Gideon-The Weak Mighty Warrior pt. 5

Judges

Week 15 — Gideon—The Weak Mighty Warrior

3. _______________ in weakness.  

4. The Lord _______________ the army.

³⁴ The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon. He blew the ram’s horn, and the clan of Abiezer was called out to follow him. ³⁵ Gideon also sent messengers into all Manasseh, so Manasseh assembled behind Gideon. He also sent messengers into Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet the others. … ¹ Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him set out and camped by the Spring of Harod. The Midianite camp was north of him, in the valley below the Hill of Moreh [מוֹרֶה (mô·rě(h)]. (Jdg 6:34-35; 7:1)

² The Lord said to Gideon, “There are too many people with you for me to give Midian into your hands. If I did that, Israel would glorify itself at my expense and say, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ (Jdg 7:2)

Tim Keller: Human nature is such that, if there is the tiniest opportunity to boast in our own work, we will. Notice that God says that any such boasting is "against me" (EHV “at my expense”). As soon as we begin to believe that we deserve credit for rescuing or delivering ourselves, we take away glory from God that he deserves. We set up ourselves as alternative saviors. This is the greatest spiritual danger there is—that we should believe that we can save, or have saved, ourselves. The lesson we always need to learn is that salvation is by God's gracious action, not by earning it with our actions.

³ So then, make an announcement for the people to hear: ‘Whoever is trembling with fear can return home and fly away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Twenty-two thousand people turned and left. Only ten thousand remained. (Jdg 7:3)

⁴ The Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Lead them down to the water, and there I will refine them further for you. If I tell you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he may go with you, but if I say to you, ‘This one will not go with you,’ he must not go.” ⁵ So Gideon led the people down to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, “Place everyone who laps water with his tongue, as a dog would lap, to one side. Place everyone who kneels down to drink on the other side.” ⁶ The number of those who lapped—those who put their hands to their mouths—was three hundred men, while all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. ⁷ The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped, I will deliver you, and I will give Midian into your hand. As for all the other people, let each man go back to his place.” (Jdg 7:4–7)

⁸ The men who had been chosen took provisions in hand, along with their ram’s horns, but Gideon sent every other Israelite man back to his own tent. He kept only the three hundred men. The camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. (Jdg 7:8)

⁷ Therefore, to keep me from becoming arrogant due to the extraordinary nature of these revelations, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me, so that I would not become arrogant. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that he would take it away from me. ⁹ And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will be glad to boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may shelter me. (2 Co 12:7–9)

[Jesus said] “Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that is why she loved so much. But the one who is forgiven little loves little.” (Lk 7:47)

It is only when the Holy Spirit works deep heartfelt _____________ in us over our _________, our _________________, only as we see our own ________________, that God’s ___________ and ___________ become more ________________ and _________ to us.

1. The Lord _____________ Gideon’s faith.

⁹ That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the Midianite camp, for I have given them into your hand. ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to go down to attack them, then go down to the camp with your young attendant Purah. ¹¹ Listen to what they say. After that your hands will be strengthened to go down to attack the camp.” So Gideon and his young attendant Purah went down to the sentry posts at the edge of the camp. (Jdg 7:9–11)

¹² Meanwhile, the Midianites and Amalekites and the whole army of the eastern peoples were spread out in the valley, thick as locusts, and their camels were more than could be counted, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. (Jdg 7:12)

¹³ When Gideon went down, he arrived just as a man was telling his fellow soldier about a dream. He said, “Listen! I had a dream. I dreamed that a round loaf of barley bread came tumbling over and over into the Midianite camp. It crashed into a tent and struck it so that the tent fell down. It overturned the tent, and the tent collapsed!”  ¹⁴ His companion responded, “What can that be but the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the man of Israel. God has given Midian and the whole camp into his hand.” (Jdg 7:13–14)

Tim Keller: When we know we are weak, we need to remember that God is strong. We also need to be reminded of the truth that those things which stand opposed to us are not as strong as they often appear. Satan cannot force us to sin; the power of idols can be broken; those who mock or persecute us are often conflicted and broken beneath their confident exterior. God graciously gives Gideon the opportunity to see this: that this vast army, "thick as locusts," underneath their armour have trembling hearts. They know what Gideon is only now convinced of: "God has given the Midianites ... into [Gideon's] hands."

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he changes his mind. (Nu 23:19a)

It is finished. (Jn 19:30)

Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have the habit of doing. Rather, let us encourage each other, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:25)

¹⁵ So when Gideon heard the retelling of the dream and its meaning, he bowed down in worship and returned to the camp of Israel. He said, “Get up, because the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hand.” (Jdg 7:15)

Points to Ponder

1. What stood out to you most from the story of Gideon and the reduction of the army? Why do you think that detail caught your attention?
2. What does God’s repeated reduction of the army teach us about his purpose in salvation and deliverance?
3. Where do you see yourself most tempted to “boast” or trust in your own strength rather than in God’s grace?
4. In the sermon I said, “The bigger you understand the debt to be, the greater the joy in the payment.” How has recognizing your own sin and weakness deepened (or challenged) your love for Christ?
5. What are some “good things” in your life that could easily become idols—things you fear losing or believe give you worth?
6. Gideon worshiped immediately after receiving God’s reassurance. What does worship look like in your life when God strengthens your faith?
7. Which of the three ways God reassures us—his Word, his people, or our circumstances—do you most often rely on? Which one do you tend to neglect?
8. This week, what is one situation where you need to stop trusting your “numbers” and start trusting God’s promises instead?
9. How can this group encourage one another to stand firm in God’s promises when fear or weakness sets in?

Read: Judges 7