The Lord Will Rule Over You!

As we get started this morning by way of reminder, we are in the book of Judges.

! And as you hopefully remember, Judges comes after the Lord has delivered the people of Israel

! from slavery in Egypt and carried them through their rebellion and their wandering

and brought them into the promised land under the leadership of Joshua.

And near the end of Joshua's life, he challenges Israel to choose whom they would serve.

So if you would, begin by looking with me at some of the verses from Joshua chapter 24.

Joshua 24 · chapter mention

Just a few excerpts of his final challenge to Israel, starting with verse 14.

Joshua says,

Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.

Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord.

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve,

whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Then verse 19.

But Joshua said to the people,

You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God.

He's a jealous God.

He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.

If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods,

then he will turn and do you harm and consume you after having done you good.

And the people said to Joshua,

No, we will serve the Lord.

Verse 23.

And he said,

Then put away the foreign gods that are among you,

and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.

And the people said to Joshua,

The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.

Now, as we know at this point in Joshua,

they did not fully obey God's command to drive out the inhabitants of the land or their gods.

And so we hear time and time again the book of Judges reverberates with Joshua's challenge,

Choose this day whom you will serve.

Hopefully you remember that after Joshua's generation died,

another generation arose that did not know the Lord or remember his works.

Now, remember, they still knew about Yahweh, the one true God,

but they're not living in faithful covenant relationship with him.

You remember from chapter 6, even Gideon himself knew the stories.

He says,

Where are all God's wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us?

But they mixed Canaanite beliefs and worship with the worship of Yahweh.

You remember Gideon's own father, Joash, maintained an altar to Baal

and had an Asherah, and the people of the town came there to worship.

So because Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,

he gave them into the hand of Midian.

And hopefully you remember that it's been seven years

that the Midianites and the Amalekites have swept through the land,

devouring its produce, its livestock, until it says Israel was brought very low.

And this time, when Israel cried out,

God sent a prophet first before sending a judge.

And you probably remember, the prophet made the real problem clear.

It was not Israel's deepest problem that they had enemies outside of them,

but it was their unfaithfulness inside of them,

their disobedience and the corruption of true worship.

Then you remember in Judges chapter 6,

Judges 6 · chapter mention

the angel of the Lord found Gideon.

He was fearful, hiding in a winepress.

And the angel of the Lord calls Gideon a mighty man of valor.

And he sent him first to confront the Baal worship in his own household.

Now Gideon obeyed, but again, you remember,

he does it at night because he's afraid.

But from it all, he gets the nickname, Jeroboam,

which means let Baal contend with him.

And it becomes an ongoing testimony that Baal could not defend himself.

So the spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon,

and God patiently reassures Gideon because of the fleece

and having the opportunity to know this is what God's doing.

And Gideon has gathered an army now on the,

or near Mount Gilboa, overlooking the Herod Valley.

You can see on the back of your listening guide,

there's a map if you'd like to get a clearer picture

of where things are happening today.

But that's where we'll pick up the story in Judges chapter 7 and 8.

Judges 7 · chapter mention

And if you're using one of the Bibles from the seat around you,

and I hope you will follow along in the Bible,

you can find that on page 206.

Now, these chapters contain one of the most positive

and powerful moments in Judges,

followed almost immediately by a critical turn

deeper into Israel's downward spiral.

Now, let's begin near the end.

After the battle has been won.

In Judges 8, verses 22 and 23 read,

Judges 8:22

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon,

Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also,

for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.

Gideon said to them,

I will not rule over you,

and my son will not rule over you.

The Lord will rule over you.

Now, that statement is going to give us the theme for this morning's message.

The Lord will rule over you.

And we're going to look at five ways that his rule is revealed.

But to do that, we have to go back in time from this point of the story

to about a week before.

The first thing we're going to see is the Lord rules through our weakness.

The Lord rules through our weakness.

And if you would follow along, starting in Judges chapter 7 with verse 1,

Judges 7 · chapter mention

it reads,

Then Jeroboam, that is Gideon,

and all the people who were with him,

rose early and encamped beside the spring of Herod.

And the camp of Midian was north of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

The Lord said to Gideon,

The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand,

lest Israel boast over me, saying,

My own hand has saved me.

Now, therefore, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying,

Whoever is fearful and trembling,

let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.

