Judges 4 - 6

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Once again, we are reading some incredible stories in the Bible! Here are a few thoughts about today's text:

1) God uses women in powerful ways, just as He uses men! Anyone, in the hand of God, will be mightily used! As we read Chapter 4, we see two women used powerfully by God to conquer the feared Canaanite army under Sisera's command. Deborah naturally rose up to power due to the fact that she had a close relationship with God! In fact, the scriptures call her "a prophet" (vs.4). Barak, the commander of the Naphtali army, was so impressed with Deborah and her closeness with God, that he was afraid to fight the opposing army without her presence. He knew he needed God on their side to win this battle. Having Deborah's presence at the battle site gave him a sense of security - knowing that God would be there fighting for Israel. In the end, it was Jael, a smart woman, who killed the powerful commander Sisera. Instead of giving him water to make him feel more alert, she gave him a warm pouch of milk, which caused him to fall asleep! That smart thinking won Israel's cedence from King Jabin.

2) Many Christians are in the valley of "indecision." When it came right down to the fighting, the song of Deborah in chapter 5 makes a scathing remark against several of the tribes of Israel, especially the tribe of Reuben! Twice (5:15, 16), the song of Deborah speaks of the tribe of Reuben being in "great indecision" about helping their brothers conquer their enemies. The song also speaks of Gilead staying on the "east side of Jordan" and Dan staying at home. In other words, the song catapults accusations against those tribes for doing nothing to help their brothers.

How often this is true today! Many Christians are in "great indecision." They don't come to the aid of their brothers in Christ when a personal struggle arises or when they're in need. We all say we mean well, but when it comes right down to it we're either too lazy to help or we don't want to help! As we continue to fall in moral decay as a nation, it's time for Christians to wake up, sound the alarm, and become actively involved in being "salt" and "light" as Jesus told us to be! May God work in our hearts and minds to motivate us out of this lethargic spirit!

3) There's a progression to God's discipline! Already, we're starting to see a horrible pattern of disobedience among the nation of Israel! Fives times we've read how the "Israelites did evil in the Lord's sight" (2:11 ; 3:7 ; 3:12 ; 4:1 ; 6:1). And, each time, they fell into grave disobedience. This, in turn, forced God's hand of discipline. Therefore, each time, He enslaved them to a pagan king. After a few years of slavery, the Israelites would "cry out unto the Lord" for deliverance! Then, God would raise up a person to help free them from their enslavement.

But, notice something here! With each period of disobedience, enslavement, and deliverance by God, notice how the pattern of slavery gets worse! God is starting to spank harder now! By the time we get to chapter 6, it says that the Midianites "were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in caves..." Their captivity was so bad that they're actually hiding in caves and dens from the enemy. Furthermore, the Israelites were reduced to starvation! But, God raises up a new leader in the man Gideon.

4) God can use anybody! Chapter 6 is a remarkable story of how God can use ANYBODY for His work and for His glory! In fact, take a few moments to notice a few things:

- God did not view Gideon for who he was, but for who he could be! Notice in 6:11-12 that Gideon was fearfully hiding in his winepress when the Lord shows up out of nowhere! When the Lord arives on the scene, He calls out to him "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you." Now, I'm sure Gideon was looking around and saying, "Who me?" Up until this point, Gideon was not a hero! He was anything but a hero. When the Lord addressed him, He didn't say "Oh you coward! Buck it up! I'm going to help you get out of this mess." No...the Lord called him a "Mighty hero!" God didn't see him for what he was, He saw him for what he could be!

Notice also...Gideon is NOT a strong spiritual person!

- Gideon is angry with God! Notice the questions he throws at the Lord in verse 13. You can almost hear the anger in his questions.
- "Why has all this happened?"
- "Where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about?"
- "The Lord has abandoned us."

- Gideon doesn't have much faith in God! In verse 15, Gideon basically laughs at God. When the Lord tells him to "rescue Israel", he quickly reminds God just how unqualified he is for that position. Sounds familiar doesn't it! Moses did the same thing in Exodus 3. Moses tried to get out of the duty of delivering Israel. Now, Gideon is basically trying to do the same thing. In fact, Gideon demanded proof of God's help! And, God showed him on 3 separate occasions that He would fight in the battle with him.

- Gideon is fearful of retaliation! This "mighty hero" does everything under the cover of darkness. When he pulls down his father's altar of Baal, He does it under the cover of darkness. He doesn't want to be caught because he's fearful of retaliation from his father and the townspeople. Even though his own father defended him, it roused up the neighbors!

The point is - God used Gideon in a mighty way even though he wasn't very spiritual. Hey listen, God can use you in a mighty way too! Trust me, if God can use a guy like this, do you think He has a chance with you? Sure you do!!

Have a wonderful day in the Lord!