First Steps For A New Believer

Well, if you haven't been around for a couple of weeks, we have reached the Gideon cycle of the book of Judges.

And the amount of detail included by the author at this point really gives us a fantastic opportunity to slow our pace a bit from what we had done in the first few chapters.

It allows us to really examine more thoroughly each individual scene.

And I actually have found that to be quite helpful in my own study, and I hope you find that to be helpful as well as we study these passages together.

Now, we need to recognize that this does pose a particular danger for us to miss the forest for the tree, so to speak.

You ever find yourself doing that in your Bible study?

You get so caught up in the minutia of a particular verse or a particular passage that you end up misinterpreting it because you've lost sight of the bigger picture of what's actually happening and why God has put it there.

So there is a bit of a danger in this.

As we slow down our pace and we look at each individual section here, there is a bit of a danger that we'll lose the big picture and then maybe misinterpret or misapply.

So what we want to do then, as I mentioned to you last week, we want to keep one eye on the big picture of what God is doing in and through Israel,

while we're keeping the other eye on the finer details of what God is doing in and through this man, Gideon.

And as far as Israel is concerned, at this point in the book, they were facing a really quite severe season of oppression from this coalition led by the Midianites.

And we found at the beginning of the chapter that it was because of their idolatry.

God had given them into the hand of Midian, and God was using this disciplinary action as a means to lead his people to repentance.

And we talked about that. We talked about the difference between God's punitive action against unbelievers, those who are outside of the covenant.

And we contrasted that with God's disciplinary corrective action with those who are inside the covenant.

Midian is outside the covenant.

They're going to ultimately be completely decimated by the time we get to the end of this section.

Israel, however, though guilty of the same sin, though just as wicked as Midian themselves,

happen to be inside the covenant, and they receive a different form of judgment from God.

They are not completely destroyed.

Rather, God is disciplining them, and he's using Midian to do it.

And then in his intent to deliver them from their oppression, God has chosen and raised up and is in the process of raising up this man, Gideon,

whom he will use to save his people.

But as we study through this text, we find out very quickly that great men and women of God are not made in a moment.

You don't come to Christ in a moment, and then all of a sudden, you're just as mature and seasoned as any believer who has been saved for a number of years.

That doesn't happen in any of our lives.

It didn't happen in Gideon's life either.

And this section is a helpful reminder of that.

As sinful creatures, God graciously, patiently molds and shapes us into vessels fit for his use.

And that's exactly what we see happening step by step in the life of Gideon.

Now, last week, I likened the verses, verses 11 through 24, to something of a conversion experience for Gideon.

And again, I recognize that we need to be careful when assigning New Testament realities to Old Testament narratives,

using gospel language in places where the gospel has not yet been presented, at least in its fullest form.

Jesus has not yet come at this point.

We need to recognize that.

Gideon himself would have no possible concept of the cross or of the resurrection.

So, when I talk about a conversion experience, I'm not saying that what Gideon experienced in this moment looks exactly as what you and I might experience.

But, what we do find in those verses is all of the components of biblical conversion being presented.

You remember back to what we studied last week.

He was confronted by the Word of God through the messenger of God.

Paul tells us that same thing happens with us.

In Romans chapter 10, he says,

Romans 10 · chapter mention

Faith comes by hearing.

Hearing comes by the Word of God.

In other words, if you are to be saved, you're going to be saved through the preaching of God's Word,

the preaching of God's truth, and the confrontation of God's Word through God's messenger.

Whether that be a preacher on a Sunday morning,

whether it be a co-worker who has courage to share the gospel with you.

We see that happening in Gideon's life.

He understood the reality of his sinfulness in light of the holiness of God.

When he finally comes to terms with the fact that he's before the messenger of God,

remember what he says,

Alas, O Lord!

He thinks he's going to die because he's seen God's angel face to face.

He recognizes his sinfulness.

He cries out for mercy.

And then he experiences the incomprehensible grace of God.

As the Lord says,

Peace be to you, Gideon.

You shall not die.

Remember what he said.

And that immediately results in genuine worship.

And all of these things are part and parcel of what it means to be converted.

It's biblical conversion.

Gideon's, the work of God's grace happening prior to the coming of Christ.

And then for us, of course,

these components take the shape of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.

