Judges 7:19-8:21
Date: July 28th, 2024
Speaker: Sam Crites
Scripture: Judges 7:19-8:21
The Life of Gideon, Part 3
Exegetical Outline
Main Idea of Text: God gives Gideon the victory over the Midianites and the Amalekites.
7:19-23: Gideon scatters the Midianites and their allies by causing confusion with the trumpets and jars.
Gideon enlists other tribes and sooths the anger of Ephraim that would have joined the fight earlier.
7:24-25: Gideon sends out messengers to other tribes and Ephraim captures and kills two princes of Midian.
8:1-3: Ephraim is angry at Gideon for not calling them earlier to fight against the Midianites, but Gideon sooths their anger.
8:4-17: Gideon brings justice on city-states that are standing in his way as he pursues the kings of Midian.
8:4-9: While pursuing the kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, the cities of Succoth and Penuel refuse to help Gideon so he promises vengeance after his victory.
8:10-12: Gideon captures the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna.
8:13-17: Gideon brought justice upon Succoth and Penuel.
8:18-21: Gideon kills the kings of Midian with his own hands.
Homiletical Outline
Main Idea of Sermon: Be the type of Christian that champions the work of the Lord and does not stand in its way.
Champion the work of the Lord.
Do not block the work of the Lord.
Have you ever heard about something that God is doing and wished you could have been a part? For me, one of those moments was Together 4 the Gospel. T4G was a conference of Presbyterians, Baptists, and non-Denominational Churches that all got together to celebrate their unity in the Gospel. It happened every two years and I still go back and listen to sermons that were preached at that conference and listen to the music albums that were recorded. The first T4G I got to attend was the last T4G that took place. They ended up not continuing the conference because of issues with some of the founders, but the legacy of T4G still resonates throughout all of God’s kingdom. For example, the way we sing as a Church is directly influenced by the theology for music that was taught at T4G.
When I was at the last T4G, I was filled with a profound regret. Not that the conference was ending, but that I had only gotten to participate in one. I missed out on what God was doing and, as one untimely born, I only got to experience the last one.
Our sermon text this morning deals with this exact feeling. A feeling of regret to have missed out on the victory of the Lord. Let’s read Judges 7:19-8:21 and consider what it means to participate in the victory of the Lord:
Judges 7:19-8:21
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.
24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.
Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna
8 Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely. 2 And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger against him subsided when he said this.
4 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 5 So he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 And the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 So Gideon said, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8 And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure. 12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.
13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’ ” 16 And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. 17 And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
This is a story about the victory of the Lord. Since Judges 6, God has been promising Gideon that he will give Gideon the victory over Midian. He met Gideon where he was. As Gideon was secretly pounding out grain in his father’s wine press, the Angel of the Lord came to Ophrah and called Gideon to this great task of deliverance.
He gave Gideon sign after sign that proved that the Lord would fulfill his promise. He accepted Gideon’s offering of food. He made dew to coalesce on the fleece one night and then he kept it dry the next. Then, when Gideon’s heart was still not at peace, the Lord gave Gideon a final sign that Gideon did not ask for: he sent a dream to Gideon’s enemy and then sent Gideon into the enemy’s camp to hear the interpretation of the dream. If we have seen anything throughout our study of the life of Gideon it is that our God is incredibly patient with his people.
Finally, we have come to the place where God has prepared Gideon well. He trusts the Lord and for the first time he is carrying out the will of the Lord with boldness and confidence. This week, God finally delivers the victory that he has been promising over and over again throughout Gideon’s life.
As we observe that victory, I want you to notice two groups of people in the story: those that are zealous for what the victory that the Lord is bringing about and those that attempt to stand in his way. This is the main point of our sermon today: Be the type of Christian that champions the work of the Lord and does not stand in its way.
The victory of the Lord that he promised to Gideon was a sure thing. It was going to happen whether the people of God got on board or not, whether there was opposition or not. This story gives us a positive example and a negative example. First, look at the positive example. After the initial battle is won in decisive fashion as the Midianite army turns on itself in the night, Gideon sends letters out to other tribes. Many of these tribes received Gideon’s first call for help, but one did not. A new tribe was added to the messenger list. The half-tribe of Ephraim got the message and immediately started the attack from their side of the Jordan. They routed the enemy and captured and killed two princes of Midian, but they are frustrated with Gideon because he did not include them sooner. Oh that we would have Christians that are so excited, so zealous to be a part of what the Lord is doing that they would hear some good news about the kingdom of God and be frustrated that they did not get to be a part of it. We should be like the Ephraimites that were so zealous for the victory of the Lord that we regret and are frustrated that we did not get to participate.
