We've all been hurt.
We all have scars.
And through a relationship with Jesus Christ, we can all overcome and we can all be healed.
Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton.
Hey everybody and welcome back and welcome to the third part of our series on Reluctant
Leaders.
We're going to continue to piggyback off of part one of the series where we had a brief
introduction to a few leaders in the Bible and we're going to look at why they were
reluctant to see how it applies to us in our lives today.
Now in our last section we spent time in Peter's beginning.
Now we're going to look at Gideon and we find him in one of my favorite books of the
Bible.
We find him in Judges.
Now specifically for those of you who like to follow along in your Bible, we're going
to be looking at Judges chapter 6 to start.
Now before we look at this introduction, we need to look at what's happening to the Israelites.
And to do this we're going to start at the very beginning, like I said, Judges chapter
6 verses 1 through 10.
And this is going to paint the picture of where they were at at this point.
Okay, and this is really going to help us to kind of bring into perspective why Gideon
is the way he is when we get introduced to him.
So the Bible says, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years
he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.
Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves
in the mountain cliffs, caves, and strongholds.
Wherever 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.
They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts.
It was impossible to count them or their camels.
They invaded the land to ravage it.
Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.
When the Israelites cried out 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 rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and I delivered you to the hand of all your
oppressors.
I drove them out 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.
All right, so we see that the Bible says the Israelites have messed up again, so much so
that God has let the Midianites just roll in and run roughshod over them.
They've taken over and they destroy everything.
You might be wondering who the Midianites are here.
They're a nation that came from Abraham's second wife, Keturah, who he had a half dozen
sons with.
You can read about this in Genesis chapter 25.
From them, the Israelites were constantly going back and forth and fighting through
the years.
To say they were a thorn in their side would be putting it mildly.
In Numbers chapter 31 verses 1 through 20, the Bible tells us that the fighting got so
fierce that the Israelites had nearly wiped them out.
Actually the Midianites, they're like rabbits destroying farmers' crops and the farmer deciding
he's had enough of them.
The problem was, much like a farmer who didn't resolve their rabbit issue, the Midianites
were able to repopulate and start causing issues for them again.
Not only that, but the Israelites had also gone right back in the gutter.
They didn't trust in God.
They didn't lean on Him as they should have.
Instead, they became such entitled brats that God said, enough is enough.
And for seven years, let the Midianites have their way with them.
The Midianites were so oppressive that they totally overran them.
It was so bad that judges, when you look at verse 2, verse 2 the Bible tells us the Israelites
were living, if you could call it that, in caves, mountains, and other fortifications.
They were hiding for their lives.
They were hiding.
Okay?
Plain and simple.
In verses 3 through 6 the Bible tells us they couldn't hold on to anything.
Every time they tried, it was taken or destroyed.
It's like having a puppy that's teething and it hasn't been trained yet.
Everything gets chewed up.
And that's what's been happening here.
Hold her twice, bye bye.
All right?
Now, they basically, they had to hit rock bottom again.
They had to go right back in the gutter to remember that they needed to turn to God.
And that's exactly what they do.
And remember, when we're looking at Peter, we discussed, don't take your eye off the
ball.
Don't take your eye off the ball.
The Lord should come first in every single situation.
Many Israelites were getting reminded of this.
They were caught up in the good times.
They turned to worshiping their idols instead of God, which the Bible tells us we're not
supposed to do that.
Matter of fact, if you look at Exodus chapter 34, go to verses 13 through 14, the Bible
also tells us that God is a jealous God.
And it's specifically talking about worshiping of idols there.
All right?
And that brings us to Judges chapter 6 verses 11 through 12.
And we finally, this is where we meet Gideon.
All right?
The Bible says, the angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Oprah.
That belonged to Joash the Abysserite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat and a wine
press to keep it from the Midianites.
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, the Lord is with you, mighty warrior.
So again, Gideon is a farmer and he is in hiding.
This is not the picture that we would normally have of a general, especially today.
However, not all armies over the centuries have been built like ours and just on the
go 24-7.
Many had jobs that they tended to until they were needed.
It's basically like our reserve units today.
And just like troops today, many had plans for after service.
Now normally, when separating the wheat grains from the useless outer shells, this would
be done in an open area where the wind could pick up and blow away the letter pieces that
basically would get tossed in the air.