And so we're going to continue on with that thought.

If verses 11 through 24 give us something of a parallel of biblical conversion,

what we find happening in the text that I just read

Gideon parallels what we might call the first steps of life for a new believer.

Just think about what we just read.

After his transformative moment with God in verse 23 and 24,

Gideon was quickly thrust into this daunting situation, wasn't he?

His commitment to the Lord set him against the traditions and beliefs of his own family and community.

And it becomes immediately relevant.

What God commanded him to do not only tested his faith,

it was actually an essential move in declaring the message of repentance and salvation

that God intended for his people to hear and understand.

And so what I want to do this morning is just walk you through this text,

and we want to note what is revealed for us about God and salvation,

and then, of course, also the progressive work of sanctification for those of us

who do experience the grace of God and salvation.

Okay, so that's kind of the roadmap that we're following.

First thing I want you to notice is an initial task.

An initial task.

Look at verse 25.

That night the Lord said to him,

Take your father's bull and the second bull, seven years old,

pull down the altar of Baal that your father has,

cut down the asherah that's beside it,

and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here,

with stones laid in due order.

Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering

with the wood of the asherah that you shall cut down.

So what we find here with Gideon is that the Lord wastes no time

in activating him in his plan and in his purposes.

On the very night that he experiences God's peace

and enjoyed this moment of genuine worship,

God gave him a task that would send an unmistakable message

to his family and his community.

It's an immediate task that God lays on him.

We're reminded with this that the call to trust and obey God

demands immediate engagement.

Engagement for God and against his enemies.

There's really no buffer.

Sometimes we expect that that would happen,

that when someone comes to Christ,

they kind of get a few moments to collect their breath,

and they can just kind of go into the backside of the desert somewhere

as we see some biblical characters and kind of be trained up.

And then once they're ready, God calls them into making their faith.

But that's not how actually it works.

It didn't happen for Gideon that way.

It doesn't happen for us that way.

And if you're only now coming to Christ in genuine faith,

it's not going to happen for you that way either.

God requires immediate engagement,

like a pebble in a slingshot.

Conversion instantly catapults us into a life that is decidedly

and dynamically different than what we've ever experienced before.

It takes no time at all for our commitment to Christ to be tested

and for God to put us in a position that demands we make our faith known.

Perhaps you can even recall back to your own conversion,

maybe the excitement of that,

and then immediately getting into a place with your friends

or your family or your coworkers

where it's going to be necessary for you to make that known,

whether it's through an explanation of why you won't do the things

that you were doing just the day before or the week before,

or why you won't behave a particular way,

or maybe it's just the sharing of that gospel message,

and immediately you're thrust into this awkward and intimidating position

of standing for God and against those who are his enemies.

And that's what's happening with Gideon.

His initial task was to destroy the community shrine to Baal and Ashtaroth.

And what makes it even more complex for him

is the fact that this particular altar for Baal was his dad's.

His own father had sponsored and built it

and was probably, as we get a sense in this text,

was probably Joash was functioning as something of a priest to Baal

on behalf of the people of the town.

Then he was to build an altar in its place.

He was to sacrifice his father's bull as a burnt offering to Yahweh.

And in one sense, as we read through this,

what God asked for Gideon to do here

was more difficult than the large-scale war

against the Midianites that we're going to see in chapter 7.

It's one thing to work against a common enemy

for the people who are closest to you and your family and community,

for everybody to kind of, in unity together,

recognize Midian is bad.

Midian is hurting us.

Midian has to be dealt with.

That's one thing.

It's quite another thing

to set yourself against your own family and friends,

to perform some type of action

or to declare some kind of message

that actually says,

no, not only is Midian bad,

but you're bad.

You're the problem.

That's hard.

Sharing Romans chapter 3 with a stranger at Costco

Romans 3 · chapter mention

is pretty easy to do.

Sharing Romans chapter 3 with your wife

Romans 3 · chapter mention

or your husband or your parents

or your grown children

is not quite so easy to do.

That's what we find happening with Gideon.

This task was vitally important

to the work that God was doing,

not only in Israel,

but in Gideon himself.

It was a visual demonstration

of the sermon preached by the prophet

in verses 8 through 10.

Remember, that was from a couple of weeks ago

as God sends this prophet

before he sends a deliverer

and he declares a message of salvation

through repentance.

