St. Paul's United Methodist Church
Rev. Richard W. Gray
“A Hero in Hiding”
Judges 6:1-16
April 10, 2005
A number of years ago I was in the store of the Massachusetts Bible Society in downtown Boston. A phone rang and a clerk answered the phone. She spoke loud enough for everyone nearby to hear her conversation. Someone had called the Society to ask for information about the Gideon Bible Society. Apparently the person calling wanted to know why it was called the Gideons. The clerk replied that the Gideons was named after a man who had founded the Society and had given it money.
That is not true. The clerk in the Bible Society store did not know the Bible. The Gideons was founded on July 1, 1899 by several men in Wisconsin, with the purpose of evangelism. The name came from the Gideon in the Bible who was willing to do what God wanted him to do. He was a man of faith, humility, and obedience to God.
We will look at Gideon this morning. We read in Judges 6 that for seven years the Midianites had been raiding the Israelites. The Israelites were no match for the Midianites. The Midianites had camels. They could cross desert regions very quickly with their camels, attack the Israelites, and then leave quickly, taking with them whatever they wanted, and destroying what they did not take.
Every year they came at the harvest time like a band of locusts. They stole everything that had been grown during the year and drove the Israelites into the mountains. The Israelites were forced to flee to caves in the mountains, taking with them only what they could carry.
This went on for seven years. The Israelites knew that every year attack and defeat would come, yet they hoped it would not. Steve Zeisler likens it to allergy attacks every spring. We know that when spring comes, so do allergy problems.
Finally, in Judges 6, we read that the people cried out to God for help. God heard their cries and sent a prophet. The prophet reminded them of all that God had done for them in the past. God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt and had given them their land. He had commanded them not to worship pagan gods, but they had disobeyed God.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal they crawled into their tent and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, Holmes nudged Watson and asked him, “Watson, open your eyes and tell me what you see?” Watson said, “I see millions and millions of stars.” “What does that tell you?” asked Holmes. “It tells me there are millions of galaxies and billions of stars. It is about 3 a.m. and the air is dry, so we should have a nice day tomorrow. Why do you ask? What does the sky tell you?” Holmes said, “Watson, you fool! Someone has stolen our tent.”
The Israelites had missed the obvious. The people had cried out to God saying their problem was the Midianites. The prophet informed them that their problem was disobedience to God. They were weak in the face of the Midianites because they had put their trust in pagan gods, not in the one true God. God was allowing these yearly raids to get their attention.
We find Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress. He is doing this because he is afraid of the Midianites. He does not want to be seen by them and have his crop stolen.
One does not thresh wheat in a winepress. Norm
Normally this is done in the open in the wind, not in an enclosed winepress, which was a circular stone enclosure. The wheat would be thrown in the air and the wind would separate the wheat from the chaff, as the heavier wheat kernels would fall to the ground and the chaff would blow away.
So here he is, hiding in fear and threshing wheat. Gideon was probably thinking, “I shouldn't have to be in here like this.” He was probably wondering why God was not protecting His chosen people.
All of a sudden the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. This angel appears to be the preincarnate Christ taking the form of an angel. This was Jesus. This is called a theophany, when God appears as an angel. He said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
Gideon then asked, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about?…but now the Lord has abandoned us and put us in the hand of Midian”
Let's stop here for a moment. Notice that the Lord welcomes honest questions. He did not scold Gideon. The Lord can handle the tough questions. He accepts honest doubt looking for answers and faith. Notice how much teaching Jesus did when He walked this earth. He wants people to have answers. Notice how much teaching there is in the Bible. God wants us to have answers.
In answer to Gideon's question, “Why has God allowed this and where has God been?” the Lord replies, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?”
Gideon responds, “But Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Gideon was thinking
thinking, “Who me? What might do I have? I am the youngest son in an insignificant family from a weak tribe. You have the wrong person.”
Notice what the Lord called Gideon, mighty warrior. Gideon objects to being called mighty warrior. Surely the Lord has the wrong person. He is hiding from the Midianites. He is not qualified for the name.
Notice also that the Lord knows all of our weaknesses before He calls us. Therefore, He will not accept any excuses.
The Lord gave Gideon a new name, mighty warrior. He gave Gideon a new identity. Gideon did not see himself as a mighty warrior. Many of us do not see ourselves as we really are. We often have an unhealthy image of ourselves. Let's review our real identity as Christians.
Someone has said that one of the biggest lies Christians believe is that God only uses special people. People become special because God uses them.
We need to get rid of the unhealthy images we have of ourselves. Gideon had this problem. The Lord answered his objection by telling him, “I will be with you.”
Do you remember the Federal Express commercial
commercial? A FedEx employee has been marooned on an island for five years. Finally he is rescued and he set out to deliver the packages that were on the island with him. He went up to the door of a home, package in hand that he has been protecting for five years. Upon handing it to a lady at the house, he asked if he could know the contents of the package.
She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, “O nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds.” The FedEx employee did not know what resources he had with him on the island.
We need to be reminded from time to time of the resources we have in our lives. The Lord said to Gideon, and to us, “I will be with you.”
Notice how the Lord encouraged Gideon, “I will be with you.” The lord wants to encourage us. When we find ourselves in difficulty and we are discouraged, we need to remember that the Lord is with us. Rather than ask, “Where are you, Lord?” we ought to ask, “Lord, give me some encouragement.”
Steven Covey, in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, has an exercise that is worth doing. He said to imagine that you are attending a funeral, yours. You look at the bulletin and see that four people are going to speak; a member of your family, one of your friends, someone from your work or profession, and someone from your church or some community organization in which you are involved.
Write down what you would want each of these people to say about you. What kind of person were you? What were your achievements and contributions? Look at the people gathered there at the service. What difference would you have liked to have made in their lives?
Covey goes on to say that what we want people to say about us is our definition of success.
I would add one more person to the list. What do we want God to say about us? Is our definition of success the same as His?
What would have been said about Gideon? He was weak and cowardly. The Lord said, “No. You are a mighty warrior.” God sees what we can become with His help and resources.
So many of us need to change our self-image. We have a new name, a new identity. Christian, follower of Jesus.
God gives the same promise to everyone of us today as he did to Gideon, “I will be with you.” Whatever our circumstances, the Lord says, “Do not be discouraged, do not be depressed, do not worry, do not be afraid, I will be with you.” What is important is not our little strength, but the fact God is with us. Let us not limit what God can do in us, through us, and for us.
335 Smyth road
Manchester, NH 03104
Sunday School: 9:00 a.m.
Sunday Worship: 8:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
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603-647-7322