Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Gideon the Trivial Judge - The Book of Judges

Transcript

Gideon the Trivial Judge - The Book of Judges · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: and if the dew be on the fleece only, and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: it be dry upon all the earth beside, then I
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: shall know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: as thou hast said. Judges 6.37 Lord, today I will
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: be aware of the subtle signs of disobedience that rob
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: me of my peace and safety. No matter how small
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: the sin seems, I will remove it from my life.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Like Gideon, I will work as the Lord's servant and
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: remove the idols from around me. I declare that the
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Spirit of God will rise up within me as I
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: stand for what is right. I will not be intimidated
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: by those who move in deceit, for I know that
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: the commander of the Lord's army is with me. Rise up, Lord,
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: and surround me. with men and women who have the
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: same drive and passion to win and to take victory
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: for your namesake. I choose to thank you in advance
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: that you have already prepared your army of kingdom-minded influencers
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: to move forward with boldness and take back what is
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: rightfully ours. I am a person of valor. I am
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: a warrior, and your hand of protection will see me
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: through to complete victory. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: for praying with us today. Continue your time with God
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: by listening to today's Bible story. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: Click the link in the description to grow closer to God.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: There you'll find daily prayers, Bible plans, sleep stories, and
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: so much more. All on the Pray.com app. Click the
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: link in the description to get started.
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: Gideon, the trivial judge. In our last story, we learned
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: how Jabin and his general, Sisera, oppressed Israel for over
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: 20 years. The Lord sent Deborah, a mighty and wise woman.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: He also sent Barak, the commander of Israel's armies. They
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: fought valiantly against Sisera and his 900 chariots. Sisera fled
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: and was in the tent of a woman named Jael.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: and killed in his sleep with a tent peg through
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: his skull. In this story, we learn about the oppression
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: of Midian against Israel. God calls an unlikely judge, Gideon,
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: to gather an army, as inspired by the book of Judges.
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: That's JackGraham.org. JackGraham.org. In our last episode, we heard how
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: God worked through the faith and wisdom of Deborah, the deliverer.
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: and the courage of Barak to free the Israelites from
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: Canaanite oppression. We also saw how God used a foreign
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: woman by the name of Jael to defeat the Canaanite general, Caesarea.
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: It's a story of how God can work and does
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: work through unlikely unknown people to bring about His will
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: and how even the most insurmountable obstacles can be overcome
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: when we trust in God for the result. Today, We're
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: going to hear about another judge or deliverer that God
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: raises up to free his people, a man who wouldn't
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: have made anyone's list of who's who. He was not
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: a great candidate to lead Israel into battle. His name
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: is Gideon, and through the story of Gideon, we'll once
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: again see how God can use even the small, the weak,
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: and insignificant to accomplish great and mighty things. So let's
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: listen now to today's reading.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: Israel lived in peace. They worked the fertile land, built
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: new homes for their children, and worshipped God. However, compromise
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: began to creep into the house of Israel. A few
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: idols were brought into the temple, and slowly the people
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: began to stray away from God. It was not deliberate,
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: but gradual and unassuming. Soon Israel found themselves caught in
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: another cycle of total depravity. They did only what they
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: thought good for themselves, not for one another. They became
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: selfish and self-pleasing, and turned from God and His law.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: If history has informed anything, it is that turning away
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: from God is the first step towards destruction. An evil
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: was lurking in the caves above Israel, like a dragon
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: hidden in darkness. The Midianites were dwelling secretly in dens
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: carved in the mountains, Evil laughs and battle cries echoed
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: through the canyons, and campfires lit up the mountain range.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: The evil horde descended upon Israel like a swarm. Whenever
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: Israel planted crops, the Midianites and the people of the
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: east would rise against them to devour everything in sight.
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: Like pirates, they would pillage, rape, and burn Israel into dust.
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: For seven years, Israel desperately worked to provide their families
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: with safety and food, only to have them stripped away
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: in a storm of Midianite evil. They would hide their
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: livestock and food in their tents, but the Midianites were
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: like locusts, eating up all of it. The people of
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: Israel cried out to the God they had abandoned. Once again,
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: out of desperation, not love. They called upon the God
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: that parted seas to save them. One morning, an angel
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: of the Lord sat under the shade of a terebinth tree.
