Qualifications for Service as Seen in Gideon
Stanley Bruce Anstey
Table of Contents
Introduction
I would like to speak of a few practical things that are necessary in the service of the Lord. If these things are found in us, I believe that we will be effective and fruitful in our ministry. Let’s look at a couple of verses by way of introduction. Ephesians chapter 4, and verse 7, “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Then in 1 Peter 4:10-11, “As every man hath received the [a] gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to Whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
I’ve read these verses because I believe that God wants every one of His people—all who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour—to be engaged in His service. To fill that place, every one of us has been given a gift. It is a spiritual gift from Christ, the ascended Head of the Church. That gift has been given to us so that we would be able to fill our place of service in the body of Christ. I mention this because we are prone to think that having a gift, and doing the Lord’s work, belongs to those who are distinguished as the Lord’s servants, and who are in “the ministry.” These verses clearly tell us that the Lord has something for each of us to do in His service, and that He has given us a gift for it. Ministry is simply the exercise of one’s gift. This means that we are all in “the ministry!” Romans 12:4-8 indicates that not all the gifts are for public preaching and teaching; some of them are more of a private nature. Regardless, whatever we may be called to do in the Lord’s service is a ministry.
These verses indicate that the Lord has given to each one of us two things. He has given us a specific “gift,” and He has also given us “grace” and “ability” to carry it out. We don’t need to be occupied with finding out what our gift is exactly—especially if we’re young. If you are just starting out in your Christian life, just do the things that come into your hand, and be exercised about doing them faithfully for the Lord’s glory. As time passes, and you go on with the Lord, it will become evident what your gift is. J. N. Darby said that if there were more devotedness there would be more gift evident among us. He didn’t mean that gift comes through devotion, but that the gift that God has given will manifest itself in the individual when he or she is devoted to the Lord.
Every one of us has a place to fill in the testimony of the Lord, and we should be exercised as to what we can do that we might serve the Lord acceptably (Heb. 12:28). The Levites, which were the servants in the tabernacle system, were to go to Aaron, the high priest, and he would “appoint them every one to his service and to his burden” (Num. 4:19). Similarly, we are to go to the Lord Jesus, our High Priest, and he will direct us (if we are in communion with Him), to the work and service that we are to do in the kingdom of God. We need to get into the presence of the Lord and pray as Saul of Tarsus prayed, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6, 22:10)
It says in Mark 13:34, “To every man his work.” This again confirms that we all have something to do. The main point in our service for the Lord is that we’re found doing what He has given us to do. It may be something small and seemingly insignificant, but if it’s what He lays on our heart, then we want to do it with all our might. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” To “do it with thy might” indicates that the Lord doesn’t want slothfulness in His service (Rom. 12:11).
The Lord's Preparation of Gideon
I would like to look at the life of Gideon as a lesson book for those who are exercised about serving the Lord. The things that the Lord worked in Gideon as He prepared him for service are the very same things that He would work in us as we serve Him. Every earnest and honest Christian naturally would want to cultivate these things in his life so that he would be more effective in his service for the Lord.
Since we don’t have time to go into the whole story, I’ll just lift out the salient points having to do with our subject of service.
The Condition That Prevailed in the Land
Turn to the 6th chapter of Judges, and beginning with verse 11, “And there came an Angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by [in] the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” Gideon lived in a very difficult time in Israel’s history. Their enemy, the Midianites, had oppressed them for seven years. As a result, a two-fold condition existed among the people. Firstly, they were scattered in all different directions and were living in “dens” and “caves” in the mountains (Judges 6:2). Consequently, they were unable to enjoy their God-given inheritance. Secondly, the Midianites were systematically starving the children of Israel into a pitiful condition of malnutrition. They would come up and take their crops away from them, so that they didn’t have enough food to eat. As a result, the people were “greatly impoverished” (Judges 6:3-6).
The predicament the children of Israel were in is similar to our day. Our enemy, the devil, has succeeded in scattering Christians into many different divisions and sects. It is a sad condition indeed. Furthermore, the enemy of our souls has succeeded in a large measure to starve the Lord’s people of spiritual food. Christians generally are poorly fed. The result of this is that they are in a state of spiritual malnutrition.
1) He Stayed in His Inheritance and Gathered Food for His Personal Needs
In the face of this pitiful condition of the Lord’s people we are introduced to Gideon. He is called “a mighty man of valour” because he wouldn’t let the Midianites chase him out of his inheritance, as was the case with many of his brethren, and he wasn’t going to let them starve him out of the food that he and his family needed. That’s the first thing that I want to point out in Gideon—he stayed in his inheritance and found a secret place to gather food for his personal needs. He valued the “wheat” and threshed it out in secret so that he and his family could be fed. He was an overcomer; he overcame in the place where God had put him.
Wheat in Scripture speaks of Christ. He is “the grain of wheat” that fell to the ground and died (John 12:24). Gathering wheat is a type of getting something of Christ from the Word of God that would feed our souls. It is of utmost importance that each one of us would be found doing this daily. The Lord said, “My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me” (John 6:55-57). The Lord, of course, was speaking figuratively when He said that. His “flesh” would represent the truth concerning His Person, and His “blood” would speak of the results of His work on the cross. Simply put, we are to assimilate the truth concerning the Person and the work of Christ.
