Will Willimon(former dean of Duke
Divinity School)
He was returning to his hotel room after the
theater. It was midnight when he was accosted. Holding a knife to his
throat, the attacker said, “Give me your wallet!”
Willimon nervously said, “You can have it! You
can have it!” The mugger recognized a southern
drawl and responded…
We live in perilous time. Fear of crime,
finances, loss of loved ones, personal injury,
ridicule and loneliness are but a few of the potential
ordeals that terrorize Christians and non-Christians alike…
Judges 6:5-6“They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their
camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that
they cried tout to the Lord for help.”
Judges 6:13
“But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?
Where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now
the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.”
Psalm 46:1-2
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will
not fear…”
Judges 6:14
“Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not
sending you?”
I A TASK Given by God (6:1-16)
A. Gideon Was Fearful
B. Gideon Was Doubtful
C. Gideon Was Full of Excuses
Judges 6:15
“How can I save Israel? My clan is
the weakest in Manasseh, and I
am the least in my family.”
Judges 6:17
“If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to
me.”
Judges 6:31
“But Joash replied to the hostile crowd… Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? …If Baal is really a god, he can defend himself
when someone breaks down his altar.”
II A TEST Given to God (6:17-40)
A. “Mighty Warrior” Still Afraid
B. Signs Given by God
C. Gideon Gets a Backbone
Judges 6:34
“Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning
the Abiezrites to follow him.”
Judges 7:1-2
“Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The Lord said to Gideon, ‘You
have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.”
The evidence convinced
Gideon… This is what the Lord
asks of us – believe AND
trust His Word… Do we
believe and trust that God means what He says?...
III A TRUST in Given God (7:1-25)
A. From Coward to Warrior
B. Gideon Trusted God
C. Gideon Got in the Fight
Judges 7:9-10
“During that night the Lord said to Gideon, ‘Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp
with your servant Purah.’”
Judges 7:21
“While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out
as they fled.”
Proverbs 28:1
“The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a
lion.”
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