All right?
And then just blow them away.
However, if Gideon had done this in a traditional way, he would have been an easy target out
in the open due to all the different raiders and rotters that had overrun the area.
So instead, what we see here is he's using a wine press.
And most likely it was in a cupboard or basically a hidden area that to the normal person, it
wouldn't be suspected as a place where they would find crops.
It would be something that they'd overlook.
And again, they're living in caves and mountains and all.
Everything that the Israelites did at this point was in secret.
Going out in the day, it was just dangerous at this point.
Their life as they knew it had been turned upside down.
I love the greeting that's used here though.
The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.
Things are about to turn around.
And just like the Bible told us with Peter, the Lord is starting by speaking a change
into Gideon.
He's empowering him.
The very definition to empower is to make someone stronger and more confident, especially
in controlling their life and claiming their rights.
Something we're about to see Gideon so desperately needs.
All right.
So from that, we're now going to look at verses 13 through 22.
And the Bible says, pardon me, my Lord, Gideon replied, but if the Lord is with us, why has
all this happened to us?
Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, did not the
Lord bring this up out of Egypt?
But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Gideon.
The Lord turned to him and said, go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Gideon's
hand.
Am I not sending you?
Pardon me, my Lord, Gideon replied, but 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 leaving
none alive.
Gideon replied, if now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really
you talking to me.
Please don't go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.
And the Lord said, I will wait until you return.
Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat and from an epa, a flower, 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 so Gideon did so.
Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the
staff that was in his hand.
Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread, and the angel of the Lord disappeared.
When Gideon realized that this was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, alas, sovereign
Lord, I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.
Wow, there's a lot going on here.
So we see in verse 13 that like Peter and everyone else in the world really, Gideon's
full of doubt.
Full of doubt, we're all full of doubts.
If it's not one thing, it's another.
But Gideon, he's so full of doubt, he doesn't even believe that this is actually the angel
of the Lord and questions him.
Like Peter and the sea, he's focused on the world around him.
He questions the issues that his nation is dealing with and what appears to be God's
lack of help.
You'll notice he doesn't even acknowledge the fact that it was their own fault that brought
them to this point, that the troubles that they were facing were because as a nation
they had turned from God.
Have you ever noticed when things are tough, people are quick to point fingers, blame others,
or even to blame God.
If you're so powerful and you love us so much, why aren't you helping?
There are places in the world that are war torn.
People are starving and suffering.
You'll notice those are often some of the same places where God has been pushed out.
Places where missionaries risk life and limb to go and share the word.
This should be a reminder to turn to God when things are tough.
We all need to confess our own sins and pray to him.
The Bible says that he continues on here.
We look at verses 14 through 15 where even after he's told, hey, go, you've got a mission,
he not only says that his family is weak, he puts himself down even further that he's
the weakest of them all.
Oh, woe is me.
He has such a poor self image that he can't even believe he's worthy enough to be in the
presence of the Lord.
Right now, Gideon is very much like Eor.
Oh, nobody wants to be my friend.
Nobody loves me.
His depression is quite real.
Again, in verse 16, the Lord is telling him he will be with him and that he will win.
You'll notice it's the same as he told Moses in Exodus chapter 3.
Yet Gideon challenges things yet again.
Let me remind you that in Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 16, the Bible tells us you must not
test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massa.
Yet that's exactly what's happening here.
And Gideon is going to find out why shortly, why we shouldn't test the Lord.
Now let's go to verse 22.
This right here, Gideon realizes that this really is the angel of the Lord.
He goes, uh-oh.
Oh, boy.
This is really the real deal.
And much like Gideon, we all find ourselves focused on our own limitations and our weaknesses.
People often will use those as a reason to take the easy out and to make excuses as to
why they can't do things.
Don't make excuses.
Instead, tell God how you really feel about what's going on.
But then, once that's done, do what God wants.
Do what God tells you to do.
Alright?
Now let's see what the Bible has to say now in verses 23 through 24.
The Bible says, 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 Oprah of the Abysserites.
Alright.
So Gideon's scared.
He not only sees the reality that's in front of him now, he's afraid he's about to die.
Why?
Why is he afraid he's going to die?
Because, the understanding is that nobody can see God's face and live.
We learn that from Exodus.
However, Gideon believed that this also applies to seeing this messenger that's in front of
him.
