Some of you may remember the popular reality television show from a few years ago called “Fear Factor.” On the show, contestants would compete with one another in a variety of fear-evoking stunts for a cash prize. The stunts usually compelled contestants to face such common fears as heights, darkness, water, speed, or unpleasant creatures. As viewers watched they were forced to ask themselves if walking on a bed of broken glass barefoot, eating live cockroaches, or bobbing for apples in a 50 gallon tank of cow’s blood is worth $50,000. In addition to the cash prize, the winner enjoyed bragging rights when the show’s host declared the triumphant tagline, “Evidently, fear is not a factor for you!”
Personally, I never watched the show; I was always too afraid! But even among the bravest (or dumbest) “Fear Factor” contestants, the truth is that everyone is afraid of something. Some people are scared of snakes, spiders, and hornets. Other people are terrified of needles, clowns, or public speaking. What do you fear?
Fear is a major factor throughout the Book of Judges, especially in the Gideon story. As we learned last week, Gideon was the coward of the county. He was fearful of the Midianites who raided the Israelite crops and forced them to flee to the mountains. He was also afraid to obey God’s call to be judge over Israel and he tried everything he could to back out of leading the liberation of Israel from the hands of the mighty Midianites.
But God was gracious to Gideon. He patiently helped him face his fears and forge ahead in a new life of faith. When the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and clothed him courage, he sounded his trumpet and mustered the troops from the northern tribes of Israel and prepared for battle in the Valley of Jezreel. Now God reverses Gideon’s fear and uses him to deliver the Israelites from cruel Midianite oppression. Let’s see how it happens!
An Army Too Large (1-8)
The author of Judges introduces Gideon (in this episode) by his divinely appointed name Jerubbaal, which means “victory over Baal.” Oftentimes in the Bible when God changes someone’s name, it signifies a change in the person’s faith. The author does this here to call attention to the fact that Gideon is going into battle as a man of faith rather than fear and that he will win victory over the false god of the Midianites.
It is rather ironic that Gideon and his troops were camped at the spring of Harod. The name Harod sounds similar to the Hebrew word “harad” which means “tremble or be terrified.” The very name hints at the emotional state of Gideon’s army which was terrified because they were infinitely inferior to the Midianite army. This location also foreshadows the method that God would employ to deliver the Midianites into Gideon’s hands.
The fact that Gideon’s army is vastly outmanned and outgunned makes God’s next speech utterly shocking. Can you see confusion on Gideon’s face when God told him that his army was too big? Can you feel the bewilderment in Gideon’s bones as God told him to announce to his men, “Whoever is shaking with fear may turn around and leave Mount Gilead? Can you taste the sweat trickling down Gideon’s cheek as he watched two-thirds of his troops immediately walk away? (The army was reduced from 32,000 to 10,000 soldiers.) And further, can you hear the horror in Gideon’s heart when he heard God said, “Your army is still too large.” What a test of courage—what a test of faith!
From there, God told Gideon to take his remaining men down to the water and that he would sift them even more. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink. Presumably, this would divide the soldiers who were dutifully alert from those who haphazardly plunged themselves into the water. Gideon watched with horror as only three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths and all the rest got down on their knees to drink. Then LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.”
What would you do if you were in Gideon’s place? How would you respond to God’s unorthodox approach of amassing an army? Would you respond with fear or faith? Would you cower behind common sense or would you continue on in unconventional courage? Would you rely on your own wisdom or would you put your full trust in the Lord? Thankfully, Gideon put his trust in the Lord!
The reason why God reduced the size of Gideon’s army from 32,000 to 300 was so that the Israelites would not boast that they defeated the Midianites in their own strength. He wanted there to be no doubt about the supernatural source of their deliverance. He was trying to teach Gideon and the people of Israel the lesson: When you fear the Lord, you don’t have to fear anything else! So, Gideon and his 300 men gathered up some provisions, but notice that they didn’t garner any weapons. Instead, they collected as many trumpets as they could find. What were they going to do with these trumpets? We shall see!
Reassuring Reluctance (9-18)
That very evening, after darkness fell, the Lord told Gideon to march against the Midianite camp because he was going to deliver it into his hands. Now Gideon had come a long way toward overcoming his fear, but charging into the Midianite camp revealed a few lingering anxieties. So once again God intervened for Gideon by telling him to take his servant Purah and sneak to the outpost of the Midianite camp and listen to what the enemy was saying.
If there was ever a time for Gideon to have cold feet, it was now. As the two men slowly approached [the glowing watch fires of hundreds of circling camps, they were confronted by the vast size of the enemy army in the evening dews and damps.] The allied forces of Midianites, Amalakites, and peoples of the East were like a swarm of locusts and their camels outnumbered the grains of sand on the seashore.
