The Book of Judges: Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay
The Tragedy of Not Finishing Strong
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
Introduction: One of the most important goals of my life is to finish strong. I am in my mid-fifties, which means I may have ten years remaining as a senior pastor, then hopefully a few more years as an interim pastor or in some other ministry capacity. Ten years is not long in the total scheme of things, but it’s long enough to screw up. I’ve seen it happen.
You’ve heard about the mid-life crisis that some people must weather. I think there is also such a thing as a “geezer crisis,” for want of a better name. There’s no fool like an old fool, they say, and I’ve sure seen some old fools in the church—some even in the ministry. When men retire too early or when they face involuntary retirement, they sometimes go off the deep end—evidenced in such varied ways as gambling, philandering, foolish spending, wasting time, or golfing (just kidding!).
I want to finish strong. My hero is a man of God named Caleb. Two summers ago, when we were going through the book of Joshua, I preached a sermon entitled, “Caleb: Growing Old Gracefully.” That’s where it’s at, friends. Caleb stayed in the saddle to the very end, and he didn’t become crotchety. There are some men here at First Free who are modeling growing old gracefully for the rest of us. I’d mention names, but they might not like being called “old.” As a matter of fact, they are old only in years. They have more energy for God than most who are half their age.
We’ve been studying Gideon for the past two weeks from Judges 6 and 7. We have seen how God called him—a nobody with little self-confidence and few credentials—to deliver Israel from seven years of oppression by the Midianites. His faith developed very slowly, but eventually he led his army to a great victory, an army God had pared down to the point it was small enough for Him to accomplish His purposes.
Three hundred men, armed only with trumpets, empty jars, torches, and lungs, defeated 135,000 of the enemy in one of the greatest battles in military history. Gideon was a hero. In fact, the Israelites were ready to crown him king. What an opportunity to leave a lasting legacy to the nation! What a time to turn the nation’s attention to God and break the cycle they were stuck in—a cycle of sin, slavery, supplication, and salvation, only to return once more to sin!
But Gideon didn’t finish strong. The last chapter of his life is found in Judges 8. It starts off well, but it doesn’t end so well. The first thing we find is …
Gideon’s greatest act of wisdom.
Let’s read the first three verses of chapter 8:
“Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, ‘Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?’ And they criticized him sharply. But he answered them, ‘What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?’ At this, their resentment against him subsided.”
Gideon may have been a great general, but I think he was an even greater diplomat. Talk about a classic example of conflict resolution! Right after the Midianites are routed and Gideon is pursuing them, he is confronted by the Ephraimites, a proud neighboring tribe of Israelites. Joshua had been from their tribe, and they felt they should be involved in all important decisions. They are filled with jealousy and injured pride because they weren’t included in the army of 300. It’s amazing! There’s no joy at what God had done in defeating the Midianites, no thanksgiving, only bitterness of spirit. They wanted Gideon to stop the battle until their little needs were met.[i]
You know, it’s so easy to sit back and criticize after the battle has been fought, to be brave when the victory is already won, to be a Monday-morning quarterback after the game is over. There are Ephraimites in every church. They aren’t really interested in serving, but if you ask someone elseinstead of them, they can cut you to pieces. I’m talking about people with whom you must walk on eggshells all the time, who are always looking for something at which to take offense.
The normal human tendency is to tell such people to go suck an egg. But Gideon, filled with the Spirit of God, does not allow his emotions to control his conduct. Instead…,
He recognizes that maintaining unity in one’s spiritual family is more important than preserving one’s personal pride. Maintaining unity is not more important than truth, but it is more important than pride. So, Gideon seeks a way to assuage their feelings and thus alleviate a time-consuming controversy. He speaks to the Ephraimites with incredible tact, complimenting them. “What was I able to do compared to you?” he asks. They had helped with the mopping-up operations, and he heaps praise on them for their help. The technique of compliment-bestowal has always been effective, and so it is here. Verse 3 says, “At this their resentment against him subsided.” Their arguments are gone, blown away by the wind of Gideon’s gentle spirit. That shouldn’t surprise anyone, for the Bible makes clear that a soft answer turns away wrath.
