THROUGH THE BIBLE - Judges 8..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Well, the story of Gideon that began in Chapter 6 of the Book of Judges continues, and in fact, it concludes here in Chapter 8. Now, if this is the first time you are introduced to Gideon, you're probably by now starting to, at least in the first two chapters, Chapter 6 and 7, you're starting to warm up to this character.

You're starting to like him. He's a likable guy. I mean, what is there not to like about Gideon? You know, he's a guy that began quite timid and weak and reluctant to act. He was reluctant to do the will of the Lord to begin with.

He was a, you know, mind my own business sort of a guy. But if we're honest, aren't we all a little like that ourselves? Sure, in a way we can, as a people, put a facade on, act strong. Act noble, act courageous, and ask men. We know how to do that.

But the truth of the matter is, we know what fear is on the inside. We know when we need to be strong, how sometimes our knees are not as strong as what we would like them to be. We may put a facade on, but the truth of the matter is, in and of ourselves, we are not much better than this man, Gideon, in and of himself. And I think he's a likable character, at least up until now, because of that. We can relate to him.

Experientially, at least most of us can. The hand of the Lord was upon Gideon, and although he was weak in and of himself, the Lord didn't leave him there, right? I mean, what was the address of the angel of the Lord when he first saw Gideon there at the wine press? You remember what he was. He said, oh, mighty man of valor.

We read that and think, what are you talking about here? Right now, Gideon has not displayed that. But we're talking about the angel of the Lord who knows all and sees all. He knows what he'll make out of this weak man called Gideon. And indeed, he does make him a mighty man of valor.

We saw that last week, even when faced with the impossible task of defeating the Midianites, this formidable enemy, Gideon couldn't go one step further apart from trusting fully and wholly in God and in God alone. He had no strength and he knew it. He had no courage in and of himself. He knew it. Gideon wasn't made out of the warrior material that some others that will come across have.

He was a timid man and afraid, but he knew that apart from faith in Yahweh, he can get nowhere and accomplish nothing. In fact, the whole plan of God was for that end. That Gideon would be stripped of any glory or any self-worth or any inclinations of his heart to think that he's worthy of being commended for anything, because he knew he was not, so that the Lord God will in fact receive all the glory, stripped him down of his army, down from 32,000 down to 300. Gideon and 300 men go against 135,000 of the Midianites. If you repeat that word, If you go out there and speak those words and say, 301 men defeat 135 battle-trained, ruthless army of the Midianites, your sanity will be put into question, unless you believe the Word of the God which is true and has proven to be true in all the ages and is true for all eternity.

But Gideon, who began so well, having no confidence in himself, recognizing himself to be an empty vessel, a vessel that needed to be filled by Yahweh. A man who would one day become a man who is spoken of because of his faith, even listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11, that very famous chapter. The question we need to ask is he began so well, but did he end well? He began the race very well. But did he end the race?

Did he finish the race? Well, that's the more important question. Because that should be the question on our minds even here this afternoon. The fact that we are here seems to suggest at least we think that we've started the race. And I hope we think that we started the race well.

But the more important question is, will we finish the race well? How will it end for us? Chapter 8 begins in a bit of heat. Not heat from the opposing pagan nations, which we're so used to inflicting heat upon the people of Israel, like the Midianites most recently, but rather heat from one of the tribes within the borders of Israel itself, the tribe of Ephraim. They're quite offended.

They're offended at Gideon. This tribe was offended because Gideon had gone out into battle. Battle against the Midianites who were a people who had oppressed the whole of Israel for seven years. How dare you Gideon go out into battle and not call us to come along with you. Now we have to remember.

Ephraim was the preeminent tribe of the day. You've got to remember, Ephraim is the tribe of the great Joshua. It is a tribe that is very central in the land of Israel. In fact, it's the tribe where Shiloh is. And what's found in Shiloh?

Tabernacle of the Lord. The manifest presence of God. That's where true worship is held. There in Shiloh. They're an important tribe.

