11/21/11 12:50 PM

Judges 05

Gideons Triumph

Judges 04
Gideons Triumph
Judges 6:33 7:22 God wants to do extraordinary things with ordinary people. That is the theme of this entire work. God taking men and women as they were and raising them up to do things they could never do themselves. Gideon is a case study in this. Here is a regular guy trying to get along in a hostile environment. Beating the wheat in the wine press. Looking for a days supply. God comes along and calls him a valiant warrior. Sets up a challenge between Gideon and the people of his town. Gideon responds with faith. God begins to erase his fear. Now its time to move on to bigger things. Like the deliverance of the people.

Gideon started with the family idol. Now he moves to the next step.

II.

Be Sure of Gods Will

Verse 33. The spirit came upon him. The word for came upon was labash. Meant to dress or wear. Be clothed. Fully clothed. He became clothed in the spirit of the Lord. Heres little timid Gideon suddenly doing heroic things? He knew the will of God. Doesnt that sound great? Wouldnt you love to know the will of god? 1. Start with the spirit. In Gideon's case it was a covering. After the cross it became a filling. Spirit doesnt come and go he indwells. Fills each believer. So why cant I hear him? Answer: noise. This is a terribly noisy world. So much going on. So many distractions. It can make you deaf. Ill. . . Before I became a Christian I used to go to rock concerts in high school. So loud. One of the loudest was Lynard Skinnard. Man oh man. Got to the car and couldnt hear the engine. Nearly burned up the starter. Thats whats happening in the spirit. People are getting their spiritual ears wrecked from the noise of the world. Answer: quiet time. Stillness solitude. Psalms 4:4 Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Is it any wonder that the most godly people were wilderness people. David the shepherd. Time alone and quiet. Peter and James and John. Fishermen. Fishing is a quiet occupation. One of the habits of Jesus was to slip away and pray. Luke 5:16 But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. I dont think it is possible to walk with God apart from stillness and solitude. You must hear the spirit.

I.

Remember Small Things First.

Before we start with the text tonight I want to remind you of Gods consistent pattern. Small first. This is for a couple of reasons. First our faith grows incrementally. As you see God take care of you your faith grows. Ill. . . Other night I was watching the extreme games. Incredible challenges of flips and twists high off a sloping ski slope. How do they do that? How do they reach that point. Same could be true for gymnasts. Or divers off the ten meters. One key, they didnt learn it suddenly. It took incremental steps of growth. I see people in the church who think that to follow god is to jump off a ten meter platform without any practice. And to make matters worse, ministers tend to imply that. Especially when it comes to sharing you faith. I remember how intimidated I used to feel to hear a guy talk about witnessing in a restaurant. Or speaking to thousands. I thought, man if thats what it takes I dont have it. Faith in small steps. If God wants you to do extreme Christianity he will bring you to the point of following.

Judges 05 2. Test the word. Gideon tested it with experience. Verse 36-40.

Gideons Triumph

Judges 05 Gideons Triumph would demonstrate more caution. Watchful also allowed them to check for leeches. Point: I would have wanted to weed out the unwanted a different way. On the basis of their fighting skills. Maybe do a junior Olympics. Javelin. Archery. Running. Wrestling. Lets get the best and the brightest. Let god equip because he has a plan.

Notice he double checked and tried to eliminate error. Honesty. Dont be half-cocked. Be careful not to let circumstances govern the course of your life. Another test is wise counsel. Proverbs 15:22, 11:14, 20:18. The bible says iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another. Care here to start with the spirit not other peoples opinions. Walk in prayer. Make sure your counsel is godly and seasoned. 3. Check with the Word. Gideon didnt have the word but we do. Does what I think god is leading me to do violate his word? Know the will of God.

Turns out the drinking division showed Gideon just what he needed to see. Dr. A. Clarke, in his edition of Harmer, has presented us with the following curious MS. note from Dr. Russell. "When they take water with the palms of their hands, they naturally place themselves on their hams, to be nearer the water; but when they drink from a pitcher or gourd, fresh filled, they do not sit down on purpose to drink, but drink standing, and very often put the sleeve of their shirt over the mouth of the vessel, by way of strainer, lest small leeches might have been taken up with the water. For the same reason they often prefer taking the water with the palm of the hand to lapping it from the surface." From the letters of Busbequius we learn, that the Eastern people are not in the habit of drinking standing. The 300 men, who satisfied their thirst in the most expeditious manner, by this sufficiently indicated their spirit, and alacrity to follow Gideon in his dangerous enterprise; while the rest showed their love of ease, self-indulgence, effeminacy, and want of courage. Why not emphasize fighting skills. Could it be that God was looking for skills that had less to do with might and more with stealth. At any rate Gideons army went from 32,000 to three hundred. If Im Gideon Im thinking God has wrecked my whole deal. Hes made it impossible for me to succeed. Im more afraid and frustrated than ever. That is often how the Lord works. Anything but your strength. He has to reduce us to dependency. What Gideon didnt know was that 32,000 was not enough. Verse 12.

III.

Do It Gods Way.

Couple of guiding principles: 1) if God is in it will be god sized. 2) If God is in it then it will be god equipped. God gets the glory and we learn of faith. Gideons problem. He was over prepared. Verse 2. Too many. Is that possible. Thats flat unbaptist. We can never have too many. Danger is self-sufficiency and pride. Verse 2. Gods answer: let me equip you. Verse 3. Think what those who were afraid missed. 2/3 left. Think what that did to Gideons heart. Verse 4. God said, still too many. So he orders Gideon to separate them on the basis of how they drink. That sounds so odd to me. Laps like a dog. At first that seems like the foolish ones. But the lapping was more an allusion to sound. Actual focus was on those who took the water in their hands and stood. That 2

IV.

Trust God to Work it Out.

God is at work in ways we dont see or understand. Verse 13-14. Spirit of fear was descending on those once terrifying warriors.

Judges 05

Gideons Triumph

Judges 05

Gideons Triumph

Verse 15, Gideon suddenly realizes what the Lord is doing. That is a great moment. Epiphany. Suddenly see that God hasnt forgotten you. All along he is at work. Greatest for me came in 1981. Summer. Terrible semester at college. Lost my girlfriend. Very lonely time. Then Amy showed up. Out of the blue. I knew then that she was it. Three years later I was right. I remember just bowing my head in reverence and humility and worship. God you knew what I couldnt see. It happened for the disciples on the third day. God will work it out. Finish the story. Verses 16-23. So powerful. Faith replaced fear. What are you afraid of tonight?