Biblical historical event- Midianite oppression and Gideon’s deliverance (Judge 6:1-8:35)
By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce Feb.10,2021
Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical Precepts &
Gospel Music
Introduction
Have you ever sought God’s affirmation for each
step of your life or ministry to approve that is God’s guidance and then, you
move on to fulfill God’s calling? Like Gideon’s supplication to approve that God
called him to be a mighty warrior, fought the battle of Midianite, once the answer was affirmed by the sign, Gideon stepped on the journey to fulfill God’s
call and fought the battle for Israelites, he gained the victory with the
Lord’s help, Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and the land was
undisturbed for forty years in the days of Gideon.
Israel
oppressed by Midian
When Israelites did
evil in the eyes of the Lord, He gave them into the hands of the Midianites
seven years. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites,
Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 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. it was impossible to count
the men and their camels, they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that
they cried out to the Lord for help. (Judge6:1-6).
Israelites cried to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.” (vv.7-10)
The
angel of the Lord visited Gideon, called him to save Israel out of Midian’s
hand.
Gideon is the
son of Joash, who worshiped Baal, Gideon’s family mixed their worship of God and
false gods. It resulted in Gideon’s timidity, inadequacies, and unsure that God
will elect him to be the leader to fight the battle for Israel. God turned his
weakness into strength and affirmed him the Lord is with him, he is a mighty
warrior. As Judge 6:13-24 states,
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. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he
said, “The Lord is with you mighty warrior.” (v.12) But Gideon replied, “If
the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders
that our fathers told us about then they said, did not the Lord bring us up out
of Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of
Midian.” 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?” But Lord, Gideon asked,
“how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in
Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. The Lord answered. “I will be with you”, and you will strike down all the
Midianites together.”(vv.13-16)
Gideon
replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes,
give me a sign that it is really you
talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And the Lord, “I will wait until you return.” Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and
from an ephah of flour, he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought
them out and offered them to him under
the oak. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out
the broth.” And Gideon did so. With the tip of
the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread. The fire flared from the rock,
consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel
of the Lord disappeared. (vv.19-21)
When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, ‘ Ah, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it “The Lord is Peace.” To this day it stands in Ophra of the Abiezrites. (vv.22-24)
Lord called Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal
Gideon’s first task is to demolish his father’s altar to Baal which also against the men of the town that worshiped the Baal. It’s understandable that Gideon was afraid to act publicly, so he acted in the night time secretly.
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. 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. 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. (vv.25-27)
In the morning when the men of the
town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished,
with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar! The men of the town
demanded of Joash, “Bring your son He must die because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside
it.” But Joash replied to the
hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for
him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal
really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” So
that day they called Gideon
“Jerub-Baal,” saying. “Let Baal contend with him,” because he broke down Baal’s altar. (vv.30-32)
The
Lord is Jehovah Shalon – the Lord is Peace
To Gideon, the Lord is
Jehovah Shalon – the Lord is Peace.
Gideon was the weakest in Manasseh and he was the least in his family,
his weakness was fear, timid, and skittish. He was afraid to disobey family and
the men of the town, especially, his father’s Baal altar. Gideon was afraid to
break down the Baal’s altar and feared being rejected by the men of the town.
He wasn’t certain of the things unless God approved His call to him. When he did
it, the Lord is Peace, even his father and the men of the town must submit to
the Lord’s altar that Gideon had built. People called Gideon a new name
“Jerub-Baal” means let Baal contend.
God
approved Gideon’s call to save Israel by the sign of the wool fleece
Now all the Midianites,
Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan
and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon,
and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent massagers
throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and
Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.
ü First sign: there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground
is dry
Gideon said to God, “If you will
save Israel by my hand as you have promised – 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.”
And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the
fleece and wrung out the dew –a bowlful of water. (vv.36-38)
ü Second sign: Only the fleece was
dry, all the ground was covered with dew
Then Gideon said to God,
“Do not be
angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more request.
Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time makes the fleece dry and the
ground covered with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was
covered with dew.(vv.39-40)
Gideon’s
conquests with three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths
The
Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their
hands. In order that Israel may not boast against Me that her own strength has
saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn
back and leave Mount Gilead.’ So
twenty–two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.”. (Judges7:2-3)
But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to
the water, and I will sift them 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.’ (7:4)
So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the
Lord told him,“Separate
those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred men lapped with their
hands to their mouths. All the rest got
down on their knees to drink.(7:5-6)
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 other men go, each to his own place.” So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. (7: 7-8)
Gideon’s
military strategies, blew their trumpets broke the jars that were in their
hands
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. 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!” While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded. The Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border to Abel Meholah near Tabbath. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites.
Gideon sent messengers
throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the
Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.
