Mentioned that we have folks here from Quebec. We have it's not often that where where did they go? Right there. It's not often that we have an AGC pastor from Quebec here with us. Pastor Chris is here with his family from People's Church in Montreal. So, as you would expect being a pastor in a church in Montreal, he has a Zimbabwean/Australian accent. So, as just that that tracks, right? So, feel free. Are you guys sticking around for ice cream afterwards? Excellent. So, if you want to learn about what the Lord is doing in Montreal, go and talk to their family. That would be wonderful.
If you have your Bibles this morning, I'd invite you to go to Judges chapter 6 is where we're going to start. We're going to look at 6 through8 today as we examine the life of Gideon. Gideon is listed there in the Hall of Faith. And that verse we've now looked at a few times, chapter 11:32 of Hebrews. He's there with Samson and others. And so, we're going to look at his life today. Okay. So, as you're turning there, let me tell you a true story, and perhaps some of you watched it on the TV. Italy beat France in a shootout 53 in the finals of the 2006 World Cup of Soccer.
Now, I hate to break it to all you Canadians, hockey is not the most popular sport in the world. It is football or as we call here, soccer. That is the po most popular sport by a mile in the world. All over the world, millions of people were tuned in to watch what was the biggest sporting event in the world that year. France and Italy in the finals. The match featured the final ever match for Zinedine Zidane who was the allstar for France. He was their captain.
He'd had an illustrious career. But in the heat of the second overtime of the World Cup of soccer, he headbutted Italian defender Marco Matarazzi, knocking him to the ground. The officials went over, looked at the replay, and they immediately red carded him, meaning that he was kicked out of the game. Their allstar was gone and it changed the entire complexion of the remainder of the game and ultimately most people pinned the loss of France on their allstar player in a moment of passion and a moment of emotion doing something he ought not to have done and his entire career was now marred by that event.
I bring that up because today we're looking at the life of Gideon. And while Gideon has much in his life that is worth our consideration, worth emulating, the end of his life did not end well. And so we want to take take heed to that as we walk through this text. So in order for us to understand Gideon's life, we do need to do a little bit of background work. You're going to hear about Midian here. Midian was had a longstanding hatred for Israel and it stemmed back well even further back than what we're going to go.
But the the hatred they had probably stemmed back to a crushing defeat that came by the Lord through the hand of Moses back in Numbers 31. Let me just take you there for a moment and look at it because this is going to frame why Midian was so opposed to Israel. In Numbers 31, we read this. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward, you shall be gathered to your people." So Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm men from among you for war that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord's vengeance on Midian.
You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to war. And so they'll so they were provided out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, 12,000 armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary, and the trumpeters for the alarm in his hand. They wared against Midian as the Lord commanded Moses and killed every male. They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Elvi, Reckom, Zur, Her and Reeba, the five kings of Midian.
And they also killed Balam the son of Bor with the sword. And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones. And they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. And on and on and on it went. And so as we fast forward now to Judges chapter 6, we see that Israel is in this persistent way of evil living as we see so often in Israel's history.
So often we see this cycle of living evil, idolatrous, and then the discipline of the Lord comes which leads for to the people of Israel crying out for a deliver. God provides a deliverer and then eventually they drop back down into idolatry. We see that pattern over and over again in Israel's history. And here's another example of it. And so because of their idolatry, what does God do? He gives them over to Midian. And Midian is all too pleased to crush Israel because of their history. Let's go there. Judges 6.
Let me read to you the first six verses. The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. The hand of Midian overpowered Israel. And because of Midian, the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalachites and the people of the east would come up against them, and they would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep or ox or donkey.
For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, and they would come like locusts in number. Both they and their camels could not be counted, so that they laid waste the land as they came in. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. So this was crushing for them. And so they cried out for deliverance. And this is what we read starting in the middle of verse six there. The people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord. When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midionites, the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel.
And he said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you, and gave you into their land. And I swore and and I said to you, I am the Lord your God. You shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell, but you have not obeyed my voice. God would have been perfectly justified to say, "Oh, you're calling out for help.
You're a living idolatrous. You're spitting in my face. You're not remembering all the ways in which I provided for you. Forget you." Hi. Sorry. I just saw my daughter showing up. That got me off track. It's good to see you. But it is an amazing thing with our God. He is so gracious and so kind and so wonderful. And so what does he do? He provides a deliverer for them. Deliverer they did not deserve.
