Timeless Insights from the Book of Judges
How to Function in God’s Eternal Plan in a Compromising Culture
by
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God Allowed Gideon To Test Him for Reassurance (Judges 6:17-24).
How does God do eternal work in a compromising culture? When evil seems to prevail, and laws go against what God says in His Word, when it seems like good is faced with defeat after defeat, how in the world does God do an eternal work in a compromising culture? How can we be sure that God is at work? How can we be sure that God will use us to make a difference?
Look at how God allowed Gideon to Test Him for reassurance. If you are not sure, God will help you with reassurance.
1. God, show me a sign to reassure me (v. 17).
Gideon was quick to seek God for reassurance. Look at Judges 6:17: So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me.
God was right there in Gideon’s presence speaking, and clearing up his hopeless thinking, and Gideon, said, Lord I want to be sure that You are the One speaking to me. Show me something to prove that I have found favor in your sight and that you want to use me as you said. God, I just need to be sure that I am not tricking myself into answering a call that You did not make.
Do not get mad at Gideon, for asking for a sign. If America ended up oppressed for seven years by a nation we are supposed to conquer, and God called you to help, you too would want reassurance.
Anyway, whatever we think about Gideon asking for a sign is irrelevant. What is relevant is what God did with Gideon’s request. Did God become angry and kill Gideon? Did God simply walk away and choose someone else? What do you want God to do with you, when you are trying to get some reassurance?
2. God engaged Gideon because of his sincere heart (vs. 17-18)
God engaged Gideon because of his sincere heart. Look at Judges 6:18: “Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.”
God I know you will accept a certain kind of worship. I know that if I bring the right offering to you and lay it before You, you will accept it, and you will reveal yourself.
Idol gods cannot respond to anything a person brings to them. Idol gods receive ongoing maintained by the humans who worship them. I know the true God will respond to my offering. I must be sure this is the True and Living God.
Hold up! Whoever you are, I will be right back.
a. The offering was an indication of sincerity (vs. 19).
God is always looking at our heart, and Gideon’s willingness to bring an appropriate offering to seek God’s reassurance was an indication of his sincerity. Look at Judges 6:19: Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them.
b. God’s acceptance of the offering indicated sincerity (vs. 20-21).
How did the true God respond? Look at Judges 6:20-21: The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
God had Gideon act in faith, and rearrange the way he brought his offering to God. Move the bread and the meat, and pour out the broth. Gideon did not question God, but acted in faith.
God responds to our acts of faith. The Angel of the LORD caused fire to spring up from the rock and consumed the meat and the bread. This was God’s way of accepting Gideon’s offering and reassuring Gideon that He was engaging the True and the Living God.
Church, God sees you giving your offering in faith, and God will respond to reassure you.
3. God’s peace will reassure a fearful heart (v. 23).
Look at Judges 6:22-23: When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 The LORD said to him, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.”
Gideon was afraid because he engaged God face to face, and he thought he would die, because no one can see God’s face and live (Ex. 33:20).
Who was Gideon dealing with in the person of the Angel of the LORD? Since God is Spirit, and humans cannot see God face to face and live, and ordinary angels do not accept worship, and this person called the Angel of the LORD did accept worship from Gideon, Who was He?
The Angel of the LORD was none other than the Pre-incarnate Christ. Jesus, who is co-equal to God, came in human form and engaged human kind before he came to the earth as Mary’s baby. Jesus was in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrew Boys (Dan. 3:24-25).
Jesus showed up and reassured Joshua, as the Captain of God’s army (Josh. 5:13-15).
Jesus showed up and wrestled with Jacob, and then changed his name to Israel (Gen. 32:24-30).
Jesus also showed up in your situation and made you a child of God so that you now have abundant life (Eph. 2:1-10; John 10:10).
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About the Book
The purpose for this book is to show us how easy we can fall into compromise, worship idol gods, and end up in big trouble with God. The culture today is constantly changing, and people in the culture are demanding that we leave the Bible out of any meaningful discussion regarding right and wrong. In this culture, the Bible is unwelcome in discussions about social institutions, political approaches, and the core values in society. However, the Bible is still the final authority for the Christian’s faith and practice.
May these timeless insights gleaned from the Book of Judges bless each reader and bless you for years to come.
About the Author
I have known Dr. Brian Kennedy since he was a young child. He has always been a reverent and deep thinker about life and God. His knowledge of our current culture is clear and precise. He is well qualified to examine the book of Judges and share insights that are reverent for our day and time. I endorse this book because Dr. Kennedy has given us a Word from the Lord in which we can gain strength and power to live. If we read this book, we will have a broader perspective of life and gain insights to live a fulfilled life.
—Dr. Ephraim Williams
Senior Pastor, St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church,
Sacramento, California
Dr. Brian Kennedy is an uncompromising prophet who loves people enough to tell them the truth. The insights in this book are balanced, practical, and straightforward. Believers today are faced with unprecedented cultural pressure to conform to secular standards. As you apply what you read, you will stand strong in these very challenging times.
—Dr. Jeff Iorg
President, Gateway Seminary
With “Timeless Insights From The Book of Judges,” Dr. Brian Kennedy adds his voice to the growing number of writers doing in-depth examination and commentary on our current culture. In a timely departure from the status quo, however, his emphasis is not a mere description of the trendiest labels associated with the newest emerging mainstream demographic. Rather, he relies on Old Testament biblical model to identify the timeless and contemporary problem of compromise among God’s people and then point us toward the ongoing solution of obedience. It is a perspective as timely as the insights this book shares are timeless.
—Dr. Julius West
Sunergeo Christian Fellowship, Upland, California