So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the
Jordan as far as zbeth Barah. They also captured two of the Midianite leaders,
Oreb and Zeeb. (7:19-25)
During
Gideon’s lifetime, the land enjoyed peace 40 years
The Israelites said to
Gideon, “Rule over us- you, your son and your grandson because you have saved
us out of the hand of Midian.( 8:22). During Gideon’s lifetime, the land
enjoyed peace for forty years. The Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did
not raise its head again.
Compare
and contrast the influence of Gideon
Gideon’s call and lesson
played both positive and negative influences on Israelites. God’s election is
beyond human understanding. In human eyesight, we may question why God
elected Gideon whose father was idolatrous worship, to be a leader to deliver
the Israelites from Midianite? God’s thoughts and ways are higher than the
human’s thoughts and ways. One biblical principle is that obedience and
faithfulness to God’s decrees, laws, and guidance are always right and lead
mankind into the path of peace, and receive God’s divine salvation and
deliverance. God used Gideon’s hands to destroy his father’s altar to Baal, and
saved Israelites life from Midianite, the land enjoyed peace for forty years,
which is a positive influence.
However, Gideon wasn’t
aware of the spiritual warfare, after he gained the military victory, while,
Israelites asked him to be the leader, he, mistakenly, asked for gold earrings
from them, and made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his
town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a
snare to Gideon and his family. (8:27). The form of the ephod is not known, but
clearly, it became an object of idolatrous worship. It resulted in negative
influence after Gideon died, “the Israelites again prostituted themselves to
the Baals. They set up Baal-Berity as their god and did not remember the Lord
their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every
side. They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is,
Gideon) for all the good things he had done for them.”(8:33-35)
The
implications and application
1.
God’s election is beyond human’s thoughts and ways.
God’s deliverance and salvation are not limited to those who are idolatrous
worship. On the contrary, it opens to those who are idol worship in order to save them so that God gains the glory. As
mankind, we may not understand why God elected Gideon to saved Israelites and
enjoyed peace for forty years. God’s way is higher than our way. Keep faithful
and humbly seek His guidance.
2.
The battle belongs to God
Gideon wasn’t sure that God would
use him to save Israel, for he is the weakest in Manasseh and the least in his
family. He asked God for a sign, God approved the sign twice. First, the fleece
was dew and the ground was dry. Second, the fleece was dry and the ground was
covered with dew just as Gideon asked. God ensured Gideon, “The Lord is with you, mighty
warrior.” (Judges6:12)
3.
It’s the strength of God gained the victory so no one can boast
themselves—
Gideon prepared 32000 men as the army
to fight the Midianites, yet, God reduced the numbers to 300 men. The Lord
said, “With three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the
Midianites into your hands.” (Judges7:7) God shaped Gideon to rely on
the strength of the Lord rather than himself.
4.
Keep praising, singing, worshipping to the Lord—
Gideon led a hundred men to blow the
trumpets, broke the jars, grasping the touches and they shouted, “A sword for
the Lord and for Gideon.” “When 300 trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men
throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords.”( Judges7:22) The
men of Ephraim were called out to help and they captured two Midianite
leaders. Oreb and Zeeb.(Judges7:24-25)
5.
Meekness, gentleness, and soft answer subsided the resentment—
With God’s help and strength, Gideon
gained the battle. But Ephraimites asked Gideon, “Why didn’t you call us when
you went to fight Midian and they criticized him sharply.”(8:1). Gideon
answered wisely and softly, “what have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t
the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of
Abiezer? God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What
was I able to do compared to you? At this, their resentment against him
subsided.” (Judges8:2-3) Softly answered
and pointed out the truth of what had accomplished, Gideon subsided the
resentment against him and gained more supporters from Ephraim.
6.
Trust in God, and put confidence in God, not man
When we love a human being and do
not love God, we may appear to be cynical and unkindly severe in our judgment
of others. We demand of a human being that which he or she cannot give. When we
don’t get it we become cruel and vindictive. “There is one Being Who can
satisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus
Christ. Why our Lord is apparently so severe regarding every human relationship
is because He knows that every relationship not based on loyalty to Himself
will end in disaster.”[1] Our
Lord trusted no man, but put His confidence in God and in what His grace could
do for any man, was so perfect that He despaired of no one. If our trust is
placed in human beings, we shall end in despairing of everyone. Jesus didn’t
commit Himself unto them…for He what was knew in man.(John2:24-25)
Invitation
for accepting Jesus Christ to be the savior
My friends, are you the youngest of
your family and you think there is no way to overcome the challenge of your
biological family who is idolatrous worship or different religion practicing
such as tradition, virtues, custom, and lifestyle? How to live with them? at
the same time to forsake the idols, and follow Jesus Christ to become
Christians? The Lord strongly urged His
people not to make any image of other gods made by gold, silver, stone, nor
follow other gods to worship idols, for all who worship images and boast in
idols will be put to shame. The Lord our God is the Maker of heaven and earth
and doesn’t live in the house made by human’s hand. He is Most High over
all the earth, and He is exalted far above all gods.
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