I’m reminded of a poem I memorized as a child but didn’t really learn until more recently:
“He drew a circle that shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that took him in.”
Rarely does it fail. I think what motivated Gideon here is that …
He realizes that fighting with fellow-believers makes it impossible to focus on the real enemy. There is entirely too much infighting today among God’s people on minor points of doctrine or church polity. Much in the news a week or two ago was a proposal made at the Annual Assembly of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, to depose one of its district presidents on the grounds he had participated in the wedding of his niece along with his brother-in-law, who was a pastor in a different Lutheran body, which the Missouri Synod doesn’t recognize as orthodox. Fortunately, he was exonerated on a close vote, but friends, when we are fighting over such nit-picking things, Satan must be thrilled, because we don’t have any time or energy left to fight him!
In his book, A Gentle Thunder, Max Lucado tells a story that is similar to one by comedian Emo Philips which I used in an Annual Report five years ago, but I like Lucado’s version better (and I even did a little of my own editing on it). Here it is:
Some time ago I came upon a fellow on a trip who was carrying a Bible.
“Are you a believer?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he said excitedly.
I’ve learned you can’t be too careful, so I asked,
“Do you believe in the Virgin birth?”
“I accept it,” he responded.
“Deity of Jesus?”
“No doubt.”
“Death of Christ on the cross?”
“He died for all people.”
Could it be that I was face to face with a true brother in Christ? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I continued my checklist.
“Status of man?”
“Sinner in need of grace.”
“Definition of grace?”
“God doing for man what man can’t do for himself.”
“Return of Christ?”
“Imminent.”
“Bible?”
“Inspired and inerrant.”
“The church?”
“The body of Christ.”
I started getting excited. “Are you conservative or moderate?”
He was getting interested too. “Conservative,” he said.
My heart began to beat faster.
“What denomination?” I asked.
“Southern Congregationalist Holy Son of God Dispensationalist Triune Convention,” he said.
That was my denomination!
“Which branch?” I asked.
“Premillennial, post-trib, noncharismatic, King James version, one-cup communion,” he said.
My eyes misted. I had only one other question.
“Is your pulpit wooden or fiberglass?”
“Fiberglass,” he responded.
I quickly withdrew my hand from his and pointed at him, “Die, heretic, die!”
Friends, if we’re fighting other believers, we won’t have any ammunition left for the real enemy, the Evil One.
Gideon would have none of that. To make war against the Midianites he is willing to make peace with his brothers, no matter how jealously and obnoxiously they are behaving. In some ways, I think this may have been Gideon’s finest moment.
Gideon’s greatest act of endurance
We pick up the story in verse 4 and we’ll read down through 17:
“Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. He said to the men of Succoth, “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
But the officials of Succoth said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?”
Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Succoth had. So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the unsuspecting army. Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.
Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres. He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy‑seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town. Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?'” He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.”
Gideon and his soldiers continue to pursue the enemy even though they are exhausted. Determination! What an asset when we’re after victory! Gideon could have turned back and said, “We have already won a great victory. Why press our luck any further?” But God had given him a job to do, and he would see it to completion. D. L. Moody once said, “Give me a man who says, ‘This one thing I do’ and not ‘These fifty things I dabble with.'”
They continue the pursuit even though they are denied assistance by those who should have helped. The people of Succoth and Peniel are fellow-Israelites. They, too, have felt the oppression of the Midianites, and they should have been more than willing to give bread and water to the exhausted soldiers of Gideon’s army. After all, rations for just 300 soldiers are not likely to be a great financial burden on these towns. In fact, they don’t even protest about their inability to afford it. Rather they protest that Gideon hasn’t captured Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.
I think what is going on here is that the people of Succoth and Peniel have doubts that Gideon will be able to mop up the Midianites, and if they agree to help him, they might face reprisals when the Midianites regroup. They are responding out of fear of what might happen if they risk exposing themselves to the enemy’s wrath.
