Judges 6 Bible Study / Podcast

This morning we're going to continue studying the book of Judges. We're going to be in Judges chapter 6.

So this is the story of Gideon. Gideon is one of the main characters in the book of Judges.

If you remember from previous weeks, Othniel was the first judge, then

Ehud, then Shamgar, and last week we covered Deborah.

And it is my position, along with many others, that Deborah and Barak, in a sense, share that position of fourth judge of Israel.

Deborah was technically the one the scripture called a judge, but Barak was the warrior on the ground, and that's what the judges were.

They were military men. They were warriors. They were the leaders of Israel.

Deborah did not really fit that warrior role, but Barak did. So together, I would say, they really were a team.

So we're going to continue in Judges chapter 6 with the fifth judge of Israel.

Perhaps the most famous, probably Samson is the most well -known, but a close second, maybe.

This is the man, Gideon. He was also given the name Jeroboam, and I'll explain what that means in a few moments.

But here in this chapter, Judges chapter 6, it begins with the Midianites oppressing

Israel. That's verses 1 through 10. Then Gideon is introduced in verses 11 through 27.

In verses 28 through 35, Gideon destroys the altar of Baal that actually belongs to his family.

And then he receives a sign from God. This is probably the story people remember the most.

Gideon and his fleece. That's verses 36 through 40. But that incident where he destroys the altar, the altar to Baal with a wooden pole, probably an

Asherah pole next to it. He cuts that down and he burns it and tears down the altar, erects a new altar on top of it.

So when he destroys the altar of Baal, he's given this nickname by his father, Jerob Baal.

And I'd like to read this paragraph from the website GotQuestions .org, which explains all this.

It says, Gideon earned the title Jerob Baal after he destroyed his family's altar of Baal.

Because Gideon broke down Baal's altar, they gave him the name Jerob Baal that day, saying let

Baal contend with him. And that's what the name means. Jerob Baal means

Baal will contend. And it's a combination of two Hebrew words.

The first is Yerub, which means to grapple. The figurative meaning is to wrangle or to hold a controversy.

And the second is a proper noun, Baal. That's the name of the Phoenician god that Gideon picked a fight with, so to speak.

So that's the situation. That's kind of an overview of Judges chapter 6.

We have a lot ground to cover in this chapter, so we're going to tackle it section by section.

Let's begin with verses 1 through 10. The Midianites oppress Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the

Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel.

Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains.

So it was whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up.

Also Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them.

Then they would encamp against them and produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.

For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts.

Both they and their camels were without number, and they would enter the land to destroy it.

So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites and the children of Israel cried out to the

Lord. And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried out to the

Lord because of the Midianites, that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel.

Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage.

And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.

Also I said to you, I am the Lord your God. Do not fear the gods of the

Amorites in whose land you dwell. But you have not obeyed my voice.

So once again, in Judges, it's the same old thing, different chapter.

The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. Remember from last time,

Deborah and Barak gave Israel peace for 40 years. But whatever revival

Israel experienced, whatever zeal the people of the nation had to keep God's commandments, over time that just fades away.

So then they slide back into their idolatry and moral decay.

And I think we should be able to understand that in our land, the moral decay is getting worse and worse by the day it seems.

The worship of false gods is everywhere. And worse yet, it's sanctioned by the people in leadership.

So the prevailing attitude in the day we live in is, hey, you know, do whatever you want. And then if a man comes along and says, no, the

Lord is to be worshiped and his commandments must be upheld, then that guy is going to be a target.

And that's what is taking place here in the book of Judges. So in some ways, we should be able to understand a little bit about the climate.

But who's the enemy of Israel this time? Well, so far, it's been the king of Moab.

He was the first enemy, then the Philistines, then the king of Canaan. Now the

Midianites are the enemy of the children of Israel. So who are the

Midianites? Well, if you remember from the book of Genesis, Midian was the son of Abraham and his second wife,

Keturah. And from Midian, obviously, comes the Midianites.

They were basically a group of nomadic tribes that dwelt in the land east of Moab.

Sometimes all these groups, the Moabites, Midianites, Ishmaelites, they all kind of get blended together.

