Today we’re discussing how God showed compassion and grace to Gideon in the Bible… and is a reminder to us of God’s power to bring us ” back to life” and create new things out of nothing. God sees a mighty hero in Gideon, and in you, and encourages us to remember that we are loved. Let’s kick things off in Judges chapter 6.
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Transcription:
Almost all of my books have pages that are dogeared because there are so many things that I want to remember. There’s a scene in one of my favorite novels. It’s called A New Song, and it’s part of Jan Karen’s Mitford series. I highly recommend it. It’s where one of the characters says to the priest, Father Timothy, I don’t Believe in God. And Father Timothy smiles at him and says, Well, God believes in You. And that is so true. God believes in you.
Yesterday we met Gideon in the Book of Judges, chapter six in the Bible, And the angel of the Lord came To him while he was threshing grain, and remember what He said, Mighty hero, the Lord is with you. And then he really surprises Gideon by saying, Hey, you’re going to defeat the Midianites. I’m going to be with you. You’re going to rescue the Israelites and Gideon’s like What? I need proof. And God extends so much compassion and grace and mercy in these moments. But now we’re going to jump right back into Judges chapter six because our mighty hero is about to get his first assignment from the angel of the Lord. All right, judges Chapter six, beginning in verse 25,
That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal,
The false God.
and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. 26 Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.”27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father’s household and the people of the town.
Another bold move, this time more in the right direction.
Early the next morning, as the people of the town began to stir, someone discovered that the altar of Baal had been broken down and that the Asherah pole beside it had been cut down. In their place a new altar had been built, and on it were the remains of the bull that had been sacrificed. 29 The people said to each other, “Who did this?” And after asking around and making a careful search, they learned that it was Gideon, the son of Joash.30 “Bring out your son,” the men of the town demanded of Joash. “He must die for destroying the altar of Baal and for cutting down the Asherah pole.”31 But Joash shouted to the mob that confronted him, “Why are you defending Baal? Will you argue his case? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal truly is a god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who broke down his altar!” 32 From then on Gideon was called Jerub-baal, which means “Let Baal defend himself,” because he broke down Baal’s altar.
Okay, now we’re starting to see shades of a mighty hero. It’s almost as if God is sculpting Gideon right before our very eyes. Verse 33 now.
Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power.
And I want to pause here for just a hot second because I want you to know that whatever you’re going through in this moment, the spirit of the Lord can clothe you with power just like he did with Gideon. It’s the same God. It’s the same spirit. You need only ask the Holy Spirit is our helper. Okay, continuing on in verse 34.
He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. 35 He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded.36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, 37 prove it to me in this way.
He’s asking again for proof.
I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” 38 And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.39 Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” 40 So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.
Again., we’re seeing how the sausage is made, aren’t we? This is the making of a mighty hero, okay? God knew there was a mighty hero inside of Gideon. Gideon had yet to find out, and it reminds me of a verse in Romans chapter four, I want to go there now. Verse 17, listen to this.
Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
Now, another version of the Bible says,
The God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
Might we just marinate on these words for a moment? God saw a mighty hero in Gideon. I know that He sees something special in you. He has made you and equipped you to be strong and courageous. He has given you exactly the tools and the armor you need to fight the battle you’re in right now. There’s a mighty hero in you too. He is sculpting you. He’s sculpting me. He is not going to give up on us. He knows and understands and sees what we can’t see. I don’t know about you, but that deeply encourages me. Alright, until next time when we go into battle with Gideon, wait till you see what God is going to do. By the way, remember, you are loved.
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