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: A few yards away, Gideon was beating out wheat and
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: storing it in a winepress to hide from the Midianites.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: Gideon was smaller in frame, paranoid, and constantly looking over
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: his shoulder. He belonged to the weakest tribe in Israel,
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: and he was the weakest brother of his families. The
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: Lord watched Gideon work frantically, shaking in fear and fumbling
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: about his work. The angel of the Lord spoke to
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: him from under the tree, saying, God is with you,
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: mighty man of valor. Gideon leapt in the air out
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: of fear, then saw it was not an enemy. Gideon
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: walked closer and said, If the Lord is with us,
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: then why are we living like this? God has forsaken
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: us and given us to Midian like a treat to
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: a dog. Gideon spoke boldly, for he was skilled in
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: the art of whining and complaining. The Lord smiled and
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: said to him, There is might in you. Take it
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: and save Israel from Midian. I am sending you. Gideon laughed.
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: How could I save Israel?
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: He asked.
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: My clan is the weakest in this region, and I
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: am the runt of my father's house. No, you have
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: the wrong guide. Gideon continued to laugh and began walking away.
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: God said, I shall be with you, Gideon, and you
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: shall strike Midian down as a single man. Gideon turned
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: back to him and said, If you truly are the Lord,
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: and I am truly called to be this hero of yours,
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: then show me a sign. Gideon asked the Lord to
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: stay while he went back into his house to prepare
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: an offering. He prepared meat and cakes. He put the
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: meat in baskets and its broth in a pot and
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: rushed it back to the Lord. Gideon placed the offering
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: on a rock next to him. Pour the broth over
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: the offering, God said. So Gideon made all of the
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: meat and cakes sopping wet, dripping completely with broth. Then
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: his staff and lightly touched the offering. Immediately, like a
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: match to oil, the offering was consumed by flames. Gideon
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: started at the fire in amazement, then turned back to
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: the Lord, but he had vanished in an instant. At
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: that moment, Gideon had perceived that it really was an
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: angel of the Lord he was speaking to, and fear
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: came over him. That night the Lord spoke to Gideon
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: in the quiet. In your town there are many idols.
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: You must remove them immediately, God whispered. Gideon, too frightened
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: of his father and older brothers to do it in
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: the daytime, snuck into the temple at night. Gideon was
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: beating with sweat and constantly looking over his shoulder.
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: He tied a.
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: Rope around the altar of Baal. It was a massive
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: statue looming over Gideon in the darkness. His torch illuminated
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: the face of Baal staring down at him. Gideon cringed
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: and tied the other end of the rope to his
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: father's bull and slapped it. It ripped the altar of
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: Baal from its foundation and came crashing down, shattering into
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: a thousand pieces. Gideon also cut down other idols that
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: dwelled in the house. Then Gideon took another one of
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: his father's bulls and offered it to the Lord. The
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: men in town rose early in the morning and saw
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: that the altar was shattered. Who has done this? they shouted.
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: The men teemed with anger. Who did this? they shouted again.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: The people began to gather around the site of the
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: broken idol. They searched around and spoke to every person
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: except one, Gideon. He has done this, they said with
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: their jaws clenched. The men knocked on the door of
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: Gideon's father, Joash. They burst through the door and said,
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: Where is your son? He shall die for what he
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: has done. Joash panicked. He wanted to protect his son,
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: but did not want to invoke the wrath of the
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: city on himself. So do you fight all of Baal's battles?
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: Joash said, fumbling around his words. If he is a god,
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: wouldn't he want to deal with Gideon himself? The men
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: listened and stormed off. Meanwhile, the Midianite horde crossed the
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: Jordan River and camped in a valley nearby. The Amalekites,
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: along with some mysterious people from the east, joined forces
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: with them and camped there. Their presence was felt by
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: the people of Israel. Fear and hysteria ensued, yet something
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: happened to Gideon. A small spark lit up within him.
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: Something he had never felt before flickered inside him. The
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: Spirit of God clothed Gideon like a suit of armor.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: Gideon's once cowardly demeanor shifted slightly. In a moment of bravery,
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: Gideon called for the armies of Israel with the authority
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: of a true judge called by God. He sounded the
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: trumpet of war and it echoed across the cities of Israel.
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: Gideon sent messengers throughout the land to gather an army.
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: The Spirit of God flew like an eagle across the country,
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: igniting a fire of hope the hearts of Israel. Men
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: of war gathered to Gideon. The tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun,
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: and Naphtali picked up their swords and marched. Soon a
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: vast army of 32,000 men stood at attention before Gideon,
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: and he stood amazed by God. The battle was near,
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: and the men were ready to follow Gideon to death
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: and glory. Gideon retreated to a secret place to speak
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: with God alone. The same self-doubt that Moses once had
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: crippled the heart of Gideon. How can it be me?
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: he whispered in prayer. Lord, if you will truly save
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: Israel by my hand, show me a sign. So Gideon
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: brought out a fleece of wool and set it on
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: the floor. Gideon said, If you make this fleece wet
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: on the dry ground, I will know it is you,
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: and you have sent me. God did not enjoy being tested,
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: but he wanted Gideon's heart to be confident. So he
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: made the fleece wet and kept the ground dry. Gideon
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: spoke again, saying, Do not be angry with me, but
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: could you now make the fleece dry and the ground wet?