As I say, Gideon had a secret place where he was doing this. It speaks of having a private time each day—a “quiet time” if you want to call it that—where we get alone with the Lord to get a little spiritual food for our souls. This is absolutely essential for anyone who wants to serve the Lord. How can we expect to be of use to Him in His service if we are not found each day getting food for our souls from the Word?
Now may I ask, “Are you feeding on Christ? Do you have a quiet time each day when you’re alone with the Lord to read His Word and commune with Him?” Threshing, you know, takes time and energy. If you’re going to get something out of the Word for your soul, it will take a little diligence—but you’ll find that it is worth it. The Christian who neglects his Bible cannot expect to be used of the Lord in any appreciable way. He won’t be much of a help to anyone. And, as you read the Scriptures, don’t neglect getting into some good written ministry that will help you understand the Word. God has given gifts to the Church for that purpose, and they can be a help to you. But remember, while reading ministry is profitable, there’s no substitute for communion with the Lord.
Notice, it was when Gideon was alone threshing wheat that the Lord manifested Himself to him. And when we are alone having our “quiet time,” the Lord desires to come to us and manifest Himself. It is a promise that He Himself has made. He said, “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21). Now, He’s not going to manifest Himself bodily as He did with Gideon, but He’ll make Himself precious to us in a special way that will be known only by those who take time to get into the Word.
The Angel of the Lord found this future deliverer of God’s people in an insignificant place in the land—in “Ophrah.” Nothing noteworthy had ever come out of that region before, yet the Lord found His man there. This shows that the Lord knows exactly where every potentially useful person is among His people. You’re not lost in the crowd with God. You don’t have to make a lot of noise to get noticed by Him. If you just go on with the Lord, learning the truth, and walking in it, He’ll see it, and will call you in His good time to a work that He has for you.
I remember a brother telling me of a conversation that he had with Mr. Hayhoe that was very encouraging to him. I asked him what he said. Mr. Hayhoe said to him, “Brother, go on quietly with the Lord. Make sure that you are getting a daily intake of Christ in the Word. Learn the truth and walk in it; the Lord will see it, He knows where you are, and will use you in His service in His good time.” That was good advice. The tendency sometimes among younger brothers who are making progress in the truth is to want to take part publicly in larger meetings (conferences, tea meetings, etc.) to let everyone know that they’re growing. But you don’t have to do that. Go on with the Lord with a quiet confidence, knowing that He is watching, and that He’ll use you in His good time, as He sees fit. There is something beautiful about one who goes on quietly, not trying to make a big splash of attention among his brethren.
That’s exactly what you have here in Gideon. He was quietly gathering food, refusing to concede his portion of the inheritance to the enemy; and the Lord saw it, and called him to a needed work. Notice that Gideon is seen first using the sickle before he’s seen using the sword! It should be the same with us. The sickle points to the private intake of food from the Word of God; whereas the sword would speak of the public deliverance of the Lord’s people. It’s really quite simple; if we’re going to be a help in the Lord’s service, we must first be feeding on Christ personally. Don’t neglect your quiet time each day with the Lord.
2) He Was Genuinely Concerned For God’s People
Let’s read verses 13-14, “And Gideon said unto Him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? But now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” We see here that Gideon was deeply exercised about the condition of things amongst God’s people. He saw them in a desperate condition and wondered why the Lord hadn’t come in to help. He was concerned for them with a genuine care. This is an important and necessary thing. The servant of the Lord must have a genuine care for the people of God.
Gideon felt what the Lord’s people were going through, and he had a lot of questions. Maybe you’ve got some questions as to why things are the way they are. He mentions how their fathers spoke of the manifestations of the Lord’s power in days gone by, but it wasn’t being seen in his day. Perhaps you’ve heard about the early days of brethren when there were many gifts in teaching, and there was power in gospel preaching, etc., and wonder why we don’t see it today. Maybe you’re saying, “Why are things so weak among us?” These are good and honest questions.
Note, Gideon said, “Why then is all this befallen us?” He didn’t say, “Why has all this befallen them?” He doesn’t accuse his brethren of the weakness that existed, but takes his part in it, saying, “us” (6 times in one verse). He included himself, and this is important. We need to own our part in the failure of God’s people, if we are ever going to be a help to them. See Daniel 9, Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9.
Then it says, “And the Lord looked upon him.” Gideon had expressed his concern for the people of God, and the Lord looked on that, and appreciated it. You may have an exercise about the Lord’s people that maybe nobody else knows about it, but I assure you, He does, and He appreciates your concern. Let me ask, “Do you love the Lord’s people?” If you have no real love or concern for the people of God, you won’t be very effective in reaching out and helping them. The Apostle Paul could say, “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). That’s the kind of care we need to have.
The Lord said to Gideon, “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.” He encouraged him to go and be a help to His people. But what was “this” that the Lord was referring to? I believe that it was Gideon’s care and concern for the people of God. If he would go out to help them with that genuine love and care that he had for them, he would be effective. H. E. Hayhoe used to say, “What comes from the heart will go to the heart.” We must carry out our service for the Lord from our hearts, as Scripture says, “Doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6).
