When Spiritual Leaders Fail

Well, let's step back for just a moment and, excuse me, let's consider the movement of the text as it relates to Gideon in particular.

And we have to go all the way back to chapter 6 for that.

At the beginning of the narrative, more especially chapter 6 verse 11, perhaps you can notate it there.

We are introduced to Gideon as a surprising and, frankly, from a human perspective, unqualified candidate to lead Israel against Midian.

I mean, there is nothing extraordinary about this man when we're introduced to him in chapter 6.

And that's really a big part of the story, a big part of the point that we're drawing from it.

But Gideon was nonetheless God's chosen instrument.

And as we read through chapter 6 and chapter 7, we see God doing this amazingly gracious work as he calls Gideon, as he assures Gideon over and over.

And then as we see him progressively transforming Gideon.

All of these things, things that we would equate in gospel language to conversion and sanctification and the work of grace in each of our lives as we come to know God and grow in our walk with God.

And there's no doubt, it's not very hard to see that Gideon wasn't perfect.

But he did continually display faithfulness.

He was faithful to the call that God gave him.

And God proved himself faithful and patient and merciful in Gideon's many, many moments of weakness, especially his weakness in faith.

But in the end, in the smaller task of destroying the altar of Baal in chapter 6,

and the larger task of going up against the Midianites with only 300 men, Gideon demonstrates the kind of faith that is worthy of honor

and is commended to us by the author of Hebrews.

In Hebrews chapter 11, when he tells us in verse 32 through 34,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Time would not even grant me to be able to tell you all about Gideon and his faith and the way that the Lord used him.

So that's the movement that we see.

There is buildup in this text from chapter 6 and chapter 7 where we see this really weak and insecure and cynical man who is doing everything he can not to obey God.

And yet he's constantly wooed by the grace of God and the power of God at work in his life.

And then we see this wonderful victory that he experiences in chapter 7.

Now, it would be great if we could move from chapter 7 and verse 25,

which is when the victory over Midian is really won.

It would be great if we could just go straight from that verse to the two verses that we just read in chapter 8.

That the land had rest.

That Midian was, they couldn't stick their heads up even anymore.

The whack-a-mole is finished.

It's broken.

Right?

And Gideon just goes home and he rides out into the sunset until the day he dies and everything's good.

But we can't do that.

The problem here is that there's an essential piece of the story that's given for our instruction in chapter 8.

And it's a, it's honestly, it's an ugly piece.

It's a really ugly piece.

The fact is that Gideon did not finish well.

And the chapter shows us that the deliverers that God used were still sinners who very often reflected the sins of the nation.

They were people of their own times.

And they weren't very different from the people that they were tasked with delivering in these moments.

Of course, the best of men are still capable of tremendous spiritual failure.

And Gideon's no exception to that.

Which reminds us of one of the main points of the book of Judges.

There are no heroes here.

There's no heroes in the book of Judges.

There are only sinners used by God to show his own love, grace, and mercy towards his people.

These deliverers are meant to point us toward a greater deliverer.

And we remember the only hero here is the Lord Jesus Christ.

But what are we to think about, or what are we to think when our spiritual leaders fail us in the way that Gideon and others failed?

How are we supposed to deal with that?

How are we supposed to handle people that are called of God and even used of God tremendously to help us know Christ and grow closer to Christ?

What are we to think, what are we to do when they fall into sin and when they fail to lead as God has called them to lead?

What are the signs that someone we trust is drifting toward this devastating kind of sin in their leadership?

What should we be looking for even?

And in the end, is there any hope actually of someone who will not fail us?

And of course there is.

But there's only one.

And we don't read about him until we get to Matthew.

That's the Lord Jesus, right?

And so I want to work through this chapter and look at some of the notable things that is happening in Gideon's sin.

And then through that, maybe we can find some instruction and helpful application personally to these things in our lives.

Here's the first thing I want you to see.

Gideon first pacified his critics with flattery.

He pacified his critics with flattery.

Now I admit, this is a very small thing in the text.

Most of us would consider this inconsequential to Gideon's larger failures in this passage.

None of us would really consider it disqualifying, especially given the fact that he was successful in this.