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: So God did as Gideon asked. This was a small
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: reassurance that Gideon was supported by the God of all creation.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: Gideon rose to his feet, pulled his shoulders back, and
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: marched towards his army.
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: Forty years had passed since God delivered his people from
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: the Canaanites under the leadership of Deborah and Barak. Life
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: was good. There was peace and prosperity. But eventually, the
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: people once again turned to other gods and brought God's
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: judgment upon themselves. The peace that they had enjoyed for
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: so long crumbled. Midianites, Amalekites, and people from the east
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: began to loot their crops and livestock, leaving Israel in
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: a desperate situation. These foreign enemies had placed their own
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: gods in the temple. They had replaced Yahweh with idols. These,
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: of course, were just man-made sculptures whose only power was
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: to destroy the people's relationship with the only true God.
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: Israel worshipped false deities, and these deities failed them. For
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: seven years, the Midianites pillaged and plundered until God's children
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: cried out to the God that they had forgotten. God
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: heard their cries and sent a prophet to remind them
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: of who he was, what he had done, and how
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: they had disobeyed him. God could have stopped right there
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: and just sent judgment as the price of their disobedience.
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: But God in his grace, God in his great mercy,
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: came once again to rescue his children and he sent
• 14:57
  Speaker 4: an angel to a man by the name of Gideon.
• 15:00
  Speaker 4: Gideon's first response was to question the angel and to
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: ask why God had abandoned his people. His words are
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: reminiscent of Moses' words to God in the desert. Why
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: did you bring us all this way and leave us
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: here to die? But God pressed the issue. He tells
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: Gideon that there is greatness in him. Even though Gideon
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: was the least of the least of his own tribe,
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: God said that he had chosen him to save Israel.
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: Gideon knew that he was not a man of physical
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: significance or strength. And at first he refuses to do
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: the job. But God tells Gideon he is his man.
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: and that God will deliver Israel through him. Gideon is
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: not convinced, and so he asks for a sign. He
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: prepared an offering for God, placing meat and bread in
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: a basket and drenching it in broth. When the angel
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: touched the offering with his staff, flames erupted and consumed
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: the offering. So Gideon's doubt is now burned away with
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: the flames, and now he has a genuine fear. The
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: fear of God is now burning in his heart. He
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: realizes that God is speaking to him, and he's terrified.
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: But God reassures him, tells him not to fear, and
• 16:13
  Speaker 4: then he commands him to tear down his father's idols.
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: God knew that if he was going to give Israel
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: victory and deliver them from their enemies, that he must
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: clean house. These false gods could no longer stand. Israel
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: could no longer be tempted to trust in idols. In
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: the same way, God wants to tear down the idols
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: of our own heart. the strongholds in our lives that
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: keep us from living in obedience to him. Our own
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: disobedience become idols of the heart. There can be no
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: half measures or half-hearted devotions. God wants all of you.
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: He wants you to be all in. Let there be
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: no other gods before our God. Gideon obeys and tears
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: the idols down. The people become angry with him when
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: they discover what he's done and want to kill him.
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: But Gideon's father challenges the people to let their gods
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: take care of Gideon if they were real. Now Gideon,
• 17:12
  Speaker 4: who's full of courage, sounds the call to war. And
• 17:15
  Speaker 4: when he sees that God has indeed called him and
• 17:18
  Speaker 4: prepared him, he is now surrounded by an army of 32,000.
• 17:24
  Speaker 4: But doubt creeps in once more and Gideon tests God
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: with a fleece. God patiently answers Gideon's call for reassurance
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: and twice proves himself to Gideon. The time for testing
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: is over. Now is the time for battle. And that's
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: what we're going to hear about the next time. It's
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: one of the greatest stories in the Bible. Dear Lord,
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: thank you for today's word and how it shows us
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: that you can use us even when we are small
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: and weak. that you do great things when we surrender
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: our lives to you. Thank you for this reminder that
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: you want nothing less than our full devotion to you.
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: Help us to tear down the other things, the idols
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: that keep our eyes off you, the gods of this
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: world that cannot help us at all. We pray in
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: the powerful and mighty name of Jesus, the God who
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: can do the impossible, in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm
• 18:24
  Speaker 4: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go, I
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: want you to know that I would love to send
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement every
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: single day. So visit jackgraham.org to sign up for your
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: PowerPoint Today devotional. That's jackgraham.org.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: If today's reading moved you, the Pray.com app is where
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: you can go deeper with daily prayers, Bible plans, and more.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: Download it free. Link in the description.