But our sermon text does not just give us a positive example. It also gives us a negative example. The city-states of Penuel and Succoth refuse to give Gideon aid as he is pursuing the kings of Midian. Whether it is out of fear for the anger of the kings of Midian or whether it is out of hatred for the Israelites is uncertain, but what is certain is that they are in the wrong for not helping Gideon. God was doing something and they refused to be a part of it. We must not be like these people. When we see that God is moving, when we are confident that he is doing something for the kingdom, we must be sensitive and willing to jump in on and support what God is doing.
The victory of the Lord is certain. He is the God that “declares the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.” Nothing we can do would hasten or prevent the victory of the Lord from taking place. The great mystery is not whether God will accomplish what he desires. The great mystery is that he includes and uses such weak vessels such as you and me and Gideon to bring about his plans. What we can learn from the life of Gideon this morning is that we should be the type of Christians that champions the work of the Lord and not those that stand in its way.
Champion the work of the Lord.
Let’s look at the positive example first. Let’s be those Christians that Champion the work of the Lord. For the sake of brevity, let’s not reread the sermon text, but let’s just think through it briefly together.
Two weeks ago, we saw Gideon change. The soft, uncertain lad that doubted whether God was actually on his side was transformed. In the camp of his enemy, as he heard the dream that God had given to a common Midianite, Gideon was transformed from timidity to boldness, from a doubter into a warrior. For the first time in his life, he actually trusted what God told him and it fundamentally changed who he was. The Gideon that walked into the camp was gone. In his place was a man that trusted God so much, that the author of Hebrews included him in a long list of the greatest heroes of the Old Testament in Hebrews 11.
This week, Gideon’s wild plan that he formed as he walked back to camp is put into action. He gets his 300 men together and tells them that they are going to attack the enemy with clay pots, trumpets and torches, and that is exactly what they do. Without even drawing their swords, Gideon and his 300 men smash the clay pots, blow their trumpets and shout with such ferocity that it throws the camp of the Midianites and the Amalekites into total confusion. They turn on one another and think their friend is their enemy.
But there is an opportunity in this story to make a crucial error. The battle plan that Gideon devises is crazy, but it is also clever as most great generals from history have demonstrated. Victory on the battlefield is a combination of creativity, recklessness, and luck. We call it brilliance, but only retrospectively. It is only because it worked that we praise the general for seeing what no one else saw.
In Gideon’s case, the victory has nothing to do with his savvy or boldness, and everything to do with God. Look at verse 22:
Judges 8:22-23
22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.
The victory belonged to God, not to Gideon. The text is absolutely clear. God gave Gideon the victory.
Which should make us cautious in the future. Whenever we see someone that is successful, that charted their own path, we should be careful to be too quick to praise. What we are seeing in this passage is always true.
Proverbs 16:9
9 The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.
All victory, and for that matter all defeat, comes by the hand of the Lord. And if that is true, he deserves all the glory for the victory. Which, if you have read ahead, which you should be doing, and you sense some foreshadowing, which you should, good job. The idea that God deserves all, not some, but all the glory for the victory is the foundation for our sermon next week.
But as we move on in the story, we come to the important part of the text for our first point. After the enemy is routed, Gideon sends out messengers to tribes in his local area, and he sent a messenger to a new tribe. He sent a messenger to Ephraim. Now this is important, because the way the story is structured, you are meant to compare Ephraim to all the tribes that Gideon has worked with up to this point, which are: Naphtali, Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun.
The first four tribes initially rally to his banner with 32,000 men, but over half of them are sent home simply because they are cowards. Not the kind of cowards that are found out, but the kind that volunteer. God gave them an opportunity to go home if they were scared and they self-selected. They went home of their own free will. And of course, when the battle has proven to go well, they jump back on the bandwagon and join the pursuit of the Midianites.
These tribes are meant to be contrasted with Ephraim. Notice that Gideon does not originally reach out to Ephraim. This question came up while we were at breakfast this past Thursday discussing the sermon text. Why didn’t Gideon originally reach out to Ephraim? I think that, in God’s providence, he prevented Gideon from thinking about it or doing it, because they are so ferocious that it would not have been possible for God to send them home. It would have totally recked all that God was trying to teach Gideon about trusting him, because these men’s faith and ferocity was so great that they would have won the battle for Gideon. On their own, they drove out the Midianites in their area and captured/put to death two of Midian’s princes.
What can we learn from that? Ephraim initially seems like they are rude to Gideon, but look past that. Their love and passion for God is so great that as soon as they heard God was moving they leapt at the opportunity to get in on what he was doing and they were upset that they had missed out on what had already taken place. What if our Church, as small as it is, was made up of 29 members that had that attitude? What would that look like?
