"We Interrupt the Current Program with a Special Report . . ." - Judges 6:1-32

Sermon Series: In Need of a Greater Rescue

Have you ever been watching something on television and had the show that you were watching interrupted by some kind of “special report?” My guess is that we have all probably experienced that before. And I would also guess that most of you are like me – incredibly selfish and self-centered when those interruptions do take place. Most of the time we’re not really interested in paying attention to the news report and we would prefer for the news anchor to quit talking so that we don’t miss any more of the television show that we are watching. So often we see these interruptions as a nuisance and a bother.  But seeing that we’re not in the midst of a television show right now, can we take a moment and be honest about these interruptions. News stations don’t interrupt television shows simply for the fun of it – they understand that their interruptions cause a huge frustration for most people. So the question is, “Why do they interrupt television shows at all?” They interrupt television shows because something else is of greater importance. I think about the interruptions I’ve experienced and most of them have dealt with the weather (particularly storms that have had tornados associated with them or have the potential for spinning off tornados). What many of us would simply ignore as a strong storm might actually have the potential to be a very dangerous and potentially life threatening storm. The news stations have equipment that helps alert them to these potential dangers; equipment that can actually help pinpoint precise locations that have the greatest potential for danger. So while the news stations understand that they are interrupting a television show, they do so because they see an opportunity to warn individuals in the path of a potential tornado to quickly prepare themselves and to take cover. This is the reason for these particular interruptions. We may not think they are important because the storm might not be anywhere near our homes, but we have to recognize that there are homes in the path of that storm, that there are real lives at stake, and that these interruptions are attempts at saving the lives of real people.

I mention this example because the text that we are examining this week has two interruptions in the narrative. The first one is a small interruption that sets the stage for the bigger one that follows. It’s kind of like the little blue bar at the bottom of the television screen warning us that “a tornado watch is in effect for the following counties . . . until 9:55pm.” It lets us know that something is going on that we need to be aware of and it sets the stage for the news team to interrupt the television program later with more crucial and precise information. The second interruption in the text this week is hugely important. It’s an interruption that we absolutely need to pay attention to because it is warning us of a life-threatening problem with eternal consequences. So as we jump into the narrative of a new deliverer in the book of Judges we can’t be frustrated by the interruptions to the narrative as we expect it – instead we have to pay close attention to the message of these interruptions so we don’t miss the information that is really life-threatening to us all.

Verse 1 begins this new narrative as expected, “The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” There is no surprise here – this is what the Israelites have done each time that the previous deliverer has passed away. And consistent with His previous responses the author and narrator tells us that, “the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.” God announced to the Israelites back in chapter 2 His anger for their sin, rebellion, and idolatry, and told them that if they were not going to love and serve Him alone that He was not going to continue to drive out the nations before them. Instead of giving the nations into the hands of the Israelites God told the Israelites that He would give them over into the hands of their enemies around them (see 2:11-15). God had kept his promise giving the Israelites into the hand of the king of Mesopotamia for eight years (3:8), into the hand of the king of Moab for eighteen years (3:14), into the hand of the king of Canaan for twenty years (4:2-3), and now giving the Israelites into the hand of the Midianites for seven years . The author and narrator then gives us (the readers) some insight into the extent of the oppression that the Midianites brought upon the Israelites, “And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number – both they and their camels could not be counted – so that they laid waste the land as they came in. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian” (6:2-6a). For seven years Israel’s enemies would come into the land that the Israelites had taken possession of in numbers so great that they could not even be counted. Can you imagine what that must have looked like? Convoys of people and livestock coming in from the horizon as wide and deep as one could see, setting up enormous tent cities, and staying until they (and their livestock) had consumed all of the produce of the land. Not only would their invasion have left the Israelites physically feeble, weak, and starving, but the mental and emotional trauma would have been tremendous as well as the Israelites saw months of toil and labor to cultivate the land and grow the produce go completely to waste. So the second part of verse 6 tells us that the Israelites did what they always did when they became distressed by their enemies, “. . . the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.” The distress that their enemies had brought upon them had left them completely hopeless, so in great desperation and need the Israelites pleaded with God to bring them some relief.

