God had commanded the Israelites to completely wipe out the many Canannite kingdoms in the Promised Land. They did not finish the job and left many of the kingdoms intack. God said that he would let those Canaanite kingdoms become a snare to punish Israel and oppress them. The people would start to intermingle with the Canaanites and worship their gods. A kingdom like the Midianites or Philistines would oppress them and make life miserable for them. Under oppression, they would cry out to God for help. He would feel sorry for them and raise up a judge to deliver them. The land would have rest for several years after that until the people again began to worship the gods of the Canaanites, and God would send another Canaanite nation to oppress them. They would cry out… and the cycle would repeat itself.
Here is a great chart showing this cycle repeated throughout the period of the Judges (about 200 years).
The first. 4 were Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, and Deborah (Barak working under Deborah). The land had rest for 40 years after Deborah, but then the Midianites oppressed the people after they sinned again. Judges 3-6 tells the story of the 5th judge, Gideon.
Here is a great chart giving the main events in Gideon’s life.
Without going into detail on each of the major events in his life, I want to focus on “Gideon, the reluctant, doubting judge”. The people do evil, the Midianites oppress them for 7 years, taking or destroying their crops, taking or killing their animals, laying their land “waste”. The people cry out to God. God feels sorry for them and sends an angel to appoint Gideon as the next judge to deliver Israel from the Midianites. Gideon is beating out his wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. He started off doubting God, saying that he had not seen God doing any miracles lately and questioning why God had forsaken them. He tried to use the excuse, “who am I that I should be a judge, I am the least in my clan”. He then asked for a sign, brought an offering, and the angel of the Lord burnt up the offering on a stone in front of Gideon. The angel vanished, and Gideon was afraid that he would be killed b/c he perceived that he had just seen the angel of the Lord. God told him he would not die. Gideon built an altar and named it “The Lord is Peace” (YHWH shalom: Peace, completeness, welfare, well-being, safety, prosperity). Surely that is all the proof that Gideon would need, right? Nope.
He was told to tear down his father’s altar of Baal and Asherah and to build an altar to God and offer a burnt offering to God on the new altar. He did so, but he did it an night b/c he was afraid of his family and the men of the town. The men of the town came the next day, found out it was Gideon who tore down the altar to Baal, and told Gideon’s father, Joash, to bring him out to die. Joash at least defended his son and challenged them, “If Baal is god, is he not able to defend himself”?
A large army of Midianites, Amalekites (Saul was supposed to wipe out the Amalekites but apparently didn’t, 1 Samuel 15), and others crossed the Jordan to attack Israel. The Spirit of the Lord comes on Gideon (supernatural strength and wisdom?) and he gathered an army of 32,000 men. So he is ready to deliver Israel now, right? Nope.
He asked God for the sign with the wet fleece and dry ground. So now his is ready, right? Nope. He then asked God to not be angry with him, but do dry fleece and wet ground, as if God can’t do it the other way around! I am shocked that God grants him this 2nd sign. You would think God is getting pretty angry with Gideon by now, but God is a patient God.
So he starts off with an army of 32,000 to fight against a Midianite army of 135,000. God tells him that he has too many men! Imagine how a fearful Gideon felt when God told him that. God told him to allow those who were fearful and trembling to go home, and 22,000 men leave. Gideon now has 10,000 men to fight 135,000 of the enemy. He then tells Gideon that he still has too many men. Gideon must be terrified by now. The men are tested by how they drink water, either bringing the water up in their hands to drink (so they can watch out for the enemy) or kneeling down on both knees with their face down drinking the water (not able to see the enemy). God told him to keep the first group (300) and send the rest home. God now has 300 men to fight 135,000 of the enemy. Gideon must be freaking out with fear!!!!!!
God is so patient with Gideon. He knows that his a so afraid, and a fearful leader will not be effective. Obviously Gideon is not totally convinced that God can win this battle with just 300 men. God tells him that if he is afraid, which he was, he should sneak into the Midianite/Amalekite camp with Purah where they heard a soldier telling of his dream in which the Midianites were defeated by “the sword of Gideon”, and Gideon’s fear was relieved and he worshipped God. That finally gave him the courage to attack Midian with his 300 men. Judges 7: 15And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. Did the Spirit that was on Gideon devise this plan or did Gideon think of it on his own? They blew their trumpets, smashed their jars and cried out “a sword for the Lord and Gideon”. The enemy panicked and in their panic began killing each other. The fled the camp. Gideon called on other Israelites to chase them down and kill them.