And this time it was Gideon. He has throughout the Old Testament provides deliverer upon deliverer upon deliverer to deliver them out of the enemy's hands. None of them are the great deliverer. They're all pointing to a greater deliverer to come. But there is this time and again this picture given to them that they need someone outside of themselves to save them. That they cannot save themselves. They need someone to come from the outside to save them.
And so that is what Gideon is going to be. A very flawed man, a very imperfect man, incapable of bringing ultimate lasting salvation. But he would bring deliverance from the Midianites here. So let's look at his story. And as we look at his story, I want to look at it in three ways. The first thing is this that we need to understand that uncertainty does not limit God. Let's pick it up in verse 11 of chapter 6.
So I want to read to you verse 11 to 24 here and then we want to look at this a little bit. Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terabin at Ofra which belonged to Joash the Abiererite. You know what I'm saying? While his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, oh mighty man of valor." And Gideon said to him, "Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?
And where are all his wondrous deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian. And the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Do do not I send you?" And he said to him, "Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Be behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."
And the Lord said to him, "But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man." And he said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you." And he said, "I will stay until you return." So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an apha of flour. The meat he put in a basket and the broth he put in a pot and brought them to him under the tyramment and presented them.
And the angel of the Lord said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put them on this rock and pour the broth over them." And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, "Alas, oh Lord God, for now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face."
But the Lord said to him, "Peace be to you. Do not fear. You shall not die. Then Gideon built an altar to the Lord and called it the Lord is peace. To this day it stands at Ofra which belongs the Aberizerites those people. What's interesting here the Lord appears the angel of the Lord. There's there's commentaries who it's interesting they is this the angel of the Lord or is it the Lord himself? Because actually in verse 14 and verse 16 it says that the Lord spoke to him, not the angel of the Lord. Yahweh spoke to him.
So whatever the case, here we have this this appearance of the Lord to Gideon and he gives him this message. And how many people in this room can feel with Gideon in verse 13? Because in verse 12, the Lord is with you, oh mighty man of valor. To which Gideon says, really, that's what he says. That's the Martins translation. Are you sure?
Please, my Lord, if the Lord's with us, why has this happened to us? Has anyone ever felt that? Where are all the wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, "Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt? Now the Lord's forsaken us. There is in some respects an understandable statement being made here by Gideon, but in other respects it's extremely arrogant. Really, God's done nothing for you there. Recount all the wondrous deeds he has done.
And you know, Gideon, a Gideon of all people should have known your people have been living idolatrous lives. They have been whoring after other gods and you're wondering why God has done this. But such is the nature of humanity, isn't it? When something doesn't go exactly our way, we say, "God, why? Where are you? Why aren't you helping me?" It's amazing how the human heart works. We can feel this. But this is the reality of living in a sinstained, sinful world, isn't it?
We all feel the heaviness and the effects of living in a sinful world regularly. We feel the ache of that, don't we? We feel what we read about in Romans 8. Romans 8 says this starting in verse 20. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, because of him who subjected it in hope. That the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth. Until now, we feel that groaning and that ache because we live in a sinful world, which by the way should give us all the more longing for the return of the Lord. There's coming a day when we won't feel the effects of sin. For those who were in Christ, for those who've repented and turned to the living Lord Jesus Christ, we will be in a place where there's no sorrow, no suffering, no pain ever more. And so, it should increase our longing. But Gideon here is feeling that they're oppressed at the hands of the Midianites here and he's feeling the ache of that.
And so, how does the Lord respond to what Gideon says? Look at the next verse. Verse 14. The Lord turned and said, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Do not I send you." God says, "Just get up and go. I'm going with you." Doesn't answer his questions. We often see this with Job, too, don't we? Job had a lot of questions. God answered none of them. He just said, "Look at me. Look at me. I'm with you." And here Gideon asks his question and God says, "I'm with you. Just go.
And so he asks for a sign and we can understand why. Like it's easy for us to look at this and wag our fingers at Gideon, but how many of us would do the same thing? Is this really God in front of me here? This would seem I I've never faced God before. It's understandable he would ask the question. Look at verse 17. He said to him, "If if now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me." I think that's an understandable question. And so what we have then from verses 19 through to 24 is God showing him by this sign that he is in fact with him.