But the Midianites, they've been Israel's enemy for some time. If you remember the story of Balaam from the book of Numbers and how they seduced

Israel into the worship of Baal of Peor, that was an issue with the

Midianites. I did a sermon a while back on that titled, The Javelin of Phineas.

And the point being, well, some people say that this prophet that God sent was actually Phineas. I don't think that can be true based on he would be too old,

I think. But the point is that this issue of idolatry and the worship of Baal, this is an ongoing problem that plagued

Israel throughout their history. So because Israel was unfaithful to the covenant that they had with God, it says that the

Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years. Remember, these are the terms of the agreement.

Children of Israel, if you obey my commandments, I will bless you. But if you disobey, you will receive a curse.

So the Lord delivers them into the hand of Midian for seven years. Verse two says, in the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel.

Things were so bad, the Israelites had to hide in caves and in the forts that were in the mountains.

They were too afraid to just go out in public. Let's say it's a nice sunny day out and you just want to take a walk in an open field.

No, too dangerous. They were hiding out. And you see that with Gideon, he's threshing wheat in the wine press.

That's not something you would normally do. But it would be like someone today in a war -torn country who's reluctant to go out in public because they're afraid of drone strikes or enemy soldiers.

I mean, this is how bad it was. So Israel had to survive, obviously. So they had to continue to plant crops and harvest.

But whenever they did, that's when there's the season to plant, the season to sow. The Midianites know and the

Malachites know when this time is. So during these times of the year, the Midianites and their enemies would come up and they would destroy their crops, destroy their livestock.

And so what are they trying to do? They're trying to either starve them out or at the very least, this is greatly weakening the nation.

People barely have enough food to eat. And it's only then when things get that dire, it's only then that Israel finally cries out to God for help.

And the Lord hears them. And in return, he sends a prophet.

Now, this prophet doesn't show up with words like, oh, okay, God understands and God forgives you.

And he's, well, that's not exactly the message. The message is a reminder that, hey, wait a minute, you know better than this.

This is what you knew would happen. Well, let's continue. The prophet or the preacher reminds them of their failure to obey the covenant.

What does he say? It's because you disobeyed that this is happening.

Who was this prophet? I said a moment ago that some people think it's Phineas. There's actually an old

Jewish tradition that says this prophet was Phineas, who's the grandson of Aaron, the high priest.

Again, based on how old he would have been, that just seems highly unlikely, but it really doesn't matter who the prophet is.

The issue is the message that the prophet had. And like the other prophets, his message is more of a message of warning and judgment rather than peace and blessing.

And really that's just the nature of the ministry of the prophets, because when the covenant was made, this is the covenant of the law, the terms were set originally.

So obey and be blessed, disobey, receive a curse. So if God's people obeyed his commandments, then they would enjoy his favor and protection, and that would be evident to all.

There'd be no need to send a prophet when everything is going good, because they're walking in the blessings of God.

But if they don't obey the covenant, then the reason that God would send a prophet is to warn them and remind them.

Because, and this is so important to understand, God's nature, he doesn't really want to judge his people.

God doesn't want to curse anyone. God wants to bless people. He wants

Israel to walk in his favor. So when they disobey, the

Lord sends a prophet in order to warn them, remind them, teach them.

The Lord sends a prophet so they understand what is happening and they get this message.

So speaking of a message, the prophet is a man.

He's just a man that the Lord sent to deliver this message from God.

But the word angel, I think we talked about this a week or two ago, the word angel means messenger.

So here's the thing, in Judges chapter 6, there's the prophet who shows up. That's one person.

And now another man shows up. But this time, the prophet is a messenger of God.

The angel that shows up is the messenger of God. This is the angel of the

Lord. Let's look at verses 11 through 14. It says, now the angel of the

Lord came and sat under the which was in Ophira, which belonged to Joash, the

Abba Ezraite. His son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the

Midianites. So the prophet shows up to preach to the nation. God told you this would happen.

Let them know why it's taking place. But now the angel of the Lord, God's messenger shows up.

We believe just spoiler alert. This is the pre -incarnate Christ, I believe. And many commentators would recognize him as such.

But the angel of the Lord doesn't come to the nation. The angel of the Lord comes to Gideon personally.