But just as Gideon arrived, in God’s providential timing, he overheard one Midianite soldier relating a dream to a friend. In his dream, he saw a round loaf of barley bread roll right through the Midianite camp and overturn the entire tent. His comrade immediately interpreted the dream’s significance. The bread symbolized Gideon’s sword (military strength) and the toppling of the tent represented Midian’s collapse. Through the overhearing of this dream, God gave Gideon the exact reassurance that he needed.
Gideon finally feared the Lord more than the enemy. As he reached the high point of his faith, he dropped to his knees and worshipped the Lord on the spot. He was now a full-fledged worshipper of the one true God and he was completely ready to put his faith into action. When he returned to his camp, he marshaled his troops and commanded them saying, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianites into your hands!” He fearlessly executed the battle plan that the Lord had given him. He divided the troops into three companies and armed them with trumpets and torches, which were places in earthenware jars to conceal the flames and protect them from the wind. On his cue, he instructed his men to follow his lead and do exactly what he did.
God often does the same thing for us today! He gives us a divine word of assurance when we need it most! God’s providence is mysterious and work! Have you ever gone through a particularly confusing or challenging time in your life, and somehow you received the exact word that you needed to hear—maybe you just happened to turn to the perfect Bible verse, got a card in the mail, heard something on the radio, or had an encouraging conversation with a friend. How many of you have ever left church saying, “How did the preacher know? That sermon was just for me!” In this story, we learn that sometimes God even speaks to us through our enemies. Ponder that for a while!
A Night of Terror (19-25)
When Gideon got to the edge of the enemy camp in the middle of the night, all three hundred troops blew their trumpets in unison, smashed the jars, revealed their flaming torches, and shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” This shock and awe tactic gave the appearance of a fully armed military force and it caused utter terror in the Midianite camp. Evidently, fear was a factor for the Midianite soldiers that night. They frantically reached for their swords and fled their tents. Amid the panic of darkness, trumpet blasts, blazing torches, and enemy shouts, the Midianite soldiers began swinging their swords at anyone who came near them. Ironically, there wasn’t a single Israelite soldier inside their camp and the Midianites wound up slaughtering their own men.
With the remnants of the Midianite army scattered and weakened, Gideon called out the northern tribes of Israel to pursue a mop-up operation to finish the mission. The tribe of Ephraim captured the important water sources and executed Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian, and sent their heads back to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan River. With that, the war was over and Israel was liberated!
And so, God proved his great power by delivering the nation of Israel through Gideon, the coward of the county and his band of three-hundred trumpeters. This scene shows us how God often uses weakness to overcome strength. Wasn’t this the case with our Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus did not deliver us from our sins by the power of his hands; he saved us through the weakness of his hands as they were nailed to the cross.
As I conclude, I would like focus on one of the key themes of the Gideon narrative. It is amazing how the role of fear is highlighted throughout this story. At the beginning, Gideon and the whole nation of Israel were afraid of the Midianites. Then Gideon is afraid to follow God’s call in his life. Then 22,000 Israelites soldiers walk away from battle because they were afraid. Then Gideon is afraid again and so God uses the providential dream to reassure him. And then, God ironically uses a fear factor to crush the Midianites and deliver his people.
God is trying to teach us the same thing that he was trying to teach Gideon and the people of Israel: When we fear the Lord, we don’t have to fear anything else! At the beginning of this sermon I asked you what causes you fear and I mentioned a list of common phobias such as snakes or spiders. But what are you really afraid of? What are the real fears that that drive your life?
Are you insecure because you are afraid of rejection? Do you overcompensate because you are afraid of failure? Are you a constant pushover because you are afraid of conflict? Do you always try to stay strong and positive because you fear weakness and pain? Do you rebel because you are afraid of God’s call in your life? Does your financial situation or job security ever cause you anxiety? Does your health ever cause you to worry? Are you afraid for a close friend or a family member? Do you fear death? Are you running from something in your past? Are you hiding from the future?
Like Gideon, so many people in our world today are completely dominated by fear. But I have good news for you; you don’t have to be. When you fear the Lord, you don’t have to be afraid of anything else! When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, he will forgive you from all the sins of your past, he will take care of you in the present, and he will give you a glorious future in heaven! When you truly fear God, you don’t have to fear rejection, failure, conflict, pain, weakness, or death. Jesus faced all of those things for you when he hung on the cross! All you have to do is put your faith in him, follow him, and watch how he takes care of everything!