Well, what God is having Gideon to do

in this moment

is a visual demonstration

of that same message.

The people needed to understand

that the oppression from Midian

was only an indicator

of a much deeper problem.

Their circumstance was not the result

of Midian's power,

but their own idolatry.

And as long as they continued

in that idolatry,

their circumstances were only going to

worsen.

God might deliver them from Midian,

but there's just going to be another enemy

that comes along the way.

And that's exactly what happens

in this book.

Over and over and over,

God is gracious

and the people continue

and persist in their idolatry

and so their condition

never ultimately gets better.

They continue to struggle

beneath this oppression.

Why such a demand for Gideon,

asked Del Ralph Davis.

Because two altars cannot coexist

side by side.

You cannot have an altar to Yahweh

and an altar to Baal.

They're mutually exclusive,

he says.

And what we find is

this entire episode here

amounts to God's demand

for repentance.

The repentance without which

you cannot be saved.

That's the message here.

Not just to the people of Ophrah,

but to the entire nation of Israel.

Let's think about that

for just a moment,

this dynamic of repentance.

What does it actually mean?

Well, the word itself

means to make a turn, right?

It means to turn from one direction

and go in a different direction.

And repentance unto salvation

in the Bible

really has two parts

and we see them demonstrated here

in this story.

First, repentance requires

that you turn away

from sin and unbelief.

You turn away

from sin and unbelief.

It wasn't enough

for Gideon to simply

build an altar to God.

That wasn't enough.

Baal's altar, the Asherah,

which would have been

a wooden post next to Baal

that represented the worship

of Ashtaroth,

which was believed

to be Baal's female consort.

Okay, we talked about that

in another passage.

But basically,

the way this would have been set up

is an altar to Baal

and then right next to it

is this large wooden post

that represented

Baal's wife, essentially.

And both things

were involved

in the pagan worship of Baal.

Both Baal and the Asherah,

they both had to be destroyed.

It wouldn't be enough

for Gideon

just to build an altar

to God next to it

and sacrifice his bull.

He could do all

of those other things

and it wouldn't have been

the message

that God intended.

It wouldn't have been

a message of repentance

unto salvation.

Baal had to be destroyed.

The second requirement

of true repentance

is a decisive turning

to the true God.

So Gideon was not only

to tear down the altar

to Baal,

he was to build

in its place

an altar to Yahweh,

the Lord God.

And to obey God's command,

Gideon had to perform

both actions.

Turning away from sin

and unbelief,

not just to rid yourself

of that particular thing,

but to decisively turn

to the true worship

of Yahweh.

Yahwehism,

if we want to call it that

in the Old Testament.

In fact,

to leave out

one of these facets

of repentance

would have completely

distorted the message

of salvation

that God was sending

to Israel.

Their whole problem,

the reason they were

facing the judgment

of God

was because of their sin.

So if Gideon had stood

up as a leader

and attempted to be

a spiritual leader

and said,

you know what?

We're going to worship

God on Sunday.

And we're going to do

the Sunday thing

and we're going to go

to church and we're going

to sing the songs

and say the prayers

and all that stuff.

But he doesn't deal

with all the bells

that are in his house

from Monday to Saturday.

Then it's not

the message of salvation.

It's not repentance.

Because the altar

to Baal

and the altar

to God

cannot coexist together.

You cannot claim

Christianity

on one hand

and bow to Baal

on the other hand

and expect that God

will bless you

with gracious salvation

in response to that.

He will not.

What Gideon does here

is vastly important.

God also requires

this repentance

for our salvation.

It wasn't just for Israel.

In Luke chapter 13,

Luke 13 · chapter mention

Jesus himself says

to a group of Jews,

unless you repent,

you will all perish,

he says.

Unless you do spiritually

what Gideon does physically,

you will die.

Eternal hell,

Jesus says.

In Luke 24,

after his resurrection,

Jesus says this

to his disciples.

Thus it is written

that the Christ

should suffer

and on the third day

rise from the dead

and that repentance

for the forgiveness

of sins

should be proclaimed

in his name

to all nations.

In other words,

with the gospel message,

what's part and parcel

to that?

How does somebody

receive forgiveness

of sins?