Then 22,000 of the people returned and 10,000 remained.

So Gideon begins with 32,000 soldiers

against what we will later learn is an army of 135,000.

Israel's already outnumbered more than four to one,

but God says the problem is that Gideon has too many soldiers.

Now, why is that?

I think it's because by nature we're glory thieves.

You see, if there's any plausible way to make ourselves into the hero of the story, we will.

So God deliberately removes every reasonable ground for Israel to say,

My own hand has saved me.

And following the principle laid out in Deuteronomy 20, verse 8,

Deuteronomy 20:8

The fearful are permitted to go home,

and 22,000 leave.

Now, it's interesting.

This all happens at the spring of Herod.

And in Hebrew,

you could also understand that as the spring of trembling.

And it's a fitting scene that exposes how deeply fear and unbelief had spread through Israel.

You see, they knew the stories of God's mighty acts,

but they had very little confidence that he would keep his promises now.

So, only 10,000 remain.

And yet, the Lord says,

There are still too many.

Continuing with verse 4.

It reads,

And the Lord said to Gideon,

The people are still too many.

Take them down to the water,

and I will test them for you there.

And anyone of whom I say to you,

This one shall go with you,

shall go with you.

And anyone of whom I say to you,

This one shall not go with you,

shall not go.

So he brought the people down to the water.

And the Lord said to Gideon,

Everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps,

you shall set by himself.

Likewise, everyone who kneels down to drink.

And the number of those who lapped,

putting their hands to their mouths,

was 300 men.

But all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.

And the Lord said to Gideon,

With the 300 men who lapped,

I will save you,

and give the Midianites into your hand.

Let all the others go,

every man to his home.

So the people took provisions in their hands,

in their trumpets,

and he sent all the rest of Israel,

every man to his tent,

but retained the 300 men.

And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

Now, the point of the drinking test

is not that God's identifying his special forces.

Okay?

The text never says that those 300 were more vigilant

or more courageous.

In contrast,

the test reduces the army

until Israel's weakness should be unmistakable.

300 men against 135,000.

Now, the odds about 450 to 1.

You see, God knows we readily steal his glory.

So he makes Israel too weak

to honestly explain the victory apart from him,

exposing their weakness,

forcing them to depend on him.

Now, let's just take a moment

and ask yourself,

where are you stealing God's glory?

Do you quietly credit your success

to your own hard work

or your wisdom,

your ability,

forgetting that every good and perfect gift

is from above?

Do you look down on those

that you consider less capable

or less disciplined

or less intelligent,

less mature,

less stable?

Also, think about

where are you fighting

against the weakness

that God has allowed in your life?

Do you tell yourself,

if only I had more time,

more money,

more ability,

more strength,

more youth,

more experience,

then I would obey,

I would serve,

I would do this for the Lord.

You see, so often,

we want God to make us

strong enough to obey,

strong enough that we can do it

without depending on him,

but the Lord rules

through our weakness.

Now, honestly,

what he's called you to

may truly be too big for you,

but that's because his plan

was never for you

to do it on your own.

He calls us to walk

in faithful obedience,

step by step,

letting our weakness

become the stage

on which his strength

and his glory are displayed.

Now, the second thing

we want to see

is the Lord rules

mercifully in our fear.

The Lord rules

mercifully in our fear.

And just by way of reminder,

God has been remarkably patient

with Gideon's fear

throughout this story, right?

He finds him hiding

in a wine press.

He speaks peace to Gideon

when Gideon thinks

he's going to die

because he's sending

the angel of the Lord

face to face.

He doesn't reject

or criticize him

for tearing down

the altar of Baal at night.

He patiently reassures him

with the fleece.

Now, the night before the battle,

we're going to see

that same mercy continues.

Continuing with verse 9,

it reads,

That same night,

the Lord said to Gideon,

Arise, go down

against the camp,

for I have given it

into your hand.

But if you are afraid

to go down,

go down to the camp

with Purah, your servant,

and you shall hear

what they say,

and afterward your hands

shall be strengthened

to go down

against the camp.

Then Gideon went down

with Purah, his servant,

to the outposts

of the armed men

who were in the camp.

And the Midianites

and the Amalekites

and all the people

of the east

lay along the valley

like locusts in abundance.

