How Insecurity "Sidelines" Geeks (In Search Of Truth, Hebrews 11:32, Gideon)

(Hebrews 11:32, ESV) And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—

The names listed in v. 32 seem to represent the totality of those in history who displayed faith, since the list of deeds followed by "who" in verse 33 can probably not all be accounted for in the lives of only those on this short list of names.

With this in mind, we're going to take a brief look at each of the people listed here and make a few observations about their faith based on what the Bible says about them. This time we'll focus on Gideon, whose story can be found in Judges 6:11 – 8:32.

When the angel of Yahweh first appeared to Gideon and told him that Yahweh was with him, Gideon's first response was not worship or gratitude, but confusion and possibly even doubt. He didn't see any evidence of God being with him and actually felt abandoned by God.(Judges 6:13)

When the angel told him to go save Israel from Midian with the might that Yahweh claimed Gideon possessed, Gideon again responded in doubt, asking how he could possibly accomplish that.

When the angel told Gideon that Yahweh would be with him, Gideon asked for a sign that it was really God's representative he was speaking with. The angel agreed and gave Gideon a spectacular demonstration of his supernatural identity.

Up to this point, we can't be too hard on Gideon for his reactions to the angel and his doubting questions. After all, the text doesn't say the angel was glowing. Angels are often described in the Bible as looking like little more than ordinary humans. But after this display we would think that a man listed in the "Hebrews Hall Of Faith" would be on board with God's plan and leave doubting behind him. But that's not what happened.

He obeyed God's instructions to get rid of the idols in his community and re-establish an altar to Yahweh, but he was afraid to do this during the day and so only did it at night with the help of ten other men.

Then later, even after he'd already been told that Yahweh would be with him and that he would strike down the Midianites as if they were only one man, Gideon asked Yahweh for another supernatural sign. He told God that if he was granted this sign he would really believe that God was really going to help him defeat the enemy. Yahweh gave him the sign, after which Gideon immediately (although with fear) asked for another supernatural sign. Which he was given yet again.

This is a surprising situation. In a similar scenario, John the Baptist's father was struck dumb for doubting the words of God's messenger! (Luke 1:18) So despite God's undeserved patience in this instance, Gideon is not modeling faith for us here. God is modeling his grace.

However this does seem to be a turning point for Gideon. Beginning in chapter 7 he gathers those around him and moves closer to where the enemy was camped. At this point, Yahweh told Gideon to shave down the numbers in his fighting force. He started with about 32,000 and eventually only had 300. That night, God told him to go down and take the enemy camp because God was giving it to Gideon. But then he told Gideon that, if he was afraid, he could go down with his servant and hear what the enemy is talking about first.

Surprise, surprise! Gideon was afraid and chose option "B", which revealed that the Midianites were already freaking out and were convinced that Yahweh had given them over to Gideon's forces!

At this point Gideon's fear finally seems to vanish for good as he leads his men to conquer the enemy completely. It seems he is finally solidified in his trust of Yahweh, but his story has a surprising ending.

Although Gideon refuses to be made ruler over his people despite their request for him to do so, he requests a gift of the earrings the soldiers gained from the spoils of battle and then makes an ephod from the combined precious metals.

Normally an ephod would be a garment used in worship practices in ancient Israel, but Judges 8:27 says that "Israel whored after it" in this case, and it "became a snare to Gideon and his family". Just a few verses later we're told that "As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god." (v.33)

So what in the world happened with Gideon? We can only speculate what was going on in his heart and mind. But as I look at this story I'm reminded of how slow I am to trust in God's power and desire to be involved in my life. I'm much more likely to trust my own strength, which causes me to avoid following Yahweh into risky territory and also to give myself the credit when things go well for me.

Gideon's eyes seem to be fixed on himself and his own capabilities throughout much of this story. He thinks he's too weak to defeat the enemy, and he is. But when Yahweh gives him victory, he requests tribute and allows it to become a symbol of his victory, despite dressing it up in "spiritual" or religious trappings. With his words he affirms that Yahweh is still in charge, but with his actions he basks in the glory that belongs to God alone.


SO WHATS IN THIS FOR GEEKS?

I think we have a somewhat greater tendency to keep our eyes on ourselves. Mentally we can be in our own little worlds, overly concerned with our strengths and weaknesses as we battle insecurity instead of letting God define us, as he defined the fearful Gideon with the title "mighty man of valor".
Our self-absorbed focus keeps us from walking out on the skinny branches with Yahweh, and then later causes us to inwardly feel pride and a sense of status when we succeed.

I think we need to be honest with ourselves about these tendencies and repeatedly acknowledge them to Jesus, letting his tireless forgiveness and righteousness define us. That second part is just as important as the first, because it's through truly believing and trusting in the forgiveness of Jesus that we can rise up out of the discouragement of our sin and move into what God has for us.

God wants us to respond to him with trust even in the middle of our sin. Our repeated failure does not invalidate our faith or God's desire to use us in his kingdom plans. That's why Gideon is still presented to us as a model of faith, and why you and I don't have to sit on the sidelines because of our failure.

God knows you and I are failing right now and he knows how badly we're going to fail tomorrow. But he's still inviting us to trust him today and enter in to what he has for us.