Jesus says,

preach the gospel

of Jesus

and repentance

for the forgiveness

of sins.

It's necessary.

And then when it came

time for the apostles

to actually preach

that message

in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

this is what we read.

When they heard

the gospel,

they were cut

to the heart

and they said

to Peter

and the rest

of the apostles,

brothers,

what shall we do?

And Peter said

to them,

repent

and be baptized

every one of you

in the name of Jesus

for the forgiveness

of your sins

and you will receive

the gift of the Spirit.

Repentance

is absolutely necessary

for salvation.

Without it,

you cannot be saved.

And the repentance

unto salvation,

genuine,

true repentance,

requires the same

two elements

represented by Gideon's task.

It is a turning away

from sin

and unbelief

in order that you may

genuinely turn to

Christ,

Lord and Savior.

without both features,

you have not truly

repented unto salvation.

And to leave

one facet of it

out of your gospel

preaching and evangelism

is to distort

the gospel message.

It doesn't make sense

without tearing down

Baal's altar

in order to build

the Lord's.

And it is worth

a note of clarification

here of

what it actually means

to repent of your sin.

We are not talking

about getting out

a piece of notebook paper

and listing all the bad

things you have ever

done in your life.

And then praying

through that list

and saying,

Lord,

you know,

when I was 16

I did this really

stupid thing

and I disobeyed

my parents

and I snuck out

of my house.

Lord,

forgive me for that,

please.

I won't do that again.

And you check that

off the list.

And then you move

down to the next.

Well,

Lord,

there was also

this time

that I looked

at things

on the computer

I shouldn't have

looked at.

I never told

my wife about it

but it is on my mind

now.

And so,

that's not repentance.

That's not what

we're talking about.

That's remorse.

That may be necessary

to some extent

but that's not

what we're talking

about with genuine

repentance.

We're talking about

not a checklist.

We're talking about

a disposition of heart,

a change of heart.

We're on one hand

thinking more broadly.

We are pursuing

the world.

We're pursuing self.

We're saying,

I'm going to do

my thing

and I'm going to

do it my way

and no one's going

to tell me any different

and we're finally saying,

no, I'm surrendering

all of that.

Everything that I am,

my identity,

all of my desires,

everything that I want

out of this life,

everything that I want

to do,

I'm setting all

of that aside.

I'm turning away

from that

in order that I might

turn to Jesus Christ

my Lord and Savior.

I'm going to trust Him

as the propitiation

for those sins

and now I'm going

to follow Him

as Lord

which means

all of these desires

that I had over here

are now submitted

to His Lordship.

And that means

one day

you're going

to sit down

after you come

to Christ

you're going

to open your Bible

maybe six,

twenty,

thirty years later

and you're going

to read a passage

of Scripture

and the Lord's

going to bring up

something in your life

and He's going

to point on your heart

and He's going

to say,

this is it,

you're disobeying

me in this way.

Genuine repentance

is the disposition

of heart that says,

this is hard for me

to read and it's hard

for me to hear

but the Lord Jesus,

He's my Savior,

He's my Lord.

I surrender

what I want to Him.

That's what we're

talking about

with genuine repentance

here.

We're not talking

about checklists.

We're talking

about something

much deeper

than that.

A heart level

transformation

that comes

as a result

of the grace

of God

at work

in our lives.

Let's look

at verse 27.

This kind of

concludes this

particular portion

of it,

the task.

Notice what

Gideon did.

Gideon took

ten men

of his servants

and did

as the Lord

had told him.

But because

he was too afraid

of his family

and the men

of the town

to do it by day,

he did it by night.

A common

misconception

of the Bible

is that it's

a book of heroes.

The Bible's

not a book

of heroes.

In fact,

there's only one

hero in the Bible

and that's

the Lord Jesus.

No one else

qualifies.

In fact,

if you pay

attention as you

read,

you'll realize

very quickly

that all of

these people

are profoundly

flawed

and weak,

underwhelming

even.

And Gideon's

no exception

to that,

is he?

This verse

reveals,

once again,

just how relatable

he is

to most people.

He's prone

to fear.

He's in

constant need

of reassurance.

But then he

also shows

this tremendous

faith in this

moment,

doesn't he?

How does

he show

faith?

He's scared.

He does it

at night.

He's afraid

for people

to see him.

