Sermon Tone Analysis
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Intro:
The last time we saw that Gideon has to clean his house first, i.e.
God in using Gideon to destroy his father’s Baal altar was challenging the religious establishment of that day.
We also saw that the people had wanted to kill Gideon but God gave his father wisdom to protect him.
And as a result, Gideon got a new name called Jerubbaal (i.e.
Let Baal contend with him).
What we’re going to see is the famous incident of putting out the fleece.
Many Christians have used this incident as an example of finding God’s will.
This is completely wrong.
We need to understand from the whole narrative exactly what is going on.
Was Gideon trying to determine God’s will for himself?
If that is the case, then God’s will wasn’t clear to him in the 1st place.
And we know that this is not true.
At the beginning of Gideon’s narrative, God issued Gideon this call:
And then the angel or envoy of the LORD gave him an authenticating sign:
So it is apparent that God’s will for Gideon is very clear.
Hence it is wrong to see Gideon putting out the fleece as a method to find God’s will.
Because in the narrative, Gideon wasn’t trying to find God’s will, he already knew God’s will.
Rather, he was hesitant in obeying God.
But God was very gracious to him despite his weaknesses.
And this is the encouragement we’ll get from this passage today which I entitled: Gideon’s Hesitation.
@@ Title page.
I. Gideon enabled by the Spirit of the Lord v33-35
Now the battle begins.
We had expected this after Gideon was commissioned by God.
Instead God asked Gideon to first clean his father’s house of the Baal altar.
In v33, we see the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east gathered together to fight against Israel.
The valley of Jezreel is the largest and richest valley in the land of Israel.
Later in 1 Sam, the Philistines were to gather there to defeat Israel, killing Saul and his sons.
So Jezreel is a huge battleground between Israel and her enemies.
In v34-35, we see his own clan, the Abi-ezerites and then his tribe Manasseh rally to his call.
This is followed by tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali.
Largest and richest valley in the land of Israel.
We’ve previously seen how his own clan and tribe had wanted to kill him because of his destruction of a Baal altar.
Why do they now change their opinion about Gideon?
Was Gideon showing any courage?
Remember he destroyed the altar at night and so it couldn’t be a clear sign of courage.
Moreover, the next section of the narrative, we see Gideon hesitating or kind of chicken out.
Not only that, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali also followed him.
What did all these people see in Gideon?
Remember that Gideon is nobody in his family and his family is poor among the tribe of Manasseh.
Jdg 6:
If you look hard for the answer, the answer is not found in Gideon.
It is found in v34 where the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon (not came upon).
Hence when you read narrative carefully, scrutinizing the weakness of the characters, your conclusion ought always to be that the true hero is God, not men.
II.
Gideon’s attempt to escape God’s calling v36-39
Jdg 6
Here we see Gideon ask 2 opposite signs from the Lord.
The first sign is the fleece is wet and the ground is dry.
After God gave him the first sign, he asked for another sign.
The second sign is that the fleece is dry and the ground is wet.
And God gave him also the second sign.
I’ve already said at the intro that Gideon is not trying to discern God’s will.
He already knew God’s will.
So what is he doing here?
Confirming God’s will?
Is there such a thing as confirming God’s will if you already knew God’s will?
That would be more like unbelief in God.
The best understanding of what’s happening here is that Gideon most likely out of fear is hesitating to go into battle.
Perhaps he is hoping that all of this (i.e.
leading Israel to battle) is just a bad dream.
Putting out the fleece helps him touch something real and tells him that it is no dream at all.
If you continue reading the narrative, i.e. after this incident of putting out the fleece, you’ll find that God Himself give Gideon an encouraging sign that resulted in Gideon’s worship of God.
One Tues night, bro.
Samuel Ong made a good observation that the Lord never rebuked Gideon though He rebuked Moses for giving excuses.
This does not imply that Gideon is greater than Moses.
Just because God treats someone well doesn’t mean that He approves all that he has done.
In the book of Judges, there is no outstanding character except for Deborah and perhaps Othniel.
So we come now to the final point which summarizes this passage.
III.
God’s graciousness to Gideon v40
One sign should be good enough for Gideon.
But he asked two consecutive signs.
And God gave him the second sign as well.
Not only that, the Lord let him hear the dream of a Midianite without any further request of Gideon.
So there is only one conclusion that we can make in this narrative and that is, God is exceedingly gracious to Gideon.
Gideon is definitely not greater than Moses just because he was not rebuked but Moses was rebuked by God.
On the other hand, Gideon was weak and though Moses was stronger, Moses actually rejected God’s call on the grounds that he can’t speak well.
What theology does this remind you of?
It is found in the Book of Romans.
Another Bible reference is found in 2 Cor but is a different theology.
Anyone want to make a guess?
Rom 5:20-21
@@ Go back to slide
In passage, God’s grace is sufficient to overcome man’s sin so that man can receive eternal life if he believes in Jesus Christ.
Although it seems that Gideon seems to be guilty of evading God’s call or even tempting God, Gideon still believes in God.
So when God seems to be blessing you, it does not mean that you’re doing well.
We’re living in times like that of the Judges where everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Gideon was chosen Gideon probably because he was one of the better ones among the worst.
So today you may also be the better ones among the worst.
Moreover, when it comes to God’s grace, He does what He wishes and it is not because of what you do that earns His grace.
@@ Next slide on 2 Cor 12.
In passage, God’s grace is sufficient to overcome man’s weakness so that any man can be used by God if he trust in God.
The Book of Judges is one of the darkest period in Israel’s history but Israel can still have hope all because of God’s grace.
Conclusion:
Anyone here can be used by God to fight darkness and win souls to Christ.
Ability and sin is not the issue.
God’s grace is what counts.
Rev Yong has just completed a series of biographies and it always amazes us God can use unknown and bad people to do great things for Him.
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