3) He Had a Sense of His Own Nothingness
Now let’s read verse 15-16; “And he said unto Him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the LORD said unto him, “Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” Here we have a third thing that marked Gideon—he had a sense of his own nothingness. This is essential in serving the Lord. The person who carries himself amongst God’s people with self-importance will not be effective in his ministry. People are going to see pride—an outward pretence perhaps, and it will hinder our efforts to reach them. The thing about pride is that we don’t see it in ourselves. Others may see it a mile away, but our hearts are deceptive. The Lord said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9) Humility is more than just a word; it’s a lifestyle. One of our hymns says, “Low thoughts of self befitting, proclaimers of Thy praise” (L. F. #231).
If we are going to be used of the Lord, we will have to be stripped of our self-importance. The Lord will not identify Himself in power with one who has a high opinion of himself. The Bible says, “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). The Lord is our great example; He was the only One Who had a right to exalt Himself, and Scripture says, “He humbled Himself!” (Phil. 2:8) J. N. Darby said, “People want to feel strong in the service of the Lord, but what we need to feel is that we are weak, because then His power will rest upon us” (2 Cor. 12:9). Gideon felt his weakness and the Lord could use a man like that.Gideon said, “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?” He looked at himself and knew that he didn’t have the resources to save Israel from their enemies. He as much as said, “Lord, I don’t have anything to save them with; what could I do?” You might be saying that too. Perhaps you look at yourself and think, “I don’t have any great gift to be a help in serving the Lord. I don’t have much knowledge of the Word of God; what could I do?” The Lord told him that it was not the “wherewith” of Gideon that was going to save Israel; it was the “with Whom” that was going to save them! The Lord promised to be with him, and that would be enough to deliver the people. This is important to understand. It is not our ability, nor is it the need that sends us to the work; it’s the Lord’s call and the Lord being with the servant that makes his service effective. Dear brother or sister, it’s not about your ABILITY; it’s about your AVAILABILITY. Are you willing to let the Lord use you in His service? That’s the question.
4) He Wanted to Offer a Sacrifice Before Any Steps in Service Were Taken
Now let’s read verses 18-19, “Depart not hence, I pray Thee, until I come unto Thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before Thee. And He said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto Him under the oak, and presented it.” We see here that Gideon understood that worship is more important than service, and he wanted to be a worshipper before any steps were taken in service. He understood that all service must spring out of worship, and therefore, he wanted to present something to the Lord before doing something for the Lord. That’s an important order. In whatever desire we may have to serve the Lord and fill a place of usefulness in the testimony of the Lord, let us never think that that is more important than giving what is due to Him in worship. The greatest thing we can do in appreciation for what the Lord has done for us is to give Him our heartfelt thanksgiving and praise. But it shouldn’t stop there; there should be an overflow that will come out in service for Him. The Psalmist could say, “What shall I render unto the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the Name of the LORD” (Psa. 116:12-13).
It’s significant that the highest commendation of the mighty men in David’s army was given to the three that gave something to David that refreshed his heart. The others did great things for him, but they did not attain unto the first three (2 Sam. 23:13-17, 19, 23). This teaches us that the Lord values worship more than service. We need to keep our service in its proper perspective. Other the other hand, some might take it that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with service, because worship is more important—but that is a mistake. If we are truly worshipping Him, there will be an overflow into service.
5) He Accepted Correction
Verses 20 says, “And the Angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.” This is interesting; Gideon presented what he thought would be an appropriate offering to the Lord, but there was one thing that he brought that was not acceptable according to the directions given by Moses for the offerings. Gideon presented “the flesh” and “the unleavened cakes;” those things were acceptable. But he also presented “broth” and that wasn’t acceptable. We don’t read anywhere in the Word of God that an Israelite should bring an offering of broth to the Lord—it was something of his own invention. He did it, no doubt, with good intentions, but it wasn’t according to God’s order. So, the Lord said, “Pour out the broth.” And Gideon “did so.” Here we have another feature in Gideon that should be found in every servant of the Lord—he could accept correction. How important that is!
Accepting correction on the touchy topic of how to worship is most remarkable. We all have our opinions—especially on that subject—and we don’t appreciate being told us we’re wrong. But we are never going to do everything perfectly; if we make a mistake, we need to be humble enough to accept adjustment on it. We don’t want to be like Nabal. He was “such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him” (1 Sam. 25:17). He was unapproachable.
Admitting we are wrong is something that most of us have a problem doing. Oh, dear brother and sister, you’ll spoil your service for the Lord if you can’t say you’re wrong. Ruth received correction from her mother in law (Compare Ruth 2:8 with Ruth 2:21-23). She showed a beautiful spirit in the matter. Proverbs 25:12 says, “As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.” I promise you; you will be tested on this. And it might come from someone who you think has no right to correct you, and it will manifest your spirit. If we truly have low thoughts of ourselves, it will be easy to receive correction, but if we are marked by the self-importance that we were talking about, we’re going to have a difficulty with this. It will be manifest to all around, and it will hurt your service. Therefore, you want to be open to receive correction.