And their camels

were without number

as the sand

that is on the shore,

the seashore in abundance.

When Gideon came,

behold,

a man was telling

a dream to his comrade.

And he said,

Behold,

I dreamed a dream.

And behold,

a cake of barley,

barley tumbled

into the camp of Midian.

And it came to the tent

and struck it

so that it fell.

It turned it upside down

so the tent lay flat.

And his comrade answered,

This is no other

than the sword of Gideon,

the son of Joash,

a man of Israel.

God has given

into his hand

Midian in all the camp.

Now,

God commands Gideon

to arise

and go down

against the Midianites.

Then he adds,

But if you are afraid,

there's an extraordinary

amount of mercy

and gentleness

in those words.

And Gideon is afraid.

Of course he is.

He's about to lead

300 men

against 135,000.

And we'll learn later

that his own brothers

had been killed

in conflict

with the Midianites.

Yes, Gideon

had received

direct revelation

and repeated signs,

but we should be slow

to criticize

the fear of a man

who's actually

stepping forward

in obedience.

Our merciful Lord

does not mock

or chastise him.

He gives Gideon

one more encouragement.

Go down with Purah

and listen.

Now,

to feel the strangeness

of what Gideon overhears,

let me let you

imagine it this way.

Okay?

Soldier One says,

I had a dream.

A day-old bagel

rolled out of

a kindergartner's lunchbox

towards the Pentagon.

It bounced over the curb,

hit the building,

and the whole Pentagon

collapsed.

And Soldier Two answers,

Well, that can only

mean one thing.

God's given the Pentagon

and all its strength

into the hand

of Kevin Jones,

a kindergartner

living in Pentagon City.

Right?

That's roughly

how absurd

the dream

and its interpretation

must have sounded.

A loaf of barley bread,

which is the food

of the poor,

topples the tent

of mighty Midian,

and the Midianite soldier

immediately knows

it's Gideon's victory.

But think

of all the sovereign mercy

that's packed

into that moment.

Right?

It's obvious

that that fear

was already spreading

through the camp

of the Midianites.

God directs Gideon

and Pura

to exactly

the right place

at the right time

to hear this dream.

And then Gideon's fears

are comforted

by hearing the fears

of another soldier.

Then verse 15 happens.

It says,

As soon as Gideon

heard the telling

of the dream

and its interpretation,

he worshipped.

And he returned

to the camp of Israel

and said,

Arise,

for the Lord

has given the host

of Midian

into your hand.

Now,

the Lord's merciful rule

in Gideon's fear

produces two right results.

The first is worship.

Gideon bows

before Yahweh.

And remarkably,

this is the only place

in Judges

where this verb

describes

an Israelite

bowing down

before the Lord.

Elsewhere,

it's all used

to describe

the Israelites

bowing down

before false gods.

But the second thing

that the Lord's

merciful care produces

is a faith

that obeys.

Right?

Gideon returns

to camp,

announces,

The Lord has given

it into our hands

and calls the men

to battle.

We see that

Gideon's worship

fuels his obedience.

And Gideon's obedience

reflects the sincerity

of his worship.

You know,

God's people

do not have to be fearless.

But we do have to obey.

So,

when fear rises

and it will,

right,

remember the Lord's patience,

the Lord's mercy.

Bring your fear

honestly to him.

Receive strength

through his word,

through his acts

of providence.

And then,

come and bow

and worship

before him

and let that worship

fuel the next step

of obedience.

The third thing

to see,

the Lord rules

over our enemies.

The Lord rules

over our enemies.

Starting in

verse 16,

And Gideon 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.

And he said to them,

Look at me

and do likewise.

When I come

to the outskirts

of the camp,

do as I do.

When I blow

the trumpet,

I and all

who are with me,

then blow the trumpets

also on every side

of all the camp

and shout,

For the Lord

and for Gideon!

So Gideon

and the 100 men

who were with him

came to the outskirts

of the camp

at the beginning

of the middle watch.

When they had just

set the watch

and they blew the trumpets

and smashed the jars

that were in their hands,

then the three companies

blew the trumpets

and broke the jars.

They held in their

left hands

the torches

and in their right hands

the trumpets

to blow

and they cried out,

A sword for the Lord

and for Gideon!

Now we're not told

whether God gave Gideon

the details

for this battle plan

or not,

but we do know

that the men

are obedient.