And you've gone against a formidable enemy that's the enemy of all of Israel and you hadn't let us know. And so they were quite offended. Offended to the point where they were willing even, according to the text, to inflict a force or a punishment upon Gideon, even violence upon him. And you know they'll carry it out because only in a few chapters this will take place. Ephraim will engage in violence against another tribe under the very similar circumstances.

Same tribe, by the way, Manasseh, but a different judge. It'll be Jephthah then, not Gideon. Here, Gideon averts this disaster, the fury of the Ephraimites. He'll avert it with his, I guess, level-headedness, you may call it, and his humility. So whether or not the Ephraimites had noble hearts and motivations in doing what they did, one thing we know for sure, at least we know this from their words, they were willing.

They were willing to get involved. They were prepared to go and take the fight to the Midianites had Gideon have called them along. We know that much. But not every tribe among the people of Israel were willing to be involved. In particular, the tribe of Gad.

The Transjordanian tribe on the other side of the Jordan River, because that's where Sakoth and Penuel are. The two areas or cities that are located here in the text in chapter 8. They weren't so willing to be involved. Weren't so willing to get their hands at least dirty in this battle, which is a battle for the people of God. Because after taking down the majority of the army of the Midianites in the Jezreel Valley, that battle that took place and we examined and meditated upon last week, the two kings, a portion of the army and the two kings who are Zeba and Zalmuna, I can never remember their name, escaped.

And they escaped and they're going back home. They crossed over the Jordan and they're heading back home. Gideon and his 300 men, remember it's still only 300 men, have decided to go and pursue these two kings and the remaining soldiers who made their way out. Most of the soldiers were killed in battle there at the Valley of Jezreel, but a few got away. Now we've got to remember this.

They've pursued the two kings and those soldiers. But you have to remember, the battle that began back in the valley of Jizreel was a battle that began in the middle of the night. It wasn't exactly as though the soldiers were well prepared for a long pursuit. Remember when they went into battle, they went in with three items. Only three items they went in.

One was a jar of clay, which is now destroyed. They broke that jar. Remember they smashed it to the ground to give that surprise element. But also torches and trumpets. And neither of those two things, the last I checked, were any good for sustenance.

You can't eat either of those. And here they are, making this pursuit, according to my calculations, nothing less than 50 kilometers away from where the original battle took place, and more. And now they are hungry, and they are exhausted, and they're still pursuing. What better place to receive sustenance than from your own brothers? The tribe of Dad.

They belong to Israel. They're our brothers. Surely they'll receive us. Not exactly. Not exactly.

They turned them away. Sakoth and Penuel both are not willing to help. You know, the Midianites were a common enemy, weren't they? The Midianites had oppressed all of Israel, didn't they? Seven long years of oppression and this battle is not simply a battle of Gideon and his 300 men, it is Gad's battle, it's Sakoth's battle, it's Penuel's.

battle. This is their battle because the oppression had come their way. And here they're representing Israel to once and for all get rid and completely annihilate one of the formidable enemies who had oppressed them so harshly and severely for seven years and they want nothing to do with them. Now even if they were strangers, the law of Moses, the law of God commands that they show hospitality and feed them and they wouldn't even do that. That shows you the state of the people of Israel in these dark times in the book of Judges.

What was their response? Their response was, is Ziba and Zalmunna, these kings, are they actually in your hands? If they are, show us. Before we feed you and your men, show us that you've actually captured these kings. In other words, You may end up going with these pitiful 300 against an army of thousands.

How do we know you'll even return? How do we even know that you will be the victors? What if we do feed you? What if we come along your side and we feed you and your men and then you go and you don't return and they kill you in battle and then they head on back and they find out that we were on your side? We know the heat of the Midianites.

What if they stepped up the heat and put us in a world of pain? You know what? Thank you so much, Gideon, but we'll pass on your offer. We're not going to feed you. We'd rather preserve ourselves in this situation.