I'm going to read the first three verses here in just a moment.

But here's the point that I want to drive before we read them.

Small matters can be indicators of potential greater sins.

And if they're not dealt with the smaller matters in our lives, they're only going to grow.

They're only going to produce greater sin and greater failure.

So that reason alone means that these verses are worth considering in terms of Gideon's weakness.

Now we wouldn't come to the end and say, this thing alone is the reason why Gideon is bad.

We wouldn't do that.

It's just, he's human, right?

This is something that probably all of us could be guilty of in any given context.

But it does speak to the larger picture of what's happening here.

Verse 1, the men of Ephraim said to him, what is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?

And they accused him fiercely.

That's strong language.

And he 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 Abiezer?

In other words, isn't the things that's left over with you, Ephraim, better than what is the very best that we can offer as poor, humble Abiezerites?

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.

This is kind of an interesting little situation here.

The background of it is at the end of chapter 7.

The Ephraimites had not initially been summoned to the battle against Midian.

But Gideon did end up calling them to effect a critical victory as the surviving Midianites tried to cross the Jordan River.

So they ultimately, if you remember from last week, the army of Midian, ultimately they destroy one another.

But some of them do actually escape.

And they're trying to get out of the country.

They're trying to head back east again.

They're done with Israel at this point.

But they have to cross the Jordan to get there.

Well, Gideon strategically sends messengers ahead of them to get the soldiers of Ephraim to cut them off at the waters.

And that's exactly what Ephraim did.

They went there and they cut them off.

A few of them did get past them.

But they helped to bring this victory to a close.

Well, once the victory was won, the men of Ephraim fiercely confront Gideon here for not calling them to the fight in the beginning.

Which is just anecdotally just a reminder that even the greatest victories come with criticism from those who should be celebrating.

Isn't that what Ephraim should have been doing?

Should they not have gathered with Gideon's men and the rest of the army and rejoice that God has delivered us from this terrible, terrible enemy?

But that's not what they do.

They go to where Gideon is and they complain and criticize.

And this word fiercely, that's a strong word here in Hebrew.

It's they are so frustrated with Gideon, they might be on the verge of killing him because he didn't call them in the beginning.

And Ephraim was known for this kind of cantankerous attitude.

We'll see it again later on in the book of Judges.

They were easily offended.

They always had some axe to grind.

And in fact, in some leaders' lives, the most frequent frustration comes from people who are exactly like this.

They're filled with pride.

They can never really learn to let things go.

They always have some criticism to offer, especially when they weren't consulted in the decision making to begin with.

So it's no wonder, it's no surprise that Gideon just wanted to say whatever he could say to pacify them and be able to move on with what he wanted to do.

Many would even say this was prudent.

This was extremely diplomatic on Gideon's part to deal with him the way that he did and move on.

I think we should have a different perspective.

It's not that what he said to them was necessarily untrue.

Technically, as far as honor goes, they won a great victory.

Gideon didn't do anything.

Gideon smashed a pot and yelled, lit his torch.

God did all the work there.

The Ephraimites actually captured two of the princes of Midian and killed them.

They received the honor for that.

So it's not exactly that what Gideon says here is untrue, but by resorting to flattery, he missed an opportunity to point the men of Ephraim back to the glory of God.

Why did he say nothing about his divine call and enablement to fight against Midian?

Why did he not bring that up to Ephraim?

According to chapter 6, verses 34 and 35, it was because he was clothed in the spirit of the Lord that Gideon was able to gather the people that he did,

which means that the people who were called to the battle were called really by God, not by Gideon.

Gideon wasn't calling the shots in this.

God was.

He was just along for the ride, so to speak.

Well, why does he not say that?

Why not correct the Ephraimites by speaking of God's desire to receive glory by defeating Midian with as minimal of a human force as possible?

Some may consider Gideon's response here to be prudent.

I think it actually worked against the very purpose of what God had intended the battle to achieve.

Rather than giving God glory in this moment, Gideon strokes Ephraim's ego so that they might have some of the glory that they wanted for this battle.

Do you see the problem there?

It may be a little thing.

We may say, well, we're making too much of this.

Maybe I am making too much of this.

