Lessons from Gideon: A Man of Valor Part 1
/Judges 6:1-10
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord:and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven {fulfillment}years. 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. 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; 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. 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. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.
And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, 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; 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; 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.
I never realized it before, but once the Lord began to deliver me in my mind, there was a level of fear associated with the bondage that I was previously in. I remember telling Danielle one time, “The Lord has set me free even in my thoughts since I started focusing on His victory on Calvary, but I haven’t wanted to say anything because I was scared the devil was going to get mad.”
We have spoken in the past about the fact that the release of the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt through the Red Sea is an OT type of our salvation out of the world and release from the yoke of the prince of this world.
If that be the case, then the wanderings of the wilderness and the time-frame of the judges represent the stubborn and stiff necked Christian who refuses to submit to God's plan for their lives.
Israel's disobedience during this time-frame resulted in God allowing their enemy to assume power over them.
When we walk outside of God’s will, by playing games, and touching the unclean thing; we open doors to spiritual forces who wreak havoc in our lives. In this story, the Midianites play the role of these spiritual forces.
This story tells us that the Midianites, with all their cattle and camels, came into Israel's land, devouring and consuming all their sustenance; furthermore, the scripture is clear. The reason it happened was because:
fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell:but ye have not obeyed my voice.
Israel refused to obey the voice of the Lord and through fear connected themselves to the gods of the world, and through that connection opened a door that resulted in destruction of their sustenance.
Sheep, gone! Oxen, gone! Harvest, gone! They were left dry and desolate.
In the lives of many Christians today, disobedience has opened the door, allowing the enemy to rush in and consume the "land." Wreaking havoc in their lives, and causing peace to be gone! Protection, gone! Access to grace, gone! Finances in disarray! Children refusing to serve the Lord! And all this because of a refusal to submit to God and His ways, rather instead, choosing to hold to what makes flesh feel good, choosing to go the ways of the world.
To be truthful, God has persistently had to deal with this problem with His children of all ages. In the modern church, it’s politically incorrect to say it for fear of offending someone and hurting their feelings, but what about God and the offenses that His people commit against Him? What about the one who calls himself a believer but refuses to go the way God is prodding him to go?
The Lord spoke through David and said:
Psalms 32:9
Be ye not as the horse,
or as the mule, which have no understanding:
whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle,
lest they come near unto thee.
God is looking for men and women with a warrior's heart who are willing to concern themselves about the things and the name of God.
That's why I want to talk to you about Gideon tonight because His name means warrior.
Judges 6:11-16
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. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. 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 hands of the Midianites. 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? 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. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
At the end of this passage, Gideon explains that he’s from the tribe of Manasseh, which according to Numbers 2:3-31was the smallest tribe out of all 12; furthermore his (clan) or family was the weakest family in the whole tribe at this present time; lastly, he was the least, meaning the youngest of his family. With all this said, according to the evidence, Gideon would have been the most unlikely person, at least according to the natural order of things, to be used by God to bring victory; yet, Gideon is the one God chose.
There are a lot of people who struggle with their past and hope for victory in their lives. Because they have always failed, they are lied to by the enemy and convinced that they can never be free, but the victory isn’t in you or your past; the victory is in Christ.
In this passage, Gideon is representative of all Israel, and Israel is hiding in fear, attempting to hold onto the little bit that they have left. That is why Gideon is hiding and threshing wheat in the wine press.
Notice the difference between what God sees in Gideon and what Gideon sees in himself.
God says to Gideon: The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour
But this is how Gideon sees himself: behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
God says to Gideon something that He wants us to also know-- He promises to be with us as we do His will.
God is looking for some Gideon's to rise up and be used as warriors to save His people from the hand of their enemy: And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites
There are some principles that I want to discuss from this story that I believe will help you to get your mind right regarding the victory God wants to give you.
Lesson 1
You have to begin seeing yourself the way that God sees you. And quit viewing your life the way it was while you were oppressed by your enemy.
Before they entered the Promised Land, God had promised blessing and provision in Deuteronomy 28. The promise was contingent upon Israel staying faithful to the covenant God had given them.
Remember, his name is Gideon, which means warrior, and the angel of the Lord calls him a mighty man of valor.
The word valor means a man of war, but it also means a person of sustenance or wealth.
In the physical realm everything is a mess. The enemy had eaten up all the provision and God's people are cowering, even hiding to preserve and hold to the little morsel they have left, but God says, "you’re a man of war and wealth."
Now, there is a lot of practicality that could be taught here about the way we spend our money and the result it has upon our finances, specifically, our insatiable appetites to spend our wealth on wasteful wants, rather than living a life of temperance.
Furthermore, many of God's people refuse to pay God what is His.
He said in Malachi,
God: "You have robbed me."
Israel: "How have we robbed you?"
God: "Through tithes and offerings."
Many of God's people refuse to believe this portion of His word, holding onto the tithe, which His; resulting in a curse being poured out upon the remainder they have.
Sometimes the people of the church are still serving the world with their finances: alcohol, music, worldly possessions.
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Malachi 3:11-12
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground;
neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
And all nations shall call you blessed:
for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
So point 1 see yourself the way God sees you (Romans 6:11) and two practical points regarding sustenance (finances)
A. Quit wasting your money buying things you can't afford and live within your means.
B. Give God His and watch Him bless what He lets you have.
Lesson 2
(a). Not everyone in the camp is in the battle.
(b). Most aren't living their lives sober minded, believing there is an enemy on the prowl:
Judges 7:5-7
5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Commentators are somewhat divided about how the men drank, but the logical idea is that they brought the water to their mouths with their hands as a dog brings water to his mouth with his tongue. What they didn’t do was drink the water while on their knees and their face towards the water; instead, they drank while being watchful, which is something that any person aware that there is an enemy on the prowl would do.
