Judges 6.docx

Prequel to Saviors that fail: When: Israel was in slavery for 400 years. Then Moses led the Exodus into the desert. His successor, Joshua, let them into the promised land. The 12 tribes of Israel came from Jacob’s (aka Israel) 12 sons. The “Judges” didn’t judge in a courtroom. They were “deliverers” or “saviors”. The Canaanites were the people living in the promised land when the 12 tribes of Israel got there. The various “-ites” (like Perizzites) can be thought of as sub-tribes of Canaanites. Last week on Saviors that fail: God saved Israel after Canaanite oppression. Deborah sang a song. This week on Saviors that fail: We begin the Gideon story. It proivdes insight into the rest of Israel’s history, and the history of salvation. Application →You will worship the Lord your God and have no other gods before him. .... And will someone finally tell Spain about the Light of the world??? Gideon and Abimelech Outline Israel is hungry (6:1-10) • The oppression by the Midianites is bad. God reminds them of the 1st commandment. Gideon’s call (6:11-24) • God calls Gideon but he doesn’t want to go. Gideon is scare of fire, among other things. Gideon tears down Baal’s altar (6:25-32) • Gideon obeys God but is scared. He gets a new name that will haunt him. Gideon puts out a fleece (6:33-40) • Gideon doesn’t want to go so he asks God to re-check and triple check the message. Why does God play along? Gideon’s first battle (7:1-8:3) • Gideon marches on the Midianites, but God re-checks and triple checks the number of troops. Doesn’t matter because God does all the fighting. Gideon’s second battle (8:4-21) • Gideon shows his petty, emotional nature. “King” Gideon’s becomes pagan (8:22-28) Surprise! Israel become pagan again (8:33-35) Abimelech, son of “King” Gideon, becomes “king” (9:1-6) Abimelech’s little brother, Jotham, tells a story (9:7-21) “King” Abimelech’s reign of terror and civil war (9:22-55) God’s condemnation of Abimelech is completed (9:56-57) Tola and Jair save/rule Israel (10:1-5) Judges 6-8 (CSB) Midian Oppresses Israel 6 The Israelites did what The evil The author has defined “the evil” several times: following other gods. “Evil” is murder/theft/adultery but “the evil” is violating the first commandment—"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Do not have other gods besides me.” Ex. 20:1-3 was evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD handed them over to Midian seven years, 2 and they oppressed Israel. Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the Qedemites came and attacked them. 4 They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey. 5 For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were without number, and they entered the land to lay waste to it. 6 So Israel became povertystricken because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD. Who was Midian? Midian, original father to the Midianites, was a son of Abraham by one of his concubines, who Abraham sent away. Joseph was taken to Egypt by Midianite slave traders. Moses went to Midian to flee Pharaoh, and married the daughter of a priest of Midian. Despite origins with the God of Abraham, their paganism made them enemies of Israel, and of God. When the Israelites cried out to him because of Midian, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to them. He said to them, “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I brought you out of Egypt and out of the place of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave you their Why does God phrase it, “Do not land. 10 I said to you: I fear the gods of the Amorites?” Why didn’t he repeat “have no am the LORD your God. other gods?” Because of the Do not fear the gods of renewed covenant in Joshua 24, the Amorites whose land God got specific! The people you live in. But you did shouted agreement. not obey me.’” 7 The LORD Calls Gideon The angel of the LORD came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said: “The LORD is with you, valiant warrior.” 11 “Valiant warrior” Gideon said to him, “Please, Let’s see how long it my lord, if the LORD is with us, takes for this to why has all this happened? And become true, and how. where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the LORD brought us out of Egypt?’ But now 13 the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” Gideon: I haven’t been listening this whole time, why hasn’t the Lord saved us? The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!” 14 He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.” 15 “But I will be with you,” the LORD said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.” 16 Then he said to him, “If I have found favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me. 18 Please do not leave this place until I return to you. Let me bring my gift and set it before you.” 17 And he said, “I will stay until you return.” So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from a half bushel of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the 19 Angel of the Lord As we’ve seen already, “angel” means messenger, not some shiny dude with wings (a “cherub”). Like with Moses and the burning bush, the angel functions like a microphone for God. God’s words and actions are projected through the angel. broth in a pot. He brought them out and offered them to him under the oak. Why is God so patient with this excuse-making coward? The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat with the unleavened bread, put it on this stone, and pour the broth on it.” So he did that. 20 The angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 21 When Gideon realized that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” 22 But the LORD said to him, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites today. 23 Meat and unleavened bread in the middle of the night, an angel of the Lord, a scared leader of an enslaved people that doesn’t have enough to eat, we’ve mentioned Egypt twice . . . what does this remind you of? Gideon Tears Down a Baal Altar On that very night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old. Then tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26 Build a wellconstructed altar to the LORD your God on the top of this mound. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten of his male servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s family and the men of the city to do it in the daytime, he did it at night. 25 When the men of the city got up in the morning, they found Baal’s altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull offered up on the altar that had been built. 29 They said to each other, “Who did this?” After they made a thorough investigation, they said, “Gideon son of Joash did it.” 28 What is important to God in this section? What is important to Gideon? Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he tore down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” 30 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead Baal’s case for him? Would you save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead his own case because someone tore down his altar.” 32 That day he was called Jerubbaal, since Joash said, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he tore down his altar. 31 Jerubbaal “Let Baal struggle with him” – does that mean that he is for or against Baal? The name itself does not make that clear. When the story is summarized in 2 Sam. 11:21, the name is changed to Jerubbesheth, meaning struggle with shame, instead of Baal. Gideon will embody all of these meanings.