And and that's wonderful. So great, he has made it clear. It's God that is speaking to you here. God is with you. No more doubts for Gideon, right? No more wavering. All right, I'm on it. I'm not wavering anymore. Right. Go to verse 36. Then Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, okay, no, don't miss that. If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said."
So, he acknowledges right off the hop, you said. God God's proven it. It's God. In earlier in the chapter, God said, "I'm going to save Israel through you." God proved it by a sign that it was indeed him. So now he he acknowledges, "You said you're going to save Israel through me." So if you if you will save Israel by my hand as you have said, behold, I'm laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand as you have said."
And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he rung out enough dew from the fleece to fill a water bowl with water. Great. No more doubting. It settled. No more wavering, right? Let us read on. Then Gideon said to God, "Let not your anger burn against me. Let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece.
Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be due." And God did so that night, and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was due. Gideon reminds me a little bit of remember the old show Columbo. Just one more thing. Just just just one more thing. That's what it reminds me of here. I I just want to test you with one more thing. You're showing yourself real to me over and over again.
But I just need a little bit more assurance. He is a doubting man. He is uncertain. But oh, the patience of God. Isn't God patient with us? You know, I come to if my kids come to me and they ask me the same question twice, I say, "Didn't you hear me the first time?" Here is Gideon over and over again asking of God and God just patiently answers his queries.
This is how wonderful our God is. He is so kind to us in our doubts, in our wavering. Barry Webb, the commentator, he said this, "What Gideon did was not a model of piety or an example of how to seek guidance from God. This was not about guidance at all. Gideon already knew what he had to do. It was about his fearfulness and need for reassurance. Gideon was struggling but God did not condemn him for it but rather gave him what he needed. Surely there is great comfort in in that for all of us.
That is true. If I were to ask you, how many here believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and yet struggle from from time to time with doubts, I would imagine the vast majority of hands would go up. Maybe not all, but many. We are a doubting people. We are an uncertain people. In our sinfulness, we struggle with these things.
It reminds me of what we read or what we read in Mark nine. In Mark nine, you have a father there who's got a son that's possessed by an unclean spirit. We read about and the father is coming to Jesus to ask that he might deal with this unclean spirit. And we read in the middle of verse 22 of Mark 9, the father says to Jesus, "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "If you can, all things are possible for the one who believes."
And immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe. Help my unbelief." How many of us can echo that? I believe. I have no doubt that Jesus is savior. I have no doubt he is Lord. I have no doubt he created the heavens and the earth. The evidence is overwhelming that there is a creator. I have no doubt that he's savior. And yet in in the dark times of life, I can doubt and I can struggle. Go to God with that.
Go to him with that just as Gideon did. Go to him with our with our wavering. He is a kind, gracious God to lead us on even in the midst of our doubting and our wavering and our uncertainty. We can trust him. He is not limited by our uncertainty. In fact, we're going to see he's going to use Gideon mightily. This wavering soul, this uncertain man, God's going to not only minister to his heart, but use him for his glory.
He is never limited by that. This is the kindness of our God that not only will he care for us, he will use us in his service even as we doubt and waver from time to time. Not only is Gideon an uncertain man though, he's also a weak man. And we're going to see here that weakness does not limit God. In chapter 6:15, I don't know if you noticed it and when I was reading through it, look at what Let me just take you back there.
Look what Gideon says. Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. So, he's like, I I'm the littlest one. I we're we're tiny. Who am I to be a savior? And what does the Lord say to him? Verse 16, but I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man. God says, "Yeah, you're little.
You're tiny, but I'm with you." Remember what John Knox, we did that. We looked at John Knox's life a few weeks ago. Remember what John Knox said? One man with God is always in the majority. This if you're alone, but God is with you, you have a majority. Now, take us let's let's go now to to chapter 7 of Judges to because the weakness carries on. Now I'm going to read to you verses 1-8 and then we'll pick it up in verse 19 after that 1-8 of Judges 7 says this.
Then Jural that is Gideon and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Herod. And the camp of Midian was north of them by the hill of Morai in the valley. The Lord said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midionites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me." Do you see that?
God was going to ensure that none of the Israelites could boast, saying, "Look, we beat them because we are so strong. We are so mighty." So God was going to ensure that they would not get the glory, but that he alone would get the glory. So how would he do that? Let's carry on. Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, "Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead." Then 22,000 of the people returned and 10,000 remained. At least they were honest.