He's afraid

to be known.

How does

he actually

show faith?

He obeys

God in

spite of

that fear.

That's the

key here.

Only those

of us with

a perfect

faith should

feel comfortable

coming down

hard on

Gideon for

doing this

at night.

this is a

cast the first

stone kind

of situation

where we

come to a

passage like

this and

we think,

man,

Gideon,

come on,

man,

pull yourself

up a little

bit.

He's so

scared.

You wouldn't

be scared.

Of course

you would.

You know

what true

faith is?

Obeying

God when

you're scared.

Yes,

he should

have trusted

more confidently

in God's

promises.

But let's

not ignore

the fact

that he

still performed

a task

most of us

would be

unwilling to

do.

Gideon

knew his

life was

on the line

with this.

We often

falter under

the threat

of far less

severe consequences

than what

Gideon was

under here.

Let's give

the man a

break for

just a second

and acknowledge

and rejoice

in the fact

that he

obeyed the

Lord.

We should

be encouraged

by that.

Faith is

not the

absence of

fear as

many have

defined it

wrongly.

Faith is

trusting and

obeying God

even when you

are completely

filled with

fear.

Fortunately

for us

and fortunately

for Gideon,

God doesn't

require heroism.

He just

requires

obedience.

And that's

what we see

in Gideon.

We should

read this

text and

remember

again that

it's not

the strength

of our

faith that

ultimately

matters.

It's the

object of

that faith.

And the

object of

our faith

will get

the job

done.

We should

take comfort

in the fact

even that

God is so

patient and

merciful with

Gideon's

weakness here,

isn't it?

It's funny,

we come to

texts like

this and we

want to

condemn people

like Gideon

when God

doesn't even

do that.

There's no

correction of

Gideon here.

Just a simple

statement.

He does it

at night.

This was

tremendous

faith.

This is why

Hebrews 11

says Gideon

is somebody

we need to

look to

as an

example of

faith.

That's the

initial task.

Second,

let's see

an incensed

mob.

An incensed

mob.

28,

when the

men of the

town rose

early in

the morning,

behold,

the altar

of Baal

was broken

down.

The

Asherah

beside it

was cut

down.

The second

bull was

offered on

the altar

that had

been built.

And they

said one

to another,

who has

done this

thing?

After they

had searched

and inquired,

they said,

Gideon,

the son of

Joash,

has done

this.

And the

men of

the town

said to

Joash,

bring out

your son

that he

may die,

for he's

broken down

the altar

of Baal

and cut

down the

Asherah

beside it.

They want

Gideon

dead.

So then

Gideon's

fears are

realized the

very next

morning.

People of

the town

wake up,

they realize

what's

happened,

they immediately

begin to

inquire as

to who is

responsible,

and when they

find out that

it's Gideon,

they stand

outside of

Gideon's

father's

house,

and they

say you

need to

send out

your son

because it's

time for

him to

die.

Look at

what he

did.

His faith

in and

obedience to

God set

him at

odds with

his family

and community,

and they

were out

for blood.

That's

terrifying.

Sometimes

the gospel

message is

unhelpfully

presented to

us in an

idealized

form,

and people

come and

they're told

that if they

just come to

Christ,

things are

going to

get better,

and we

convince

ourselves

sometimes

that if

we do

what's

right and

we say

what's

right,

that the

people around

us are

going to

be very

respectful of

that,

and they're

just going

to admire

our

conviction,

and that

is not at

all what

happens.

That's not at

all what

happens.

That's not

what happened

for Gideon

either.

That's why

the first test

of faith for

a young

believer is

often to deal

with vehement

opposition from

people that

we actually

care deeply

about being

accepted by.

Like mom

and dad,

and the

family that's

around us,

and the

community of

friends that

we've developed

over time,

and our

coworkers.

We want to

be accepted

by these

people.

We want to

be included

by these

people,

and loved

by these

people.

And yet

our new

faith in

Jesus Christ

often sets us

in opposition

to them.

And those

relationships,

and those

blessings are

then at

risk.

the call

to discipleship

is a public

identification

with Jesus

that will

always,

always put

us at odds

with the

world.

That's the

thing.

And we

know it

will always

do that

because that's

what Jesus

said it

would do.

Remember

his words

in Luke

Luke 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9.