They've taken sides. Not with the people of God. If these were betting men, they're not betting that the people of God, that God will bring about the victory. They're betting against Israel. And they're betting for the pagans, the Midianites.

At this point in time, at least up until now, Gideon has been a likable character. But now from this point, he'll exemplify some very unlikable characteristics. It's actually very difficult to determine what Gideon is thinking exactly, his motivations. Motivations start in the heart, and they're sometimes difficult to be able to determine. There's two things happening at the same time, I believe.

On the one hand, there's no doubt. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind. Reading the text, and when we read it a little closer, we'll come to realize that Gideon is actually acting in faith. There is a faith of Gideon. Hebrews 11, it names Gideon.

It's the only place in the Bible, in the New Testament, my apologies, that names his name. And it's in the context of faith. He does have faith. We'll see that. But at the same time, it just seems to me, as we read the text, like...

Like the courage of Gideon has grown, his confidence has grown, he's beginning to do things according to his own wisdom, according to his own ways. What do I mean by this? Well, let me show you. Verse 7, speaking of his unwavering faith, I think, it reads here, well then, speaking to people of Sakoth, well then, when the Lord has given Ziba and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh and the thorns of the wilderness and with breers. Don't miss what he says here.

He doesn't say if the Lord has given or gives me Ziba and Zalmunna, but when. He's still got 300 going against an army of 15,000 and he believes. He believes that God will give him the full and final victory. That even though we are outnumbered, even though we are the underdogs, Yahweh, the God of the universe, the God of Israel, who has made himself known and has covenanted with his people, has made a promise, and on that promise we stand. We believe, because when God opens His mouth, He will fulfill His promise.

When? When the Lord God gives me these kings into my hand? When? I'm going away, and we're exhausted and depleted, but we will come back victorious, and when we come back, these are going to be the consequences. In fact, His faith shines not only when He speaks to the people in Sakkoth, but also when He speaks to the people in Penuel.

Go down another two verses. Go to verse 9. He says, when I come again in peace, not when, not if, my apologies, not if, but when I come again. In other words, people of Peñuel, men of Peñuel, you're going to see my face again. I'm going to battle where all the odds are against us, but you're going to see me come back.

Now that is faith. That's faith. When? When I come back again in peace, I will break the tower down this tower. He really believes.

He believes that Yahweh is a God who keeps his promises and keeps his word. But in the same breath, in the same breath he threatens his own people with torture and death. When does God command that his people are to be tortured by his own people and then put to death? Yes, his people can and will be, in the old covenant, the instrument of his judgment to incite or to bring about a swift punishment upon the people of the nations, even sometimes judicially upon his own people. But when does he command that they are tortured?

And the type of torture described for us is difficult to even imagine. And Gideon fulfills that promise. He'll come back and he will torture as he tortured and he'll kill as he killed, as he promised. So my mind begins to ask questions and maybe yours does also. Why not be firm?

Why not be firm with these people and afford them the same type of courteousness and patience that the Lord afforded you, Gideon? After all, you were weak and afraid, so you know exactly what that fear is like. At the behest of the Midianites, you know. That's just the thought of man. They're my thoughts.

You can never know. But one thing I'm not saying. I'm certainly not saying or bringing any excuses against what or excuses of what the men of Sepah and the men of Penuel did. What they did was outright evil. What they did was wickedness, to leave their brothers hanging like that out to dry, or so to speak, to throw them under the bus just like that.

That's just pure wickedness. That's not on. And they acted like absolute cowards. This was their fight. They're part of Israel.

Their God is the covenant God of Israel. Gideon wasn't going out representing himself and just bringing a peace upon the people of Manasseh. He's defeating, he's going out in the power and the strength of the Lord to bring about a peace upon the whole of the people of Israel. Because Midianites were bringing about affliction and persecution and oppression upon all of Israel. This was their fight.

Sakoth, the men of Sakoth ought to have recognized that. The men of Penuel ought to have recognized that. Maybe they were not called to go and take swords and spears and go into battle. But the very least they ought to have done is what God, what would please God and support their brothers in this engagement of a battle that will bring about, according to God's promises, the victory that no doubt they've been wanting for many, many years. But beloved, instead, they were more concerned with playing the political game, the game of politics and self-preservation.