So Gideon, it says in verse 11 is threshing wheat in the winepress.

Normally you do this maybe on a mountaintop somewhere where the wind could get it.

And you wouldn't do it inside a winepress. I mean, this is just tells you how bad things were that he had to hide out even when he's doing his daily chores.

But Gideon is threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. In verse 12, it says the angel of the

Lord appeared to him and said to him, the Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.

So, so get the picture. Gideon is hiding in the winepress. Really, that's what he's doing.

And the Lord shows up. You're a mighty man of valor. Well, it doesn't really look like it at the moment.

And Gideon, you know, he's a little skeptical. Verse 13, Gideon said to him,

Oh my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?

And keep in mind, Gideon at this moment, doesn't recognize that this is an angel. As far as he knows, this is another prophet like the last guy.

He doesn't realize that until after. So the angel of the Lord appears to him. The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.

And Gideon says to him, well, if God's with us, why is this all taking place? Just a reasonable question.

And Gideon continues. And where are all his miracles, which our fathers told us about saying, did not the

Lord bring us up from Egypt, but now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the

Midianites. Then the Lord that is the angel of the Lord turned to him and said, go in this might of yours and you shall save Israel from the hand of the

Midianites. Have I not sent you? Okay.

So several things about this passage. First, it says that the

Lord or the angel of the Lord came and sat under the

Terebinth tree. When people read that, well, this sounds like a unique tree, a

Terebinth tree. What is that? Well, if you look at the King James version, you know, sometimes it's helpful when studying the

Bible to compare one version to another. The King James says that he sat under an oak tree.

So that, you know, depending on which version you read, there seems to be something significant about this tree or, well, no, he just sat under an oak tree.

The tree really isn't the significant thing. It's the fact that the angel sat under it.

So what does that tell you? It tells us that the angel of the Lord appears as just like a regular guy.

Gideon doesn't realize who he's talking to. He doesn't realize it until after when the angel just like disappears.

The fire comes up from the ground and the angel disappears and he's like, whoa, okay. That's the angel.

I just saw God. So here's the first thing. The angel of the

Lord in the Old Testament, when he appears, he often appears as a man.

This reminds us of Hebrews chapter 13, verse two, which gives us the instruction to not forget to entertain strangers.

For by doing so, some have unwittingly entertained angels.

You realize there are people maybe not currently alive on earth.

I tend to think this probably does happen even today, but certainly in the past, that's one thing we can say for certain.

There have been people throughout history that have encountered an angel and they didn't even know it.

That's what the scripture says. We are to be hospitable and kind and entertain strangers because some people have entertained strangers unaware that they were actually an angel.

Hebrews 13, verse two. So back to Judges two, remember how the angel of the Lord, we're in Judges six today, but back in Judges two, it says the angel of the

Lord walked up from Gilgal. Today people think of an angel as having wings and they would fly from place to place.

That's not the way it was. In Judges two, the angel of the Lord walked from Gilgal.

What does that tell you? He was a man. When he shows up here to Gideon, he looks like a man.

So in Old Testament, when angels visited people on earth, they appeared as men.

No wings, no halo. They were never a woman.

There's always just a man. And the angels, on the other hand, when they are described in heaven or seen in a vision, that's where say the cherubim or seraphim angels are described.

Yeah, they do have wings. And one passage talks about how they have eyes all over them and four different faces.

And, you know, you get those very distinct looking creatures, the angels that we typically think of, that's in heaven, that's in visionary form.

But whenever an angel showed up on earth, he was a man. So the angel of the

Lord looked like a normal human being, the messenger of Jehovah here.

Therefore, we conclude he is actually the pre -incarnate

Christ. So Gideon, in a very real sense, is talking face to face with Jesus Christ.

We've talked about this before, how the angel of the Lord is described on the one hand as being distinct from God, yet at the same time he's described as being

God. Now, how can that be? How can you be God and distinct from God at the same time?

This is true in the book of Exodus, chapter 3, with Moses at the burning bush. The angel of the

Lord appeared to Moses in the bush, and then it's God talking to him. So it's distinct from God and God at the same time.

