Posts Tagged ‘Judges’

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah…” (Hebrews 11:32a ESV)

What should be said about Samson? How does he make it into the Hebrews Hall of Faith? An angel of the LORD announces his birth, first to his mother and then to both his mother and father. Samson is to be a Nazirite to God from the womb and he is to begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. In Contrast, An angel of the LORD announced the birth of Jesus to His mother, and then to Joseph. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.

Samson appeared to be led by lust, greed, anger, vengeance, and self-centered pleasure seeking. Jesus only did what the Father showed Him to do.

Samson violated every aspect of his “set-apartness” while Jesus lived out a life of perfection and obedience.

Samson went to the grave asking God if he could take vengeance on the Philistines in his death. Jesus placed himself on a cross in order to provide the perfect sacrifice for the remission of our sins.

I cannot imagine much more contrast between two lives than we witness between the life of Samson and the life of Jesus. Samson appears to be the perfect “anti-example” of a savior. And yet, Samson’s name appears in the list of ‘so great a cloud of witnesses’ in Hebrews 11. God isn’t talking to perfect people, religious people, or reformed sinners in the book of Hebrews. He is talking to all of us – those of us that need to look to Jesus and realize that nothing we can do will perfect our faith. Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah were listed in Hebrews 11, not because of who they were, but because of who God is. He takes the weak and makes us strong, He takes the fearful and provides courage; our LORD takes the lost and becomes our “founder and perfecter of our faith.”

Praise be to God!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah…” (Hebrews 11:32a ESV)

Jephthah’s story is told in Judges 10:6-12:7. Jephthah is described as a mighty warrior, but the son of a prostitute. His father, Gilead, had a wife who bore him other sons; Jephthah was driven out because his brothers didn’t want to share their inheritance with him. Jephthah went to the land of Tob to live, and worthless fellows collected around him and went out with him. It sounds like he was leading a gang of bandits.

After eighteen years of oppression from the Ammonites, Israel came to their senses and cried out to the LORD, who told them to go ask the gods they had been serving to save them. They finally put away the foreign gods and served the LORD. The people went and found Jephthah and negotiated with him to lead them and rule them. He agreed to lead them in battle if he could rule them after he returned with a victory and they accepted these conditions.

Now, Jephthah reminds me of many of us that seem to think, that in order for the LORD to bless us, we have to DO something. After his successful negotiation with the elders of Gilead, he decides to offer something to the LORD to negotiate a victory from God. Jephthah makes a conditional vow to the LORD. He promises that IF the LORD gives him a victory, then he will make a burnt offering of whatever (whoever) comes out of his house upon his return from battle. God provides the victory; Jephthah’s only child comes out of the house to greet him as he returns from battle, and he is grieved that he made this vow to God and must sacrifice his daughter.

An additional aspect of his story is when Jephthah allows himself to get sucked into a civil war and is responsible for killing 42,000 Ephraimites at the fords of the Jordon.

Just like Gideon and Barak, the LORD uses Jephthah, another seemingly unfaithful man, to provide relief to His people. Then the LORD credits Jephthah with faith – the Lord’s ways are not our ways.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah…” (Hebrews 11:32a ESV)

Of all of the names from the book of Judges found in Hebrews 11, Barak might be one of the most surprising. You may read his story in chapter four of Judges, but it really doesn’t place Barak in a very good light. He comes onto the scene receiving a reprimand from Deborah, a prophetess, as she reminds him of a command from the LORD that he apparently is choosing not to obey. He demonstrates his level of faith by telling Deborah that he will follow God’s command to go into battle, only if she will go with him. She agrees to go, but prophecies that he will not receive glory because the LORD will hand Sisera, Jabin’s commander, over to a woman. Just as prophesied, Jael, wife of Heber, drives a tent-stake through Sisera’s temple and then presents the fallen leader to Barak.

Barak exercised his measure of faith; he had enough faith to go into battle as long as a woman of God came with him. When we don’t possess enough faith to proceed, God provides. And then the LORD commends the faith.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah…” (Hebrews 11:32a ESV)

Have you ever marveled at what a gracious God we serve? Yahweh looks on the people that He chooses, covers their faults, declares them righteous, and then commends them. Four very unlikely candidates for God’s “Hall of Faith” (Hebrews 11) seem to appear just in passing. The four individuals mentioned from the book of Judges are a remarkable collection of men; not remarkable for what they accomplished, but remarkable because of God’s work in and through them. Not one of these men stands out as a spiritual giant, yet God places them into a list of individuals “commended through their faith.”

Gideon’s story is told in Judges, chapters six through nine. The Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against the Israelites and devour the produce of the land every time they planted crops. The outside oppression was so bad at that time that the Israelites made caves and dens and other strongholds in the mountains to hide. Gideon is introduced to the story while he is “beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.” When the angel of the LORD informs Gideon of God’s call, Gideon asks for a sign. The angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched a goat and unleavened cakes that had been placed on a rock; fire comes out of the rock and consumes the food – the angel of the LORD vanishes. When the LORD tells Gideon to tear down the altar of Baal that his father had and the Asherah pole beside it, Gideon performed this task by night “because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day.” Gideon then tests God twice by asking for a fleece to be either dry or wet while the ground is the opposite. God is gracious and continues showing signs.

We probably all remember the story of how God proclaimed that the army Gideon finally gathered was too large and how the LORD instructed it to shrink to just 300 men. When the LORD finally gives Gideon his marching orders, Gideon is informed that “if you are afraid” go down to the camp of the enemy and hear what they are saying. When Gideon and his servant get near the enemy camp they hear two soldiers conversing about a loaf of barley bread that comes down a hill and knocks over a tent. The soldiers conclude that it must represent the sword of Gideon; they agree that they are doomed. Hearing this story gives Gideon enough faith to follow the LORD’s instructions and he ends up routing the enemy (while God confused the enemy and caused them to turn on each other).

After the battles are won, the people want to make Gideon and his family their ruler. He says he would rather not, but he will take gold from them. He makes an ephod that becomes a snare to him and his family because people begin to worship this ephod. Gideon acquires many wives, has seventy sons by them, and also has a child by a concubine in Shechem. Gideon’s death is recorded at the end of chapter eight, but his story continues through chapter nine. Abimelech, the son of Gideon’s concubine, kills seventy sons of Gideon, sets himself up as king, is cursed by Gideon’s youngest son, Jotham, and the LORD has to deal with Abimelech and the people that helped him.

What a gracious and merciful God we serve, that looks at Gideon and commends him for his faith. May we all experience that same level of grace when we are repeatedly unfaithful to our Maker and Redeemer.

 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

Even with our best intentions we fall short of God’s righteousness. Numerous places in Scripture^* indicate that man, without the LORD’s leading, will do what is right in his own eyes. That sounds good, makes sense, and is logical and understandable. What more could God expect than for us to do what we believe is right?

The problem is that even our best efforts only amount to filthy rags^** in God’s eyes. Our righteousness is no righteousness at all because anything we do that is not done in faith is sin. ^*** The only way we can put on a robe of righteousness is to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD. ⁺

 ^* Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:25, Proverbs 21:2, Judges 17:6, Judges 21:25, etc.; ^** Isaiah 64:6; ^*** Romans 14:23; ⁺ Exodus 15:26, Deuteronomy 6:18, Deuteronomy 12: 8,25,28, Deuteronomy 13:18, Proverbs 17:24, Isaiah 33:15, etc.