139 Gideon Part 2 - Preparing for Victory

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 139 Lessons from their lives Talk 5: Gideon (Part 2) - Preparing for Victory  

Welcome to talk 5 in our series Lessons from their lives. Today we’re continuing with Gideon. Looking at Judges 6, we saw last time that God’s people were:

 

On the defensive In hiding Engaged in unproductive activity Sowing much and reaping little Impoverished Experiencing no miracles

 

We saw that the apparent cause of the problem was the Midianites but that the real cause was that they had done evil in the eyes of the Lord. They had not listened to him. However, when they cried to the Lord, he raised up a leader. We noted that Gideon:

Was just like the rest – in hiding Had very little faith Was aware of his own inadequacy Needed lots of reassurance

 

In response to this, God:

revealed himself to Gideon reassured him of his presence told him to go and promised him success confirmed his word supernaturally

 

We now turn to verses 25-40 which I have called:

 

Preparing for Victory

In this passage we discover three keys to preparing for victory:

Destroying your idols The power of the Spirit Finding the will of God

 

Destroying your idols (vv25-31)

 

In this section God tells Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and build a proper kind of altar to the Lord. Gideon does so secretly by night as he’s afraid of what his family and men of the town might do to him. Indeed when they discover what’s happened, the men of the town want to put him to death, but his father speaks up for him and says:

 

Are you going to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him? ...If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar (v31).

An idol may be defined as anything that takes the place of God in our lives. Please bear this in mind as we consider:

 

The extent of their idolatry How to overcome idolatry

 

The extent of their idolatry (25-30)

 

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.

 

They had built an altar to their idol. An altar is a place of sacrifice.

 

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 men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

 

They were devoted to it. Gideon was afraid of them.

 

31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, "Are you going to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him?

 

They were prepared to defend their idol.

 

How to overcome idolatry (25-26)

 

Count the cost of destroying it - Gideon was afraid, but he did it! In doing so he risked his life. Make a clean break with it - tear it down! (v25). But you may need to work at it. It would have taken Gideon some time to cut it down. If you need to, get other people to help you. Gideon took 10 men (v27). Make a fresh start working for God. Build a proper kind of altar to the Lord (v26)

 

This implies work and sacrifice!

The Power of the Spirit (vv33-35)

33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

34 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.

35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

 

The enemy regroups – he always will when we start destroying idols

 

But the Spirit comes upon Gideon (Heb: clothed). Cf. Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8

And Gideon blows a trumpet

There is an audible evidence when the Spirit comes upon us

(cf. tongues – testimony – praise – proclamation)  

 

Finding the Will of God (vv36-40)

36 Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised

37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said."

38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew--a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew."

40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

 

Gideon’s doubt (36)

Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised... (Was it doubt or was it fear?! Fear often causes doubt).

 

God’s patience (38, 40)

 

A word about ‘fleeces’

The Spirit came upon Gideon.

He indwells us as Christians. Should we need ‘fleeces’?

 

The will of God is revealed:

In his Word Through circumstances By peace in our hearts (Col.3:15) By direct revelation (Philip, Cornelius etc.) By our total surrender (Romans 12:1-2)