They go down

to fight against the camp

and it's worth noting

the irony

of their battle cry,

A sword for the Lord

and for Gideon

because at that moment

they don't have

a free hand

for a sword.

They're holding a torch

and they're holding

a trumpet.

But look what happens

in verse 21.

Every man stood

in his place

around the camp

and all the army ran.

They cried out

and fled.

When they blew

the 300 trumpets

the Lord set

every man's sword

against his comrade

and against all the army.

Now notice verse 21.

It's astonishing.

Every man stood

in his place

around the camp

and all the army ran.

Now picture it with me,

okay?

300 Israelites

surround a camp

of roughly 135,000.

Again,

one Israelite soldier

for 450 Midianite soldiers.

At midnight,

the darkness explodes

with shattering pottery,

blazing torches,

trumpet blasts,

a war cry

from every direction.

The Midianite soldiers

pour from their tents

with swords in hand.

They're unable

to clearly understand

what's going on

or what's the size

of the attacking force

and panic begins

to take over.

They just begin striking

the men nearest them.

The camp fills

with shouting

and with running

and clashing steel

and blood and terror

and yet,

the Israelites

stand in their place.

They don't charge

into the camp.

Matter of fact,

they can't even

draw their swords.

While everyone

inside the camp

moves in terror,

God's people

stand their ground

in faith.

Midian has weapons

but no clarity.

Israel has no sword

in hand

but the promise

of God.

And the Lord

set every man's sword

against his comrade.

You see,

Israel's task

was not to make

the victory happen.

They were to obey,

to hold their place,

to watch the Lord

do what only

he could do.

So the survivors flee.

Other tribes

join in the pursuit.

Ephraim captures

Oreb and Zeb

and the victory

that God promised

becomes a miraculous

reality.

You see,

we also have enemies,

don't we?

Ephesians 6.12

reminds us

that our struggle

is not ultimately

against flesh and blood

but against spiritual

forces of evil.

1 Peter 5.8

warns us

that our adversary,

the devil,

prowls around

like a roaring lion

seeking someone

to devour.

Now maybe this morning

your spiritual enemies

seem as innumerable

and insurmountable

as those of Midian.

Perhaps you've fought

the same temptation

so long

that you feel like

you're just hiding

in a spiritual winepress

trying to survive.

Let me call you

to hear again

the Lord's words

to Gideon.

The Lord

is with you.

Now,

when the excuses

rise,

and they will,

you're too weak,

you're too afraid,

you're too outnumbered,

you've failed

too many times.

Remember the Lord's words.

I will be with you.

Colossians 2.15

says that

through Christ

God has disarmed

the rulers

and authorities

and put them

to open shame

by triumphing

over them

in Him.

Amen.

So do not

give up the fight.

Stand your ground.

The decisive victory

has already been won

in Christ.

Our greatest danger,

though,

so often

is not

from the enemies

outside us.

And as we move

into Judges 8,

it's going to turn

our attention

to the enemies

within.

The fourth thing

we want to see,

the Lord rules

by exposing

the idols

of the heart.

The Lord rules

by exposing

the idols

of the heart.

Now,

the anonymous

prophet's message

at the beginning

of Judges 6

really could provide

the theological

framework

for all

of Gideon's story.

Yahweh remains

unwaveringly

faithful to save

and Israel

persistently

refuses to

to hear

and to fear

and to remember

and to worship

him rightly.

So in some ways,

the Lord really

has been revealing

the idols

of the heart

throughout the entire

story of Gideon.

But chapter 8

brings several

of those idols

into especially

sharp focus.

The first is

the idol

of recognition.

The idol

of recognition.

Follow along

as I read

in chapter 8

starting with

verse 1.

Then the men

of Ephraim

said to him,

What is this

you have done

to us?

Not to call us

when you went

to fight

against Midian?

And they accused

him fiercely.

And Gideon

said to them,

What have I done

now in comparison

with you?

Is not the gleaning

of the grapes

of Ephraim

better than the

grape harvest

of Abiezar?

God has given

into your hands

the princes

of Midian,

Oreb and Zeb.

What have I

been able to do

in comparison

with you?

Then their anger

against him

subsided when

he said this.

So the tribe

of Ephraim

takes personal

offense that Gideon

began the battle

without them.