Have we not seen a lot of that in our day, even now? Have we not seen so many Christians and Christian churches worldwide, even recently, being put under the pump persecution and difficulties and oppression. And what breaks my heart is, although on many occasions we don't know the circumstances, we don't know the environment, we don't know what the elders are thinking, we actually don't know what sort of pressure has been applied in the congregation, but all too often we've seen other churches look and point the finger and say, how could you? At the cost of throwing their own brothers and sisters under the bus in order to, in many occasions, in order not to feel the wrath or the persecutions from the powers that be, in order not to be numbered as those who belong to the same God as these people, as this church, as this Christian. It's sad to see.

It is very sad to see when these things happen. It's best sometimes it's wise to remain quiet. But we can pray. We can pray for our brothers, sisters in the churches who are suffering and going through difficulty. But when we open our mouths or decide to act, God forbid we take the side that is not the side of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the side of our Lord, the side of the only true God, the side of our brothers and our sisters who are doing this for the sake and the glory of God.

The men of Gad were disengaged, indifferent, they didn't care. They just wanted to save their skin at the expense of their own brothers. Now, as I said earlier, it's difficult to know Gideon's motivation for doing and saying a lot of what he says and does, but from what we can learn moving forward in this chapter, I'm convinced that he's begun his spiritual decline. Because Gideon goes on to kill the Midian kings, you know that, we read the text. He'll go and pursue and they will kill those kings.

They'll bring defeat to that army and he will kill the kings. And if you were paying attention while we were reading, did you see the reasoning that Gideon gives for killing those kings? Because he does speak to them, there's an engagement, there's a conversation. I would have hoped it would have gone something like, You're evil men. You've opposed and oppressed the people of God for far too long.

The people of God may have been deserving of such judgment, but when they cried out, and the God of this universe, the only true God, the God who's far more powerful than all your pagan deities, When he heard their cry and decided to raise up a pitiful army like me and these 300 men, you ought to know that there's nothing that's going to stand in his way from receiving or achieving the victory that is in his name, because he's the almighty, powerful God. And this is what God, those who oppose him, his enemies get. His enemies are put to death decisively by the instrument that he chooses. That's what you get if you oppose the God of Israel. But that's not what he said.

He actually said the reason why he's killing these men is because they killed his brothers. The reason why he's killing these men is because you've killed my blood brothers, the sons of my mother. Has this become a family thing? Verse 19 tells us, beloved. Verse 19 tells us that Gideon speaks to these kings and he said, had you have kept them alive, who?

The them, the brothers. Had you have kept my brothers alive, I would have spared your own life. So if you had done what you'd done to the people of Israel, but my brothers remained alive, those that you killed in the Tower of Tabor, you would have been spared. But now that you killed my brothers, I'm going to enact revenge. And that's why he brings his son.

It's a family thing. He brings his son into the equation. He's first born and says, son, these are the men. These are the men. You know what they did to your uncles.

Now, go. Take this sword. Go. His son could not do that, so Gideon inflicts the final punishment. As I said, it's difficult to know the motivation of his heart where the text seems to suggest and tell us there must be more than simply righteous motives in the heart of the inn.

At the same time, he is a man of faith, loving the Lord, working and acting according to faith because he knows, apart from the mighty hand of God, apart from the mighty hand of God, he can accomplish nothing. And on the other hand, from what we see here, we see something changing in this man. Now, I hope he didn't act with a heart of hatred towards these men. Because no matter if it's old or new, hatred and killing someone you hate because you hate them is murder. Gideon is a complicated man and this is a complicated story.

However, the people of Israel, they take a liking to Gideon, they love him. Gideon we want you to be our king. So they say in verse 22 and this is what boggles my mind Rule over us Gideon. You and your son and your grandson also for you have saved us from the hand of Midian just in case you didn't get it. For you, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.