Now let’s read on in verses 21-23; “Then the Angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that He was an Angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! For because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” Note: The Angel touched “the flesh and the unleavened cakes” with the end of his staff, but not the broth. Again, this shows that it was not accepted. This, too, is important in service. The servant must have an overwhelming sense that the Lord is sending him to a work. He must have peace about it. But the thing to see here is that the Lord granted Gideon this sense of “peace” while he was worshipping. He didn’t get it by looking at himself or looking at the enemy.
The Lord said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38). The word for “send” here in the original language is much stronger than the normal word for send. The same word is translated “thrust” elsewhere (Luke 5:3). This shows that the servant should have a definite sense that the Lord is not just sending him but thrusting him into a work. If it is not there, it may be just the will of the servant desiring to do a work for the Lord, and that is not enough.
This is something that is hard to qualify, because the Lord is not likely to come to us in a personal interview (like in the case of Gideon) and spell out exactly what He would have us to do for Him. It takes faith and a profound sense that the Lord is sending us to a particular work. It may be that we won’t be able to point to any tangible thing, but we just have an over-whelming sense of peace about what the Lord is calling us to do. The servant should know that the Lord is calling him. Similarly, the Lord, as the great Servant of God, before He went forth in service, saw the heavens opened and a voice from heaven, saying, “Thou art My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). He had that confirmation that the service He was stepping out to do for His Father met His Father’s approval. This same sense of peace was given to Gideon, though he had some difficulty receiving it at first.
This is important because there will come a time when you will meet opposition in the path, and you might be inclined to say, “I wonder if the Lord really has sent me in the first place?” But if there is this sense of peace about it, you’ll be able to withstand the criticisms and crossfire that surely will come in service. Gideon had a secret sense of the Lord’s approval that would carry him in the hard times. It’s true that Gideon still had a lot of doubts and needed the Lord to encourage him again and again, but that was a weakness with Gideon—one that I personally can identify with. But it is not to Gideon’s commendation that the Lord had to confirm and re-confirm it to him. In fact, I believe that it was seven times that the Lord reaffirmed Gideon’s call.
Judges 6:12-14.
Judges 6:15-16.
Judges 6:17-24.
Judges 6:36-38
Judges 6:39-40.
Judges 7:4-7.
Judges 7:9-15.
Gideon built an altar unto the Lord and called it “Jehovah-shalom” which means, “The Lord sends peace” (vs. 24). That’s exactly what the Lord gave Gideon. I say it again, the servant must have this sense of peace before he does anything in service for the Lord.
6) He Had Courage to Take a Stand Against Something That Wasn’t Right Among His Brethren
Now let’s read verses 25-27, “And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: and build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.” Gideon is ready to go, but before the Lord sent him out to the battlefield, there was something that He wanted him to do. The Lord wanted him to take a stand against the idolatry in his own father’s house, and Gideon did it. We see here another beautiful quality in Gideon—he had courage to take a stand against something that wasn’t right.
Now you might say, “I don’t see much courage in Gideon here; he had to do it by night because he was scared.” Yes, that’s true, but he did do it. And where was it? In his own father’s house—perhaps the most difficult place to make a stand, because the tendency of our hearts is to excuse family, rather than to speak out against them. But he did it anyway. If a man can rise above family claims and bias, he truly is ready to be a servant of the Lord (Luke 9:59-62).
We are living in days in the Church’s history when there is much that is not according to the Word of God. And there might be something that we know is not right among our brethren. If this is the case, we need to seek grace from the Lord to point it out that it might be corrected. I realize that this is not easy—especially if you’re a timid person like me. The Psalmist said, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psa. 27:14). “Wait” in the Old Testament, carries the thought of trust.
Now I don’t mean that you should go around making a nuisance of yourself among your brethren, crying against every little thing that you think is not quite right. Your service for the Lord should be primarily positive. You want to bring Christ before your brethren as much as possible. Notice, Gideon was not to just tear down what wasn’t right; he was to bring in something positive that was right. After tearing down the idol, the Lord said to him, “Build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock” (vs. 26). You know, it’s relatively easy to point out failure among your brethren, but can we give them something that would be of Christ to build them up? The “second bullock” speaks of Christ, “the second Man,” the “Lord from heaven” (1 Cor. 15:47). When the men of the city went out the next morning, they saw that which speaks of Christ! Oh, that’s what I desire in my ministry—to set Christ before you. If our ministry hasn’t got Christ in it, it will be dry and unfruitful.
He Didn’t Defend Himself When He Was Attacked and Criticized
Now in verses 28-30: “And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. Then the men of the city said unto Joash; Bring out thy son, that he may die because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? Will ye save him? He that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.”
We see here that Gideon’s stand for the Lord was completely misunderstood by his brethren. They wanted to kill him because he had pulled down their idol. This often happens when a person takes a faithful stand on some issue—those whose consciences have been smitten by it will rise up in indignation against him. You might have an exercise to help the people of God, and do what is right, but your brethren might misunderstand it. However, we need to understand that serving the Lord faithfully will not likely make us popular. Look at the prophets of old; the people often rejected them.