Yep, I'm terrified. I'm out of here. Off they go. So there's 10,000 left. And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. And anyone of whom I say to you, this one shall go with you, shall go with you. And anyone of whom I say to you, this one shall not go with you, shall not go." So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, "Everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, you shall set by himself.
Likewise, everyone who kneels down to drink." And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men. But all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. My question is, who laps water like a dog as a human? But apparently 300 of them did. And the Lord said to Gideon, "With the 300 men who lapped, I will save you and give the Midionites into your hand. Let all the others go. Every man to his home.
So the people took provisions in their hands and their trumpets and they sent all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. So now there's 300. They have whittleled down from about 32,000 men to 300. Puny. This is a tiny insignificant army going against the Midianites. How is it possible that there could be victory here?
Well, look, drop down to verse 19. So, Gideon and the hundred men who were with them came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle of the watch. When they just set the watch and and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars and they held their in their left hands the torches and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out a sword for the Lord and for Gideon. Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran.
They cried out and fled. When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against the his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Bethhat toward Zerah Zerah as far as the border of Abel Mha by Tabbath. And the men of Israel were called out from Nethali and from Asher and from all Manasseh. And they pursued after Midian. Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midionites and capture the waters against them as far as Beth Barah and also the Jordan."
And all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth Barah, and also the Jordan. And they captured the two princes of Midian, Orb and Zeb. They killed Orb at the rock of Orurb, and Zeb they killed at the wine press of Zeb. And then they pursued Midian and brought the heads of Orab and Zeb to Gideon across the Jordan. This was a massive all-encompassing victory. And who gets the glory in it?
God. Because there was 300 men. By all accounts, they should have lost soundly. But God gave them the victory. It was in chapter 6:33. We read the Midianites across the Jordan into the land of Israel to oppress them. And now they were driven out back out of the promised land because God had clothed Gideon with his spirit. That's what we read in chapter 6:34. Clothed by God's spirit, Gideon became a man of war at God's strengthening hand.
God won the war through Gideon. And this is almost certainly why Gideon appears in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. He was used of the Lord in this mighty way to set foreign armies to flight as Hebrews 11 speaks about. But boy, what weakness from the smallest tribe, the smallest people with the smallest army. Weakness, weakness, weakness. And through that, God wins the war. This is how God is pleased to work to this day.
In fact, weakness is baked right into the gospel. Does anyone know what Micah 5:2 says off by heart? But you, Bethlehem Ephraatha, though you were too little to be named among the clans of Judah, out of you shall come forth a ruler. Can you mute that thing? Thank you. Out of you will come forth a ruler. And of course that's speaking about Jesus. Out of this tiny little community of Bethlehem.
And then Jesus would hang upon the cross a murderer's death, a wicked man's death. It appeared as complete weakness and complete defeat. It looked like this was the enemy's winning. But in fact, it was the greatest moment in human history as God prevailed and conquered over sin. If you are here this morning and you are in your sin, you have not repented and turned from sin and turned to the Lord Jesus Christ and you think that living the life of a Christian is all about weakness and it's pathetic and you name it.
I'm here to tell you that that moment of weakness was the greatest display of strength. God won the war hanging on the cross. He won the war over sin and death. And the only way that you will ever experience that same victory is by putting your hope and trust in him. In fact, that's what we read about in 2 Corinthians chapter 13. 2 Corinthians 13 says this in verse 4. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God.
For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you, we live with him by the power of God. Isn't that amazing? I am weak. I I hate to burst your bubble. You're weak. I I just spent a few days with my mom earlier this week. She had some surgery for to deal with some cancer and she had a lot of her insides taken out and she's going to be 84 here in a few weeks and so I was with her and the hardest thing I had to do was to keep her from doing stuff cuz she's like I'm fine.
She wanted to bend over and pick up stuff, lift heavy things. And and I kept telling people, "Yeah, well, she's a tough old Menite woman woman. You can't keep them down." But, you know, truth be told, she's not tough. She's not strong. She's weak. Just like me, just like you. God provides the strength. It is God who provides strength. You want proof of that? Well, if we're already in 2 Corinthians, just go one chapter earlier. Chapter nine, we have the Apostle Paul who has this thorn in the flesh.
We're never told what it is exactly. There's speculation about what it was, but we don't know. Whatever it was, was making him feel exceedingly weak. And so, he was calling out to the Lord, pleading with him. We read three times at least that God might remove it from him. And what is God's answer to him in 2 Corinthians 12:9? God says, "My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. And then Paul says this, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me for the sake of Christ.