They wanted a mighty warrior. They wanted a mighty general. They wanted a mighty man of valor. Someone who can continually protect them from the ferocious pagan nations that are always threatening their Their violence against them. They wanted a man to look up to.

A man to revere. They wanted a man to protect them. A man to provide security. A man to provide safety. They wanted a man to hear this worship.

They actually wanted a man to worship. Why do I say that? Verse 32. Verse 32. We're told, as soon, I emphasized it when we were reading it earlier on, As soon.

As soon. Now that people had 40 years of rest, we're told that. But as soon as Gideon died, Israel again horde after the gods of the nations. It's because their hope Their trust, their faith, their security, their rest was implanted upon and focused upon and rooted upon one man. And when this man dies, to whom can we trust?

Who can save us? Who can secure us? Who can bring us rest? Gideon is now dead. We need to go to the bowels.

Bypassing the true God of the universe. they were unable to look beyond the man Gideon who was an empty vessel before the Lord used him absolutely bankrupt of anything worthy of boasting unable to look beyond Gideon and to the God of Gideon and his whole plan was specifically designed by Yahweh so that he receives all the glory every last part of the glory and yet they couldn't see it what were they thinking? Gideon and 300 men? Going against 135,000 of the formidable, ruthless army of the Midianites? Yep, he can take them.

It's Gideon's strength. It's the might of Gideon. No, it's not the might of Gideon. It's the might of the God of Gideon. Gideon was simply an empty vessel, empowered by God, given the faith to apprehend the God of the universe and to act in obedience to Him.

But the power is the power of God. It wasn't Gideon. Placing trust in this man is what we see here of the people of Israel. And they call him and say, be our king. Gideon be our king as long as you're our king.

If you can take 300 of our men and go defeat 135,000 then we're going to be safe and secure as long as you live. Please Gideon be our king. No. But Gideon refuses the offer. 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. It's almost like He's saying, don't you get it, Israel? You have a King. And the King you have is better, He's wiser, He's stronger, He's more faithful, and He's a kinder King than all the kings of the earth. And He's far kinder and better and stronger than I would ever be.

Yahweh is your King, Israel. Don't call for another king. Yahweh is your king. He's your God. Bend your knee to Yahweh.

Enthrone Him as your king. He's the only worthy king. Don't look to me or anyone else. Look to Yahweh. Bend your knee, Israel, to Yahweh.

You already have a king. Now start acting like you have a king. Why would you give up the Almighty Creator for any of His creatures? I'm not going to explain that, but that should resonate in our hearts. It's what idolatry is.

Gideon said all the right things, and you see why this is so complicated. He says all the right things, but does he act the right way? For a time he walked in faith, and he was commended for it in Hebrews chapter 11. There's no doubt, even right now in his words, we can say, yes, Gideon is acting in faith. But did he finish well?

He says, Israel, the Lord will be your king. I'm not going to be your king. The Lord will be your king. Turn your hearts and your minds to Yahweh, the only true king, because I'm not your king. But then he seems to act like he is a king.

I think he was genuine when he spoke to the people, Yahweh is your king. I think he was genuine. I think it was from his heart. But I think maybe the fame had got to him as well. That's the risk of popularity and prestige and power.

It can get to your head. So he makes an ephod. Give me all your gold. About 20 kilos is about what 1,700 shekels are. And he makes an ephod of gold.

And he puts it in his own hometown, the town of Ofra. Gideon, what are you thinking? Did you not learn from Aaron? Gideon, you started off so well. What you did in Ophrah, your hometown, the town of your father, you did so well.

You began by destroying the Baal altar, destroying the Asherah pole. Good on you, Gideon. And then you built an altar to the Lord. Gideon praised God for that, but that was according to the will and the word of the Lord. Gideon was commanded and Gideon obeyed.

Where do we find a command from the Lord for him to go ahead and build this abominable thing, or not build, make this abominable thing, this ephod of gold? Did he consult the Lord? Would the Lord have approved? And why put it in your own hometown? I mean, you're directing the eyes to the true King of Israel.