But we can't just pass this off as if this was a glowing, positive characteristic in Gideon's leadership.

He's actually robbing God of something here.

He should have been leading those men to acknowledge the work of God and the glory of God.

Instead, he just flattered them so he could get them out of the way.

But why would he want to just get them out of the way?

That leads us to the second thing.

Gideon pursued his own agenda.

Gideon, at this point, pursued his own agenda.

Let's read a large portion of the text here, beginning at verse 4.

This is so sad.

Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 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.

I'm pursuing after Ziba and Zalmanah, the kings of Midian.

The officers of Succoth said, are the hands of Ziba and Zalmanah already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?

Now, this gets personal for Gideon, verse 7.

So Gideon said, well then, when the Lord has given Ziba and Zalmanah into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars.

This is like an extreme way of saying, go out and cut me a switch.

You know, you've ever heard that?

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 Ziba and Zalmanah were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men.

Now look at this, this shows you the amazing victory God had won for Israel.

There's 15,000 men left.

These were all who were left of the army of the people of the east.

For there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword.

And they fell because 300 men stood around their camp at night and banged some pots and lit some torches and yelled a few things.

That's incredible.

Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Noba and Jogbeha and attacked the army for the army felt secure.

Therefore, Ziba and Zalmanah fled and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Ziba and Zalmanah.

And he threw all the army into a panic.

Then Gideon, the son of Joash, returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.

And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him.

And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, 77 men.

And he came to the men of Succoth and said, Behold, Ziba and Zalmanah, about whom you taunted me, saying, Are the hands of Ziba and Zalmanah 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 Zalmanah, Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?

Now we're getting some clarity as to why Gideon's doing this.

He's not acting on behalf of the Lord.

Notice.

They answered, As you are, so were they.

Every one of them resembled the son of a king.

And he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother.

And as the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.

So he said to Jeth, or 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.

And it sounds a lot like his father a little earlier in the text, doesn't it?

And Ziba and Zalmanah pick up on that.

So they start to ridicule and mock Gideon as a result.

Verse 21, Then Ziba and Zalmanah said, Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.

Well, Gideon can't handle that, right?

He's full of pride at this point.

His honor has been brought into question by these kings that he has very clearly defeated.

And he can't handle it.

So here's what he does.

He arose and he killed Ziba and Zalmanah.

And he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Now, everything in chapter 7 emphasizes God's plan for saving his people.

And as long as Gideon trusted and obeyed God, things went better than he could have ever imagined.

But it's a different story in chapter 8.

The focus in these verses is on Gideon's pursuit of his own agenda, of his own glory.

And stepping outside of God's plan, he shows excessive pride.

He's driven by personal vengeance rather than humility and faithfulness that is required of spiritual leaders.

And there's so much in these verses that I'm just going to have to leave to you in your personal study to really dig deep into.

But let's at least hit the highlights here.

And here's one of the major highlights.

These are Gideon's plans, not God's.

These are Gideon's plans.

Everything up to this point in the Gideon narrative, I mean everything,

has seen the explicit instruction of God.

There's not a single moment in Gideon's life in chapter 6 and chapter 7

where he is doing his own thing or has been given permission to do his own thing.

Every single step of the way, he has been tasked with following the exact plan of God.

Whether it be the altar of Baal, the reduction of the army,

the unique action of the 300,

we are told that Gideon did what God told him to do.

He understood himself in those moments to simply be the instrument of God

responsible for trusting and obeying God's plan.

But in this episode, there's no mention at all of Gideon following God's instructions.

And as the story progresses,

it becomes clear that Gideon was most concerned about his own honor now

and a vendetta that he had against the Midianite kings.

Now, Barry Webb, I think, helps us here when he writes,

God now seems marginal rather than central to what is happening.

Gideon refers to God twice, but in both cases, it's to justify his own actions.

That's verse 7 and verse 19.

The author himself doesn't attribute anything that happens in this phase of Gideon's life to God.

Even at the climax in which Gideon comes upon the remaining enemy unaware,

it is he, not God, who throws them into a panic.

In contrast to what happened earlier,

this victory is Gideon's own achievement rather than God's gift.

How terrible to have great success apart from God.