The Ephraimites were angry b/c Gideon had not called on them to chase and kill the fleeing Midianites. Gideon told them he had reserved 3 of the Midianie princes for them to kill, and they were appeased. Gideon’s 300 men were exhausted as they chased the Midianites, and Gideon asked the men of Succoth for bread for his men, but they refused b/c the 2 commanders of the Midianites had not been captured and killed yet. To them, Gideon might not win this battle and the Midianites might attack Succoth for helping Gideon. The men of Penuel said the same thing. Gideon told them that he would punish them for this when he returned from killing Midianites. By now, 120,000 of the enemy were killed. The 2 commanders had 15,000 men left, and they were fleeing in panic. Gideon returned to Succoth and got the names of 77 of their leaders and tortured them with thorns and briars, and killed the men of Penuel. He then killed the 2 commanders. We assume that the last 15,000 Midianites were killed also.
What a great ending, right? Nope. The people wanted Gideon and his sons to rule over them (as a king? perhaps a sign that they would later ask Samuel to give them a king instead of judges), but Gideon declines, saying “The Lord will rule over you”. Being a ruler over this divided, sinful group of Israelites would not be easy for fun. Instead, he asked them to bring 1700 shekels of gold Midianite earrings taken as spoil, and he made an ephod and put it in his hometown. Maybe his intentions were good, but the people ended up worshipping the ephod (no surprise). The land had rest for 40 years with Gideon as judge.
Gideon had 70 sons and many wives. He had a son, Abimelech, by his concubine. He died at a good old age. After he died, the people turned to idolatry again and forgot all the good Gideon had done for them.
So, other than an interesting story about another judge, what do we come away with from the story of Gideon? My take is how God can patiently mold and assure someone whom he calls into leadership of his people. He can take a fearful, doubting man tolerate his constant doubting and even asking for signs, and use him to do HIs will. He gives him all he needs to assure him of victory and the Spirit to overcome his fears. He helps him find courage in spite of unbelievable odds. That’s my take from Gideon.
I can relate to Gideon. Perhaps you can also. I struggle with doubt about God. How can there be an eternal, an all powerful, all knowing, ever present God spirit that fills the universe, who created all things with amazing design and diversity out of nothing (I believe He did it in six 24 hour days, but even if he did it over a long period of time, the point is the same)? That’s almost unbelievable to me. The main reason I accept the idea of God is that there are no reasonable alternatives. Science says that you can’t get something from nothing (1st Law of Thermodynamics). If there ever was nothing, there would still be nothing. Science says that if matter was eternal, it would be constantly deteriorating and becoming disorderly (2nd Law of Thermodynamics). So even if matter was eternal by some random chance, it would have deteriorated into chaotic disorder instead of the order and design that we see. There is no way that random chance evolution could produce the 30+ physical constants (laws of math and physics) on earth essential for life to exist on earth, all from nothing. Add to that, there is the resurrection of Jesus. Acts 17:31 God gave proof by raising Jesus from the dead, the ultimate miracle. An open investigation of the historical accuracy of the resurrection will lead one to faith in Jesus and the God Yahweh who sent him. Sadly, I still have days when my doubts arise again. I might even die having doubts about eternal life. I hope not. I hope that God will give me the signs and assurance that He exists and that He is with me, just as He did with Gideon. I believe that He will. I really relate to the man who told Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief”. I don’t think we have to have 100% doubt free faith. Just the faith of a mustard seed. I hope I have that at least. I hear people say, “How can a Christian be afraid of dying”? Some of us are probably afraid of dying. Will death really just be a moment in time and immediately after that brief moment we wake up in eternity? I think so. I hope so. If you are a doubter, I hope the story of Gideon will help you.
I can relate to Gideon’s fearfulness. Over and over it mentions that he is afraid throughout the whole story. I struggle with fear and being afraid. I always blame it on my mother. My dad was not afraid of anything, but my mom was always worried about what bad things might happen. I could have a sore on my toe and she would tell me about somebody who died of a toe infection. She kept me away from snakes. She kept me away from dangerous situations, like high places, which made me acrophobic (fear of heights). That fear carried over into all my life. A fear of trying new things, of getting in trouble with the government, of being sued (I was a school principal for 12 years), a fear of travel (I made everyone who traveled with me miserable with my fears), etc. I always think of the “what if” something bad happens. I worry a lot. I almost had a nervous breakdown worrying about one incident in the past. Gideon was always afraid and I’m sure he worried and thought up all the “what ifs” that might go wrong. To his credit, he let God use him to defeat the Midianites against great odds. He overcame his fears enough to lead Israel into battle and victory. He gave God the glory for his victory. Not bragging at all, but thankfully I overcame my fears enough to go to a school of preaching after I got my engineering degree, spend 5 years in the mission fields of Trinidad, West Indies and Colombia, South America. I think God used my wife and I to train church leaders in Trinidad who are still, 50 years later, leading the churches there. I never wanted the stress of being a principal, but twice it seemed like God was calling me to be a principal (12 years total) and perhaps used me to advance Christian education. I still worry too much, but I am working on it. I look back at whatever I have accomplished for God and give Him the glory. I think He used me to do His work in spite of my fears. I pray that the Spirit of God will help me overcome my fears in the future as there are surely many bad things that will happen as my wife and I age (I will be 75 soon). God will help you find the courage to overcome your fears, just he did with Gideon.