A body of Christ, in this town, that is so zealous for the work of the Lord that they accomplish great things for the kingdom of God, on their own, unbidden, and they look back on the first two years of our Church and regret not getting to participate in everything that the Lord has been doing. That would be transformational for our city. That kind of passion is contagious. Other “tribes,” other churches, would look at our little baby Church and say, “Wow, what is God doing over there?” If there is anything that we can learn from the life of Gideon is that you do not have to be great in number to accomplish great things for the kingdom of God. God is happy to use a very few that genuinely trust and rely on him to accomplish great things for his glory, in fact, he prefers it.
So how can we be like Ephraim? How can we stoke our passion for God and our trust in him, so that the few can accomplish the extraordinary?
First, God’s tools for victory are counterintuitive. He doesn’t typically use the strongest or the most numerous. He doesn’t typically use a sword when a clay pot will do. What he uses is counterintuitive and ordinary. The ordinary things God uses to embolden his people are things like the study of the word of God, daily self-examination, daily self-denial, a genuine watchfulness and care from one member to another, and prayer. And if those things sound familiar, they should. They are what our statement of faith says we believe God uses to sanctify his people. We do not need an extraordinary revivalist to come preach, or a multi-tiered campaign with a big budget and coordination across a bunch of Churches across the U.S. Those things might be good, but they should not be the expectation. The expectation should be normal, everyday members, doing the normal everyday kind of spiritual disciplines, that are getting together with their neighbors, co-workers, and friends and being hospitable. Showing basic kindness and friendliness. Meeting needs, both spiritual and physical. Living out a life the way Christ did.
Second, in order for the Church to champion what God is doing, we need to know what God is doing. That is one of the things that prevented Ephraim from jumping in. Now, that is not Ephraim’s fault. As we already have said, I think God was providentially preventing them from getting involved because they would have won the battle for Gideon. But we can also see, from a human perspective, that they didn’t get involved because they didn’t know. Therefore, we should be careful, as a Church to let everyone know ways that we can minister together.
A couple weeks ago, Darcey let everyone know in our Church GroupMe that there was an international student that needed to go to Temple but didn’t have a car, and there were many members willing to make the drive to minister to that need. This week, Braeden and Katy are getting married and Molly needed workers to wait on tables, out students have jumped in on that. These are beautiful examples of the body letting the body know what God is doing so we can get more people in on it.
We need to be doing it more. There are many of us, especially in the older generations, that are happy to help, but would be very hesitant to let someone know that they had a need. We need to flip that. God has promised that he has given the Church the giftings it needs to thrive and flourish. Some of us need to be more willing to cling to that promise, not just as one that helps, but as one that needs.
Lastly, we need time in our schedule to be able to help. If we are going to champion God’s work, we need to be able to champion God’s work. We can’t be too busy to help. Being kingdom minded might mean saying no to a good thing in order to be free for the unknown need when it arises. Preston put me onto this application during App Grid, and it really made me think. I have noticed that almost every member, at some point, has asked for me to pray during the pastoral prayer that they would be better at managing their time so that they could do more things for God’s kingdom. That is a phenomenal prayer. I am so happy to pray that prayer as your pastor, and since almost everyone has asked for me to pray that, let me ask you a question: what have you done to accomplish that prayer in your life? What have you cut out in order to be more available? God is not just going to miraculously extend the day from 24 hours to 26 hours. You have to say no to good things in order to have the white space in your life to do great things for God’s kingdom.
The first thing that we can learn from Gideon’s life is that we want to be like Ephraim. We want to be so zealous for God’s glory and so eager to be a part of what he is doing that we are ready to pounce on every opportunity he sends our way. The victory that God has promised will be won by normal, everyday kinds of Christians doing normal everyday kinds of things: reading their bible, loving each other, and loving their neighbors.
Do not be a roadblock.
The second thing we can learn from the life of Gideon this week is that we do not want to be like the cities of Penuel and Succoth. Do not be the kind of Christian that throws up roadblocks to what God is doing.
After dealing with the Ephraimites, Gideon rallied all of his troops and began to pursue the Midianites, driving them out of the Promised Land. The pursuit was so intense that they were running out of supplies, so, as they passed two major cities, Penuel and Succoth, Gideon asked for aid. Both cities refused and Gideon promised retribution to both. As soon as Gideon captured the kings of Midian, he returned and dealt with these rebellious and selfish city-states.
Now, before we consider what lessons we can learn from Penuel and Succoth, I think it is appropriate to know who these people were. Both Penuel and Succoth were non-Israelites that were supposed to be driven out of the land by Joshua but were not. They are not Israelites and they are not the friends to God’s people. However, it also seems that they were not friends of the Midianites either. Gideon seemed to think that they should be his allies and that they deserved punishment for not meeting his request. For our purposes, they are clear example of what not to do.
