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A Shout in the Dark
Sermon 01
June 20th, 2010
A few years ago there was a movie called 300 that was a retelling of the historic account of the Battle of Thermopylae which took place around 480 BC. King Leonides and his 300 Spartan warriors made a last stand against the 400,000 strong Persian army of King Xerxes. When Xerxes ordered Leonides to surrender his weapons he gave the famous reply that has been repeated through the centuries "You want them?...Come and get them!" Though they faced an overwhelming enemy Greek morale was high. When one Spartan soldier was informed that the Persian arrows would be so numerous that they’d "blot out the sun," he responded “So much the better, we shall fight in the shade.” It is estimated that over 20,000 Persians were killed before Leonides and his Spartans were betrayed and killed.
The battle of the 300 Spartans is a story of great courage. There’s just something compelling about bravery in the face of hopelessness. Like Custer’s last stand or “remember the Alamo” we picture ourselves standing strong in the face of an unbeatable foe. The only thing I don’t like about that story is the ending. What if, in true Hollywood style, instead of being defeated and dying they had won! What if the 300 had beaten the 400,000?
Centuries before the Battle of Thermopylae there was a similar battle that also involved 300 soldiers against a seemingly unbeatable foe. This time though there was a very different outcome. The outcome was different because God was on their side. With God on their side and A Shout in the Dark, 300 Hebrew soldiers won the victory against incredible odds.
Gideon's story and his army of 300 are recorded in the book of Judges, chapters 6-8 (p. 174). We'll be looking at portions of this account of God’s intervening power this morning, so go ahead and open your Bibles to those pages and keep them open.
Gideon’s Story: The book of Judges chronicles a very dark period in the history of Israel. It was made up of seven repeated cycles in which the people of Israel rebelled against God, began to worship pagan gods, suffered the painful consequences and cried out to God for help. God then responded by sending a judge who would deliver them. For a while the people would return to God but when the judge died they’d rebel against God and the cycle would start all over again. And it was during one of those dark cycles that we’re introduced to Gideon.
Israel had done great evil against God. They were worshipping idols and God sent a people called the Midianites to judge them. Judges 6 tells us that Midianites were so overwhelming and oppressive that the Israelites fled to caves and mountain clefts, and were hiding there just to survive.
The Midianites introduced a new military weapon that gave them the edge over all of their enemies – the camel. With our sophisticated weapons today: smart bombs, patriot missiles, and stealth bombers – it’s hard for us to appreciate the military significance of camels in 12 century B.C. But in Gideon's day, camels gave the Midianites an enormous military advantage.
Camels gave the Midianites a mobile, long-range, swift, attack-capability against the Hebrews who were entirely dependent of foot soldiers. A camel can travel for three or four days with a heavy load on its back, and cover about 300 miles without food or water. With this powerful new weapon, the Midianites were able to develop a unique strategy in their war against Israel. Rather than invading and occupying the land, they simply waited until harvest time. Then, according to Judges 6, vss 3-5, they’d simply move in from the desert, cross the Jordan in huge numbers, like a plague of locusts, stripping the land bare of grain, vegetables, fruit, and livestock. Finally, with their camels loaded down with spoil, they’d cross back into the desert and live there until the next harvest time. They did this for seven years and left Israel in a desperate, destitute situation. The Israelites were not only hiding out in mountain dens, they were starving to death.
This was incredibly humiliating to Israel, not just physically but psychologically as well for they knew how vulnerable they were. Since an attack could come at any moment they lived in constant fear. Verse 6 puts it this way, "They were brought very low because of Midian" (NASV).
Our hero, Gideon, appears on the scene in verse 11. His name means "hacker" or "hewer" which would seem to be a name for a man of great strength and courage, but when we get our first look at Gideon, he's cowering under a tree, threshing grain in a wine press.
Normally grain was threshed on a wooden threshing floor with a threshing sledge pulled by oxen. in an exposed area. That way the wind could carry away the chaff. But Gideon is secretly threshing wheat so as not to be caught by the Midianites. He’s trying to separate the grain from the chaff by walking on it in his bare feet like you would on grapes to turn them into wine. He’s doing all of this while hidden under a tree for fear of the marauding Midianites.