And that's true here, as well as later in the book of Judges, when the angel of the Lord will appear to the parents of Samson.

They see the angel of the Lord, but their reaction is they're afraid that they're going to die because they saw

God. So it's both. The angel of the Lord is both the

Lord, and yet at the same time, he is distinct from the Lord. How is this possible?

Well, this is where we get our understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity. Remember, Jesus, in John 1, verse 1, how in the beginning, it says, was the

Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And then John 1, 14 says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

So Jesus is both God and he's distinct from God at the same time.

He is God's son. So that's why, that's one of the reasons why we believe that the angel of the

Lord, or the messenger of Jehovah here in the Old Testament, he is actually God in human form, the pre -incarnate

Christ. And when the angel shows up to Gideon, where is

Gideon? Gideon is threshing wheat in the wine press.

And again, that is normally something that would not be done. Gideon is doing this, the

Bible tells us, to hide or to stay out of the sight of the Midianites. He's hiding.

Remember, at this moment, Gideon, he's just a regular old guy. There's nothing special about Gideon.

He's hiding out from the Midianites and, you know, that doesn't make him cowardly necessarily. I mean, that's what everyone was doing.

It was a smart thing to do, I suppose. But at the same time, when you consider that in the

Lord's words, it almost seems humorous that the angel says to Gideon, you mighty man of valor.

And I can just imagine Gideon kind of turning around and saying, what are you talking to me? I'm a mighty man of valor.

Because as of this moment, there is nothing that would indicate that. So Gideon, he appears a little skeptical and he has all these questions, just like Moses did.

Remember when the Lord appeared to Moses in the bush, Moses needed some convincing. And that's what Gideon needs.

He needs some convincing. So what is the Lord doing? Here's the key.

By calling him a mighty man of valor, which at this point he really wasn't. It's sort of like when the

Lord gave to Simon the name Peter, meaning rock.

Simon was not a rock, but he needed to be. And he would become that.

So with the Lord's help, Simon the fisherman became Peter, the great apostle.

And with the Lord's help, Gideon, the farmer would become Jair of Baal, the mighty man of valor and judge of Israel.

And you just have to wonder, all the people in the world today, there's nothing special about them.

You and just people in churches, average men and women and children, there's nothing special about them.

But when the Lord is with them, he can turn them in to who they were meant to be.

So God calling Gideon, a mighty man of valor, that's who he would become.

With God's help, that's who he would become. What can you become with God's help?

You know, I'm sure many sermons have been preached on this, how with God's strength, people can reach their full potential.

And oftentimes someone, they won't think much of you. Maybe you don't even have any accomplishments, but with God, all things are possible.

Who is Gideon? But at the same time, it's like they say, I think it was

Martin Luther who coined the phrase, God plus one makes a majority.

With the Lord on Gideon's side, or when the Lord is with Gideon, even though Gideon doesn't think much of himself, the

Lord sees him for who he will become. And he's calling it now as if it's already taken place.

Gideon, you are a mighty man of valor. And he says, go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the

Midianites. Have I not sent you? And notice how Gideon responds in verse 15.

Gideon is humble, and that's something that really is required to become a great man of God, great woman of God, servant of God.

You must start out and remain humble. Gideon responds, oh my

Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

And the Lord said to him, surely I will be with you.

Isn't this the way the Lord works? He chooses the least. Isn't that why he chose

Israel? It's not because they were the greatest. It's because they were the least. What is this all about?

So that God would receive the glory. This is first Corinthians chapter one, that God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, the weak things of the world to bring down the mighty.

The Lord says to Gideon, you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.

Then he said to him, that is Gideon said to the angel of the Lord, if now

I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.

Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to you and bring out my offering and set it before you.

Okay, so now I think Gideon's to catch on. I mean, the

Lord is speaking to him. Gideon isn't fully convinced that it's the

Lord. It could be a prophet. But this, he says, show me a sign.

And he's going to set an offer. So I think Gideon's catching on. He said, I will wait.

The angel says, I will wait until you come back. So what's happening? Gideon is now going to prepare a meal.

And this is what you would do with a stranger. Remember, entertaining strangers, show hospitality.

Now it can be argued that Gideon, on the one hand, is not really responding in faith. Some people have argued that.