That's exactly what Gideon experiences in this moment.

He has great success.

God has nothing to do with it.

And that's to Gideon's detriment.

He's just doing his own thing.

Doesn't matter what God wanted or what God said or instructed.

Gideon's got his own glory in mind.

And he's got a personal vendetta.

And nobody's going to stand in the way of him accomplishing what he wants to accomplish in that moment.

There's something to be said here when we get to verse 4

about Gideon only taking 300 with him across the Jordan.

Now think about this for just a second.

In chapter 7 and verse 23, we're told that

the army that had been sent home has now been called back.

And in their pursuit of Midian, catching up with Ephraim,

these other people from Naphtali and from Asher,

they have now gathered along with the 300 men.

Okay?

So there's more people than just 300 at this point.

We're also just told that the Ephraimites were angry

that Gideon didn't include them in the initial battle.

But then when we get to this point where Gideon has to leave

the borders of Israel, crossing the Jordan to chase after Midian,

it's just the 300 again.

Now why is that?

I think there's something for us to take from this.

One possibility is that it was clear to everyone involved,

victory had been won.

Why wouldn't they think that?

They now grossly outnumbered the Midianites.

Midianites aren't coming back.

God won the victory.

They should rejoice.

And no doubt, people understood that.

There was no reason for them to leave the land.

There was no reason for them to chase after the survivors.

It's also possible that Gideon kept his plans a secret

for a reason that isn't explained in the text.

In either case, the indication is that Gideon was pursuing his own plan

rather than obeying God here.

He's just doing his own thing.

Gideon has now gone rogue.

But it's not just that this is Gideon's plan, not God's.

The second thing that we find here, a huge part of this passage,

is that Gideon's pride turned him against his own people.

Turned him against his own people.

How tragic.

This episode that unfolds with the people of Succoth and Penuel.

It's an interesting one.

On one hand, it makes sense why they didn't want to help Gideon.

These two cities or towns, whatever they might have been, were the furthest east.

They were the closest to the Midianites and the people of the east at this point.

Which means that if Gideon didn't actually win

and the enemy found out that they had assisted Gideon,

guess who's first when the enemy comes back?

It's Penuel and Succoth, who at this point probably had escaped some of the damaging parts of this oppression.

So it makes sense, on one hand, why they would be reluctant to help Gideon.

On the other hand, these people of Israel,

they should have been able to look at Gideon and his 300 and what God had done

and say, God has won a victory here.

Of course, we are going to assist our people for the glory of God.

But at the end, this text is not about the people of Succoth or Penuel.

That's not the judgment that we're making here.

This passage is about Gideon.

And what do we find out about Gideon here?

Seeing that there's no explicit instruction for him to pursue Midian,

perhaps the resistance of these two towns

was God's subtle way of signaling Gideon not to go any further.

We're told in verse 4 that the 300 were exhausted yet pursuing.

Now those of us who are manly men say,

right on, doesn't matter if you're tired, you keep going.

Well, we could also look at that phrase and say,

this was foolish, his men were not prepared to fight again.

He was risking something massive here by continuing on.

Maybe these towns was God's subtle way, like God does with us sometimes,

where he's signaling to Gideon,

you better stop and think before you go any further.

Don't do this, Gideon.

You know, God's gracious to do that with us sometimes.

We get set in pursuing our own plans.

We want to do our thing.

And then God steps in the way.

And he just says, he sends somebody or something,

some obstacle that just says,

you better stop and think before you go much further with your plan here.

And what does Gideon do?

Well, he's offended and he blows right through the obstacle.

The problem is that when we're intent on pursuing our own agendas above God's,

we will allow no one to stand in our way.

Not even God.

Gideon's prideful pursuit potentially caused him to ignore a warning from God,

if that's what this was about.

But it definitely led him to turn against the very people he was supposed to be serving.

After he captures Ziba and Zalmanah,

he returns to the two cities.

And guess who he has with him?

Ziba and Zalmanah.

He keeps them alive on purpose.

Why?

Because he wants to go back to those two towns.

And he wants to show them,

look what I did.

I won the victory that you didn't think I could win.

Here they are.

Now tell me,

is that about God's glory?