Then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." God does his best work through weak vessels. That's good news for you. It's good news for me that God would be pleased to use frail, feeble believers in his service. So if you're feeling frail, if you're feeling weak, take heart. God can use you. God has a history of doing this.
You can be an instrument in the hands of God. Even if you're weak, even if you feel doubts from time to time, God can use you. Now, if only the story of Gideon ended at the end of chapter 7. That would be great. Can you imagine with me an a 100 meter sprinter having an amazing illustrious career as a sprinter having won all kinds of accolades to go on to the Olympics to win the 100 meter dash at the Olympics setting a world record as a in the process bringing joy to the entire nation that he represented only to have it stripped away from him because he was found to have used anabolic steroids.
If you're of a certain vintage, you know that story well. And it was the 1988 Soul Olympics. Ben Johnson running for Canada after having an amazing sprinting career. Won the gold medal, breaking a world record as a result. The whole nation feeling this sense of pride only to have it stripped from him just a few days later when it was found that he was using steroids. And then even worse, he admitted to having used steroids for his entire career. Shame brought to the nation.
Talk about not finishing well. It's all he's remembered for now. All those things he did previously are all forgotten. The only thing he's remembered for is what he did at the end. Finishing well matters. Hear this. Finishing well matters. The story throughout church history is littered with those who started well, who lived well in the middle, but then did not finish well.
Gideon here at the end of chapter 7 looks like a great champion and he was. In fact, at the end of chapter 8, we're going to read there that that through Gideon's ministry, much good was done for the nation of Israel. Absolutely. And yet and yet it doesn't end well. Now, the first three verses of chapter 8 are are good. Gideon shows great diplomacy in the first three verses of chapter 8. We can read that when you have a moment. But then we come to verse four of chapter 8.
And I want to read to you start to start with verses 4-9. So remember they've they have won. Midian has fled. They're out of the promised land. They have killed princes. Remember that this is all in the background. Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over. So now immediately that should tweak in our head. This is not right. They have Midian's left the promised land.
And what does Gideon do? He now takes and goes across the Jordan out of the promised land to keep chasing them. He and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. So his men are exhausted. They're they are tired from the fight and now they're leaving the promised land to continue the pursuit. And so he said to the men of Sakath, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me for they are exhausted and I am pursuing after Zeba and Zelmuna the kings of Midian."
Now on one hand we can understand the human logic of this. The kings are still in existence. We need to ensure that Midian doesn't come back on us. So we got to kill the kings so that they don't organize an army to return upon us. We can understand the human logic of it. But the problem is from verse 4 down through verse 27 there is zero mention of the Lord of the Lord's leading. Now Gideon himself brings up the Lord a couple of times but the narrator the one who's writing the account does not mention that this was of the Lord.
This was now of Gideon. And so the officials of Sukath verse 6 said, "Are the hands of Zeba and Zelmuna already in your hand that we should give you give bread to your army?" So Gideon said, "Well then, when the Lord has given Zeba and Zelmuna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars." And from there he went up to Penule and spoke, excuse me, and spoke to them in the same way.
And the men of Penule answered him as the men of Sakath had answered. And he said to the men of Penule, "When I come in peace, I will break down this tower." What's going on here? These are two communities where the Jews were living. Israelites were living here. These were the far easternmost communities. They're probably thinking, "If you go off and chase after their kings, even though you've already defeated them, and if you don't succeed at this, they're going to come back on us. And who are the first communities that they're going to hit if they find out that we aided and abetted you? It'll be our two communities.
And so they say no. Right or wrong, that was their decision. And Gideon now, who's the leader of of the people, the leader of the army, these are his own people. The people at Sukath and Pineol, these are Jewish people living here. These are his own people. And he threatens them with torture and death. He has gone from being a wise and tactical leader to being a tyrannical leader with his own people.
And so what happens? Well, let's drop down to verses 13 to 17. After after some victories have taken place, Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Harz. And he captured a young man of Sakath and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the the officials and the elders of Sakath 77 men. And he came to the men of Sakath and said, "Behold, Zeba and Zelmuna about whom you taunted me, saying,"Are are the hands of Zeba and Zelmuna already in your hand that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?"