Now verses 7-10 introduce the first interruption into our narrative account. What we have seen in the pattern established in the book of Judges thus far that after the Israelites cry out to God for help and relief from their enemies, God raises up a deliverer to liberate the Israelites from their enemies. We will see that part of the pattern coming in verses 11 and following. But before we get to that part of the pattern and that part of the narrative we find a set of interesting verses that seem to be oddly placed. The text says, “When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice’” (6:7-10). In the portion of the narrative where we expect to find God raising up a deliverer for the Israelites we discover God sending an unnamed prophet instead. The prophet, declaring the message of God to the Israelites, reminds them of all that God has done on their behalf – leading them out of Egypt, delivering them from captivity, driving out the inhabitants of the Promise Land, and then giving the Israelites possession of the land. Then the prophet reminds them of the most important command that this good and gracious God had given them – not to fear or worship the false gods of the land. But the rebellious Israelites chose not to obey that command. This interruption in the established pattern (and especially verse 10) sets the stage for an emphasis on Israel’s idolatry and need to be delivered from the bondage of sin that takes place in this account, but which we have only seen hinted at in the accounts of the three previous judges. We have seen over and over the reminder of the Israelites' rebellion as each narrative has begun with the declaration of Israel’s sin. But the previous three accounts have focused more on the deliverance the Israelites have needed from their physical oppressors. In this account we are going to see a little more emphasis on their sin (specifically their idolatry) and see the author and narrator reminding us that while the Israelites have experienced rescue from their physical enemies (and still need rescue from their physical enemies), they are still in need of a greater rescue – a rescue from their bondage to sin!

Verse 11 picks back up with the narrative as the reader expected it to proceed after verse 6. The text tells us that the angel of the Lord shows up on the scene and makes his way to Ophrah to some property owned by a man named Joash. He shows up at a time when the author and narrator tells us that Joash’s son, a man named Gideon, is hidden away in a winepress, where he is secretly beating out wheat so that it won’t be discovered by the invading Midianites (vs. 11). Gideon is surprised that, while hidden away, the angel of the Lord appears to him and begins a discussion with him using these words, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor” (vs. 12). This is an incredibly provocative way to start a conversation. Gideon is part of the impoverished and distressed Israelite people. He was a part of the nation that had long held the designation of “God’s chosen people,” yet they had been cruelly and hopelessly oppressed by the Midianites for the last seven years. He was part of a nation that probably felt very much like God had abandoned them and that God was nowhere to be found. On top of all that, Gideon was hiding out all alone in a wine press beating out wheat. How could the angel of the Lord declare, “The Lord is with you . . .” Additionally, how could He call a guy hiding out in a wine press, hidden away from his enemies a “mighty man of valor?” Judging by our first glimpse of Gideon he doesn’t really appear to be a mighty man of valor. And as the text continues is seems that even Gideon, himself, has some hesitation in regards to this greeting. Gideon says to the angel of the Lord, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian” (6:13). Gideon challenges the declaration of the angel of the Lord by declaring that the Israelites’ present condition is a result of God’s abandonment. From His perspective God clearly wasn’t with the Israelites and He wasn’t with him because if He was they wouldn’t be experiencing such great distress. What we discover though is that the declaration of the angel of the Lord, that “the Lord is with you,” was a statement of promise pertaining to future events, because God was raising Gideon up and appointing him as the next deliverer for the Israelite people. “And the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” (6:14). The Israelite people had cried out to God in verse 6 because of their distress and the oppression that they were facing. And in the book of Judges God’s response to His people when they cry out in distress is to raise up and appoint a deliverer to rescue them from their oppression. In verse 14 we see that this is the reason that the angel of the Lord has arrived on the scene – to declare to Gideon that this is God’s calling for him.

Beginning in verse 15 it seems that Gideon seems to search for reasons not to believe in or trust what is transpiring. He begins by giving evidence for why God wouldn’t choose him to be Israel’s next deliverer. “And he said to him, ‘Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house’” (6:15). But the weakness of one’s clan or one’s position within his or her family isn’t a concern for God – for when God empowers an individual that individual is able to accomplish whatever it is that God has called them to do. The concern therefore isn’t the individual’s power but rather God’s power, and God’s power is unmatched by any other’s. The response of the angel of the Lord reminds the reader of this in verse 16, “And the Lord said to him, 'But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.'” The angel of the Lord tells Gideon that when he is empowered by God, not only will he have victory over the Midianites but he will overcome the countless multitudes of them as if they are one man. Yet even with this strong assurance of victory Gideon still remains uncertain and looks for further evidence that the things which have been declared to him are true. “And he said to him, ‘If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.’ And he said, ‘I will stay till you return’” (6:17-18). Gideon continues to put the angel of the Lord to the test, this time asking for more than just reassurance – this time Gideon asks for a sign. Gideon asks the angel of the Lord to remain at the terebinth until he has had time to prepare him a meal, and the angel of the Lord agrees. In verse 19 we see Gideon prepare an enormous sized meal that sounds very much like an offering that would be presented to God or to an idol. And when Gideon brings it to the angel of the Lord he is directed to put the meal on a rock. When he does the text tells us that the angel of the Lord reaches out his staff and touches the meal that has been prepared and offered to him. Then miraculously the text tells us that “fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight” (6:21b). After seeing this miracle performed Gideon finally realizes that it was the angel of the Lord who has been talking to him and declaring these things to him. But instead of being energized and excited by the declaration that God is going to raise him up and empower him to deliver Israel from the Midianites, Gideon fears, believing that because he has encountered the angel of the Lord face-to-face he must now die. But God speaks to Gideon and tells Gideon not to fear because he is not going to die. So the text says Gideon built an altar there to memorialize God’s grace and peace and for sparing his life even though he had encountered the angel of the Lord face-to-face.