As Gideon is doing this a man approached, sat down under the tree, and begins to watch him. Verse 11 informs us that this is “the angel of the LORD.” What we have here is a Christophany where the pre-incarnate Christ takes on the form of a man to interact with human beings. Have you got the picture? Gideon is secretly threshing wheat. He’s hiding out from the Midianites and this man, the Angel of the Lord addresses him.
As I read this, I always want to crack up because the Angel of the Lord addresses Gideon by saying, “The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior” (6:12). I can almost see Gideon putting his finger to his lips and saying, “Shhhhhh. Are you trying to get us busted?” Gideon is anything but a “valiant warrior” at this point. Then, the Angel of the Lord tells him that he’s been chosen to liberate his people from the Midianites and Gideon argues with him, pointing out a fact that he was of the tribe of Manasseh, which was the lowest and weakest tribe in all Israel. Then, he said that his family was the lowest and weakest family in the tribe of Manasseh. Further, he was the lowest and weakest member of his family. So, he was the lowest and weakest member of the lowest and weakest family of the lowest and weakest tribe of all Israel! You can’t get much lower than that. But to this exposition of excuses of inferiority, God gives a single reply, "I will be with you.” Case closed!
During World War II, a military governor met with General George Patton in Sicily. When he praised Patton highly for his courage and bravery, Patton replied, "Sir, I am not a brave man…The truth is, I am an utter craven coward. I have never been within the sound of gunshot or in sight of battle in my whole life that I wasn’t so scared that I had sweat in the palms of my hands.”
First, the Lord though gives Gideon an assignment before he has him gather an army to take on the Midianites. His first assignment was to attack the idol worship of his people. The reason the people of Israel were weak and unable to defend themselves was that they’d chosen to worship and put their faith in something other than the one true God. They were following the wrong "general!" The worship of idols had to go before the Midianites were going to go. God will not compete with other gods for our lives. We’ll always feel overwhelmed because we worship other things than God. Jesus warns us of this when He said, "No man can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other" (Matt. 6:24).
Gideon's first battle was probably his toughest because it was in his own backyard. Gideon's father, Joash, had apparently built an altar to Baal on his property and with it an Asherah pole, a wooden pillar representing the Canaanite goddess of fertility. And it wasn’t just for the family's private use. It served as the village shrine with Joash acting as the supervisor of pagan worship in the area. God told Gideon to take a young bull and a seven-year-old bull and use them to tear down the massive altar to Baal. Then, he was to cut down the wooden Asherah pole and, using that wood, he was to build a fire on which to sacrifice the seven-year-old bull on a new altar which he was to build for the Lord.
That night Gideon took ten of his servants and did exactly what God had commanded him to do. He was scared, apparently of his own family, which is why he did it at night and with his servants, not any family members. Though frightened he went right ahead and obeyed God. In many ways, God was asking Gideon to fight the most difficult battle first. God will tolerate no rivals. Great soldiers in His army only follow One commander.
The next morning Gideon's neighbors weren’t exactly pleased with what he’d done as they noticed the results of his actions. In fact when they saw what he’d done, they demanded his death but his father came to his defense and said in verse 31, "Hey, if Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar!" The neighbors agreed and they gave Gideon a new name, "Jerub-baal" which literally means "let Baal contend, let him fight for himself." From that moment on, every time the Israelites looked at Gideon, they had visible proof of the weakness of the idol Baal and the power of God. This valiant warrior helped them to see the importance of only following the one true God.
A similar event took place in the life of John Knox, the great Scottish Reformer. In 1548, he was a prisoner on a French slave ship, chained to a rowing bench and whipped constantly by the guards. He was there because of his preaching of God’s Word and his refusal to submit to Catholicism. One day the lieutenant brought aboard a wooden image of the Virgin Mary and demanded that the slaves kiss it. John Knox refused and they pushed it violently against his face. He then grabbed it and threw it overboard shouting, "Let our Lady now save herself: she is light enough; let her learn to swim." When divine judgment didn’t fall on John Knox, two things happened…never again were believers required to engage in Catholic ritual against their wishes and men began to look to Knox as their leader. This eventually led to the Scottish Reformation.
God has proven Himself to Gideon but taking on the Midianites was huge. And he’s still scared. Many of you are familiar with the phrase, “putting out a fleece.” It comes right out of this story. Gideon asks God if he can put out a fleece just to be sure that this is God’s will.