So right away he's told, Hey buddy, relax.
You're not going to die.
It's going to be okay.
Alright.
So we're going to continue on, verses 25 through 32.
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 ball 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.
Remember the second bull as a burnt offering.
So Gideon took 10 of his servants and did as the Lord told him.
But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather
than in the daytime.
In the morning, when the people of the town got up, there was a bull's altar demolished
with the asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built
altar.
They asked each other, Who did this?
When they carefully investigated, they were told, Gideon, son of Joash did it.
The people of the town demanded Joash, Bring out your son.
He must die because he has broken down Ball's altar and cut down the asherah pole beside
it.
But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, Are you going to plead Ball's cause?
Are you trying to save him?
Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning.
If Ball really is a God, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.
So, because Gideon broke down Ball's altar, they gave him the name Jerub Ball that day
saying let Ball contend with him.
Alright, so quite a few things here.
First of all, I just want to address the name of Ball.
Now, B-A-A-L, there's a couple of ways to pronounce this.
Some of you might be familiar with hearing it as Ball and others Bale.
There are a few other ways but those are typically the two most common ways to pronounce that.
Now, let's take a look at this.
Even after several assurances, Gideon is still scared.
He's not entirely acting like a soldier as of yet.
Let alone a general.
He's afraid of what others will think of him.
He's not realizing that God is testing his faith and his commitment to him.
And tearing down the idol that everyone in town worshiped, Gideon was seen as rebelling
against society and the government.
This was a symbol for them.
So he acted in the darkness and the shadows.
He did what he was told, however, he did so in the most cowardly way possible.
The Bible tells us that when the deed was done and found, the townspeople wanted to
kill him off with his head.
But they settled for getting him a less than choice name instead.
A reminder that when you do what God wants, it's not always going to be the most popular
thing with a lot of people.
Matter of fact, more often than not, it's not going to be the most popular thing.
You want proof of how this works?
Watch the news.
What's biblical versus the more popular worldly choices are on display there every single
day.
However, the old rule still stands firm.
Do the right thing for the right reason, even if it's not popular.
I can't tell you how many times my grandpa told me this.
This has been a little something that's followed me throughout my life and I've shared it everywhere
I've gone around the world.
Do the right thing for the right reason.
Some of you have probably even heard that yourselves.
It's not a new concept.
It's been out there for decades, if not centuries.
One form or another, it has been out there for a long, long time.
We're going to continue through here and now we're going to be looking at verses 33 through
40.
We're really breaking it down and really going through these chapters this time.
Gideon, let's see here.
This is where we're going to see Gideon starting to pick up some confidence.
Bible says this, now, all the Midianites, Amalekites and other Eastern peoples joined
forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
And the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abisharites
to follow him.
He sent messengers throughout Manasseh calling them to arms and also into Asher, Zebulun,
and Natali so that they too went up to meet them.
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 have 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.
Then Gideon said to God, do not be angry with me.
Let me make just one more request.
Allow me to become, I'm sorry, allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make
the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.
That night God did so.
Only the fleece was dry and the ground was covered in dew.
All right.
A lot there.
It took me a second there.
I was trying to flip over my page as you probably heard, because I am reading from my own personal
Bible on this.
So again, this right here, this is where Gideon is gaining confidence.
Yet as we see here, he's still challenging God and asking for more signs and wonders.
He's still not quite sure.
Now to some, it may seem like he's looking for encouragement.
And it's a thin, thin line because the Bible tells us in verse 39 that Gideon even says,
do not be angry with me.
See, he knows he needs to start treading lightly.
Be careful what you ask for because there may be an unexpected price for it.
And regardless of whether he meant to test God or just needed more building up, he was
still moving forward in what he was told to do, which ultimately is the right thing.
All right.
So now we're going to continue into Judges chapter 7 and verses 1 through 8.
And here we see the price to pay for testing God is, it's going to come due very, very
quickly here.
So the Bible says, starting in chapter 7 verse 1, early in the morning, Jerubal, that is
Gideon and all his men camped at the spring of Herod.
The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Morah.
The Lord said to Gideon, you have too many men.
I cannot deliver Midian into their hands or Israel would boast against me.
My own strength has saved me.
Now announce to the army, anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.
So 22,000 men left while 10,000 remained.