Now that Gideon has received and understood God’s call to be Israel’s deliverer we expect to see the author and narrator of Judges begin to give details of the battle that will transpire between Gideon and the Midianites. But once again the narrative as we would expect it to transpire is interrupted. And while verses 25-32 come as an interruption to the narrative as we expect it, this interruption has great significance in this narrative account and in the book of Judges as a whole. So this is where we are going to camp out for the remainder of this week and where we will conclude our examination of the text this week.

As we mentioned earlier, the previous interruption to the narrative in verses 7-10 set the stage for an emphasis on the Israelites’ rebellion and idolatry that they continued to practice and which they needed to repent of. Beginning in verse 25 God begins to address this problem Himself and gives Gideon a command to take some of his father’s bulls so that he can tear down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah pole that has been raised up on his father’s land. Then, in its place Gideon was to build an altar to God, using the wood from the Asherah pole to create a fire, and then offer to God his father’s bull as a burnt offering. Before delivering the Israelites from the Midianites this was the task that God had called Gideon to accomplish. God’s instructions to Gideon in verses 25-26 inserted into this narrative reveal an enormous amount to the readers. God, Himself, is clearly identifying the real problem at hand. The real problem during Gideon’s time was not the invading Midianites, just as the real problem during Othniel’s time was not the king of Mesopotamia, the real problem during Ehud’s time was not king Eglon, nor was the real problem during Barak’s time king Jabin or the commander of his army, Sisera. The Israelites’ real problem – the greatest problem they continued to face was their idolatry – their worship of false gods. The Israelites’ sin and idolatry was the real thing which they needed to be delivered from. And God was communicating this through Gideon’s first assignment as He called Gideon to tear down and destroy the places and altars of worship that they had set up for other gods. The Israelites needed someone who could set them free from their bondage to sin and their commitment to idolatry and the worship of other gods in place of the one, true God. The first part of verse 27 gives the readers such hope too. In OT narratives the author usually uses a character’s words and actions to give the readers insight about the individual’s character and motivations. So in the first part of verse 27 the readers start to believe that Gideon is fully committed to faithful obedience to God’s plan and call on his life as the text tells us, “Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him.” This sounds like a man who can lead well and who can, empowered by God, be Israel’s deliverer. But then as quickly we are encouraged by verse first part of verse 27, we are quickly disappointed by the second part of the verse which says, “But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.”

The interruption continues telling us that the men of the town arose early the next morning to discover that the altar of Baal had been destroyed, the Asherah pole had been cut down, that a new altar had been built and that a sacrifice had already been offered there. And what was the response of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) when they discovered the destruction of these places and objects of false worship? Rage! The men of the town searched out who it was that was responsible for what they considered to be such an outrageous crime and their search led them to Gideon. So the text tells us, “Then the men of the town said to Joash, ‘Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it’” (6:30). Were you paying attention? Did you catch what these Israelites believed was the appropriate punishment for tearing down and destroying places and objects of false worship? Death! They wanted Gideon to die! And what’s more ironic – the OT law actually says that these men were the ones who were deserving of death (see Deuteronomy 13:1-18). Having entered the Promised Land they had chosen to turn their backs on God and were willfully choosing to worship and serve other gods. God had declared that it was these idolaters who stood condemned and who were deserving of death – not Gideon. But the text reveals to us just how committed these Israelites had become to the false gods of the surrounding nations by demonstrating that they were willing to put to death anyone who disrupted their practices. The interruption concludes with Gideon’s father stepping in with a different perspective. He challenges the men with the idea that a god doesn’t need men to act on his behalf to deliver or save him. He tells them that if Baal is really a god he will know what has been done and he will be able to deal with Gideon himself. So Gideon’s life was spared, but the men of the city began to call him by a different name – Jerubbaal, which means “‘Let Baal contend against him,’ because he broke down his altar” (6:32).

