Posted: 10/19/05
BaptistWay Bible Series for Oct. 30
God’s presence, power & provision offer strength
• Judges 6:7-18, 21-22, 36-40
By Ronnie Prevost
Logsdon Seminary, Abilene
A recent popular game show is well-known for the question, “Is that your final answer?” It may be construed as either a helpful word of caution or a tool for instilling uncertainty.
Most of us, when faced with major decisions in our lives (marriages, career moves, etc.) ask ourselves—or are asked by others: Are you absolutely sure? And, so, we struggle with uncertainty.
Gideon, the subject of this study, was a lot like us. Among the Israelite judges, he was the epitome of uncertainty and timidity.
After 40 years of peace, the Israelites remained in the downward spiral recorded in Judges. Once again, they had forgotten the Lord God and succumbed to idolatry. And once again, God used an oppressor to call his people back. This time, it was the Midianites.
The Midianites had long been the enemies of Israel. We read about Israel’s war (the last one in which Moses led) against them in Numbers 31. Now, the Midianites were stealing and destroying crops and cattle. It was ruining the Israelite economy and, according to Judges 6:6, it was when the oppression hit their pocket books that Israel “cried to the Lord.”
In Judges 6:8, God responded by sending a certain unnamed prophet. This prophet reminded Israel that the cause of their troubles was their desertion and disobedience of the Lord God who had delivered them from Egypt. Then God called Gideon to lead Israel.
We find Gideon hard at work. It was after a harvest, and Gideon was threshing the wheat. Normally this was done on a hard surface and on a hill where the wind could carry away the chaff. But Gideon’s “threshing floor” was in a winepress, which would have been cramped, but at least it provided him and his crop protection.
There in his place of hiding, Gideon was greeted by an “angel of the Lord” (6:11-12). The messenger hails Gideon as “mighty warrior.” Perhaps Gideon, whose name meant “slasher,” or “one who cuts off,” already had proven himself in battle. Maybe the angel was chiding Gideon (as if to say “You sure are hacking away at that wheat, you brave boy in hiding!”).
Or did God see the potential like Jesus, in Matthew 16, pronouncing the fearful Simon “Peter” or “Rock.” The answer may be in verses 12 and 14. In the former, the angel’s greeting, which was a common one, included, “The Lord is with you.” The Lord himself, in the latter verse, tells Gideon, “I am sending you.”
God’s call to Gideon was to lead in the freeing of Israel from their subjugation by the Midianites. But Gideon was not so sure. He protested that he was too small for the job (v. 15) and had little or no means to raise an army. In answer, God promises his presence. Still Gideon was uncertain and asked God for a sign. The miraculous sign was given, and Gideon responded in awe, realizing that he, indeed, had seen an angel from God and had heard God’s call.
Beyond words of awe, Gideon responded with action by demolishing an altar to Baal, building an altar to God from the remains and on the altar making a sacrifice to God. All this to the consternation of the neighbors and to Gideon’s father, whose altar to Baal was the one destroyed.
Still Gideon struggled with uncertainty. His zealousness gave way to hesitation. After sending out for an army from Israel, he asked God for yet another sign. In 6:36-40, he literally “put out the fleece.” Not once, but twice. He may not have been pleased with Gideon’s requests, but God answered in such a way as to remove all doubt—and excuses—from Gideon’s mind and heart.
The story of Gideon’s uncertainty may cause us to laugh or shake our heads. Or we can draw great hope form it. We have already learned (last week) that God can, and often does, call people both when unexpected and from some of the most unexpected quadrants of life. We see that again with Gideon.
With Gideon we also see that God can use even those who doubt themselves—and him—when they follow in faith. That includes us. Sometimes we may find ourselves hard at work in order to hide from God’s call. And, sometimes, when we hear that call, so often we waver from passion to apathy or fear or we ask for “signs” which may actually be our looking for excuses not to follow.
Our own uncertainty may derive from any one of many sources. We wonder if we accurately perceive God’s will. We are concerned about knowing our own motives.
We should struggle with those issues. However, we should never doubt God’s presence, power and provision.
God can bring strength out of our weakness and uncertainty. Our Lord calls us to be “the light of the world, a city on a hill.” Are we up to the task? Not without him, but, when struggling with uncertainty, we would do well to remember the song “Jesus Loves Me” and the line from it: “They [we] are weak, but he is strong.”
Discussion question
• How do you think God feels when, after hearing God’s call, we ask for signs from him?
• What are some ways we may work —even in church—to avoid God’s call in our lives?
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