Jesus says,

if anyone

would come

after me,

in other

words,

if anyone

will follow

me,

be my

disciple,

trusting

me for

salvation,

if anyone

will come

after me,

let him

deny himself,

repent,

take up

his cross

daily,

follow me.

What is

that all

about?

The cross

for them

is a

symbol of

death.

In other

words,

Jesus says,

come prepared

to die.

Come prepared

to die.

Identifying

with my

cross,

identifying

with me

will bring

great

hardship.

And if

you're going

to come

after me,

you need

to be

prepared

for that.

You need

to be

prepared

to do

that.

Jesus

also

warned

that

belief

in

and

faithfulness

to

his

gospel

runs

the

risk

of

being

persecuted

even

by one's

family.

Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10,

brother will

deliver brother

over to

death,

Jesus says,

and the

father,

his child,

and children

will rise

against parents

and have

them put

to death,

and you

will be

hated by

all

for my

name's

sake.

God

will

be

saved.

This

brings

further

light to

Gideon's

faithfulness

in spite

of his

fear.

A

fundamental

conviction

of a

true

Christian

is to

fear God

more than

man.

It is to

desire the

pleasure and

glory of

God

more than

the acceptance

of this

world.

It is to

lose one's

life for

the life

that Christ

offers.

If following

Jesus and

standing for

his gospel

meant that

your family

would disown

you,

would you

still follow

him?

What if

that's what

was at

risk for

you?

Would you

still do

it?

What if

your kids

decided,

as long as

you're going

to do this

whole Christian

thing,

you're not

going to

have me,

I'm going

to have

nothing to

do with

you anymore?

What if

it was

the vice

versa and

your parents

say,

you know

what,

if you're

going to

continue on

this Christian

thing,

you're going

to have to

find another

place to

live because

I'm not

going to

tolerate it

in my

house.

Is

Jesus still

worth it

even then?

Is

Jesus still

worth it

when it

comes with

the risk

of losing

really close

friendships?

What about

your business

and your

work and

your ability

to climb the

ladder in your

business?

What if it

even means

your life?

Is Jesus

still worth

it?

Jesus

continues in

Matthew 10,

whoever loves

father and

mother more

than me is

not worthy

of me.

Whoever

loves son or

daughter more

than me is

not worthy

of me.

Whoever

does not

take up his

cross and

follow me is

not worthy

of me.

Whoever

finds his

life will lose

it, Jesus

said, and

whoever loses

his life for

my sake will

find it.

Gideon was

faced immediately

the very next

day with that

exact predicament

and we don't

need to be

surprised when

it's a

predicament that

we face as

well.

Why do you

suppose the

people had

such a strong

reaction?

The Torah

sentence, the

law of Moses

that is, the

sentence for

idolatry was

now being

pronounced on

the one who

destroyed the

idol.

It's completely

reversed now,

isn't it?

Shows just how

severe the

spiritual decline

in Israel had

become.

They were now

thoroughly

Canaanized and

were sentencing

the righteous

one for his

righteousness.

righteousness.

How wonderfully

amazing that

God was still

interested and

intent on

delivering them.

Isn't that

amazing?

The people in

Gideon's community

are not Gentile

people.

These aren't

Canaanites.

These are

Israelites.

The very people

that should have

been supporting

him in this

endeavor are the

ones that are

now calling for

his life.

Why?

Because he was

faithful to the

God that they

supposedly belong

to?

And yet God

still comes in

and the whole

time what he's

doing is he's

raising up Gideon

in order that he

might deliver the

people that are

calling for Gideon

to be murdered.

What love is

that?

What grace is

that?

that?

If you want to

see yourself in

any of the people

in this passage

probably best not

to look at Gideon.

Probably best to

look at the people

of the town.

You want to

understand God's

love for you in

salvation.

Look at God's

intent to save

them despite their

vehemence against

his man.

Isn't that the

picture of the

cross that we

see?

We sing songs

about it.

City of Light

has a great song

about this called

Jerusalem where

it walks through

the different

scenes of the

crucifixion and

it talks about

Jesus being

nailed to a

cross by the

very people that

he came to

save.

In that exact

moment of

death and

treachery the

whole point of

it is to save

the people who

are doing it.

What grace is

this?

What love?

