible enough for God to use you in His Kingdom? You will have to surrender how you do things. The old idiom, “There is more than one way to skin a cat,” does not work in the kingdom of God. You either do it God’s way or you do it the wrong way. And just in case you are wondering how to know if it’s God’s way or not, here is a simple test. Does your plan require God’s action for success? If it doesn’t, it’s most likely not God’s plan. Surrender even how you do things.
In the end, God used Gideon to bring about an incredible victory for Israel and the Kingdom of God. Everyone thanked God for bringing peace. They realized it was Him and not just their noise which had secured the victory. If you looking for the blockbuster ending, just keep reading in chapter 7. Gideon’s men continue to chase after the Midianites and slaughter several of them in the process. But really those are just extraneous details.
The real take away from this story is the flexibility of Gideon and his men, to do things God’s way. He was willing to surrender who he was, his way of life, his list of things to do, and even how to do those things all for the sake of following God’s call upon his life.
Let me ask you one more time this morning, are you flexible enough for God to use you? He has great things in store if you will only surrender. You may see yourself as insignificant, but God sees you as vital. You may be attached to your routines, but God wants to be the only worshipped in your life. You may have a list of goals that appears to be leading to success, but God is the only one you need to rely on. You may have a particular way you like to do things, but God knows the only right way to do His things. Are you willing to surrender to God this morning? Will you be flexible for the Kingdom?
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