Or is that about Gideon's glory?

It's not about God's.

He doesn't even mention the Lord at this point.

It's all about Gideon.

He boasts of his success,

then he humiliated and murdered

the people who had early defied him.

Now,

this is a problem with spiritual leadership that goes rogue.

We get set on our own way.

We stop doing the things that God has told us to do.

We're not going to let anybody stand in our way.

And when somebody tries to stand in our way,

we resort to humiliation

and destruction.

Destroy them

rather than serve them

and help them.

And that's what's happening with Gideon, I believe.

Spiritual failure always has some component

of spiritual pride at its heart.

And when we stop submitting to God's plan,

pursue our own glory,

the results are devastating.

This is a sad part of this story.

Whether it be through the leadership of your home,

leadership in our church,

some other relationship that you have,

pride will ultimately lead you to hurt

the very people you're responsible to love and to serve.

Number three,

it gets worse, believe it or not.

Gideon positioned himself

as God's priest and king.

Gideon positioned himself

as God's priest and king.

Verse 22,

then the men of Israel said to Gideon,

rule over us,

you and your son

and your grandson also.

For you, Gideon,

have saved us

from the hand of Midian.

Wow.

So in response to Gideon's actions,

the men of Israel declare

that they want Gideon to be their king.

And this was more than just a season of leadership.

This was clearly a royal structure

involving authority

and the throne being passed down

from generation to generation.

They say, we want you

and then we want it to be set up in such a way

that when you're dead, Gideon,

it's your sons

and when your sons are dead,

it's your grandson.

And so they want a king

and they want Gideon to be that king.

Now, their desire for a king

wasn't the problem.

In fact, that's one of the major points

of the book.

Israel needs a king.

They need a king

who will unite the nation.

They need a king

who will rule in righteousness.

But they don't just need any king.

They need God's king.

And that's eventually going to come in David.

And David is going to point them forward to Jesus.

But right now,

they're only concerned about their king,

not God's king.

The whole scene is a travesty, really.

Because it's exactly what God's actions

were intended to prevent

in chapter 6 and 7.

God comes to Gideon.

He takes the weakest one.

He whittles his army down to 300 people.

He gives them a victory

that didn't even involve them

using a sword.

Why?

He needed Israel to see

his glory,

his love,

his salvation,

so that they would turn away

from idolatry,

so that they would turn away

from their sin

and turn back to him

for their good,

for their blessing.

But that's the opposite

of what's happening here.

They're not actually turning to God.

They're turning to Gideon instead.

It's the opposite

of what occurred

in the earlier story

with Barak and Deborah.

There, the Lord had been praised.

Here, only Gideon is praised.

A man who has become

a God-like figure

in the eyes of his followers.

And Gideon went along with it.

Look with me at 23 to 27.

Gideon said to them,

I will not rule over you,

and my son will not rule over you.

The Lord will rule over you.

Sounds great

until you see

what he actually meant.

Verse 24.

And Gideon said,

Let me 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 a cloak.

Every man threw in it

the earrings of his spoil.

The weight of the golden earrings

that he requested

was 1,700 shekels of gold.

Besides,

that's in addition to

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,

Gideon made an ephod of it.

Put it in his city

in Ophrah.

And all Israel

whored after it there.

Became a snare to Gideon.

To his family.

At first,

it seems like Gideon

was wise enough

to see the problem

and to point people

back to God.

But a closer look

reveals that

what Gideon

was actually doing

was positioning himself

as Israel's ruler.

Now we know

this is what he's doing.

Later on in the passage,

if you look at

verses 30 and 31,

now Gideon had 70 sons,

his own offspring,

for he had many wives.

And he had this concubine

who was in Shechem.

He also bore him a son

and called his name Abimelech.

That's foreshadowing

something that's going to get

even really bad

in chapter 9.

But what is that?

Gideon has accumulated

a harem of women.

This is consistent

with the kings of his day.

They had a harem of women

that they had lots of kids with.

That was a sign of honor.

It was a sign of royalty.

He takes all of the garments

of these kings

that he had just killed.

Their crescent ornaments,

their purple garments,

all the things.

He takes that for himself.