This must have been disheartening to Gideon. He tried to do something for the Lord, and his brethren interpreted it that he was a rebel! But again, he did the right thing; he didn’t meet their aggression with aggression. This is another beautiful feature that marked Gideon—he didn’t defend himself when he was attacked and criticized. He wisely left it with the Lord. The lesson here is that when you are misunderstood, criticized, and accused of things wrongly, don’t defend yourself—leave it with the Lord.
But lo and behold, Gideon’s father (“Joash”) stood up for him! His father, of all people! He was the one who was the promoter of the idolatry, having it right in his own house. But Gideon’s faithfulness wins his father. Isn’t that beautiful! His father could see that he really did have the Lord’s glory before him, and that he truly wanted to please the Lord—and he took a stand with Gideon.
Gideon’s Sphere of Service Broadens
Then in verse 33, we find that their enemies (“the Midianites the Amalekites and the children of the east”) muster their armies for another raid on Israel. “But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him” (vs. 34). The Lord allows the enemy to lift up its head at this time, and the attention of the men of the city is turned away from trying to kill Gideon. In their need for a deliverer, you find that they respond to Gideon’s trumpet call, and “Abiezer was gathered after him!” These were Gideon’s local brethren—the very ones who misunderstood him! They now rise up to support him! This reminds me of an incident H. E. Hayhoe told concerning his own ministry. He said that when he was young and was trying to serve the Lord, he overheard a couple of his brethren in the cloak room speaking of him in a negative way—they saw him as a young upstart know-it-all. He went to some of his older brethren and asked them what he ought to do to defuse the dislike those brothers had of him; and they wisely said, “Go on with the Lord, and they’ll change their mind.” And he said that that’s exactly what happened. He won them, not by confronting them, but by “patient continuation in well doing.”
Gideon takes courage in this and sends messengers out to his tribe (“Manasseh”) and to three neighbouring tribes—“Asher,” “Zebulun,” and “Naphtali,” to call them to come up and meet him. And they too, were willing to support him in his effort to deliver Israel. As we fill the place of service the Lord has given us to do, it will broaden to a larger sphere, and brethren from further afield will recognize it in time. This is the normal order of things.
Two Lessons From a Fleece of Wool
In verses 36-40, apparently Gideon had second thoughts—he had some doubt about whether the Lord would really use him to save His people from the Midianites. So, he put out “a fleece of wool” and asked the Lord to perform a miracle that would be a sign for him that He was truly going to help him. This was a weakness in Gideon. His faith was weak, but the Lord in patience and grace goes along with his request. How marvellous that the Lord has patience with our lack of trust in Him! What a great God we have!
Behind this exercise with the fleece are two valuable lessons the servant of the Lord must learn. First of all, Gideon asks that “dew” would be on the fleece, and not on the ground around it. Dew in Scripture speaks of God’s favour and blessing on His people in a manifested way (Psa. 133:3; Hos. 14:5; Gen. 27:28; Deut. 33:28). The lesson here is that the servant must seek, at all times, to be “full with the blessing of the LORD,” even though those around him may be dry (Deut. 33:23). To be thus, one must constantly be in the presence of the Lord, drinking in “the dew of heaven.” In the morning, Gideon “wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.” This speaks of the servant being willing to be wrung out in tireless service for the Lord so that His people might be refreshed. One might admire the place the servant has in service, but there is another side of it; and that is willingness to give and give again in tireless service. Serving the Lord is not always easy!
Then Gideon asks, “Let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.” And the Lord did exactly that the next night. This might speak of times when the servant is dry having nothing to give. He should still be happy to see the Lord’s people being refreshed and helped, even though it didn’t come through him. God may use some other means to refresh His people, and we should be happy, as long as they are helped. This is an important test for all servants; we must understand that the Lord doesn’t need to use us to bring blessing to His people. We shouldn’t be jealous or offended that He would use someone else to bring blessing to them.
The Lord's Preparation of Gideon's Army
In the sixth chapter, the Lord was preparing the deliverer; in the seventh chapter, the Lord prepares his army. Chapter 7 outlines what should characterize the Lord’s servants in a day when there is much weakness and failure among God’s people. There are some valuable lessons here for us. The Lord passed the recruits for Gideon’s army through certain tests before they were ready to be used. These tests manifested what kind of men they were. There are five things in particular in this 7th chapter that I want to point out.
1) Courage and Conviction
The first thing we see the Lord looking for in Gideon’s men is courage and conviction (Judges 7:1-3). To find such among those who volunteered for Gideon’s army, the Lord gave them a simple test. He told Gideon to tell the people, “Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead.” If they didn’t have the faith and conviction for this work of fighting the enemy, they were given the opportunity to return. This immediately distinguished those who truly had the courage and conviction for the job.
In service, it’s important that we don’t push people beyond what they have faith for. Courage to exercise our gift takes faith, and a person should exercise his gift according to the measure of his faith. The Word of God says, “According as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith ... . Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith” (Rom. 12:3, 6).
Timothy was naturally timid, and the Apostle Paul sought to encourage him to use his gift, saying, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:6-7). If, however, a person does not have the faith for some work that we think they should do, we must not push them into that which they will later have difficulty carrying out. This was the mistake of Barnabas and Paul (Acts 13:1-5). In their first missionary journey they took with them a young man named John Mark, who was not ready for the work. God had said, by the Spirit, “Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” He didn’t say anything about bringing Mark along. We know what happened; Mark turned back from the work, and it spoiled his testimony (Acts 13:13; 15:38).