First Gideon puts a sheep skin on the ground asking God to make only the fleece wet with dew and the ground dry, and God did it. But that wasn't enough to build Gideon's confidence. You can almost see his mind at work. He thinks, "Maybe this isn't as amazing as it seems. After all, it would be more likely for the water to be absorbed by the wool than the ground. Maybe the fact that the wool is wet and the ground is dry would have happened anyway. It's not really a sign of anything." So, Gideon makes a second request of God: "Will you reverse the process -- and make the ground wet and the fleece dry?"
Putting out a fleece originated because of doubt, not faith. Do you see the weakness in this practice? It tends to limit God. It puts Him in a box. Fleece-setting is one of the worst ways to determine God’s will. We don't need to put out fleeces to experience God's guidance. He’s already has given us His written Word to help us discern His will. While this is not an example of how to get God’s guidance, it’s a wonderful example of God’s patience with us. God is so gracious with all of us because we’re such slow learners.
God had told Gideon His will. He’s been patient with Gideon’s fleece setting. There’s no doubt that God’s will is for Gideon to take on the Midianites. So Gideon sends out messengers and rallies an army, and 32,000 Israeli soldiers show up. One major problem, Judges 8:10 tells us that there are 135,000 Midianite soldiers. They’re outnumbered more than 4 to 1. The Midianites were also professional soldiers. The Israelites were farmers and shepherds who grabbed whatever they could use for a weapon. They’re outnumbered and outgunned and then God gives Gideon the new plan. He tells Gideon that he’s got too many men. Gideon says, “Yes, the Midianites do have too many men, Lord, so let’s delay this until we can put together a bigger, better army.” And God says, “No, you’ve got too many men. So make an announcement that whoever is a little scared can go back home.” Gideon does that and 22,000 scaredy cats bail on him. Now he has just 10,000 against 135,000.
In today’s economy we’re all too familiar with the management concept of downsizing—to “do more with less.” However, nations don’t usually downsize when preparing for war! They mobilize their reserves and cancel all leaves and requests for discharge and retirement. But God frequently trims our resources to get us to depend entirely on Him. When the odds seem overwhelming, God overwhelms the odds! To guarantee that history would record this battle as a divine victory, God issues an order for another massive reduction-in-force. It’s been cynically observed that “Providence is on the side of the strongest battalion.” Gideon’s army proved otherwise, that victory is in the Hand of God. After returning most of his army to civilian status, Gideon’s only hope is in the Lord of hosts. The second downsizing resulted in a vulnerable 9700 man reduction-in-force. Gideon is left with a meager 300 troops. His only option is to trust God or perish. He’s left virtually without an army. But when we’re serving in God’s army we become part of the “overwhelming minority.”
It’s a popular notion that God kept only Gideon’s best soldiers, those who were wary and watchful as they drank, distinguished from those who “carelessly” lapped the water like dogs. The problem with this interpretation is that there’s no hint at all that the ones chosen were superior. We could just as easily say these were the most fearful of Gideon’s troops. The issue is to engage the enemy with a handful of soldiers to showcase God’s power. God’s distinction was arbitrary.
We can only imagine Gideon’s state of mind. The odds weren’t very good to begin with, and then they get worse. Fortunately he spent the night before battle in a hotel room where he found a Gideon Bible! No, he spent that night gathering information on the enemy situation.
Well aware of Gideon’s weak faith, God reassures him by arranging for Gideon to overhear a conversation between two enemy soldiers. As Gideon conducted a covert reconnaissance of the enemy, he and his servant Purah gather some encouraging intelligence. In concealment Gideon eaves drops as two Midianite soldiers discuss a strange dream. In ancient times dreams were highly regarded as a means of predicting future events. In this dream a hard loaf of barley bread rolls into the Midianite camp and flattens one of the tents. They conclude that the loaf represents Israel. The Midianites had plundered Israel and stolen their wheat harvest. The impoverished Jews had to resort to barley bread. The tent could only represent the nomadic Midianites. One of the soldiers cries out in awful realization, 7:14: “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon…God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands!” This was not chance or some “lucky break,” the sovereign God gave Gideon a sign of His own.
Gideon wasn’t a George Patton or a Stormin’ Norman Schwartzkopf. He’s a farmer, an unconventional leader but God’s strength is revealed by enabling the weak to triumph. Unlike pop psychology God doesn’t propose that we should believe in ourselves. Our narcissistic society celebrates self-reliance. But God strips us bare, forcing us to recognize our frailty and inadequacy. God shows us that human resources are insufficient for the battles we face. God then teaches us the lesson of dependence on Him which results in confidence.