But the deeper

issue is a longing

for recognition.

Now remember,

the tribe of Ephraim

was not originally

summoned by the

Spirit of the Lord

when he clothed

Gideon and called

out the tribes.

And it was only

later that they

were called to

join in the pursuit.

And although they

do capture

Oreb and Zeb,

they're still

complaining fiercely

that Gideon

had not included

them sooner.

So Gideon

answers wisely

and calms

the conflict,

but he does

not clearly

redirect their

hearts to the

Lord's glory.

We see Ephraim

placated more

than corrected.

Gideon actually

assures them

they had indeed

received significant

honor and

recognition.

And I think

as a result,

we'll see that

same craving

for recognition

reemerge in

Ephraim in

Judges chapter

Judges 12 · chapter mention

12.

You see,

God's just

miraculously

delivered Israel,

yet Ephraim's

preoccupied with

their own

recognition.

How often do

we see that

same idol

at work in

our own

lives?

Right?

It tells us

we deserve

to be noticed,

to be included,

to be appreciated,

to be valued.

You can often

detect it by

how easily

you're hurt

when you feel

like you've

been overlooked

in some way.

The idol of

recognition

steals our

joy.

It makes it

difficult for us

to thank God

for what he

does apart

from our

involvement.

Or to

worship when

he uses

someone else

to do

something.

Or simply

just to

rejoice with

those who

rejoice.

You see,

instead of

asking,

how has God

been glorified,

the idol of

recognition

leads us to

ask,

did anyone

notice me?

The second

idol is the

idol of

security.

The idol

of security.

Continuing

with verse

four.

It says,

And Gideon

came to

the Jordan

and crossed

over.

He and the

three hundred

men who

were with

him,

exhausted,

yet pursuing.

So he

said to

the men

of Succoth,

Please give

loaves of

bread to

the people

who follow

me,

for they

are exhausted

and I'm

pursuing

after Ziba

and Zalmunna,

the kings

of Midian.

And the

officials of

Succoth

said,

Are the

hands of

Ziba

and Zalmunna

already in

your hand?

That we

should give

bread to

your army?

So Gideon

said,

Well then,

when the

Lord has

given

Ziba and

Zalmunna

into my

hand,

I will

flail your

flesh with

the thorns

of the

wilderness

and with

briars.

And from

there,

he went up

to Penuel

and spoke

to them

in the

same way.

And the

men of

Penuel

answered

him as

the men

of Succoth

had answered.

And he

said to

the men

of Penuel,

When I

come again

in peace,

I will

break down

this tower.

Now,

the fears

of the

people of

Succoth

and Penuel

are really

after seven

years of

devastation,

bread is

precious.

And if you

look at your

map,

you'll see

they're a lot

closer to

Midian.

They've already

understood what

it's like to

face the wrath

and the

retribution of

Midian.

But it's

real.

And let's

just be honest,

Gideon is

in some ways

ridiculously

asking them

to support

300 exhausted

men who

are pursuing

an army at

this point of

at least

15,000.

So the

fear is

understandable,

but it

becomes

idolatrous

when security

becomes more

important than

faithfulness.

You see,

the reasoning

is essentially

our judgment

about what

will keep

us safe

is more

trustworthy

than what

God has

said or

what God

is visibly

doing.

So fear

drives them

to self-protection.

It keeps

them from

trusting God's

provision,

his protection.

It causes

them to

actually stand

aside from

the Lord's

work.

In addition

to that,

they speak

harshly to

their own

faithful

brothers.

Now the

same idol

grows in

us when

fear convinces

us that

preserving

ourselves is

more important

than trusting

and obeying

God,

often assuming

we can judge

what is safest

for us better

than God

can.

And so

the idol

of security

makes us

clutch and

cling to

what we

have.

It makes

us suspicious

rather than

faithful and

it often

leads us to

criticize any

obedience that

threatens our

comfort.

Now,

biblical wisdom

is not

recklessness,

but neither

is safety

our highest

good.

The Lord

should be.

The second

idol,

the third

idol that

we can see

is the

idol of

self-importance.

The idol

of self-importance.

Now,

Gideon

pursues and

defeats the

remaining 15,000

men.

He captures

Ziba and

Zalmunna and

returns to

Succoth with a

list of its

77 officials.