2) Unwavering Devotion to the Master’s Service
The servant of the Lord must be willing and courageous, but he must also be devoted to his Master’s will. He must undertake his service for the Lord with such tenacity and conviction that he allows nothing to come between it and the Lord. Since every servant will profess his devotion to his Master, each must be tested as to the reality of it (Judges 7:4-8).
To identify those in Gideon’s army who truly were “meet for the Master’s use” (2 Tim. 2:21), Gideon was told to bring the men “down unto the water.” The Lord would put them through the “water test.” He said, “Bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there.” Those who took the water up to their mouths in their hands were the ones the Lord wanted to use in His service. The others who got down and “lapped” it like “a dog” were not going to be used. Sure enough, some of the men took the water up to their mouths, and others got down and lapped the water.
The water would sustain the servant in the battle and ensuing pursuit of the enemy. It was a needed and welcomed mercy of the Lord. In this passage, it speaks of creature mercies in temporal things, which the Lord provides for His people in the way. Those who got down and drank the water had momentarily taken their eyes off the task at hand. It speaks of those who indulge in natural mercies and make such their object. Such can not be used in the Lord’s service in any significant way. On the other hand, those who took the water to their mouths were able to stay vigilant as to the service at hand. These were taken and used by the Lord in the battle.
The great question for us is, “How do we handle these temporal mercies?” The Lord would have us to partake of them to refresh and sustain us in the way, but do we indulge in such to the point where we get our eyes off the work at hand? These things can be a distraction. We cannot expect to be used of the Lord when we are engrossed in natural things? Uriah the Hittite is a striking example of the devotion we need to have. He wouldn’t put natural things before the work of the Lord—even to go home to his wife—until the battle against the Ammonites was won (2 Sam. 11:6-13).
Furthermore, those who took water in their hands to drink must necessarily have had clean hands! This speaks of practical holiness in our personal lives. As servants of the Lord, we must be careful to handle His things with clean hands. “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD” (Isa. 52:11). Clean hands are needed in:
Private life (Job 17:9).
Worship (Psa. 24:3-4; Psa. 26:6).
Service (Isa. 52:11).
3) Felt Weakness
Gideon felt his weakness and needed another confirmation. The Lord knew it and told him to go down to the camp of the Midianites at night and to listen to what they were saying about him (Judges 7:9-14). This would be an encouragement and a confirmation that the Lord was with him, as He promised.
He went down to the camp of the enemy and heard a man tell a dream to his friend. The man spoke of “a cake of barley” tumbling along in the wind and bumping into one of their tents, knocking it over. The other man interpreted it that “the sword of Gideon” was going to smite them! A barley cake is a little thing. Being moved along so easily by the wind, speaks of weakness, yet it accomplished a great thing. Gideon learned from the mouth of his enemies that God uses weak little things to accomplish His ends in service! The Bible says, “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Cor. 1:27).
We are to learn from this that if we go forth in ministry in felt weakness and dependence, God will come in and use us for the blessing of His people. People want to feel strong, but what we should want to feel is our weakness, because then we’ll experience the Lord’s power to help us Paul knew about this secret of power in ministry. He said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me ... . for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10; Isa. 40:29). Have we learned this?
4) Willingness to Serve Unnoticed
When the time came for the rout of the Midianites, the victory was entirely the Lord’s. Gideon and his men were told to stand forth in the night with “a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers” (Judges 7:15-22). At a signal from Gideon, they were to break the pitchers that concealed the light of the lamps and blow their trumpets. And the Lord would do the rest! In fact, what happened is that the Lord caused pandemonium to break out among the Midianites in the darkness, and they turned on one another with their swords and killed each other! This was an unusual method of beating the enemy, but it was God’s way of victory. The men of Gideon had a lamp in one hand and a trumpet in the other. It speaks of the dual testimony of the Christian. There is the testimony we live—as lamps shining “as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15); and there is the testimony we speak—as a trumpet, “holding forth the Word of life” (Phil. 2:16). Having one in each hand speaks of the need for proper balance between the two in our lives.
Notice too that in order for the light to shine out, they had to break the clay vessels that covered the lamps. The Apostle Paul picks up on this figure and uses it in application to the Christian minister. He said, “For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light [for the shining forth] of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassingness of the power may be of God, and not from us” (2 Cor. 4:6-7 – J. N. Darby Trans.). He tells us that we have a great light shining in us—“the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” He also alludes to the fact that our frail human frames are “earthen vessels” that can hinder the outflow of that glorious light. But God breaks down the vessel through the many afflictions and trials through which we pass, so that the light shines out unhindered. He said, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body” (2 Cor. 4:8-10). Such afflictions and trials have a way of bringing us to the point where we deny ourselves in self-judgment so that more of Christ would flow out of our human vessels.
