Friday, December 10, 2021

The Judges. Day 18, The Fifth Judge: Gideon, Part One

The people had rest from their enemies for forty years after the defeat of King Jabin's army. But Chapter 6 begins by telling us that many of the citizens, by the end of this period of prosperity, had fallen back into idolatry. This brings about another era of oppression by their enemies.

"The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites." (Judges 6:1) Forty years was long enough for several new generations to be born into a life of peace and plenty. These younger generations didn't know the hardship of being made subject to some other nation. They didn't know what it was like to have bands of raiders coming into the land, attacking and robbing the citizens. The Bible doesn't provide us with a chart that shows us the demographics of those who fell into idolatry but I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of them weren't those who had always known a life of ease and plenty. A life of ease and plenty has a way of making us take our blessings for granted. A life of ease and plenty can keep us off our knees in prayer and keep us out of the Holy Bible if we're not careful. That puts us in a weaker position when the enemy of our soul sends a spiritual attack our way.

Here is what happened during the seven years the Lord had to apply corrective discipline by the hands of the Midianites and other pagan tribes of Canaan: "Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it." (Judges 6:2-5)

The Israelites aren't able to freely utilize their own land due to the raiding bands of enemies. They are forced to make themselves strongholds in the high country where their position will be more easily defensible. They plow and plant and hoe and water their crops only to have their hard work go for nothing. This must have been terribly discouraging and frustrating. But the fruitlessness of their efforts is symbolic of the fruitlessness of sin and the purpose of this time of trouble is to turn back to the Lord anyone and everyone who has been unfaithful to Him. The Lord's discipline is a demonstration of His mercy. He doesn't want anyone to keep going down the path to destruction. He doesn't want anyone living an empty, fruitless, hopeless life. When we drift from a close relationship with the Lord, and when we fall into sin and are comfortable living in sin and are content to remain in sin, we are hurting ourselves. We are usually hurting those close to us too. For our sake and for the sake of those whom our actions are affecting, the Lord must take corrective action. He wouldn't be a responsible Father if He didn't. You'll recall from our study of Deuteronomy that a number of times the Lord promised the people abundant living in the land if they would remain faithful to Him. But you'll also recall that a number of times He warned them that hardships would come if they turned from Him to worthless idols.

How do we know that idolatry is the sin of Chapter 6 that caused the people to end up living in such dire circumstances? Because the Lord called a prophet to inform them that their current troubles are the result of idolatry.  "Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help. When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, He sent them a prophet, who said, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to Me." (Judges 6:6-10) This unnamed prophet delivers the message of the Lord: the people's unpleasant circumstances are the consequences of idolatry. Many of them have been unfaithful to the One who rescued them from slavery and brought them to a land of plenty. They've burned incense to gods who can't smell, they've prayed prayers to gods who can't hear, and they've made sacrifices to gods who can't save. 

This is a grievous sin. It's always a grievous sin when we turn from the One who sought us and bought us, as the lyrics of an old hymn go, and when we serve the things of this world instead. It is the highest form of betrayal. It is the worst type of infidelity. The One who created us and who loves us and who has done everything possible to save us deserves our complete allegiance and yet we find ourselves giving in to the ways of this world from time to time. We find ourselves satisfying the desires of the flesh instead of the desires of the spirit. When that happens, the Lord's goal for us is to get us back on track. Due to our stubborn natures, getting us back on track may require us enduring a time of hardship as we reap what we have sown. If there were never any unpleasant consequences to sin then we'd find it harder to repent of it and turn away from it. Right now in Chapter 6 the people are reaping the unpleasant consequences of sin and the Lord has to make certain they understand that their situation is the result of their idolatry. They must be able to make the connection between their sin and their present circumstances. This will allow them to recognize their sin, repent of it, turn away from it, and regain their enjoyment of the land.

The Lord already had a plan in place for the time when the people would recognize their sin and turn away from it. He had already chosen the next judge of Israel who will deliver the people from their enemies. Now we find Him notifying this man of His calling on his life. "The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites." (Judges 6:11) Gideon, the son of Joash, doesn't cut a very dashing figure as he hunkers down in a winepress so he can thresh his wheat where the enemy can't see him. Wheat was usually processed in a threshing floor out in the open, most often on a hilltop where the wind could blow away the chaff. It was threshed by the hooves of oxen who would be tied to a stone or post in the middle of the threshing floor. As the oxen walked around and around in a circle, their feet hulled the grain. A person could not remain hidden while they threshed wheat in this manner so Gideon isn't utilizing a threshing floor. He's using a winepress because winepresses were usually located in a depression in the ground. The winepress is not in use at this time, probably because enemy raiders destroyed the vineyards or harvested all the grapes for themselves, and he has concealed himself in this depression in the earth to hull out grain for his family. 

Sin will bring us low. Sin will make us fruitless. Sin will humiliate us and make us afraid. That's not what the Lord wants for His children! He doesn't want anyone hiding down in a winepress of fear, subsisting in spiritual poverty. Because the children of Israel have called upon Him for help, and because they have acknowledged their drift into sin, the Lord is about to take Gideon from his hiding place and put him at the head of Israel's army.

"When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, 'The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.'" (Judges 6:12) I have to say, this is one of my favorite Old Testament verses! I can't help smiling every time I read it. Gideon doesn't look or feel like a mighty warrior. At this moment in time, he isn't a mighty warrior. I imagine his puzzled expression when he is addressed in this manner. I picture him looking behind himself in the winepress, as if there might be someone else there to whom the angel of the Lord is speaking.  Then I imagine him looking back at the angel and saying, "Who, me?" 

That's pretty much what he does say when we continue our chapter tomorrow. He doesn't view himself as a mighty warrior. He's so discouraged that he's no longer sure the Lord loves Israel or that the Lord will come to the people's aid. But the Lord is about to turn Gideon's circumstances---and the nation's circumstances---around. 

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