And for the

sake of time,

we're going to

skip to verse

15.

It says,

And Gideon

came to the

men of

Succoth and

he said,

Behold,

Ziba and

Zalmunna,

about whom you

taunted me,

saying,

Are the hands

of Ziba and

Zalmunna

already in

your hand,

that we

should give

bread to

your men

who are

exhausted?

And he

took the

elders of

the city,

and he

took thorns

of the

wilderness,

and briars,

and with

them taught

the men

of Succoth

a lesson.

And he

broke down

the tower

of Penuel

and killed

the men

of the city.

Then he

said to

Ziba and

Zalmunna,

Where are

the men

you killed

at Tabor?

They

answered,

As you

are,

so were

they.

Every one

of them

resembled

the son

of a

king.

And Gideon

said,

They were

my brothers,

the sons

of my

mother.

As the

Lord lives,

if you

had saved

them alive,

I would

not kill

you.

So he

said to

Jether,

his firstborn,

Rise and

kill them.

But the

young man

did not

draw his

sword,

for he

was afraid

because he

was still

a young

man.

Then

Ziba and

Zalmunna

said,

Rise

yourself

and fall

upon us,

for as

the man

is,

so is

his

strength.

And Gideon

arose and

killed

Ziba and

Zalmunna,

and he

took the

crescent

ornaments

that were

on the

necks of

their

camels.

Now

Gideon's

growing

sense of

self-importance

appears as

he treats

failure to

support his

leadership as

a personal

offense,

deserving

punishment,

in effect

saying,

Those who

will not

stand with

me will

answer to

me.

But

there's a

painful

irony to

observe here.

Gideon's

own leadership

has been

sustained from

beginning to

end by

extraordinary

mercy.

The people

of these

cities feared

many of the

same things

Gideon had

feared.

Right?

Midian's

overwhelming

strength,

the cost of

resistance,

whether victory

would really

come.

But they

didn't have

the same

benefit of

direct

revelation and

repeated

reassurance that

Gideon had

received.

So we see

Gideon, the

man who

needed abundant

mercy and

patience, now

shows little of

either towards

other fearful

people.

Brothers and

sisters, we

must remember

the mercy God

has shown us.

And we

must especially

remember it when

dealing with the

weaknesses of

others.

It also

appears that

Gideon begins

to confuse

being graciously

chosen by God

with being

personally

important.

His position

didn't come

from superior

courage or

faithfulness,

but from God's

gracious choice,

mercy, and

patience with

him.

Yet the

grace that

made Gideon

useful,

increasingly

becomes a

status that he

expects others

to recognize

and support.

Then we see

his God-given

mission becoming

entangled with

personal vengeance.

By verses

18-21,

Gideon

confirms that

Zeba and

Zalmunna

killed his

brothers, and

their execution

is tied to

his family

grievance or

vindication.

So little by

little, God's

cause and

Gideon's

personal cause

are becoming

increasingly

difficult to

distinguish.

But the

idol of

self-importance

does the

very same

thing to

us.

It takes

the gifts

or the

calling or

the position

or the

influence or

the victories

that we've

received by

grace and

turns them

into reasons

we think

others must

recognize us

and trust us

and support

and defer

to us.

us.

We should

never confuse

being used

by God

with being

important in

and of

ourselves.

You see,

the importance

of the work

he entrusts

to us

does not

transfer into

personal

significance

that others

must recognize.

And we

must guard

against allowing

God's cause

to become

entangled with

our own

reputation or

our own

grievances or

our own

desire for

vindication

because it's

dangerously

easy to

think we're

defending truth,

we're defending

ministry,

we're defending

the church,

we're defending

God,

when in

reality we're

just defending

ourselves.

So we must

ask ourselves,

am I seeking

the honor of

Christ or

just the

vindication of

my own

name?

The fourth

idol,

is the idol

of spiritual

experience.

The idol

of spiritual

experience.

Starting in

verse 22,

it says,

Then the men

of Israel

said to

Gideon,

rule over

us,

you and

your son

and your

grandson

also,

for you

have saved

us from

the hand

of Midian.

Gideon

said to

them,

I will

not rule

over you

and my

son will

not rule

over you,

the Lord

will rule

over you.

And Gideon

said to

them,

let me

make a

request

of you,

every one

of you,

give me

the earrings

from his

spoil.