There was an absence of display with these servants that is strikingly beautiful. They were standing in the dark night and could not be seen as they carried out their service for the Lord. It speaks of willingness to serve unnoticed by the public eye. This teaches us that God uses servants that are not occupied with putting themselves forward in His service. Paul mentioned this too; he said, “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5). If there is any thought in our hearts of getting a name for ourselves in the Lord’s work, there is something seriously wrong. It is a worldly principle that must be judged, or it will spoil our ministry. We’ve seen young men putting themselves forward in larger meetings to get what looks like recognition or notoriety, and it’s unseemly. Unfortunately, that ungainly motive is hard to detect in our hearts. We should pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa. 139:23-24). Our brethren often recognize it in us before we do, and if faithful, will point it out to us.
You know, we are more likely to get volunteers for the service of the Lord if the service is something that brings a person into the public eye. It’s just human nature. But Gideon’s men were willing to serve without being seen, and that’s commendable. Albert Hayhoe told the story of a time when he was young and went to a conference. By accident he had left his Bible on the chair after the gospel meeting. When he went back into the hall to get his Bible, he saw an old brother there alone picking up the gospel hymn books on the chairs. He said to Albert, “I always get plenty of help passing out the hymn books at the beginning of the meeting, but when it’s over I end up picking them up by myself.” Handing them out was a work that brought a person into the eye of all the people. We naturally like to do that kind of service because we get noticed. Albert said that that really spoke to him because he was one of the young men that had volunteered to hand them out at the beginning of the meeting!
5) Energy
In the latter part of the chapter we see the men from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh pursuing after the remaining Midianites. This brings before us another needed trait in the servants of the Lord—energy. We need energy in the service of the Lord. If we feel that the Lord has given us something to do for Him, let’s do it with zeal. Paul said, “It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing” (Gal. 4:18).
A little later, when Gideon’s men were pursuing after the fleeing Midianites, they got faint, but they continued to pursue anyway. They were “faint, yet pursuing” (Judges 8:4). This shows a real strength of character. They didn’t give up when the going got tough. Endurance is an important thing to have in the service of the Lord. Jeremiah said, “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently” (Jer. 48:10 – J. N. Darby Trans.).
It reminds me of the lesson that the old prophet Elisha gave to young king Joash (2 Kings 13:14-19). After showing the young king how to shoot the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, he told him to take arrows in his hand and smite the ground. It would symbolically represent the smiting of the Syrians. Joash smote the ground with the arrows three times, and stopped. And the prophet was angry with him! He told him that he should have smitten the ground “five or six times;” then the enemy would have been consumed. The point here is that when the Lord gives us something to do, we are to carry it out tenaciously, and finish the job. That’s what we see in Gideon’s men; they pursued the Midianites until they caught them and finished the work. This is an amiable quality in the servant of the Lord. The Lord Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).
Difficulties & Tests the Servant of the Lord Encounters
In chapter eight, we are presented with some difficulties and tests that the Lord’s servant may encounter. I would like to point out three of them and see how Gideon handled them as lessons for us.
1) Jealousy of Brethren
Let’s read verses 1-3; “And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply. And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? God hath delivered unto your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.”
When you seek to serve the Lord, you cannot expect that everybody is going to appreciate your service. If you are somewhat successful, you might spark jealousy in some. That was the case with Ephraim. They were, I believe, the largest tribe numerically, and they thought a lot of themselves (Josh. 17:14); after all, it was they who had the tabernacle, where all the tribes would go to worship the Lord (Josh. 18:1). This ministered to their pride. And when some insignificant servant like Gideon stepped out under the Lord’s leading, they thought that at least they should have been notified. At the bottom of it, they were jealous that the Lord used Gideon. Dear brother or sister, if you’re doing something for the Lord, sooner or later, you’ll encounter jealous brethren like this. They might want to get involved in whatever little service you might be doing for the Lord. We can learn a lesson here from Gideon as to how we are to handle such people.
Gideon diffused their jealousy by speaking of something great that they had done. He as much as said, “The work that you have done in this is far greater than what I have done. In comparison, just the gleaning of the grapes (done after the harvest) in Ephraim, is greater than the whole harvest of grapes in Abiezer!” Oh, I can tell you that the Ephraimites liked to hear that. It gave them a sense of importance. It diffused their present jealousy but didn’t correct the problem. You’ll see later in chapter 12 that it rises up in them again. Only there they meet with a man (Jephthah) who is of a different character than Gideon. He stood up to them and it resulted in a great conflict among brethren, and many were slain. Brethren, how do we speak to one another? Is it with hard words? We need to use gracious words toward one another. The Bible says, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Prov. 15:1). We’re not going to accomplish anything by getting angry. Have we not learned that “the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God?” (James 1:20)
One of the reasons why the Ephraimites were so fleshy was that some of them had inter-married with the Amalekites! We read in Judges 5:14, “Out of Ephraim came those whose root was in Amalek” (J. N. Darby Trans.). Also, in Judges 12:15 it says, “ ... in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.” What had happened was that they were not faithful to dispossess the Amalekites from their inheritance when they took the land under Joshua. Instead, they settled among the people there—in this case, it was the Amalekites. After a few generations, some had intermarried with them so that that tribe had a “root” “in Amalek.” And that’s a bad mixture! Amalek speaks of Satan’s operations on the flesh. They had not judged that enemy, and we find that what that enemy typifies was strong in them; and they became a source of trouble among their brethren (Prov. 6:19). How important it is that we judge ourselves, keeping the flesh in the place of death. If we let it “reign” in us, it will spoil our whole character (Rom. 6:12).