There is no doubt at this point that God is doing something in Israel. The messengers have gone out and the story of Gideon’s 300 putting 125,000 Midianites and Amalekites to flight has to have reached the ears of Penuel and Succoth. So we must ask ourselves, why didn’t they help and how can we not be like them in the future?
We do not know the exact reasons, but I think we can imagine some and derives some lessons for ourselves. Perhaps they did not help because they did not believe that what was taking place was actually from God. This is a legitimate reason to not immediately jump into some ministry or opportunity that presents itself. The point of our sermon is that we are to champion anything and everything that the Lord is doing, but we must first be certain that the Lord is doing it. The question is, did Penuel and Succoth have enough information to discern the hand of the Lord in Gideon’s life, and I think the answer has to be yes. In fact, they didn’t even ask any probing questions. They just refused to help him.
In order to not be like Succoth and Penuel, we must be open to the leading of the Lord. Our immediate reaction should not be to discount the work of God, but to discern what he is doing. One way to do this is to bring your pastors into an opportunity to help you discern if God is in something. Not every ministry is a good ministry and not every opportunity is worthy of the Church’s efforts. Engage your elders to help you think clearly about how you invest your time and resources. God has given them to you to equip you’re the work of ministry.
Perhaps Penuel and Succoth were not as concerned with whether God was in this thing or not, but they did not believe that Gideon should be leading anything. This was a backwaters country boy that is famous for vandalizing statues, not a brilliant leader that is going to lead us to victory. As the Church, we might feel like this sometimes. I am happy to do anything God wants me to do, but when it comes to this particular opportunity, there is no way that God could be using that guy to lead this thing.
This kind of thinking is wrong. I have felt this way before. As an older Christian, I have looked down on what God is doing through my younger brothers and sisters because they had more zeal than good sense. They might have been doing to the right thing, but in my opinion, they are doing it the wrong way.
This can absolutely be true. Young Christians often have more zeal than knowledge, but when older Christians look down on what they are doing and refuse to get involved, they are revealing that they do not understand how the church works. The right response is not to block the zeal of younger brothers and sisters. The right response is to channel their zeal with wise counsel. Passionate, if perhaps immature Christians, should not make us roll our eyes, but it should excite our hearts. The more mature need the zeal of the younger generation, and the younger generation need the wisdom and guidance of the older generation. This is how God designed it.
Succoth and Penuel got what they deserved because they stood in the way of what God was doing. This is a real warning to the Church. Do not be like that. Do not be known as a hurumpher or a frowner. Be known as champion and a cheerleader; a wise, discerning saint that is eager to know what God is doing and invest everything, your time, you money, your counsel, into winning the victory for God’s kingdom. If God is in it, let’s be a part of it, because its success is a sure thing. We will get the joy of participating in the victory that the Lord has already guaranteed.
Conclusion
As we conclude, we have two great examples: an example what to do, and what not to do. There are some in this room that look at this passage and are realizing that neither one of these examples resonate for them, because they are not even on the right side. They aren’t like Ephraim or Penuel and Succoth, because they are most like Midian. Not just a roadblock to what God is doing, but an actual enemy of God in complete rebellion to his rule and reign.
If that is you, consider what we have been seeing all through the life of Gideon. The victory of God was never in doubt. He brought the Midianites in to discipline Israel and he was going to just as easily drive them out. The Lord always wins the victory over his enemies.
What you need to hear today is do not be God’s enemy. You will not win. You sin and rebellion has separated you from God, but the good news of the Gospel is that Christ paid the penalty for your rebellion. You can freely come back to the God that created you, who loves you, by simply asking for forgiveness and putting your trust in Jesus. If you want to talk more about that, please come talk to me after the service.
For the Christians in the room, we all bring something different to the table. We have different spiritual gifts, different resources, and different experiences that God plans to use to accomplish his purposes. What has the Lord given you that you are not currently using for his glory? How can you be more like an Ephraim and less like the other bad examples in this text?
One thing you might do is serve in children’s ministry. As a baby Church, we are in constant need of members to serve our children. Right now, the reality is that that burden is mostly carried by the mothers of those children in our Church. Some might even say that this is a good thing, because they are the ones with the children that need to be watched. But, what if, we were the kind of Church that recognized that the mothers that have little children in the home are some of the most important and most vulnerable members in our body. That a mom with little children is probably the most likely member in our Church to need a break and in need of being encouraged in a worship service. What if we had so many volunteers in our children’s ministry and in the nursery that no mother ever had to serve? Wouldn’t that be something special?
The opportunities to get in on what God is doing are all around us. I want to be the kind of Church that is sensitive to what God is doing, is ready to jump on any opportunity, and would celebrate but also regret hearing about something God is doing that we missed out on. Less be like Ephraim, champions for what God is doing in our Church and in our community.
Let’s pray.