And when we get into chapter 9,

we find that the expectation

around Gideon

and the people of Israel

is that his 70 sons

would continue his reign.

So what Gideon says

on the surface

and what Gideon does

in practice

are at war

with one another here.

But the heart

behind Gideon's actions

revolves around this issue

of the ephod.

If you don't know

what an ephod is,

it's very simply

it was a vesture

that the high priest wore

when fulfilling his duties

in the tabernacle.

There was only one ephod

in Israel

and God made

very clear instructions

on how it was to be used

and where it was to be used

and who was to use it.

This ephod represented

by the high priest

or worn by the high priest

represented God's channel

of communication

and communion

with his people

in the tabernacle.

Gideon knows that.

What Gideon does

in essence

is he takes this ephod

to position himself

as the primary channel

through which God

would now communicate

to the people of Israel.

Do you see what he's doing?

The Lord will rule over you

through me.

So let me gather

all my kingly things.

Let me get it set up here

in Ophrah.

But we need a priest

and a prophet as well.

You know what?

Better for that to be me.

Let me take the spoil

of our war

and let's make an ephod.

Forget the tabernacle.

Forget what God

has said in the law.

This is the new ephod now.

You want to hear from God?

Come to me now.

You want judgment from God?

Don't worry about

the other stuff.

Come to me in Ophrah

now.

So when Gideon

tells the people

that the Lord

will rule over him,

he really meant

that God would rule

only through him.

And he was setting himself

up supposedly

under God's authority

to be Israel's

prophet,

priest,

and king.

But he had to go

outside of God's channels

to do that.

It's a tragic sin

in this narrative.

And it's going to have

enormous consequences

for Gideon's family

and for the nation.

Now,

it is not difficult

to see how spiritual leaders

can easily fall

into the trap

described here.

When we fall,

when we pursue

our agenda

above the Lord's,

we will find it easier

to circumvent

God's ordained methods

to establish

our own power.

And in the worst

cases,

we'll convince the people

under our authority

that we are the channel

for God's communication.

And in the end,

God's word

is diminished.

God's people

are deceived.

And sin reigns

in the place

of righteousness.

And where does it start?

With a man's desire

for his own glory

rather than God's glory.

And when that continues

unimpeded,

it becomes disastrous

for God's people.

Number four,

Gideon promoted

improper worship.

It's the final step

really, isn't it?

Improper worship.

Verse 27,

Gideon made an ephod

of it and put it

in his city

in Ophrah

and all Israel

hoored after it there

and it became

a snare to Gideon

and his family.

Do you remember

Gideon's nickname

through this story?

We see it once in a while.

Jerob Bell.

Let Bell contend

against him.

It identified him

as the one

who was willing

to attack

the nation's idolatry

in order to glorify

the Lord instead.

The author

sprinkles the name

throughout the narrative

as a reminder

that all of this

was ultimately

about

God confronting

the idolatry

of his people,

calling them back

to faithfulness.

But because of

Gideon's sin,

he promoted

improper worship

that just produced

a different form

of idolatry.

Again,

says Barry Webb,

the man who began

his career in Ophrah

by leading Israel

out of idolatry

ends his career

by leading them

back into it.

the ephod

becomes

Israel's new object

of worship

and it became

a snare

even to Gideon

and his family.

The one

who on multiple

occasions

had direct

encounters with God.

The one

who witnessed

God's power

at work

on behalf

of his people.

The one

who intimately

knew

God's peace

and mercy

in relationship

with him

in the end

is still

ensnared

by improper

worship.

Tremendous

sin.

Now to be clear,

there's no indication

that Gideon

stopped

worshiping

Yahweh

in favor

of a false deity.

Remember what we

talked about earlier

this morning

with the graven image

and what that

commandment

is all about.

He failed

to worship

the way

God had

commanded

him to worship.

He's doing

worship

his way

now.

And what

that does

is it

introduces

improper

forms of

worship

that led

Israel

into full

out idolatry.

glory.

What a

heartbreaking

end

to an

otherwise

glorious

story

of God's

grace

in the

life

of his

servant.

We come

to it

and we

think,

how does

this

happen?