It's possible

that the people

are enraged

here because

they were

fearful of being

under a curse

from Baal.

They are

Baalites for

sure.

And how ironic

that they would

fear the wrath

of a God that

doesn't even

exist more than

they feared the

wrath of the

true God who

had proven

himself to

them time and

time again.

But the

vehemence against

Gideon really

just reflects the

fact that we

love our sin.

We love our

sin and we

hate anyone who

would try to

stand in the way

of us getting

what we want and

living the way we

want to live.

We hate those

people.

John says it

this way in

John chapter

John 3 · chapter mention

3.

He's interpreting

Jesus' exchange

with Nicodemus in

John 3 and he

interprets it this

way.

He says,

This is the

judgment.

The light has

come into the

world and people

loved darkness

rather than the

light because their

works were evil.

For everyone who

does wicked things

hates the light and

does not come to

the light lest his

work should be

exposed.

But whoever does

what is true comes

to the light so

that it may be

clearly seen that

his works have

been carried out

in God.

Watch John

getting on out

with that.

What's your

typical response

when somebody

confronts you in

your sin?

John says that

the wicked in

heart despise

light because it

exposes that their

works are evil.

They don't like to

be told that

they're sinners.

They don't like to

be told that

their works are

evil, that they're

set up against

God.

People don't like

to go to church.

You're unbelieving

friends.

Don't be surprised

when you invite

them to a service.

They don't want to

come here.

They know when

they come that the

light exposes the

darkness and we

love our sin.

We love the darkness

more than we love

the light.

But then John

continues on.

Those who care for

their lives to

reflect the glory of

God.

They love the light.

They love the light

of God's truth

because they desire

to do what is true

and right.

It's painful, but

they're not afraid

for the light to

expose their

wickedness because

that means that

they're going to

move forward in

glory, forward in

glorifying the

Lord.

Just as Gideon's

actions expose the

wickedness of his

community, so does a

confrontation of God's

word expose what's

really in our hearts

as well.

So that when we

come to church Sunday

by Sunday and we

see the passages that

are read and we

read them or we hear

their sermons, whoever

it may be that's

preaching, and we're

confronted in our sin,

what's our response to

that?

Do we want to run

away from the light?

That would be an

indicator that your

heart is wicked.

There's wickedness

there.

You don't actually

have a true desire to

please the Lord.

Or do we love the

pain?

Hurt so good,

right?

Because we know

what's happening

there.

The Lord is

transforming us.

He's sanctifying us.

He's exposing our

sin in order that he

may reveal more of

his light.

An incensed mob.

Thirdly and finally,

we see an illuminating

conclusion.

An illuminating or

clarifying conclusion.

Verse 31,

Joash said to all who

stood against him,

will you contend for

Baal?

Will you save him?

Whoever contends for

him shall be put to

death by morning.

If he's a god,

let him contend for

himself, because his

altar has been broken

down.

Therefore, on that day,

Gideon was called

Jerob Baal.

That is to say, let

Baal contend against

him, because he broke

down his altar.

In the end, it's Joash,

the idolater, the very

one who built and

sponsored this altar to

Baal, who comes to

Gideon's defense.

That's quite the twist in

the story, isn't it?

When we're faithful to

stand for God's truth,

most people will hate us

for it.

But then, God will also

use us to soften the

hearts of others.

I think that's what's

happening with Joash

here.

The text doesn't say

that he fully turns to

God in this moment, but

at the very least, he's

questioning the

existence and power of

Baal.

This is an exchange

between him and the

people of the town that's

similar to what happens

with Elijah and the

prophets of Baal in 1

Kings 18.

You remember that great

war over whose God is

real, and they build the

altars and they do the

thing there.

This is so similar to

that, isn't it?

The language of it.

Joash appears like

Elijah to be mocking

this supposed deity now.

Now, gods are supposed

to save their own

people, but Joash charged

the men with having to

save Baal instead.

If he is a god, let him

contend for himself, says

Joash.

And then he gave Gideon a

new name, Jerob Baal.

Means, let Baal contend

against him.

Let Baal contend.

Let Baal come to his own

defense, essentially.

It's meant to be a

mockery of Baal, I think.

And everywhere Gideon

went from then on, his

very name would remind

people that the gods of

Canaan were powerless

against the God of Israel.

