Gideon Gets to Work, Judges 6:25-40

It was the apostle Paul who said: For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10b, NIV). To people in the world, this is certainly a paradoxical statement. The seeming absurdity of this statement is explained, at least in part, by reading it in context:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:9-10, NIV)

Gideon is the Old Testament poster boy for this concept of weakness. He was weak and he was uninfluential; but when the Spirit of God came upon him, Gideon was transformed into a man of courage; into the “mighty warrior” God had called him to be. What a great lesson: what God demands of us, He enables us to do.

1. Where his work began, 6:25, 27

At home: “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” The Lord’s command to Gideon was most difficult and came almost immediately after his call to ministry by God. Remember, Gideon was called by God to deliver Israel from Midianite oppression; and, apparently, it was to start with his own family. What a thing to ask Gideon to do! He was to destroy the Baal temple on his father’s property. This is a graphic and practical illustration of Luke 9:59-60–

He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

How hard was this for Gideon to contemplate? The fifth commandment is to honor your parents, and here was God telling Gideon to, apparently, dishonor his father by destroying a piece of his property. It takes great courage to honor your Heavenly Father, and sometimes honoring Him means going against what may seem right. Some relationships are more important than others, and here is great example honoring the most important relationship one can have in life.

At once: So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime. Even though he was filled with fear, Gideon’s obedience was decisive. Sometimes obeying God is a fearful experience; there is no shame or sin as long you obey. Your action is evidence of your faith. What good is confessing to the power of your faith when you sit around and do nothing? James makes the point in his epistle:

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” (James 2:18)

The shame and sin is when the fear cripples you to the point of disobedience. Some Christians are under the delusion that they need to feel 100% convinced of a thing before launching out in faith. What you feel has nothing to do with your faith. Bringing your feelings and emotions into control takes time and maturity. Gideon has just been called by God, so naturally he is afraid. But he still acted. It should be noted, however, that acting at night was probably a good idea, since the people, including Gideon’s own family, would have been extremely angry by his actions.

Gideon was aided by ten household servants, an indication that his family had some wealth, not to mention the fact that they had a heathen temple right on their property. As a side note, this gives us an insight into Gideon’s temperament. His attitude about his family is not in line with these facts. He considered his family minor and the “least” of his tribe. Gideon’s low estimate of himself and his family affected his whole world view, to the point where he believed God could not use him.

2. What Gideon Did, 6:25, 26

Gideon’s wok that night was actually two-fold. He–

Pulled Down: Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole. The altar of Baal was representative all that was wrong in the land of Israel. It represented the lies, deceit, arrogance, and immorality that opposed the will of God and His rule of His people. As our Lord observed, we cannot serve two masters. A divided heart cannot make right decisions and a divided house will fall. Because the people’s hearts were divided, the house of Israel was crumbling; a physical manifestation of a spiritual condition. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says this:

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

The problem in Israel seemed to be the Midianite Bedouins, but the real problem lie in the spiritual realm. That is why even though God called Gideon to save Israel from the Midianites, the very first thing he had to do was a spiritual act: tear down the despicable pagan temple.

Built up: build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God. It is not enough to confront sin and root it out; God had to be replace the sin. It is not enough to take the sin out of our lives, we need to put God in its place. That is the essence of holiness: separated from sin to God. James Smith’s thoughts on this verse are priceless:

The altar of God, the Cross of Christ, is the divine substitute for the barren and powerless inventions of man. To preach Christ and Him crucified is to build up the altar of the Lord.

3. The Result, 6:30, 32

One thing is certain, when you attempt to do something positive for the Kingdom of God, there will always be results, positive ones and seemingly negative ones.

A changed attitude: Bring out your son. He must die. We’re not told exactly how the men of the city discovered it was Gideon that demolished the temple, but they demanded his death. This shows in stark contrast how far from the law of Moses the people had fallen. In Deuteronomy 13:6-10 Moses commanded that even close relatives must be stoned for idolatry. The destructive and depraved Baal heresy had become the religion of God’s people.

