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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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GIDEON: THE
DOUBTING JUDGE - 5 Judges 8:22-35,
9/25/13 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert
I. Leadership of Gideon (22-23) A. [22] After defeating the Midianites, the
men of Israel asked Gideon to be ruler over them. This included a dynasty of
his sons and son’s sons. B. [23] To Gideon’s credit, he refused
Israel’s offer. He would not rule over Israel because the Lord was Israel’s
king. Though a small provision for a king was included in the Law (Dt
17:14-20), the Lord’s will was that He remain king over Israel (Ex 19:5-6;
1Sa 8:5-7; Is 33:22). C. Some have commented that it appeared that
Gideon did not give the victory to the Lord in this passage. That may be
true, but Gideon had given credit to the Lord on other occasions (Jdg 7: 20;
8:7). Deferring to the Lord’s kingship may indeed infer that Gideon gave the
victory to the Lord. II. Snare of Gideon (24-27) A. [24-25] Though he did not become Israel’s
ruler, Gideon did ask each man for a tribute of one gold earring from the
spoils. The people of Israel willingly complied. There does not appear to be
anything inherently wrong with Gideon’s request. There were some nations from
which Israel was permitted to take the spoils (Ex 3:20-22; Nu 31:7-11; Dt
20:14He 7:2 cf. prohibited Jos 7:20-25; 1Sa 15:19). The reference to
Ishmaelites with earrings here refers to the Midianites (cf. Ge 16:15; 37:25,
28). B. [26] The collection of earrings was equal
to 1,700 shekels of gold in weight (aprox.
40-75lbs). This did not include the crescent
ornaments, pendants, kings’ purple robes, and camel’s neckbands. C. [27] Gideon took these things and made an
ephod with it. An ephod was typically a sacred apron-like vestment designed
for the high priest (Ex 28:4ff). The ephod was made of linen from blue,
purple, and scarlet yarn as well as golden thread (Ex 39:2-5). There were two
shoulder straps and a waistband that secured it. On top of the ephod was the
breastplate of judgment with gemstones representing the twelve tribes of
Israel as well as the Urim and Thummim (Ex 28:28-30). However, different
ephods were also worn by other persons at times (1Sa 2:18; 22:18; 2Sa 6:14). 1. Other than the fact that Gideon fashioned an ephod and that
gold was used in some sense, no one knows exactly what it looked like. It may
have been an ephod completely decorated with gold or it may have been a
golden ephod. 2. Gideon placed the ephod in his hometown
of Ophrah. 3. We are told that Israel “played the
harlot” with it. This is an expression which means “spiritual adultery”
against God, i.e. idolatry (Je 31:32). It does not appear that this was
established as shrine to other gods. In fact, it may have been simply for a
memorial. But whatever it was, Israel began to worship it rather than the
Lord. 4. Even if Gideon had pure motives in the
beginning, it became a “snare” (moquesh -
bait or lure) for him and his household. We understand this to mean that
even Gideon was entrapped in worshipping the ephod in some way. So he who tore down the altar of Baal, had himself became
entrapped in idolatry of his own making. III. Sons of Gideon (28-31) A. [28] Nevertheless, Israel enjoyed forty
years of peace in the days of Gideon. The Midianites were subdued through the
Lord’s deliverance and did not rise up against Israel. B. [29] Jerubbaal, that is Gideon, enjoyed
peace as well as the spoils from the Midianites. He lived in his own house as
opposed to living in a den (Jdg 6:2). C. [30] He was wealthy enough to support
numerous wives and seventy seven sons. D. [31] Only his concubine Shechem was
mentioned. She bore a son named Abimelech. We will see a short-lived attempt
by Abimelech to be king in the next section. IV. Death of Gideon A. [32] We are not told what age Gideon was
when he died other than a “ripe old age.” He was buried in the tomb of his
father Joash in Ophrah. B. [33] Though Gideon was snared in the
worship of the ephod, he must have held the Israelites in check. For it was
only after Gideon died that the Israelites “played the harlot” and worshipped
Baal. 1. In particular, they made Baal-berith
their god. “Baal-berith,” a god of Shechem, means “god of the covenant.” The
people of Shechem made a covenant with the Lord in Joshua’s (Jos 24:25).
However, the concept of covenanting with God was transferred to Baal. 2. It is one thing for the Canaanite people
to return to their pagan gods, but it was an entirely different matter when
Israel returned to them. C. [34] The cycle of sin began again as
Israel “did not remember” the Lord. They forgot that He had made a covenant
with them. They forgot that God had repeatedly answered their cries and
delivered them from the nations. When there was safety, there was no
sanctity. When there was suppression, there was supplication. D. [35] When Israel forgot the Lord, they
also forgot about the house of Gideon. They showed no reverence or “kindness”
to the Lord or to His chosen leaders. They forgot that as long as Jerubbaal
(“Let Baal contend with him, i.e. Gideon) lived, Baal never contended with
Israel. How foolish then was Israel, who worshipped a god who could not even
contend with Gideon, the Doubting Judge. V. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. The Lord is our ruler
- Though some have suggested that Gideon did not want to rule over Israel
because of his doubtful and fearful character, he at least illustrates the
believer’s proper response. The believer is to live in submission under
authorities (Ro 13:1-5). But his ultimately King is the Lord Jesus Christ
(Php 2:9-11; Re 19:16). The believer is to ultimately submit to the Lord’s
rule and reign in attitudes, responses, actions, and direction. Even in times
of persecution the believer must say, “We must obey God rather than man”
because “the Lord shall rule over us.” B. The snare of idolatry - The
believer does not have to contend with Baals or Asheroth poles, but that does not mean that he does not
have to contend with idolatry in the heart. The word “snare” used with
Gideon’s ephod, becomes a defining word for idolatries of the heart. Anything
that ensnares the believer becomes an idol to the believer. Paul wrote that
though all things are lawful for him, he would not be mastered by anything
(1Co 6:12). Nothing is supposed to master the believer other than the Lord.
Whatever ensnares and masters the believer, though it be
as harmless as an ephod, ultimately causes the believer to commit idolatry. C. The sin of forgetfulness -
Forgetting things can be an annoyance, but if it is forgetfulness toward the
Lord, His Word, prayer, or His service, then it becomes a sin. Unfortunately,
the believer can become a forgetful hearer of the Word (Jm 1:25), a forgetful
prayer warrior for the brethren (Ep 6:18), a forgetful servant of His service
(He 6:10). The believer can even forget past victories as well as the lessons
from past failures. When such things are forgotten, a believer is forgetting
the very source of life (Dt 8:17-19). |
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