But what about Abimelech, his son by a concubine Judges 9 tells his story. Here is a summary. Basically Abimelech was a usurper who killed 69 of the 70 sons of Gideon by his wives (only Jotham escaped) and coerced the men of Shechem to make him king. After 3 years the Shechemites rebelled against him and he captured Shechem, raised the city and sowed it with salt. He killed 1,000 Shechemites trapped in a tower by burning it down. Abimelech was killed when a woman dropped a millstone on his head while he was attacking a tower in Thebez.
I close this long blog with the “parable of the bramble” given by Jotham the only surviving son of Gideon. He told this parable to the leaders of Shechem when they make Abimelech king. I will always remember this parable b/c it was my mother’s favorite parable for some reason (I can’t imagine why). She was a great student of the word, both OT and NT, and she knew all the parables of Jesus, but Jotham’s parable was her favorite. Here is what he told the Shechemites. 7 When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’ The meaning is easy to understand. The only reason they had chosen Abimelech to be their king was that no worthy person wanted the position. That kinda relates to the U.S. now, doesn’t it.
Without getting too political, fiscal and moral conservatives were forced into a touch decision in the recent presidential election. A lot of Christians did not want to vote Republican for various reasons. But then the Democratic left leadership supports abortion and LGBQT, which are in total violation of the word of God so most Christians would not vote Democratic. Many Christians ended up voting Republican. But the sad thing is that the main issues were cost of living, inflation, and immigration- not restoring the U.S. to its Judeo-Christian values. Currently, 63% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 36% say it should be illegal in all or most cases. according to a 2022 Gallup poll, 71% of Americans believe that gay and lesbian relations are morally acceptable, while 25% believe they are morally wrong. This is a significant increase from 2002, when only 38% of Americans held this view. Support for same-sex marriage has also increased dramatically over time. In 2022, 71% of Americans supported same-sex marriage in a Gallup poll, and 61% supported it in a Pew Research poll. According to recent Gallup polls, around 43-46% of Americans consider being transgender morally acceptable, while a slight majority (around 51-55%) view it as morally wrong. These are the issues that we should be voting on.
Maybe a majority of Americans did vote on those moral issues when they elected the Republicans who were more conservative. Mostly they voted on the economy in hopes that a new president can make things better financially, and I hope that he can. I just pray that God is working providentially to restore the U.S. to Christian morals based on the Bible no matter who is elected to the Presidency and Congress. 1 Tim 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior. I’m afraid that most voted based on the economy. But what will get Americans to accepting God’s definition of what sin is? What will get this liberal majority to change their opinions? America has had a grass roots revival every 50 years or so to get us back to Bible morals. There was the 1st Great Awakening, the Great Prayer Revival, the 2nd Great Awakening. These revivals were possible and successful b/c the vast majority of Americans still believed that the Bible was the word of God. If the Bible said drunkenness was a sin, then to repent meant to stop drinking. But now, according to recent Gallup data, around 49% of Americans believe the Bible is “inspired by God, but not everything in it is to be taken literally,” while only 20% say it is the literal word of God, meaning the majority view the Bible as inspired but not necessarily completely literal. In other words, now the majority don’t believe that abortion and LGBQT are sinful even if the Bible appears to condemn it. They believe that the Bible is full of human opinions that are not binding on us today. The apostle Paul who condemned homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10) was just homophobic and his writings are not inspired by God, they are just his opinions. So according to the majority, we don’t have to follow Paul’s opinions and writings. How can we have a grass roots revival if that is the case? What will convince pro abortion and pro LGBQT to change their minds on those issues if they don’t believe that God even condemns them in His Word? Where are we headed- Sodom and Gomorrah? I hope not. This addendum is not about Republican or. Democrat or how you voted. Each person should vote based on his conscience and respect how others vote. This is about praying that God will do whatever it takes to humble us and get us back to our Judao-Christian values based on the inspired word of God (2 Tim 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Pray for our country. Remember the parable of the bramble.
Thanks for reading. Pray.
Nicky's Notes 