How is

it possible

for someone

to have

experienced

all that

Gideon

experience,

to have

known God

in the way

that Gideon

knew God,

to see

all of

these things,

to still

fail in

such an

extreme

way?

How is

that

possible?

And yet

if we

read our

Bibles

carefully,

we find

that it

happens

again,

and again,

and again,

and again.

And if

we pay

attention

to the

Christian

world in

which we

live,

you'll see

it happens

over,

and over,

and over.

And we

say,

what are we

supposed to

do with

this?

How are we

to understand

this?

I get to

this point

in the

Gideon

narrative,

and I'm

nearly crushed

by it.

Like,

how does

this happen?

I mentioned

to you when

we first

started

several weeks

ago thinking

about Gideon,

reading about

Gideon here,

that he's one

of the most

relatable people

in the scriptures,

believers,

and he is.

We know

Gideon's

fear

because we

feel that

fear.

Personally,

we know what

it's like to

feel that way.

We know

Gideon's

weakness

because we

too are

weak.

We know,

we understand

Gideon's

constant need

for reassurance

from God

because we

need that

constant

reassurance

from God.

We understand

the fleece

because in

our own way,

we lay out

fleeces all

the time.

And we

love to

relate to

Gideon in

that way

because we

love to

see the

victory that

God brings

despite all

of those

weaknesses.

But how

many of us

have ever

spent much

time in

chapter 8?

Maybe not

many of us

at all.

You know

why?

Because

chapter 8

is hard

to read.

Because just

like we

see Gideon's

fear in

ourselves,

we see our

fear in

Gideon's

fear,

we also

see our

pride in

Gideon's

pride.

We

understand

what Gideon

is doing

in chapter

8 because

we do

the same

thing.

We get

in our

minds that

we have

an agenda

to pursue

for our

lives and

nobody's

going to

stand in

the way

of that.

Our

spouse

isn't

going to

stand in

the way

of that.

Our

church

isn't

going to

stand in

the way

of that.

Our

kids

aren't

going to

stand in

the way

of that.

No

one's

going to

stand in

the way.

Not

even God

is going

to stand

in the

way of

what I

want to

do

with

my

life.

Doesn't

matter

what God

says

related to

how we

should

give.

It's

my

money.

It's

my

resources.

I've

got an

agenda

for it

and I'm

going to

use it

the way

that I

want to.

Doesn't

matter

what God

says

about the

way that

I'm

supposed

to serve

and

disciple

others

and give

up my

life in

order to

serve the

ministry

of Christ.

That

doesn't

matter

because

it's

my

time

and it's

my

life and

I've

got a

plan for

the way

that I

want to

use it.

And it

starts in us

as kids

and as

young people.

We get

all of

these dreams

about what

we want

our life

to be

like and

we write

them out

and we

put them

on our

wall and

we dream

every night

about how

we want

our lives

to be

and we

get in

our head

this is

what I

want out

of my

life and

nobody's

going to

get in

my way.

And if

it means

that I

have to

sacrifice

my

personal

walk with

the

Lord

then so

be it.

I've

got a

plan.

If it

means that

I've got

to sacrifice

faithfulness

to the

church

and obedience

to the

Lord

then so

be it.

I've got

a plan

for my

life.

And we

start pursuing

our own

agendas

and when we

start pursuing

our own

agendas

guess what

ultimately

happens?

We position

ourselves

as the

only ones

that can

really

understand

God's

truth for

us.

And we

start making

statements

like this.

I hear

what you're

saying

but God

told me

to do

this.

Or God

told me

that this

is what

he wants.

It doesn't

matter what

you're telling

me God

said in

the Bible.

I know

what he

told me.

We position

ourselves as

prophet,

priest,

and king

of our

own lives.

It's not

Jesus anymore.

It's us.

And you

know what

that inevitably

ends in?

False

worship.

We become

the object

of our

own worship.

We live

our lives

for us.

Yeah,

we'll have

our Christian

thing around

us.

We'll do

the church

thing.

We come

to chapter

eight and

we understand

Gideon's

sin because

it's our

sin.

It's our

sin.

So what

do we

do?

Three ways

I think this

is instructive

for us.

First,

there are

gospel

implications

implications

to this

text.