But the Lord said to Gideon, there are still too many men.
Take them down to the water and I will thin them out 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.
So Gideon took the men down to the water.
There the Lord told him, separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog
laps from those who kneel down to drink.
Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs.
All the rest got down to their knees to drink.
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 others go home.
So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred who took over
provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.
So in chapter 6 we see Gideon keeps asking for more and more and more.
Just like Jesus asking Peter if he loved him three times, now we can see the Lord responding
in kind to Gideon.
The Bible tells us he started with thirty-two thousand troops.
That's not to lend confidence to anyone.
I don't care who you are.
Little trash talks ensues, yeah you or what army?
I say the thirty-two thousand people behind you makes a pretty good argument.
So God told him, that's too many.
We're going to cut it down.
We don't want people being able to sit there and boast that, you know, we did it.
It's still us.
You know, that one, God.
So God's taking care of that problem here as well.
So God told him, that's too many, cut it down to ten thousand.
Ah, that's still too many.
So God cuts it down again to three hundred.
Three hundred.
Now the tables have turned.
You talk about serious number changes here.
Now let's take a look at these troops.
These three hundred, they're cautious, they're scared.
They act like war veterans going into a restaurant.
Their eyes are up.
They're bringing water up in a manner so that they can see all that's going on around them.
They're watching the entrances, the exits, the movements, the spacing, etc., etc.
They're calculating how to respond constantly.
They weren't just slurping away.
You know, these guys, they were hungry, but they weren't letting their guard down.
And this is a hunger that only God could help with.
For victory to be had here, the three hundred troops, against all the thousands that were
here against them, for them to win, there would be no question that God was at work
and that God brought this victory.
The Bible tells us when God stands beside you, no one can stand against you.
Now God did one more thing to finish preparing him for battle.
And verses nine through fifteen tell us about it.
So picking up here, Judges chapter seven, verses nine through fifteen.
All right.
During that night, the Lord said to Gideon, Get up!
Go down against the camp, because I'm going to give it into your hands.
If you're afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to
what they are saying.
Afterward you will be encouraged to attack the camp.
So he and Purah, his servant, went down to the outpost of the camp.
The Midianites, the Amelikites, and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley,
thick as locust.
Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream.
I had a dream, he was saying.
A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp.
It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.
His friend responded, This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon, son of Joash,
the Israelite.
God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshipped.
He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, Get up!
The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.
Starting in school and going into adulthood, it doesn't matter if you're in the military
or the civilian world, one of the most consistent pieces of advice you'll find regarding anything
is to be confident.
When you're playing around a cart, what is the one thing that sells a bluff?
Confidence.
So Gideon snuck down to the enemy camp and he heard the dream.
Here's the significance.
The enemy soldier dreamed of a loaf of barley bread rolling into the camp and toppling a
tent.
Barley was considered much weaker than wheat.
It was lesser than.
This is the same as the Israelites' band of troops at this point in comparison to the
army's Midian and Amalek.
Even this couple of troops recognized it from this dream.
What Gideon didn't know until now was that not only was God working to build him up,
but was working at turning the tides against his enemies.
We only see a small part of that big picture.
It's important that we lean into God and do as he wants.
It's only then that we'll start to see more of that big picture.
Verse 15 tells us, upon realizing this, Gideon immediately bowed down and worshiped.
Something we should all do every single day.
As we can see from all this, Gideon, he was a real erected leader because he felt invisible.
He felt lost.
Everything around him was in chaos.
Like so many of us, he felt alone.
Every aspect of his life at this point was done in hiding.
There's a lot to relate here.
It's very easy for all of us to relate to it.
We've all experienced depression.
We've all experienced doubt.
When opportunities arise, we're all quick to say, yeah, right, I'm not that fortunate.
We should all be very cautious, especially this mindset, to ensure that what's in front
of us is in alignment with the Lord.
Once we know what is, we need to start moving forward.
When we move forward in faith, things start to fall in line and our own confidence builds.
All of this requires us to remember to pray to God in all things and to trust in God in
all things.
The good, the bad, the ugly.
When God comes first, the light shines bright.
Thank you for tuning in to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton.
If you'd like to know more about our ministry, you can find us on Facebook at Be the Light
Sanctuary or you can visit our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org.
Thank you so much for listening.
We'll catch you next time.
God bless.