The interruption to this text demands our attention because just like the Israelites we stand in need of rescue! Sometimes we think the rescue we need is from a failing economy, sometimes we think the rescue we need is from a hurting marriage, and sometimes we think the rescue we need is from a health condition that is destroying our bodies. Don’t misunderstand me – these are all real problems that impact our lives and leave us hurting, concerned, and distressed. And while we stand in need of rescue from these things the truth is we all stand in need of an even greater rescue. That’s what this interruption in the text is all about! God is declaring to each and every one of us that our biggest need is a need to be delivered from our sin, our rebellion, and our idolatry. Now I already know that many of you are going to raise a huge objection here, “Wait a second Matt! I’m not an idolater! I don’t have a bunch of little statues laying around my house that I pray to and I haven’t ever been to a place where false gods like Baal are worshipped! I don’t need to be delivered from idolatry!” But the truth is we are all idolaters – it’s just that the objects of our worship have changed. In today’s American culture Baal worship and Asherah worship aren’t popular. Instead we worship things like money/wealth, sex, football, and entertainment (just to name a few). Just think about how much time, money, and thought we give to these things. Some of us have given our whole lives in pursuit of these things. We may not call it worship, but if you were to list characteristics of worship you’d find that many of those characteristics would describe your relationship with some of these things. And if we dug a little deeper we would find that at the root of our idolatry we are all worshipping the same thing – ourselves. While we may not admit it we are all extraordinary lovers of self and we are all trying to please, delight, and satisfy ourselves above all other things. We work that out in different ways. Some people think that money is the key to their happiness so they pursue money. Others think that sex is the key to their happiness so they pursue sex. Others think that entertainment is the key to their happiness so they pursue endless entertainment. And still others think that football is the key to their happiness so they watch football, they spend countless hours a week playing fantasy football, and all of their conversations are centered on football. Matt Chandler says it like this, “We revolve around an assortment of idols, which is just a projection of our orientation around ourselves as gods.” We have attributed the greatest amount of worth to ourselves and so we live out our lives in pursuit of whatever we believe will most fulfill and gratify us. But in doing this we have attempted to put ourselves in God’s place and seek for ourselves the worship that alone belongs to Him. This idolatry is sin that has holds us captive (Luke 4:18), which makes us enemies of God (James 4:4), which makes us deserving of His wrath (Romans 5:8-9; Ephesians 2:3), and which has ultimately done more than simply make us ‘lost’ or ‘blind’ – it has rendered us dead (Ephesians 2:1,5). This is a hopeless state from which we cannot rescue or deliver ourselves – we need One who can deliver and rescue us from this state – One who can give new life to those of us who are dead in our trespasses and sin. And this is exactly who Jesus is and what Jesus has done! The Bible teaches us that God wrapped His Son in flesh, that He sent Him to earth to rescue us and to give us new life, and that He alone is the only hope we have for deliverance. Jesus died a horrific death on a cross as a substitute for each of us. It was a death that He did not deserve, but a death we absolutely did deserve. He died in our place to take completely upon Himself God’s wrath for sin, so that the payment for our sin might be paid in full. He suffered the full measure of God’s wrath and He died for us. But three days later he overcame death’s power and death was forced to let loose of Jesus. He rose again and has rendered death powerless over Him. And now, having paid the full payment for our sin He offers to us His forgiveness and righteousness, so that we can be reconciled to Him and reconciled to God the Father. He gives us new life – His life, for those who by faith in His death and resurrection trust in Him as their only hope and Savior. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Jesus, Himself, talks about the exclusivity of rescue and deliverance through Himself in John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

So the plea I’m making with you this week is this – stop and listen to the interruption of this narrative! Realize that the news being proclaimed is far more than an inconvenient interruption to a story about another OT judge. It is news about us! News that is a matter of life and death – news that has eternal significance. We are plagued by the greatest of problems – a problem of sin and idolatry, and we need to be rescued and delivered from it. In our text Gideon foreshadows One who will come and destroy the false gods that hold us captive so that we can be set free to worship God the Father once again. The Deliverer that Gideon is foreshadowing is Jesus – the Deliverer who died on a cross and rose again so that we could be set free from sin and death. And this news demands a response. We have to see our desperate state, see our need for a Savior, repent of our sin, and trust completely in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. And when we do the Bible declares that we are forgiven, cleansed, and given new life in Jesus! This is the story of the Bible! This is the good news of the Gospel! The only question is, “Will you put your faith in Christ and follow Him, or will you continue to worship and serve the false gods all around us?”