He said, not to me, but to the King of Israel. So you're directing their eyes to them. Well, why would you then bring something that is so wonderful and looks 20 kilos of gold is a big deal and place it in your hometown so that people's eyes are now looking at Ofra in Manasseh? What are you doing? Rather than pointing the hearts and the minds and the worship of the people of Israel to where?

To Shiloh. Why? To the tabernacle. To the place where the manifest presence of God is. The place of true worship.

The place where And ephod, or ephod, is being or has been commanded by God, but not to be put on display, but to be worn by the High Priest, the very High Priest Israel, that represents you before a good and holy God, because you need that representation. On your own, you'll be crushed under the weight of His glory, but you need that High Priest to sacrifice the blood and to present it at the altar. For the Lord, you need Israel. Look to the Lord God, you're alone. Look to Silo.

But he's doing things where Israel's eyes and their gaze and their attention is, although his words say, the Lord is your king, his actions are pointing elsewhere. He's acting as though he's a king for some reason. And then the many wives that we're told that he has, very much like royalty. The many sons and who knows how many daughters he had, very much like royalty. You're taking it too far, brother.

Maybe, maybe. But what does he call one of the sons that we know? The son of his concubine? Abbey Malik. Abbey means father or my father.

Malik, king. My father, the king. Gideon calls his son, my father, the king. In weakness, Gideon began so well He was weak, he was timid, he was fearful, he was reluctant. That's precisely why he began well.

Because until the Lord, until He was completely and totally stripped of all pride, self-worth, any boasting, my clan is the least of the clan of Manasseh and I'm the least in that clan. I'm nothing. I'm an empty vessel. If you really want to use me, I've got nothing to give. You're going to have to do it all on your own.

stripped completely of all perceptions of strength and glory. And that's where God shines. That's where the glory of God shines. Because man no longer can puff his chest out and boast and say, it is I. It is I because of my strength, because of my ability, because of my aptitude, because of me, me, me.

No, it is all of God. It is none of me. Because in that state, man is completely and totally dependent upon God for some things. No, for everything. Other than being in the hands of God, Gideon is useless.

Other than being in the hands of God, we are useless. Although he grew in faith and he was commended for it, I think his success got to his head and it caused the whole of Israel to whore after the ephod. A snare to his family, a snare to Israel. He caused Israel, the very people that he fought for, to worship a pagan, faulty, blasphemous object, taking courage in his own wisdom rather than waiting upon the Lord. Gideon began well, but he ended badly.

And you might be asking right now, I'm running that race. How do I know if I'm going to end that race well? You might remember those words. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 4, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. I have kept the faith.

You see, when you begin the race, no one begins a race thinking, I'm not going to end it. You're always beginning at that line thinking that I'm going to end the race. It's important to think. How are you going to end the race? How do I know that I won't be halfway there and I'll fall to the ground?

How do I know that the race I begin, I so desire to end and to receive, go to the finish line and keep the faith as the Apostle Paul says? How do I know? How do I know? How do I know that the prestige and the glory of this world won't get to my mind? That it won't affect my heart?

How do I know? Only once I said earlier, and I'll finish with this, sorry I've taken so long. Only once in the New Testament this name of Gideon mentioned, and I think it's fitting to finish with the words that conclude that chapter. In fact, the first words of the next chapter, and this is how you know. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Gideon is one, let us also lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

This is the key. looking to Jesus, looking to Jesus, the founder and the perfecter, the beginning and the end, the starter and the finisher of our faith. For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame and seated at the right hand of the throne of God. How do I, from the beginning, set myself up to finish the race well? Fix your eyes upon Christ.

You can't do it on your own. You won't do it on your own. You're an empty vessel apart from him. Unless he fills you with his spirit and you walk in his light, you won't. You won't get there.

So he says, come. Come, I am the light of the world. He who follows after me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Follow after Christ. Let's pray.