Gideon: The Thrill of Victory. The Agony of Victory. In Judges 7, Gideon’s army defeats the Midianites, in one of the most thrilling victories of the LORD in the Bible. In Judges 8, Gideon experienced the agony of that victory. Being on the winning side causes all kinds of new problems for Gideon and for Israel. Key Verse: Judges 7:2 (NLT), The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.” Summary of Chapter 7: • Gideon’s Army was 32,000 strong at the beginning of chapter 7. But, God said, “you have too many.” God gave Gideon two tests to reduce the army to 300 soldiers. • Gideon is afraid that 300 is no match for the thousands of Midianites. So the LORD tells Gideon to sneak down to the Midianite Camp and scout them out. He hears a Midianite solder tell of a dream of a loaf of bread rolling down the hill and smashing the Midianite Camp. He hears a guy say Gideon is going to wipe out the camp. So the LORD put great fear/panic into the enemy. • Gideon’s 300 men armed themselves with jars, torches, and trumpets and surrounded the Midianite Camp. At midnight, they shouted, smashed the jars, raised the torches and blew their trumpets, and STOOD THERE! The Lord caused so much fear/panic in the Midianite Camp that they fought each other and most of Israel’s enemies died right there that night. In chapter 8, Gideon is tracking the two commanders and two kings who got away – in order to knock out the Midianite command and control, and finish what the LROD had commanded. That’s when Gideon feels four agonies of victory. The agony of Judges 8:1 (NLT), Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gideon. 2 But Gideon replied, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t even the leftover grapes of Ephraim’s harvest better than the entire crop of my little clan of Abiezer? 3 God gave you victory over Oreb and Zeeb, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, their anger subsided. • Here is the first casualty of war – Ephraim’s injured pride! • Gideon is diplomatic and gives them credit. • God didn’t want a big army because then the people would take credit for the victory. • That’s exactly what Ephraim is doing! • The Christian creed in our spiritual battles is Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory!” The agony of Judges 8:4 (NLT), Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy. 5 When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 But the officials of Succoth replied, “Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army.” 7 So Gideon said, “After the LORD gives me victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.” • Gideon and his 300, are tracking these two kings deep into Midianite territory – 100 miles E of the Dead Sea (way beyond Israel’s borders.) • It’s the Lord’s battle, and the Lord’s victory is not complete until the Lord’s enemies are judged. • But, Gideon’s men are exhausted! Faint! Weary! • Two Israelite cities refuse to feed Gideon’s men. • But, how are you supposed to catch the enemy if you have no strength, no energy? Once again it shows God is Gideon’s strength for this battle. • Gideon promises them a public lashing when he returns. • Miles Van Pelt, “Gideon has been raised up by the Lord and clothed with his Spirit to serve as the instrument of Israel’s deliverance from Midianite oppression. To refuse to come to his aid is to refuse the Lord himself which explains the severity of his response.” • These city leaders are aiding and abetting Israel’s enemies, by failing to support Gideon and the Lord. That is treasonous. • Miraculously, Gideon and his 300 starving men keep on marching east and ambush the enemy and capture the kings. The agony of Judges 8:21 (NLT), Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Be a man! Kill us yourself!” So Gideon killed them both and took the royal ornaments from the necks of their camels. Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.” 23 But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you! 24 However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.)… 26 The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds. • The Good News: The war is over. The kings are dead. The Midianites never recover. The Midianite kings even seem to admit they are getting justice and invite Gideon to finish them off. • The Bad News: Israel wants to make Gideon King! It shows that Israel has not learned its lesson. They think Gideon saved them. • But Gideon, for his part, has not forgotten who he is and who the LORD is. • V23, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you! • Gideon refuses to be their King, but he still wants the king’s booty. • 40+ pounds of gold made him a millionaire. • Will this fame and fortune change him? The agony of a good lost. Judges 8:27 (NLT), Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family. 28 That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime—about forty years—there was peace in the land… 34 They forgot the Lord their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them. 35 Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon), despite all the good he had done for Israel. • Israel forgot the Lord and they forgot God’s warrior – Gideon! • Gideon’s good legacy is lost first by the making of this ephod. He took the gold and made an offering, a memorial of how the LORD won the battle, and a way for Israel to consult the LORD in the future. • “IT became a trap” – could refer to the ephod itself or to Gideon’s grief that his offering became an idol. • Warning: Good things can quickly become idols. • The second way Gideon’s good legacy was lost was through his son Abimelech. • Abimelech was the anti-judge (Judges 9). • Stop and reflect: What will our sons and daughters do with our good legacy? CONCLUSION: Gideon’s Thrill of Victory. Gideon’s Agony of Victory. Sometimes the worst day of our life is after a victory, after success, after a great accomplishment, after a spiritual high. That’s when resentment, jealousy, in-fighting, betrayal, popularity, wealth, and idolatry can very quickly ruin a good legacy. Gideon’s story teaches us something about God and something about us. About God: Psalm 83:11 (NLT), Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did. Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 for they said, “Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!” 13 O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind!" ... 18 Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth. About Us: Tim Keller, “This is the greatest spiritual danger there is – that we should believe that we can save, or have saved, ourselves. The lesson we always need to learn is that salvation is by God’s gracious action, not by earning it with our actions.”