Again, Gideon might easily have quit and gone home when his fellow-Israelites refused to help him. After all, if they are not interested in getting rid of the enemy, why should he put himself out to such an extent? But he didn’t quit. He gave them a sharp warning and pressed on.
You might have noticed that the gentle diplomacy he exercised with the Ephraimites is now replaced by revenge and violence. Probably his justification for reacting so differently is that the Ephraimites only demonstrated lousy attitudes; the men of Succoth and Peniel actually put his soldiers at great risk. But I would suggest that the revenge Gideon showed here (and against Zebah and Zalmunna in the following verses) may be the first sign of something amiss in his character. The fact that these actions are recorded here for us, you know, is no guarantee that they are approved. The Bible says a great deal about leaving vengeance with God, who can punish our enemies far better than we are.
Now the third vignette I want us to consider this morning is …
Gideon’s greatest act of humility
Let’s skip down to verses 22-23:
“The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.” But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.””
The Israelites don’t get it. The Midianites have slaughtered each other when Gideon and 300 men do exactly what God told them to do—blow their trumpets. break their clay pots, hold torches, and yell. And from that they conclude that Gideon himself saved them out of the hand of their enemy! But it wasn’t even Gideon’s plan to begin with—it was God’s. Yes, Gideon was obedient, and yes, he finished the job. But what a mistake they are about to make!
He is offered credit that doesn’t belong to him. We shouldn’t overlook the fact that this offer to become their king must have been very flattering to Gideon. He’s a small-town boy who has made good. Remember, in his own words, “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” People tend to love power and prestige, especially when they grew up without it. But not Gideon.
He refuses to accept the place that belongs only to the Lord. Verse 23: “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” They don’t need a king. They have a King. It is a tragic thing when men try to assume a role that God has reserved for Himself, yet it is one of the oldest tendencies of the human heart. Pastor Gary Inrig writes,
“In the history of the church, there has been a pernicious tendency to elevate men into the position that belongs only to the Lord Jesus. Men are given special titles, special powers, and even special clothing and are set apart from ordinary Christians. One of the most evident patterns in the evangelical church today is for men who are pastors to take more and more power. A recent book on church growth has as its first principle: ‘The pastor has the power in a growing church.’ There is a danger here that must not be ignored.” [ii]
Compare that to what Jesus shared as one of his key leadership principles in Mark 10:42-45: “You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
Would that the story of Gideon had ended right there in verse 23! Then it would be possible to say, “He finished strong.” But it doesn’t end there, for Gideon continues to speak in verse 24: “I do have one request.”
Gideon begins a long, slow slide into compromise.
The first compromise is in regard to his religious life. He says, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings).” Allow me to rush in where only angels fear to tread (you’ve got the month of August to get over it when I’ll be on sabbatical). I’ve never commented on body piercings in public before, but I think I will take the risk today. Let me say upfront that I don’t have a problem with pierced ears for the ladies; I can even handle a diamond in the left ear of a ball player or a musician. To each his own. I wouldn’t even be shocked to see Brad wearing one someday. He’s from California, you know! And I really don’t want anyone here this morning—visitor or regular—to think I’m condemning you for what you’re wearing this morning.
But body piercings have gotten way out of hand, in my humble opinion. Their origin is found in pagan society, not godly society. A special note is made here in verse 25 that it was the custom of the Ishmaelites, the traditional enemy of God’s people, to wear gold earrings. Jewish men didn’t do it—that’s why the author explains how there could have been so many earrings. A year ago today Leroy Peters and I were visiting the most primitive tribe in the Americas—the Yanomami Indians in southern Venezuela and northern Brazil. These people had more holes in their bodies than you could count—with sticks and rings and feathers sticking out everywhere. Frankly, for a while I thought I was on a university campus.
