Author: Warren Rachele

Gideon and the Tumbling Bread

In the weakened state of an army of 300, Gideon is prepared to move on the Midianites. Israel will be redeemed and freed from the oppression allowed by God to draw them back to Him. We are prepared for a horn to blow, walls to fall, and the Lord to lead Gideon in a route of the opposing forces but He (and we) knows Gideon well, and offers him a moment of assurance.

Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying.” (Judges 7:8b-11a)

Gideon afraid? Banish the thought! Of course Gideon is frightened; it seems to be his default state. Frightened, hesitant, willing to seek out every chance to avoid the responsibility of his calling. This is the Gideon we know, but God knows differently. He wants him to know the assurance of His presence and the power that this brings to purpose that he calls him to accomplish.

image Sending Gideon to the camp is a reinforcement that stands opposite the diminishment of forces that God has visited on Israel. Gideon and his servant approach the camp under the cover of night to find the true measure of the enemy arrayed against him. They peer over the camp and find the Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the Eastern peoples preparing for battle, camels more numerous than the sands on the seashore. Gideon approaches a little closer in order to overhear a lowly soldier sharing his own fears with his tent mate. His dream showed them a load of barley bread tumbling down the hill above the camp and crushing the Midianites. He rightly comprehends that this is a sign that Gideon and his army are the arm of God himself and that their days are numbered.

We see the assurance of God in this vignette but there is another joy that we can derive from this experience. It is easy to be convinced that all heroes of God are mighty men and women of confidence and strength, leaders of their people that are unafraid of anything and always, always supremely assured of their mission as coming from God. Here Yahweh utilized not only the hesitant Gideon but the lowly private in the Midianite army, another man filled with fear. Do we question whether or not we are suitable for God’s use? Probably, but take heart. God will utilize any vessel available to him so long as our trust is put in the right place. Where is your trust?

Jesus, Community Organizer – New Extra Large Size!

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Ex 20:7)

(Originally posted 11 September 2007)

The American political arena has been treated to yet one more attempt to lift one candidate to Messiah status while associating the other with an incompetent, indecisive, murderer. Donna Brazile, repeating a meme initiated by a Washington Post blogger, gave voice to the line “Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor.”

To correct the record, Jesus Christ was God. He is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of all humankind, as they will believe in Him. Jesus was in no way a community organizer in the model of Saul Alinsky, the mentor emeritus of community organizing. The Chicago stre

et agitator following Alinsky’s methods seeks to embed in the minds of the troubled that their condition is not their responsibility, it is the work of some oppressor above them. The organizer will invest as much effort as necessary to make the poor victims so angry with their perceived oppression that they rise up in direct action against those who hold them down. “Militant mass action…fueled by righteous anger.” as described by Dennis Jacobsen.

The Jesus of the Bible, on the other hand, commands a different loyalty. He speaks first of aligning oneself with the Father and His kingdom and then, in a reflection of the love of that kingdom, working to serve others in love. No mass violence; instead turning the other cheek also. Christ’s notion of social justice is to overcome by love and trust in the work of God, not radical mass action. Given the warning of the commandments above, perhaps we should be a bit more temperate in our allusions of a political figure to the Savior of humankind.

Update: It appears that Susan Sarandon received her lines a little bit late! She was parroting this decidedly unbiblical scripted dialogue yesterday AFTER Rep. Cohen delivered the line. Somebody’s head is going to roll for not delivering her script on time. Review here what biblical scholar Sarandon has to teach about Jesus.

STOP THE PRESSES!! The fourth estate senior spokespersons are just now getting their talking points about the similarity between the Savior of All Humankind and the community agitator. Tom Brokaw, the erudite theologian of record, demonstrated physical proof yesterday in the form of this recently unearthed coin of the future realm:

Aren’t there any grown ups in this group of people?