First, he has all these questions. He seems skeptical. He tells God, the angel of the

Lord, all the reasons why that this doesn't really make any sense. And then he appears to doubt

God because he says, well, he's asking for a sign. Remember in the New Testament, when the

Jews asked Jesus for a sign, Christ rebuked them. So Gideon is a flawed man.

He's a great man of God, will become that. But again, it's been argued he could respond better.

Remember when Mary, this is why Mary is held in such high regard, because when the angel

Gabriel came to her and said, you will give birth to the Christ as a virgin, she didn't argue with him and said, wow.

Well, she did say, how can this be? But she's just said, yes, let, let it be.

Let it be to me according to thy word. So sometimes in the

Bible, people will argue with God, question God. Other people are just, okay, whatever, whatever the

Lord says. But the fact that Gideon is asking for a sign, this is the

Lord being gracious to him. And I think we see this principle here in many other places that the

Lord will use a person despite their flaws. So while we often think that in order to be used by God in a mighty way, a person must have a deep faith or maybe even an impeccable life.

That's simply not true. God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.

That's going to become even more evident when we read the story of Samson. I mean, if you want to talk about a guy who had issues,

Samson is, he's the man. I mean, he had all, he was doing all sorts of things wrong.

He had all sorts of character flaws and yet God used him in a mighty way. So Gideon is flawed.

He's asking God for a sign. You could argue he's putting God to the test, which is something that you're not supposed to do.

But God is gracious to Gideon. So Gideon prepares a meal. Look at verse 20.

The angel of God said to him, take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock and pour out the broth.

And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put out the end of his staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread.

And then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

I can only imagine Gideon's response that, wow, what just happened?

It's at this moment, Gideon is certain he had not been in the presence of just a prophet.

He had been in the presence of God. And now

I'm sure it's coming to mind. Oh man, I was questioning him. I had all these doubts. I was asking, well,

I don't know what did Gideon think that way? He continues and actually puts God to the test even further.

Look at verse 22. He wakes up to this reality. Alas, oh Lord God, for I've seen the angel of the

Lord to his face. And then the Lord said to him, whether from heaven or something like a still small voice within, we're not really sure, but the

Lord said to Gideon, peace be with you. And this is where Gideon from here, he tears down the altar to bail.

And then he asked the Lord to do the sign with the fleece where have the fleece be wet and the ground dry.

And then that happens. And well, Lord, there's one more thing, have the ground wet and the fleece dry.

And again, I think that is, we can understand it, we can sympathize with Gideon, but it really does show that he has some doubts.

He's not yet that mighty man of valor, full of faith.

He needs some encouragement from God. He needs some help.

Okay. So Gideon wakes up to all this and the angel disappears.

Gideon says, I've seen the angel of the Lord face to face. Then the

Lord says to him in some way, it doesn't explain how peace be with you. Now, why is that significant?

Because this is exactly what Jesus says in the new Testament, John 20 verse 19, peace be with you.

This is one of those phrases that people often, it's included in some church liturgies, peace be with you, right?

This is what people say, turn around and greet your neighbor, say peace be with you. Well, this comes from the words of which

Christ first spoke back here in judges chapter six.

So Gideon, yes, you saw the angel of the Lord. You were in the presence of God, but do not fear.

You shall not die. Verse 24. So Gideon built an altar there to the

Lord, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. This is the covenant name of God, Jehovah.

And he called that place Jehovah Shalom or the Lord is peace.

So notice what happens from this point on Gideon has built this altar.

Now he knows the Lord personally. You know, it's one thing to have a knowledge of God.

It's another thing to know God. There are some people who know about the

Lord, but they don't know the Lord personally. Gideon we can say now has a personal relationship with God and God speaks to him again that night.

So the angel of the Lord, the man, the pre -incarnate Christ has departed. So Gideon's getting now direct revelation from God.

He builds this altar and calls it Jehovah Shalom or the Lord is peace.

He builds it at the place where the angel shows up. So this is a holy site.

Now he's claiming the land for Christ that spot, but then really all of Israel, it belongs to Christ.

And now, because there is this altar of Jehovah Gideon knows that, hey, right over there is this false altar to Baal.