For they

had golden

earrings because

they were

Ishmaelites.

And they

answered,

we will

willingly give

them.

And they

spread out a

cloak and

every man

threw in

at the

earrings of

his spoil.

And the

weight of

the golden

earrings that

he requested

was 1,700

shekels of

gold.

Besides the

crescent

ornaments and

the pendants

and the

purple garments

worn by the

kings of

Midian and

besides the

collars that

were around

the necks of

their camels.

And Gideon

made an

ephod of

it and

put it in

his city

in Ophrah.

And all

Israel

whored after

it there and

it became a

snare to

Gideon and

to his

family.

So Midian

was subdued

before the

people of

Israel and

they raised

their heads

no more and

the land had

rest for 40

years in the

days of

Gideon.

So now we're

back to where

we began.

Israel gives

Gideon the

glory that

belongs to

the Lord.

You have

saved us.

They elevate

the instrument

above the

God who

used him.

And they

seek permanent

hereditary

protection.

This is

working out

great for

us.

So you,

your son,

your grandson,

you just

keep doing

that.

And we

see Gideon

answer rightly.

I will

not rule

over you.

The Lord

will rule

over you.

But then

comes the

ephod.

Now I'm

going to be

honest.

Commentators

differ widely

about Gideon's

motives.

And the

text doesn't

explicitly tell

us.

But I

think the

details point

us in this

direction.

Think about

it.

Throughout

chapters 6

and 7,

Gideon

enjoys

extraordinary

direct

guidance from

God.

The angel

of the

Lord comes

and speaks

to him

face to

face.

There's

miraculous

signs.

There's

repeated

divine

speech.

There's

the fleece.

There's

even the

providential

dream in

the

Midianite

camp.

But after

Judges 7

9,

there's

no

recorded

word from

the Lord

to Gideon

again.

That silence

must have

been deafening.

And then

elsewhere in

Scripture,

we see that

the priestly

The ephod

is connected

with the

God-appointed

priesthood

and with

seeking the

Lord's

direction.

In your

listening guide,

there's several

passages there

about the

ephod.

You could

look up

if you'd

like to

read some

more.

But because

of that,

I think it's

plausible that

Gideon wanted

a continuing

means to

access God's

guidance.

What one

commentator

fitly calls,

he wants a

permanent

fleece.

I think the

location is

important too,

right?

Because Gideon

puts it in

Ophrah.

And remember,

that's the

place where

God first

appeared to

Gideon.

Where God

miraculously

accepts his

offering.

Where God

speaks peace

to him and

where Gideon

builds the

altar that he

calls the

Lord is

peace.

So as a

result,

I believe

Gideon may

have been

trying to

preserve or

restore direct

access to the

Lord.

And if that's

true, we

might perhaps

hear an

unspoken

addition to

his words.

The Lord

will rule over

you and

perhaps I can

continue to be a

conduit of his

direction.

Now, even

assuming the

very best of

Gideon's

intentions, the

problem is

nonetheless very

serious.

Because God

had already

established how

his people were

to approach

him through

the tabernacle,

through the

priesthood,

through the

means that

God had

appointed.

And no

matter how

much failure

the priests

or the

Levites were

guilty of at

this time,

it didn't

give Gideon

the right to

create an

alternate

system.

That there's

never a good

reason to

seek God

or to

worship God

in a way

that's

contrary to

his word.

So instead

of allowing

God to

determine how

his people

approach him,

Gideon builds

a religious

practice around

the place and

the experience

that were

personally

meaningful to

him.

And whether

intended or

not, the

result draws

Israel away

from the

legitimate

sanctuary and

the legitimate

priesthood and

Israel hoard

after the

ephod.

You see, the

desire for

extraordinary

spiritual

experience becomes

a substitute

for ordinary

dependence and

obedience to

the Lord.

And in turn,

it tells us the

very thing Gideon

makes becomes a

snare to him

and to his

family.

And I think

that danger

remains for

us, right?

Because it's

so easy for us

to begin to

treat yesterday's

dramatic

experience as

more real than

today's reading

of God's

word.

We can easily

come to believe

that an intense

feeling is more

trustworthy than

ordinary obedience.

Or to think

that we have to

come up with

some special

method to draw

near to God

beyond the

means that he