And he and he took the elders of the city, and he took the thorns of the wilderness and briars, and with them taught the men of Sukoth a lesson. And he broke down the tower of Panule and killed the men of the city. Some would look at that as, "Well, what a mighty warrior." and he was a mighty warrior, but this is now against his own people because they wouldn't give him what he wanted. And again, no mention of the Lord's leading in any of this. This is quite a moment.
So, he viciously follows through on those threats and they plundered the Midianites. And what happens with that plunder? Well, let's go on to verse 22. Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian." So now there is this desire to essentially put Gideon on top and borderline worship him. And to Gideon's credit, he says in verse 23, "I will not rule over you and my son will not rule over you. The Lord will rule over you."
That's commendable. But then what happens next is not. And Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you. Every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil." For they had golden earrings because they were Ishraelites. And they answered, "We will willingly give them." And they spread a cloak. And every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold beside the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian.
And besides the collars that have been worn on the necks of their camels, and Gideon made any fod of it, and put it in his city in Ofra, and all Israel horded after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. This is an awful moment. Just after saying, "No, no, no. The Lord's going to rule over you, not me." He then says, "But but could I have a bunch of your gold and he turns it into this ephod."
Now remember if we didn't read this, but earlier in this account in in the account of Gideon, he had freed people from idolatry. And what do we read here? It appears that through his actions, he leads them right back into idolatry again. They're whoring after this thing, and it becomes a snare to Gideon and to his family. It's likely that Gideon begins in some idolatous practice. Then we read in verse 30 that Gideon had 70 sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives.
This is also not right in God's sight. God never commended any man to have more than one wife. He had a concubine. We read in verse 31. Now Gideon was used of the Lord to do many great things. But his life ended with a bit of a thud. In fact, whatever little restraint that he brought to the people as soon as he died, listen to what we read. Verse 33, as soon as Gideon died, as soon as he died, that's what it says there.
The people of Israel turned again and after the bales and made Baal Barth their god. Remember, they were already whoring after the ephod that he had made. So this was a pretty short leap to make. This is important for us to understand. We can have a fruitful Christian life devoted to serving the Lord with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength.
But if we come to the end and we are unfaithful, we turn from him, it does not bring honor to God's name. In fact, it brings reproach on the name of Christ. May it be far from us. Now, the Lord never loses anyone that is his. We cannot lose our salvation, but we certainly can lose the joy of that sweet fellowship. We can lose out on blessing from the hand of God if we seek to live in a manner that builds upon the foundation of Christ with wood, hay, and straw.
In fact, go with me if you will to second Peter chapter 1. Second Peter 1, picking it up at verse 5, we read this. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election. For if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. We need to ensure that we are persisting in the Christian life and taking nothing for granted. Those of you who are in the twilight of life, I'm going to speak to those who are in What's the Twilight? I don't know.
I'm going to pick a number. Those of you who are 70 plus, Ron, you're you're good. You're fine. You're under that. Barely. If you're 70 plus, don't assume anything. Do not take your walk with God for granted. You will glorify God as you persist and carry on to the end. Say what you want about John MacArthur.
Some people love him. Some people couldn't stand him. I get that. But there's a video that came out last week. Here he is. He's dying. He knows he's dying. And there's a man that would had been an elder in their church for many years who's also dying. John MacArthur, who could should not have been out and about, got in a vehicle, drove over to the man's house, and there's a video of him doing a pastoral visit 12 days before his death, faithfully serving to the end.
In fact, both those men died on the same day, but faithfully serving to the end. May that be our testimony. Friends, if as I look out the room here, hear this. God can use the doubting heart. God can use the wavering heart. God can use that weak vessel. Oh, that we would take heart with that and serve him faithfully, not just now, but to the very end.
And in so doing we give him glory and it benefits our own walk so much more. So may we be faithful to him and be used of him all the days of our life. So father I pray indeed that you would in your faithfulness preserve us to the very end as your word says. We pray that we'd be instruments in your hands used however you see fit. Whether we're feeling doubtful, whether we're feeling weak, may we be instruments used in the mighty hand of God.
We thank you for how faithful you are. You are so wonderful in your love and in your patience, in your longsuffering, in your care, in your empowering by your spirit. And Lord, we we cast ourselves upon you and pray that we might be vessels through whom you could do your mighty work. That you would gain glory and never of ourselves all the days of our life. So enable us to persevere. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Transcribed automatically from YouTube captions, so names and words may be misheard.