So Gideon understands that, hey, well, this is the thing to do. This land belongs to the

Lord and this altar to Baal, that ain't happening. So he goes and he actually tears down the altar to Baal, even though it belonged to his father and his family.

So Gideon, now he's turning into the man that God wants him to be. Even though the altar is within the family,

Gideon knows this is going to make people angry. It doesn't matter. Gideon is going to obey the voice of God.

He's not going to follow the traditions of men, even though that's what everybody else is doing.

And of course, that's what got Israel into this problem to begin with because of this disobedience and following after false gods.

Let's look at verse 25. Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, take your father's young bull, the second bull of seven years old and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has and cut down the wooden image that is beside it and build an altar to the

Lord, your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image, which you shall cut down.

So Gideon took 10 men from among his father's servants or from among his servants and did as the

Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father's household and the men of the city too much to do it by day.

Gideon did it by night. So I don't think this is cowardice.

I think Gideon's just smart about it. He knows as soon as he does this thing. And then once you kill bulls and the livestock, they're valuable.

You're tearing down this worship site. Uh, he knows what is going to happen.

They're going to call for his head and they do. Verse 28. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal torn down.

Praise God. Hallelujah. And the wooden image, I added that part, by the way, there, there was the altar of Baal torn down and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down.

And the second bull was being offered on the altar, which had been built. So they asked one another who has done this thing.

And when they had inquired and asked, they said, Gideon, the son of Joash has done this thing.

Then the men of the city said to Joash, bring out your son that he may die because he has torn down the altar of Baal.

And because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it. In other words, how dare this kid tear down our pagan worship site.

We're going to kill him. So think about what they're asking. They're asking Joash to find his own son and deliver him up to be lynched.

But Joash said to all who stood against him, would you plead for Baal?

You know, in other words, if Baal is really a God, let Baal fight this battle. Yeah. Baal is such a mighty

God. Now at the same time, Joash seems to be a worshiper of Baal. So I don't know if he was just going along with it or what, but this is, this is an interesting development.

Joash, he says to them, would you plead for Baal? Would you save Baal? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning.

If he is a God, let him plead for himself because his altar has been torn down.

So Gideon's act of bravery it may have led to the conversion of his father or maybe his father was already converted.

He was just too cowardly to say this before. We're not exactly sure. Verse 32 says, therefore on that day,

Joash, the son of Gideon, the father of Gideon called his son,

Jerob Baal saying, let Baal plead against him because he has torn down his altar.

So again, whether Joash is coming under conviction, whether he's just trying to wiggle out of this, we're not exactly sure.

Either way, he, you know, nobody would want to deliver their son to an angry mob.

But this shows us because Joash, either way, either, either he wasn't doing the right thing because he was too afraid or or he was formerly a worshiper of Baal.

Either way, it shows us that no matter what a person has done, no matter what side a person was on, even if someone listening today you've worshiped idols and false gods and have gotten into witchcraft and sorcery, it doesn't matter what a person has done.

They can always turn and come over to the Lord's side.

I tend to think that deep down, Joash knew all along that what Gideon did, the

Lord was right, that this altar to Baal was wrong. But you know, when 99 .9

% of the people are doing the wrong thing, even the best of men often won't have the backbone to stand against it.

And remember, Gideon, even Gideon wasn't really standing against it either until he met

God. And what does this show us? That when the Lord enters into a person's life in a personal and powerful way, things will change.

Gideon was a new man and he had this newly discovered zeal for the worship of Jehovah.

So by tearing down this altar to Baal and erecting an altar to God over it, it's almost a way of rubbing it in.

You know, Gideon cuts down the wooden image, again, probably an asherah pole, and he uses that for fire.

So it's like, not only have I torn down your pagan worship site, I have erected a worship site for the true

God on top of it. You know, how do you like that? And this is something that was done early on in Christian history.

It may be based on this, but when a land became Christian, the old pagan worship sites were removed and Christian worship sites were built on top of them.

This is something that the Roman Catholic Church is famous for, and you can kind of admire this.

For example, Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome is actually built on an ancient graveyard where Christians were unceremoniously buried.