Gideon Grows Weaker Still

Gideon was surely puzzled at God’s move to weaken his army, the band of men who were going to save Israel. Yahweh instructed Gideon to diminish his force by sending all those who were trembling in fear to go home, leaving the army twenty-two thousand men lighter. As he watched the men file away, Gideon surely thought that God would be satisfied until the word came from Yahweh, “There are still too many men.”

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The fearful, hesitant Gideon is faced again with the challenge to trust Yahweh in his weakness. He is far from the bold warrior of legend, being dragged against his will into this leadership, God has diminished the force that has followed him and now, Yahweh demands further attrition from his forces. While thoughts of turning and running back to Ophrah must have coursed through his mind, the Judge follows the Lord’s lead and invites his men to the spring for a drink. It is here that Yahweh will sift them out for him.

Yahweh will sort out the fighters based on the way they drink; some like dogs, plunging their face into the water and others, lifting the water to their vigilant faces and drinking from their cupped hands. Does God favor one method over the other? Contrary to many who have interpreted the scriptures through the centuries, the text does not give us this option. Yahweh’s method and choice of the warriors is purely his arbitrary choice and we must respect it. Certainly, Gideon does. In the arbitrary nature of the decision is the secret that God wants to convey; the 300 are not a sign of Israel’s strength, they are a sign of her weakness in the face of Yahweh, the one who can truly save.

This episode in the Gideon cycle explains so much in our own lives. How many times have we followed the leading of God only to find Him putting up barriers in our way, weakening us? Probably more than we would like. In some cases, we find that after we have accepted one barrier or humbling we find another one put in our way. We question whether or not we are truly following the proper leading. Perhaps the question should be, are we thoroughly dependent on God? Are we still hoarding some of the glory for ourselves?

Gideon Grows Weaker

Finally, the account of Gideon’s judgeship reaches the point of action in its mission to save Israel.

Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. (Judges 7:1)

His fearful, sputtering start is behind him now. God has shown patience with His Judge; the questions of God’s covenant integrity, the self-centered sacrifice, the undercover operations against Baal, and the hesitant deal making. Gideon and his army are now camped opposite the enemies of Israel, preparing for the battle of redemption. And, at first light, they…

…stopped to count noses!

image Well, God did. When we read the account in English we can lose some of the wordplay that paints a truer picture, one that we have come to expect with Gideon at the center. Gideon and his army are camped at Harod which means trembling in Hebrew. His opposite number is camped near Moreh, a close cognate to mora’ or ‘fearful.’ So we envision ‘trembling’ Israel facing down the ‘fearful’ Midianites. As He overlooks this impending confrontation, God does something that we can all probably relate to, he makes Gideon even weaker.

To ensure that the glory for the victory and the subsequent worship are appropriately assigned, Yahweh tells Gideon that his army is far too large. The temptation will be to claim the victory of their own hands rather than to God so Yahweh reduces the force. Anyone trembling with fear at the coming war is excused and we witness 22,000 soldiers turning and accepting the reprieve. Did this decrease the trembling factor of the remaining army? We are not told but we can place ourselves in Gideon’s position. We are called to fulfill a purpose of God and yet, at every turn, the Lord weakens us such that our only hope is further dependence on Him. Do we have sufficient faith to take the next step?

Gideon’s Double Fleecing

Gideon gained a prescient new title, Jerub-Baal, as the Israelites wisely decided to allow the false god Baal to fight on his own behalf after the destruction of his sacramental objects. This gave the people the opportunity to reexamine their allegiance to this idol and their true relationship with Yahweh without having to stake the position of disowning Baal. We are witness to the difficulty that people have in extracting themselves from sin, it is nearly impossible without the divine intervention.

image And God provides. The Holy Spirit comes upon Gideon and with Him the holy wisdom and courage to blow the war horn to summon Israel against their gathering enemies. The tribes recognized that this was a Holy calling and, without a second thought, they came to Gideon to begin the arduous process of reclaiming Israel in the name of Yahweh. The momentum is building, the Spirit is ready to lead, Gideon is empowered and…

He stops!