2) Lack of Support From Brethren
Let’s read verses 4-6, “And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them. And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?”
As mentioned earlier, Gideon’s men were “faint, yet pursuing.” It was because they needed food, and they didn’t have it with them. When Gideon approached “the men of Succoth” and sought their support in his effort to deliver Israel from the Midianites, they refused. This was a test for Gideon. He had come across brethren who didn’t think he was doing anything worthy of their fellowship. Their reason was that he hadn’t done anything significant to warrant their support. These people were not jealous, as were the Ephraimites; they were just indifferent. They didn’t have faith to see that Gideon was actually doing a work to which the Lord had sent him.
This teaches us that we can’t expect everyone to jump on board and support us when we step out to do a work for the Lord. It takes time for certain ones to warm up to the idea. There may be ones that will look at your little work for the Lord, and say, “He’s not a card-carrying bonafide labourer, so we can’t have fellowship with him!” Some are confused as to these things and we need to have patience with them. It may mean that sometimes you’ll have to serve without encouragement from your brethren. David knew about that, so he “encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (1 Sam. 30:6).
Now the way Gideon handles his brethren’s rejection of him and his service was wholly wrong. But we can learn from Gideon’s mistakes, as well as from the right things that he did. “And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers” (Judges 8:7). Gideon snapped back with a threat to discipline them for their lack of interest in his work for the Lord! This was wholly a wrong spirit to take toward his brethren. It may have been righteous, but it would never win them. He kept his word, and later, upon returning, he whipped them with the briers of the wilderness as a punitive discipline (Judges 8:16).
Then Gideon goes up from Succoth to Penuel and seeks support from them; and they refused like the men of Succoth did. This time Gideon becomes even more militant, and threatens to break down their tower, which he did later (Judg. 8:8-9, 17). Gideon shows an uncharacteristic spirit in these events, and it spoiled his beautiful testimony. Let us have a spirit of grace toward those that are slow to acknowledge us in our service. Who are we that we should demand the attention and support of the Lord’s people? At the end of the day we should say, “We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10). To do otherwise is to think too much of ourselves. We are warned that in service, a man is “not to think of himself more highly than he ought” (Rom. 12:3).
3) Flattery From the World & From Brethren
From verse 18 to the end of the chapter, we find another test for Gideon. It is a test that every servant will face sometime. It is just the opposite of the previous encounter with the men of Succoth. When he caught the kings of Midian, they sought to flatter him, saying, “As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king” (Judg. 8:18). Notice, they called him a king! It was calculated to touch the pride of Gideon. In flattering him, they hoped to gain favour with him so that he would go easy on them, and not kill them. The world flatters for selfish reasons; you can be sure of it. But their flattery didn’t work; Gideon rose up and slew them anyway.
Then Gideon’s brethren came to him saying, “Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian” (Judg. 8:22). Here, Gideon is tested again with flattery; but this time it was from his brethren. They wanted him to be their king. His brethren didn’t intend their comments to minister to his pride; they meant it sincerely. But they were going too far, for God had not told them to have a king.
The Bible says, “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet” (Prov. 29:5). By overdoing our praise of a person, we could put his feet in a net and cause him to stumble. My uncle used to say, “When someone showers you with praise, don’t believe it.” I suppose that’s a good safeguard. Gideon answers rightly, saying, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you” (Judg. 8:23). He refused all suggestions to having a place over his brethren. Let’s do the same.
Gideon suggested that they make an “ephod” of gold as some sort of remembrance of the victory. This was uncalled for and was something that turned out to be a snare to him and his household (Judg. 8:24-27). Behind it we see that Gideon wanted a little recognition, even though he had said that he didn’t want a place among his brethren! Such is the subtlety of the flesh. He wanted to be remembered for what he had done. You know, if we do something for the Lord, we should just leave it with Him: if all forget it, He won’t, and He will reward us in His time.
Deeds of greatness as we thought them,
He will find were but sin,
Acts of kindness, long forgotten,
He will show were for Him.
It’s sad, but Zebah and Zalmunna had put a seed in Gideon’s mind about having the place of a king. While it didn’t come out in Gideon’s words, it did come out in his actions. In the end of the chapter, we see that Gideon had an illegitimate child, and called his name, “Abimelech” (Jud. 8:29-31). Do you know what his name means?—“My father is king!” And this went further than just naming his son that; he must have sown seeds to that end in Abimelech, because he aspired to reign over his brethren, as we see in the next chapter (9).
In summary, Gideon started well, but didn’t end that well. In this 8th chapter, we see Gideon getting carried away with his own importance in service. Let us be warned by this. We are not as important as we may think. We are certainly not indispensable. The Lord does not need us in His service, but He is pleased to use us, if we remain humble and obedient. Notice, there is no record that the Lord ever used Gideon again after this. It seems that being carried away with his own importance resulted in him losing his usefulness to the Lord, and that’s sad. Elijah was another servant who lost his usefulness to the Lord on account of getting carried away with his personal faithfulness (1 Kings 19). Let’s learn these lessons as we seek to serve the Lord acceptably in our little corner of His vineyard.