A disciple is no greater than his master. The first evidence of faithfulness to Christ is the opposition of the worldly. The church, in the last 25 years or so has tried to curry favor with the world, yet the is in contradistinction to the teaching of Scripture, which says this:

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4)

The world will always be in opposition to the things of God. Fortunately for Gideon, the Lord apparently moved the heart of his father to give a very wise response to the mob, which was basically, “Let Baal look after himself.”

A changed name: So that day they called Gideon “Jerub-Baal.” That phrase means “Baal’s antagonist,” which was supposed to be an insulting name, indicating that the people expected Gideon to face certain judgment at the hands Baal. Unregenerate pagans will always try to tear down a child of God any way they can: slander, persecution, and name calling just to name a few tactics. But for the child of God, being called insulting names or having lies told against you should be considered a sign that you are doing something right. Where that insult like a badge of honor! Though the world may disparage you, God will honor you, as he did Gideon. When no harm came to Gideon, that insulting name became a reminder of Gideon’s first victory.

4. Encouraged by God, 6:34, 36-40

Gideon was called to a great task and was being asked to do a difficult and frightening thing. But God found ways to encourage Gideon in his mission:

Anointed by the Holy Spirit: Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon. God had called Gideon to service, Gideon passed his first test with flying colors and was made fit for service by the Spirit of God. One cannot do the work of God without being empowered by the Holy Spirit. Whenever we try to do God’s work our way, in the flesh, we will fail or come up short. As observed by one scholar:

The blowing of the Gospel trumpet by a man clothed in the power of God will surely be effectual in gathering many after him.

While the Holy Spirit indwells believers today, verse 34 says “the Spirit clothed” Gideon. No wonder Gideon had no problem summoning the men of his own clan to follow him, he was walking in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit! Apparently word of Gideon had spread and the men who now made up his army now shared Gideon’s attitude toward Baalism.

The fleece, verse 36-40. Despite the presence of the Holy Spirit and being clothed in power, Gideon still had his doubts. Gideon still needed his confidence in God bolstered. Gideon asked the Lord for confirmation of His Word, as he had done once before, in verse 17. Gideon found it hard to believe that God would use him alone to save Israel. Gideon’s desire to be certain of God’s call was commendable; if a person wants to be sure of the will of God, God will give him that assurance. However, Gideon’s example of the fleece shouldn’t be pushed too far.

5. Some lessons

As Gideon began his work for the Lord, there are several lessons believers may apply to their lives today.

Gideon’s work began at home. This is significant in light of New Testament teaching found in Acts 1:8. We should always begin to bear witness for Christ to our family and neighbors and those close to us.

We are to obey God’s will for us even if we are not absolutely convinced of it. This is where faith steps in. Of course, this is not a license to be reckless, but rather we should press on in our service to the Lord even when the way is unclear. We need to trust that God will show us the way in His time.

“Putting out the fleece” is the way some believers seek the will of God. However, some things need to be considered in this regard: If God’s will is already revealed in His word, the Bible, not only is there no need for a fleece, but it is wrong to “put out the fleece.” We are to know God’s word, believe God’s word and live according to God’s word. To doubt God’s word or to mistrust God’s word is sinful.

Believers are admonished not to become seekers of signs. Matthew 12:38-40; Luke 11:16; 1 Corinthians 1:22-23.

Seeking God’s will through circumstances can be helpful. God often works through day-to-day events of life and the believer who looks at their life prayerfully will notice when God is moving. However, we must always seek God through prayer and dependence on His Word. Sometimes, when the way is unclear, God may use things around us to point the way. God will accommodate our lapses of faith if our hearts are right and we sincerely want to go His way. God will meet our need just as He met Gideon’s. God will do whatever is necessary to help us and to strengthen us.

Always remember the wise words of the world’s wisest man:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov. 3:5-6)