STRAYS by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC
Introduction: If you’ve never seen the movie “Darkest Hour,” I would highly recommend it. It is set during World War 2, in May of 1940, when Winston Churchill became the new Prime Minister of Britain. Unlike Chamberlain, his predecessor (Not Wilt but Neville), Churchill refused to negotiate with Hitler. Some thought that peace was the way to go, but they didn’t realize that Nazi Germany was not interested in peace; they were on a war path. The United States began sending assistance in September of 1940, but it wasn’t until December of 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, that we entered the war. When Churchill heard about the attack on America, he knew that now Hitler would be defeated, and, that night, he wrote he “slept the sleep of the saved and thankful.” In our series on Judges, we come to a very similar time when Israel was in grave danger. Unfortunately, some of the tribes of Israel had gone astray. Instead of coming together to fight against the enemies of God’s people, they were divided and self-seeking. In this precarious time, God chose a very unlikely person to deliver his people. Today’s message is titled “STRAYS.” Main Point: In the face of incredible odds, God’s way is the way of weakness. He desires to use a person who is willing to admit his/her weakness so that he can pour his grace upon them. Those who are self-sufficient and self-seeking are like strays who refuse to listen. Willingness to listen is the first step.
Judges 6 14 Then the LORD turned to him (Gideon) and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” 15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
Context: Gideon’s response to God’s call to save Israel from the Midianites is often looked upon as being weak, cowardly, and faithless. It was anything but that. In fact, the truly weak, cowardly, and faithless of God’s people are actually found in Judges 5. These were the “strays” who refused to listen. I want us to back up to Judges 5, because it will help us to understand the background and the context in which God called Gideon. Judges 5 is the song of Deborah after Sisera was defeated. It was more than just some victory song. It also lays out the mixed responses of Israel’s tribes. It’s like a roll call!
1. Ephraim: Judges 5:14a “From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek…” Who were the “Amalekites?” They are described as the “first of the nations” (Numbers 24:20). They were one of the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. They were from the desert regions in the south but had made their way to the north country. They were constantly against God’s people. If you remember, the Amalekites were those people who had attacked the stragglers from behind. These were the same people against whom Joshua fought while Moses held up his hands, supported by Aaron and Hur. These people kept harassing the people of God all the way to the time of King Saul. Ephraim was in Amalek stronghold. Nonetheless, they showed up to fight against Sisera.
Sometimes, there are people who will say – “Well, you know our county votes this party or that party…there’s no hope.” Show up for battle! Stand up for the truth!
2. Benjamin – Judges 5:14b “…After you, Benjamin, with your peoples…” The tribe of Benjamin was a small tribe. They even had a smaller territory. Because of this, they became dependent on the neighboring tribe of Ephraim. Nonetheless, Jacob had prophesied this about them in Genesis 49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” In other words, they were small but feisty.
Sometimes, there are people who will say – “We just don’t have the numbers…” Show up for the battle! Stand up for the truth!
3. Manasseh – Judges 5:14c “…From Machir rulers came down…” Machir was Manasseh’s eldest son. Manasseh’s tribe was divided in half: One half stayed on the eastern side of the Jordan and the other half came over to the western side of the Jordan. The Machir clan had stayed on the eastern side of the Jordan. Moses had allowed them to do that under the condition that they would come and help their brothers in the Promised Land defeat the Canaanites. You would’ve thought that they would be the last to come. To the contrary, they were the first to show up! And they sent their very best!
Sometimes, there are people who will say – “Well…this is just the way things have been set up here for years and years…there’s nothing we can do…” Show up for the battle! Stand up for the truth!
4. Zebulon – Judges 5:14d “…and from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter’s staff.” Again, this was not a very big tribe, but they bore the “recruiter’s staff.” This means they sent scribes/educated men. These were people who could transcribe messages and record important details. They were not expendable people. Later, it adds in verse 18 “Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death…” In other words, they didn’t hide behind their pen and paper.
5. Issachar – Judges 5:15 “And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As Issachar, so was Barak Sent into the valley under his command…” Again, princes and rulers were willing to fight in battle.