The site where the Vatican sits is where the Emperor Caligula held his circus where many

Christians were killed. And it seemed like the perfect place, this was the thinking based on this type of thinking here in Judges 6, that we're going to tear down the old altar and build an altar to God right there on top of it.

That's a statement, right? But this place where Caligula murdered

Christians, that seemed like the perfect place to erect a church. The thinking was it's a symbol of how

Christ has conquered his enemies. And that is in line with what we see here.

Now, the one exception, I feel like I have to say this, the one exception with the Roman Church is that they kept the pagan symbols and they tried to Christianize them.

For example, the obelisk in the center of the square is a pagan symbol, and they just kind of Christianized it.

Well, that's not what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to tear those things down. What did

Gideon do with the Asherah pole? Okay, this is a pole for Jehovah now.

No, he tore it down and he burned it. So, that would be the one thing.

Although Rome has done a good thing in getting rid of the pagan sites and putting a church on top of it, that's the right thing to do.

You can't incorporate graven images and relics. That would be where they missed it. But kind of a cool thing,

I suppose. So, Gideon tears down the altar to Baal, erects an altar to the

Lord on top of it. He destroys the image. And by doing so, knowing the backlash that he would receive, this proves the fact that he had the courage to do that.

This proves he really was a man of valor, just like the Lord said.

And it seems that this brave act won over the people. Because in verses 33 through 35,

Gideon, now empowered by God, says that the Holy Spirit had come upon him.

Gideon now becomes a clear leader in Israel. It says, then all the

Midianites, verse 33, and the Amalekites and the people of the east gathered together and they crossed over and camped in the valley of Jezreel.

But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. Then he blew the trumpet and the

Abba Ezraites gathered behind him. Some people wanted to kill him a moment ago.

We don't know how much time has passed. Now they're behind him. And Gideon sent messengers throughout all

Manasseh who also gathered behind him. And he also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali.

And they came up to meet him. So now he's the leader. He's the military general.

He is becoming the judge, the mighty man of valor. Go in this might of yours and conquer the

Midianites. That's the message. And then we get to this final section of Judges chapter 6.

There's still, I think, a little bit of that old man left over, just like today. You are a new creation in Christ, but the old you, the sinful flesh, is still there.

And I think that's what comes out here. Gideon is asking

God for a sign. I don't think this was the right thing to do. But again, the Lord is gracious. God has a plan for Gideon.

And you know, God can overlook things. And God does overlook things. He overlooks things in your life and he sees your love for God.

He overlooks things in Gideon's life and he sees Gideon's zeal for God. So verse 36,

Gideon said to the Lord, if you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, look,

I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. And if there is dew on the fleece only and it is dry on all the ground, then

I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said. This is kind of a strange, you know, where did he come up with this?

We don't, we don't know. But verse 38 says, and it was so. When he rose early on the next morning, squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece and he got a bowl full of water.

So if you've ever heard of the expression, putting out a fleece, this is where it comes from.

The idea is because a person is uncertain, they will ask God to do something.

In other words, Lord, if you want me to do this, then give me a sign.

Do that. That's putting out a fleece. It's generally agreed upon that Christians are not to follow this example any more than we are to cast lots to discern

God's will. In this age, it's better to look to God's word and follow the leading of the

Holy Spirit. But Gideon, he does this and he seems to recognize, at least to a degree, that he's kind of on thin ice asking for this.

Look at what he says in verse 39. And Gideon said to God, Lord, do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more.

Let me test, I pray, once more with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.

And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

So, in conclusion, Gideon now has a word from God. He is empowered by the

Spirit of God. And he has been reassured so that in the next chapter,

Judges chapter 7, we will see Jeroboam, also called

Gideon, in battle. And he will conquer the Midianites.

And really, what is just an amazing story. So, as we close, what do we learn from this chapter?

Gideon was the least in his family. He didn't think much of himself. No doubt others didn't think very highly of him either.

He had doubts. He didn't think that he could be used by God. But by having the

Lord with him and submitting to God's will, he became the man, that mighty man of valor.

He became the man that God intended him to be. And may all of us, men, women, and children listening right now who love

God, may we become the men and women that the Lord wants us to be.