Same God
I have a friend who is struggling with his mental health. He is not alone. Over the past 2 years, declining mental health has become a bigger and bigger concern among those in the medical community. My friend’s struggle with his mental health has reached a debilitating level and affected his ability to work and generally function well day to day. He has openly talked with me about his struggles, and in those discussions he has questioned why God has abandoned him. I have reassured him that God still loves him and has good plans for him. In our lesson this week, Gideon questioned why God has abandoned Israel. But God called Gideon anyway, to lead Israel out of its oppression at the hands of Midian. He assured Gideon that he would be successful because God would be with him. I pray that through your trials, you would remember God’s history of faithfulness to you (and others). And that in His grace and mercy, He would deliver you.
The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. (Judges 6:1-2). Throughout the book of Judges we see Israel repeating a four-fold cycle: Israel would fall into sin against God, God would allow Israel to suffer oppression by their enemies because of their sin, Israel would cry out to God for deliverance from their enemies, and God would have mercy on Israel by rescuing and restoring them. Rinse and repeat. Verses 1-2 reveal how God allowed the Midianites to oppress Israel for 7 years, because Israel continually “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. It got so bad that Israel couldn’t enjoy the land God had given them, and had to resort to hiding in caves and mountain clefts. This is the backdrop and the reason for God’s call of Gideon… to help rescue Israel from the oppression of the Midianites and lead them back into relationship and obedience to God. When you find yourself mired in your trials, don’t go away from God… get closer to Him!
When the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.” (Judges 6:7-10). The Midianites oppressed Israel by continually raiding them during harvest and taking everything they produced …and this went on for 7 years. God had given Israel a land “flowing with milk and honey” that produced an abundance for them. But God allowed all the fruits of Israel’s labors to be taken from them because of the evil that they continued to do. Israel eventually “cried out to the Lord” about their oppression and God responded by first sending Israel a prophet. God’s prophet reviewed God’s historical record of faithfully loving and providing for Israel and explain to them why they were suffering from the Midianite’s oppression. God had delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt. And moreover, It was God who drove out Israel’s oppressors to give Israel the abundant land that they now had. But, God had warned Israel repeatedly that they were not to worship other gods. Instead they defied God and refused to listen to Him. God has a history of grace and deliverance for those who will listen to Him and put Him first.
The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior. ”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. ”
The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” (Judges 6:11-16). Here is God’s calling of Gideon. The angel of the Lord arrived to find Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress. He was doing this work in a winepress (instead of an open air threshing structure), because he was afraid of potential Midianite raiders who might take the wheat from him. This was a clear act of fear on Gideon’s part. Yet in this setting, the angel greeted him in the winepress and called him a “mighty warrior”. Gideon was anything but a might warrior, but that is what God was calling Him to be. Gideon pushed back on the angel’s assertion that God was with him. His supporting evidence that God had abandoned Israel, began with a recitation of God’s history of having delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage (similar to verses 7-10). But his conclusion of why Israel was suffering oppression was faulty. He didn’t understand that God had not abandoned Israel, on the contrary… Israel had abandoned God! God gave Gideon the assignment to save Israel from Midianite oppression. Immediately, Gideon raised objections as to why he couldn’t do what God had called him to do (“my clan is the weakest…I am the least…”). But God had Gideon right where He wanted him, because Gideon had realized that he couldn’t successfully complete his assignment from God in his own power. God assured Gideon that he would be successful, because He would be with him in this assignment. If we only stand in our limitations we only see failure. But when we rely on God’s unlimited power, we can successfully walk in our calling.
Again and again, Israel repeated this sin cycle: worshiping other gods, suffering oppression by an enemy, crying out to God and being delivered by God. Eventually they would sink so low into sin that God would allow them to be taken into captivity, first by Assyria and then by Babylon. After their captivity, Israel would never again be the same. We too have the choice of worshiping God or worshiping other things in place of Him. But when we look back and see how God has repeatedly blessed and delivered His people, we should recognize His faithfulness and steadfast love for us. When we fall into sin and worship of other gods, we can turn back to God. He has a track record of deliverance and restoration that can not be denied. God, in His grace, is faithful to forgive us when we confess our sins and return to Him. The God who delivered His people over and over in the Bible, is the same God who heard the cry of our ancestors and by His power, delivered them from unimaginable and horrific circumstances. And by His grace, He stands ready to deliver you from your trials whenever you turn to Him in faith. Today, yesterday or tomorrow, you can be assured in your trials of this one thing, He is the same God …and He still has the power to deliver you!
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
Worship with this song, “Same God”, from Cross Worship