Really,

really

important

ones.

One of

the things

that makes

this text

terrifying for

me is that

I know

that I can

fall like

Gideon

Phil.

I don't

want to read

this text

because it

reminds me of

what I'm

actually capable

of.

And if you

think that

you're incapable

of falling

in the way

that Gideon

fell,

you're fooling

yourself.

As Paul

said,

let each

man consider

himself and

take heed

lest he

fall.

Every one of

us are capable

of doing this

and worse.

I'm terrified

by passages

like this

because it

exposes that

if it can

happen to

Gideon,

it can

happen to

me.

And I

don't want

this to

happen to

me.

So what

hope do I

have?

If I know

that today I

could blow it

in such a

way as it

would disqualify

me from

pastoring this

church or

from being

faithful to my

wife or my

kids or whatever

it is that it

may be.

That's a

possibility because

of the potential

of sin in me.

So what hope

do I have?

The hope that

I have is

that my

eternity,

Gideon's

eternity,

and my

salvation and

Gideon's

salvation does

not ultimately

rest on how

well we do.

It rests on

the person of

Christ.

The fact that

he did it and

he did not

fail.

And he did

not fall.

In him,

I am

secure.

I may fail

you in a way

that would

crush you.

I hope I

don't.

By God's

grace, I

won't.

But even if I

do, it's not

the basis of my

behavior and my

way to be the

best pastor you

can be.

That's going to

get me to

heaven.

It's the fact

that Jesus is

that for me.

NINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNING

is in regards to how are we to handle it

when spiritual leaders in our lives actually do fall and fail.

Many of you probably have experienced this in some way or another.

You've had some type of moral failure in somebody

that was supposed to be a spiritual leader in your life

that was dramatic and difficult.

There's an entire realm of what people are calling now deconstructionism

that really is focused on this particular thing.

They see reports coming out of pastors who are sexually abusing people in their churches

and abusing kids and they say,

well, if my pastor can fail in that way,

I don't want anything to do with this Christian thing to begin with.

So how are we supposed to, is that really the right response?

Well, if we understand that our hope is in Jesus

and not in those leaders that he's gifted to us or given to us,

then our faith can stand even when the faith of others around us falls.

And there's an interesting thing happening with Gideon

in the larger context of the Bible.

On the one hand, when we get to Hebrews chapter 11,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Gideon is not condemned, he's praised.

He's commended, actually, for his faith.

Now we get to that and we think,

now wait a minute.

How can the author say anything good about Gideon after what he did?

And the fact is, Gideon's a human.

Christ has delivered us from the ultimate penalty of sin,

but we still have this issue of indwelling sin,

the presence of sin in our lives.

And we need to be careful that we don't have an expectation of other people

that only Jesus can live up to.

There is a reality here that Gideon was just a man who sinned.

And that doesn't mean that everything that he did well

should be ignored or denied.

And I think the Bible teaches us that.

Of course, the church must also be concerned

to holding their spiritual leaders accountable to the word,

even removing them if they disqualify themselves

through gross and unrepented sin.

So I think what we learn here in regards to spiritual leadership

is that there is a tension in the Bible that we have to hold on to,

a tension that honors those whom the Lord puts in our way as leaders,

but not idolize them in such a way that when they fail,

our faith is the one that's crushed

because our faith isn't ultimately in them.

The third thing, and we've talked about it already,

so we'll just finish here.

The third thing that I think is a helpful takeaway

is just seeing Gideon's failures

as a warning of the dangers of not finishing well ourselves.

I quoted the verse to you already.

Gideon says,

therefore let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Gideon's sins are not limited to spiritual leaders.

They're just magnified when they exist in people

who have particular authority in our lives.

Everything that Gideon did,

we are capable of doing and often do.

None of us are above these sins.

So we need to approach these texts with great humility,

praying, asking for the Lord's grace

to deliver us from temptation,

to help us acknowledge and see the way of escape that he makes for us

so that we are able to endure the temptation

and the test that we face by his grace.

But ultimately, we need to live our lives

in light of the fact that we're sinners too.

And but for the grace of God,

we will fall in the same ways that these men fail.

So heed the warnings

and be faithful.

Be faithful.