We are tempted at this point in the Scriptures to marvel at Gideon’s lack of faith as we read the twin accounts of laying out a fleece to determine God’s true intent. This idea of the weakness of faith is magnified by the preceding appearance of Yahweh which we expect would be sufficient for anyone. Our temptation usually stems from weaknesses and soft spots in our own faith. The Holy Spirit gives us a clear direction for our lives and we hesitate, looking to the heavens for a Theophanic indicator, a sign that assures us that this call is from God. When we perceive that a sign is not forthcoming, our hesitation is justified and we sit.

We join Gideon in our imperfections. In order to fulfill his purpose in the kingdom, Gideon must not rely on his human confidence but rely completely on God. The Lord is patient in bringing him to this point, just as he will be patient with our doubts. Only when we are completely reliant will he move us forward to achieve His ends.

Gideon’s First Step of Obedience II

The smoke was probably still rising when, as the Bible records,

In the morning when the men of the town got up, there Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar! (Judges 6:26)

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In the fog of their dual allegiances, the men of the town were angered and fearful of this affront to Baal. Who would do such a thing they cried, the author answering emphatically, Gideon. This made the act even more heinous in their eyes; the citizens shocked that someone in the caretaker’s family would commit this desecration. Reading from our distance, we’re left to wonder why Israel couldn’t see how their worship of Baal had broken the covenant with Yahweh. Is it possible that, despite all of our sophisticated understanding of our faith, we could find ourselves similarly spiritually blind?

The answer is yes, of course we could. Modern Christianity often allows us to live other than fully committed in a life that spreads our allegiance and worship between multiple ‘gods.’ We find ourselves becoming more ‘of’ the world, thinking that our covenant with God enables Him to look the other way. We should learn from history.

Joash, Gideon’s father, ends the scene with a theological lesson. If Baal were a real god, he suggests, why must we take action on his part? A real god can certainly take care of himself and Gideon will be properly punished. But, if Baal is not the god that we think he is…

Gideon’s First Steps of Obedience

The divine fire that consumed Gideon’s offering reignited his fear as well. Suddenly realizing who he he was facing, Gideon wailed about his imminent destruction upon seeing the face of the Lord. God’s response expresses his desire, saying “Shalom!” Be at peace and without fear. Gideon’s response is worship, building an altar and giving it the name that we can hang on to this day, the Lord is Complete Shalom.

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The Lord wastes no time in revelry of the worship. He calls and Gideon obeys. While his response to the appearance of the Lord is to be properly pious, the fear in his heart remains. The first steps of obedience that he must take are to follow the Lord’s instructions in destroying the altar to Baal and the Asherah pole that stands beside it. Not just any altar, but one constructed by his own father.

It would be one thing of God to ask him to challenge the status quo in an anonymous fashion, you know, go knock down some stranger’s altar; cut down the pole in some distant faceless village. It is another thing entirely to confront those closest to you and stand up in obedience to their beliefs and behaviors. We’re called to act in this same obedience even when confronted by our family and friends. There may be an enormous cost to pay but what choice do we have? We can attempt to evade the responsibility much as we saw Gideon do. Will God give up? No. We can claim fear and weakness. Will God give up and move on? No. We can even go so far as to demand a sign in our ferret-like attempt to squirm away from the call but God will not be deterred in His purpose. Yes, there may be an enormous cost to pay but in light of the cost that was paid on our behalf, can you argue any further?

Gideon acts in obedience, carrying the theme of the entire book of Judges. He demolishes the altar and topples the Asherah pole, using it as fuel for another sacrificial fire. He is still fearful, acting in the dark of night, but he takes those first few important steps. He has counted the cost and decided for the Lord. He has decided to cut through the duality of Israel – calling out to God for redemption while continuing the Baal worship in its midst – and at personal risk, follow God in obedience. What will the morning bring?