Judges Chapter 8 Verses 22 – 23

• Gideon’s response is noble! The people not only want to make him king, but they want to stand up a dynasty of sorts. Keep in mind, Israel has never had a king. They’ve had powerful leaders like Moses and Joshua but never a king. (The answer is NOT, make a man a king!) It wouldn’t be for about 100 more years before Saul comes on the scene, the first king over Israel. And so they come to Gideon and they say, “Rule over us!” And I can almost see Gideon’s reaction and hear his heart…, “That’s what got you into this mess in the first place!”

• Looking to yourselves to govern and to have dominion, that’s a trap! And notice what He says, “The Lord shall rule over you!” There’s a message there. It’s not, “The Lord rules over you,” its, “The Lord shall rule over you!” The message is, there’s sin here…see that?

• Plus how could he say yes? He didn’t do it! God did all of this. The Angel of the Lord came to him when he was hiding in a winepress. God had spoken with him, strengthened him, instructed him and ultimately delivered to him the victory in the most miraculous of ways. He lost no men! He couldn’t take the kingship, it wasn’t his and he knew it…I love what Matthew Henry once said, “No good man can be pleased with any honor done to himself which ought to be peculiar to God.”

• And so he says no but yet he doesn’t walk away. He doesn’t drop the mic which is what he probably should have done…he does something odd…

Judges Chapter 8 Verses 24 – 27

• So this is basically 43 pounds of gold not counting the chains from the camels and the crescents from the kings. This is only the earrings. And in today gold value that would be worth about $700k. Gideon doesn’t sell it or stash it, he does something odd….he makes a robe out of it. A gold robe…Who does that speak of? God! Jesus! Yes, but the people worship it instead of God! This is why I believe we don’t have the holy grail or the cross or really any artifacts that we can proof-positive link to Jesus…because God knows we would worship it and not Him…

Judges Chapter 8 Verses 28 – 35

• Now Gideon somewhat said one thing and did another. He said, “I will not rule over you…” but then he lived like a king. He had such wealth that he took to himself many wives…I mean seventy sons!? Not to mention daughters! What kind of a father was he? Assuming he has as many daughters as he had sons, sleeping 8 hours a day he could spend no more than a minute or two with each one daily! (How horrible that some fathers with only 1 or 2 children do only that today)
• Moreover he sets up a legacy of rulers. Abimelech literally means, “My father, the king.” Plus, he saw the worship of this robe he had made, and you know what, he didn’t stop it…something went sour here for me. Gideon said one thing and yet did another and that type of moral, spiritual and character failure always leads to collapse. Always.
• What we will see in the next chapter is that all of his legacy is wiped out. Abimelech usurps authority through politics…and then kills all of his brothers and the name of Gideon is forever lost in terms of honor and legacy within the house of Israel. And what’s more, the one who does this evil, Abimelech, he ends up with a crushed skull…absolutely tragic!
• Here it is though. Gideon. Why not have given glory to God? Why not set up a legacy of worship and service to the people? The seventy sons of Gideon…as servants and chief servants of the people…or just seven sons? How different even Israel could be today…do you realize how important it is to be as you ought to be? And how horrible the collapse of the house of the wicked? All mankind has been given a chance to walk in wisdom and in the power of Truth because of Jesus Christ. What utter thickness of skull it is to reject His free gift.
• Notice one last thing and then we are through. Throughout the last two chapters we have seen Gideon’s ups and downs. His growth in and through circumstance. Then in his later years we see him finish horribly, in my opinion. It seems clear that Gideon handled adversity, hard times, difficult circumstances better than success. Success and riches and prominence ruin him in his later years…

• Child of God look up tonight if you are in difficulty. How close and soon you are to rely upon God.   How near and tangible He is to you now…we all crave success and prominence but there is a danger there and even success and rest comes with a whole set of difficulties. Do not despise the valley of testing. God is with you, and He is near to you, is that not enough for you to love just being there?

• There are several people in my life, that no matter where we have to go, if they are there, then I want to be there. April comes to mind immediately. Chin as well. Scott. Sam Park…I mean people that make the circumstance, well, they just bring light, levity, lightness…they just bring love and strength when they walk in and you see them…We are so quick to pray against difficulties and times of even a down-cast spirit…why not just sit in the center of a room quietly, by yourself and know that God is with you…Why not just press under the weight of that emotion?
• Teach your heart. Don’t let it teach you. Train it by the Word of God to rely upon the truth and the ever-presence of the Most High. Instruct your heart. Make demands upon it and then do not take no for an answer. Take all of your turmoil and trial and pause it for a minute and see what you are not doing for your wife, for your husband, for your coworkers, for your brothers and sisters because you are so very locked on your own self…
• David realized this in Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 and took his heart to task…found his room, closed his door and sat in the middle of it in the presence of God and God taught him to rule over his heart as he penned, “Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance, my God!”
• You’ve started well. Things are difficult for sure. But search your spirit…do you really want it any other way? How strong you’ve gotten. How powerful you’ve grown. Don’t set it aside. God has taken the next step and is waiting on you. Go! Meet Him where He is leading and teaching you and raising you, man. Stay the course! Finish strong!