Isn’t it interesting that today we seem to be reverting to what are essentially pagan traditions, not just regarding body piercings, but also in respect to tatoos, child sacrifice, the worship of nature, and animal-like morality? In fact, the other day I heard about a man interviewing a pioneer missionary while he was home on furlough. He asked the missionary, “What do you do when you feel overwhelmed by the paganism, the immorality, the violence, the godlessness, and the spiritual oppression?” The missionary answered, “Oh, we go back to the missionfield.”
Now that was just an aside—something I’ve wanted to say for a long time but didn’t have a text to say it from. Judges 8:24 allowed me to say it. Time to get back to the Scriptures.
The Israelites respond to Gideon’s request for earrings by bringing a whole slew of them, which they had obtained as plunder from the Midianites or Ishmaelites. The total value of the gold earrings alone was about a quarter of a million dollars. With this gold Gideon made an ephod.
Now an ephod was a priestly vest. Attached to it were certain divining stones called the Urim and Thummim that enabled the High Priest to determine the will of God. The ephod was a sacred object and it belonged in the tabernacle, which at this time was in Shiloh, and was to be worn only by the high priest. But Gideon put it in Ophrah, perhaps because he felt Shiloh was too far away. Or maybe he didn’t think the high priest at Shiloh was doing his job, which was probably true. But that still gave Gideon no right to improve on God’s plan. The essence of all compromise, friends—and ultimately of all heresy—is that we believe we have the right to vaunt our reason up against God’s revelation.
Gideon’s motive in making this gold religious object is not revealed, but the result of it is. At the end of verse 27 we read that “All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.”
He also compromises in his personal life. Look at verses 29-32:
“Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years. Jerub‑Baal son of Joash went back home to live. He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”
In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 17 and verse 17, Moses gave this warning to the people of God in anticipation of the day when they would ask for a king: “The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will lead him away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate vast amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.” Of course, Solomon is the paradigm example of what polygamy and great wealth can do to a person’s spiritual life, but we see it in Gideon’s life also. Large-scale polygamy was generally only practiced by rulers because only they could afford it. While he rightly refused the title of king, he didn’t mind living like one. He even named his son, as we will see in the next chapter, “Abimelech,” which in Hebrew means “my father is king.”
But I think the most serious failure we see in Gideon’s long, slow slide into compromise is the result that is shared in the last three verses of Judges 8:
“No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal‑Berith as their god and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerub‑Baal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for them.”
His impact on the next generation is, sadly, virtually non-existent. We had two funeral services here at the church this week. One was for a 16-year-old girl and the other for a 24-year-old man. One of the things that struck me is the impact these two young people had on their friends, family, and even casual acquaintances. As person after person shared with these families how powerfully their lives had been touched, one couldn’t help but think, “Wow! What are people going to say at my funeral? What epitaph will I leave? What impact will I have on the people who follow me?”
Isn’t that why we are here? To make a difference? To introduce someone to the Savior? To turn our children, our grandchildren, our friends toward the truth?
Gideon had the chance to do that, but he didn’t finish strong, so it didn’t happen.
Conclusion: There’s nothing sadder than seeing one of God’s special soldiers fall late in the battle. I think of one of our Free Church pastors. He served one of our finest churches until he was tapped for a national office, where he had the opportunity to influence a whole generation for truth and righteousness. But then he began to thrive on the power and the prestige of his office. When his wife died, he remarried quickly—to a person he was strongly counseled not to marry. The marriage ended in divorce—her third. He turned bitter. And today he is a mere shell of the man and leader he once was.
The sad fact is—that, or something like that, could happen to me. And it could happen to you. The only way to prevent it is to keep our eyes on the Captain, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! He died for you and He lives for you. He prays for you. He wants your heart and soul. And in return He will give you a life worth living and the privilege of spending eternity with Him.
DATE: July 26, 1998
Tags:
Finishing strong
Unity
Conflict resolution
Endurance
Humility
Compromise
Body piercings
Tatoos
[i] Gary Inrig, Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay, 139.
[ii] Inrig, 149.