He's a marked man now in

the best of ways.

This conclusion, it

illuminates and clarifies

the real significance of

the story.

This was not ultimately a

war between Israel and

Midian, but between

Yahweh and Baal.

God was reminding his

people that he alone is

God, that he would not

tolerate their idolatry,

and that their repentance

was necessary for their

salvation.

Gideon becomes a marked

man.

He gets this new name,

man moving forward.

He would be known for his

faithfulness to God and his

stand against the worship

of Baal.

And such is the case for

believers who stand for the

truth.

We become marked individuals

in the best possible way.

Coming to Christ, we

surrender our identities to

be identified with Jesus.

our faith and obedience

should then follow us as an

illuminating message that

declares the glory of the one

true God.

As we bring the study to a

close, I want to remind you of

something that I haven't

mentioned in a few weeks, and

we focused on it a little bit in

the introduction to this book,

but we need to remember that

Judges is not merely a history

of ancient Israel.

It's a prophetic message about

God and about salvation.

So when we come to each

section of the book like we

have this morning, we aren't

simply looking to gain more

knowledge about the events

that took place, but we are to

hear and to respond to the

message that God has given.

And with that in mind, I think

there's two primary takeaways that

we need to consider in this text.

First, we need to examine our

hearts to see what kind of

altars to bail might need to be

destroyed.

What kind of bells are you

bowing to day by day in your

life?

A fundamental tenet of a covenant

relationship with God is found in

the first commandment.

You shall have no other gods

besides me.

I have no other gods before me.

And the chances are that you

don't have a shrine set up to a

false deity in your home.

But for us, bail is anything that

stands between us and faithfulness

wholeheartedly to God.

And bail takes many shapes.

Bail for you may be materialism.

Bail for you may be your work.

Bail for you may just be selfish

desires that you have.

Bail for you may be your family.

Bail for you may be all kinds of

things.

It will take many shapes, but it

ultimately comes back to the worship

of self.

We're chasing our own wills at the

expense of God's will.

And what we need to remember is that

you cannot expect God's blessing

while you're bowing to bail.

You cannot expect salvation

while you persist in willful sin.

And what you need to do is repent.

Destroy the altar to bail in your life

and genuinely worship God in spirit

and in truth.

That's takeaway number one.

But then we also need to follow

Gideon's example of faithfulness

in spite of his fear here.

So first application comes from the

big picture.

What's this message God is sending

to Israel?

Second one takes a little closer look

at Gideon and what did he do here.

And I think there's a lot for us to

learn.

Following Christ is always going to

set us at odds with the world.

And we need to be willing to count

the cost of discipleship.

Trusting that Jesus is better than

anything we might experience in this

life.

He's better.

He said as much.

I love the parables that he said

when he talked about the gospel of

the kingdom being like the man who

stumbled upon the treasure in the

field.

You remember the parable Jesus told?

Is it Luke 15?

Something like that.

And he says that this man he stumbles

over this treasure in the field and

what he does he he sees such tremendous

value in this treasure that he goes

and he sells everything that he has.

All of it.

In order that he could buy that field

so that he could have that treasure.

That's a picture of repentance isn't it?

I don't need this life.

I don't need all the things that I'm

longing for and aching for now.

I don't need those things.

All those things can be realized in

Christ.

And then he says that he gives us a

second one.

If we didn't get that one he gives us a

second picture and he says it's it's

also like the merchant.

Who finds this pearl of just tremendous

value incalculable value and he goes

and he sells his whole business in order

that he could have this one pearl of

great price and Jesus Jesus says that's

what the gospel is.

That's what the kingdom is like.

It's people who have decided that this

life that I'm better than anything this

life offers.

That knowing me is better than the

closeness that you long for with your

family and your friends and your

community.

That pleasing me is better than pleasing

self.

That what I offer is better than anything

that this world can offer you.

And what we find in Gideon here is an

example of that kind of faithfulness.

That the weak certainly not perfect still

says I belong to God and I'm going to

trust God and I'm going to obey God even

when it costs me everything.

A stand for Christ might create a new

group of enemies in your life.

It probably will.

But God might also use it to work on the

heart of a Joe Ash in your home or a Joe

Ash in your community.

And how exciting is it to think that God

would use us in that way.