The list continues, but there’s a shift.
6. Reuben – Judges 5:15b “…Among the divisions of Reuben there were great resolves of heart.” Just like their ancestor, they made big promises. 16 “Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, to hear the pipings for the flocks?” They just sat around their campfire listening to the bleatings of the sheep. “…The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.” Meaning: They sit there and think and think and think, but do nothing.
7. Gad – Judges 5:17a “Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan…” This tribe didn’t want to cross the Jordan. They will get involved when the Ammonites bring the fight to them.
8. Dan – Judges 5:17b “…and why did Dan remain on ships?” This tribe chose to get their ships ready. In case the fight came to them, they were ready to set sail. By the way, later they relocated to the north, just to get away. Unfortunately, they fell into idolatry.
9. Asher – Judges 5:17c “…Asher continued at the seashore, and stayed by his inlets.” This tribe did not build any ships but just played around on the seashore and enjoyed their safe lives in their inlets.
But, thank goodness, others did fight.
10. Naphtali – Judges 5:18 “Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death (We already discussed Zebulon), Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.” This northernmost tribe came out and fought with everything they had. Barak, by the way, was from this tribe.
Finally, there’s one more – Judges 5:23 “ ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the mighty.’” This was not a tribe or a clan, just a town that could have helped but didn’t. They are gone forever.
Application for our nation: When you study the history of our nation, especially the pre-Revolutionary Period, we tend to characterize them as just the colonists. They were just as different as these tribes were. David Hackett Fischer in his 1989 book “Albion’s Seed,” explains how each of these sections of America came from different parts of England: New England was established by the East Anglian Puritans; Tidewater region (Virginia) was settled by the pro-royalist cavaliers; Delaware Valley was settled by the Quakers and midlands people; and the Appalachian peoples were from the northern borderlands between England and Scotland. Each had their own idea of liberty: for New Englanders, it was ordered liberty, for Virginians, hegemonic liberty; for Delaware valley, it was reciprocal liberty; and for the frontier people it was natural liberty. So different, but when they were faced with a choice of domination by England, they came together as one people and fought for this nation. “United we Stand, Divided We Fall.” Unfortunately, we are being divided on every level possible. We are all strays today.
Back to the people of Israel – Judges 6 1 “Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. 3 So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.” This is the new development in America today. It’s not just that we are protesting some policy or some rights. It’s the need to destroy, to tear down our nation. I believe that behind this movement are sinister forces from outside America who are interfering with our nation and trying to influence the minds of our young people.
Judges 6 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it. The Midianites (connected to the Ishmaelites) bred camels in large numbers. Camels were meant for the desert where they could go for days without water. When they drink, they drink as much as 30-50 gallons at a time. When they eat, they eat everything in sight – vegetation, bones, trash, household items, etc. Their feet are “large flat hoof-pads” (Roger Ryan). Imagine the devastation left behind by the vast multitude of these camels. 6 So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Does this describe America today? This is where we are headed. In just the past four months, the price of food, daily necessities, and even construction has quadrupled.
What next? Judges 6 7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD because of the Midianites, 8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage; 9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 Also I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.’ ” Their problem was that they were not listening. No different than where we are today.
The solution to their problem was spiritual. The solution to our problem is also spiritual.Judges 6 11 Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” 13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” This is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. 15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” This was not a sign of weakness, cowardice, or faithlessness in Gideon. He was simply following the pattern of how God works through the weak, exactly as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. God’s pattern of working hasn’t changed, whether in America or in our personal lives. He will use the weak who are willing to hear his voice and submit to his plan. He is Immanuel = God with us.
Judges 6 17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 18 Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.” 19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. (An ephah is a as large as vessel that can hold a person, that’s a lot of bread!) The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 20 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. 21Then 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 rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. What is going on here? This is the Peace Offering as described in Leviticus 7 and Numbers 15. Judges 6 22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The–LORD–Is–Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Ephesians 2. 13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.”
What should we do? Recognize that our problem is spiritual. Begin with prayer. Educate yourself. Vote for biblical convictions. Turn to Christ.
Are you a stray? Are you weak? You are the perfect candidate for God to use. Are you saved?