Gideon’s weapons were anything but conventional. Assembling his army of 300, he divides them into three companies, arming them with trumpets, empty clay jars, and torches. It seems like Gideon sent his military band and supply personnel into battle! These men probably thought that they were going to be martyrs. I can imagine them talking about the weapons that they’re expecting. One is talking about the big sword he’s going to get, another about the spear and then Gideon comes along and passes out clay pots, trumpets and torches…not even a sling shot. So one guy looks at his buddy and says, “I know. I know. We hit ‘em over the noggin with the pot, blast them in the ear with trumpet and then catch them in the seat of the pants with the torch.”
This miniscule force had one thing strategically in its favor, the element of surprise. How else could 300 soldiers take on a multitude? At Gideon’s command, they took positions around the perimeter of the enemy camp. Then, out of the night came the startling cacophony of 300 clay pots being smashed on the ground, the blinding light of 300 torches piercing the darkness, followed by the blare of 300 rams horns signaling an attack. With one voice the Israeli force shouted a blood-curdling battle-cry (vs 20): “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”
Panic seized the enemy. The Midianite army imagined they were being attacked from all sides. In their unpreparedness and confusion they hastily began attacking each other in the dark, not knowing who was friend or foe. The Jewish soldiers held their positions, staying a safe distance from the bloody and deadly chaos before them. Using soldiers held in reserve, Gideon seals off the enemy escape route eastward down the valley and over the Jordan.
Outnumbered 450 to 1 Gideon’s little band wins a crushing victory over the invading Midianites. Out of gratitude, the throne of Israel is offered to Gideon. The great deliverer is urged to become king. To his credit, Gideon unselfishly declines the offer to be crowned king of Israel. He knew that he was only an instrument of God, and that Israel’s true King was God (see 8:23). Gideon continued to serve as a judge and lived out his days in peace and prosperity, and the nation of Israel had peace all the days of his life. For the next forty years, they were free from invaders and oppression.
Conclusion: What can we learn from this wonderful Shout in the Dark story?
- Sin is always serious with God and costly for us.
- We often feel outnumbered in our huge world and question what just one person can do.
- God sees what we can be, not what we are. He wants us to be both honest and humble before Him.
- Before God can work, the idols in our life need to be torn down.
- Faith is not measured by fearlessness but by obedience. Faith and obedience precede great victory.
- Fleeces are symptoms of doubt, not discerning God's will.
- God can use ordinary people to do extraordinary things in a great way.
- God loves to give us the victory where He gets all of the glory.
9. A small number with God can do much. Though He’s not opposed to having many on His side, God loves to work through the few. You may be among the few in your company or in your school that has come out of the winepress to face the challenges of the open plains with the enemy nearby. Gideon and his small band of 300 men turned the tide. For the first time in seven years, Israel had homes, and crops, and horses, and camels that were not destroyed or taken by the enemy.
- One can grow from doubt to great faith. Gideon did it.
- It's not really important who we are, but Who we're with. When we know that we are on God's side then we can be ready to fight God-sized battles.
God calls us to be difference makers. One of my favorite illustrations is the familiar account of the man and the starfish. It was early morning. On the beach was an elderly man who walked with a cane, carefully surveying the beach that the receding tide had left exposed. Every now and then he bent to pick something up and toss it into the ocean. A young man watches with fascination as this elderly man carefully scans the beach before him. It was then that he realized the older man was looking for starfish.
Every time he saw one lying helpless in the sand, unable to get back to the ocean on his own, he’d gently pick it up and toss it back into the sea. Curious as to why he was doing this, the younger man approached him and him what he was doing. The old man said, "The starfish are left behind after the tide goes out. If they don't get back into the ocean they will dry up and die beneath the hot summer sun."
"But there are endless miles of beach and there must be millions of starfish," the younger man said. "Surely you don't think you can save them all. What difference can your efforts possibly make?" Slowly the old man bent over and picked up another starfish. As he tossed it into ocean he looked at the young man and said, "It makes a difference to that one."
Gideon stepped out on faith and was a difference maker in his world. Will you step out on faith this week and be one in yours?