Results of Nehor’s doctrine of preacher popularity

And he [Nehor] had gone about among the people, preaching to them that which he termed to be the word of God, bearing down against the church; declaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become popular; and they ought not to labor with their hands, but that they ought to be supported by the people . . . .

9 (Alma 1:3)

In Alma 1, we get a pretty brief sketch of Nehor’s doctrines and also a result of how those doctrines affected his behavior. (He has more doctrine besides this that denies the fall and the necessity of repentance, but I want to look at his doctrine of preacher popularity.)

In v3 it says he thought every priest and teacher ought to become popular, that they ought not to labor with their hands, and they ought to be supported by the people.

It might be worth it to think about what such a system was meant to do and what benefits Nehor believed it would bring.

To the people, the benefit would be priests and teachers they liked and wanted to hear.  To the preachers themselves, the benefits were an appreciative audience and subsidized living so that more time could be spent teaching and ministering. To the government, a religious system requiring teachers be popular would have the perceived benefit of keeping a populace united longer and thus keep the peace and prevent dissentions of large blocks of people unwilling to accept unpopular doctrine.

Also, considering the fact that the Law of Moses provided for the priests to be given a portion of the sacrifices brought to the temple, it could be said that Nehor was merely trying to extend this system and make it more effective.  According to the Law, the priests received perishable offerings, and those offerings had to be discarded if they were not eaten after two days.  Nehor’s teaching could be have been seen as suggesting greater efficiency, advising offerings of money that would be non-perishable.  It is easy to see why his ideas would be attractive in that respect. (This might also alert us that the Law of Moses policies must have had a symbolic purpose that would have been lost if Nehor’s ideas had been allowed to change temple worship.)

Theoretically, Nehor’s doctrines of popularity look like they would create a win-win-win situation, but like all false doctrines, when the fruits begin to be revealed, they turn out to be lose-lose-lose.  This is seen in v9 when Nehor encounters Gideon, who will not yield and who instead admonishes Nehor with the real words of God.

Now, because Gideon withstood him [Nehor] with the words of God he was wroth with Gideon, and drew his sword and began to smite him. Now Gideon being stricken with many years, therefore he was not able to withstand his blows, therefore he was slain by the sword. (Alma 1:9)

In a religious system requiring teacher and preacher popularity, it becomes necessary for listeners to not only indicate their favor clearly, but to indicate their disfavor clearly.  And if rejected preachers do not stop preaching, the popularity system is required by their own values to ratchet up the rejection until the unpopular preaching stops. (Hence, severe persecution and martyrdom, a la Ammonihah.)

Also, in a religious system of preacher popularity, those who do not like a popular preacher become the transgressors who must be punished, since they are not submitting to the majority law. Thus, Nehor (having started the system) considered himself the authority best suited to enforcing the values of popularity.

When we see it this way, we see how the relatively benign-sounding value of popularity, if allowed to become a governing principle, becomes tyrannical and doesn’t leave room for those who even believe or preach differently.

Nehor was guilty of murder (and was of course taken and tried for his crime), so in a society in which his was not the majority, his system did not bring the peace it seemed to promise. Even when his priestcraft spread and his adherents began persecuting those whose views they didn’t like, it didn’t bring peace. And in later years in the city of Ammonihah, which was governed by a priestcraft leadership, it is shown that their system eventually brought them to destruction. A city full of popular teachers is not going to teach unpopular truths, even if those principles are necessary to save.  Thus, we can’t expect truths to survive undiluted in any system that uses popular choice of teachers as a principle of organization.

I think this is helpful to realize because popularity is a big part of how our culture is organized today.  The TV shows to be broadcast or movies to be distributed depend on becoming popular. Authors want their books to become popular bestsellers.  Political leaders must become popular to get elected. (We see how it is a flawed system, but checks and balances make it less flawed.)

It the midst of all this, it is nice to remember that popularity is not the way to measure truth.  The truth will be the same whether the majority subscribes to it or not.  It will be the same, whether the one who teaches it is skilled with rhetoric or not.  Our responsibility is to seek for the truth and hold on once we find it, irrespective of the number of people who believe it, irrespective of the likeableness of the teacher.  We can look for people who tell the truth.  We’ll find it in everything virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy.  Also, it is nice to know that our church leaders aren’t chosen based on a popularity campaign.

How Lord Tests Gideon’s Ranks to Choose the Few

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1 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

4 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.

6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

7 And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

(Judges 7:1-8)

In these verses, we see that the Lord considers the 32,000 Israelite soldiers to be too many and wants Israel to know by their miraculous deliverance that it was God that saved them and not their own strength.

The Lord has Gideon put the Israelite army through two tests to eliminate the majority of the people.  Gideon could perfectly well have asked to know how many he should keep at the beginning and then he could have asked for help to pick those men out of the army, but the Lord uses a series of tests to make clear who should be chosen.  Not only that, but we see these are self-administered tests and the men eliminate themselves.

This suggests a preliminary lesson about life and its purpose of testing—we are the ones who eliminate ourselves from being chosen for eternal life.

That Gideon is to test the Israelite armies to find the men who are best suited to help him deliver Israel suggests that he will be selecting according to desirable qualities.  The first test—selecting those who are not fearful or afraid and sending the others back home seems pretty fitting.  It requires courage and valor to deliver Israel.  (We must give credit to the ones who leave, though, for being honest about how they felt.)

The second test seems odd though, and it doesn’t quite make sense why the Lord would want men who drank water one way over those who drank another way.  It seems arbitrary, as if he just separated into two groups and chose the smallest group.  Not only this, but choosing men by how they drink water doesn’t make logical sense for fighting.  Today, armies would put cadets through rigorous physical challenges and choose those who succeeded, so how would choosing by drinking method be helpful at all?

Because it is the Lord who declares the conditions of the test, we must make the assumption that the test is not a pretext for arbitrary choice, but a designed test that in some way relates to qualities the men will need to deliver Israel.

So let’s look at this second test.

…the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.  And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.  And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you…

This bit about how people drink has always been kind of confusing to me because it sounds like there are three ways of drinking, not just two.  I have a hard time seeing how lapping with the tongue like a dog is the considered the same as putting one’s hand to their mouth.  I also have a hard time seeing how that might be done without kneeling.

When I envision a dog lapping with their tongue, I initially visualize someone with their mouth in the water, but after some thought, it came to me that the text wants us to think of a dog standing up as they lap, not kneeling.  So for a man to stand up and drink, they would have to bend over and carry the water to their mouths with a hand, whereas if a person kneels down to drink, they can stick their mouth in the water and suck in all they want.

Now, what does it mean?

I have read other people’s views that the 300 who lapped demonstrated vigilance because they kept their heads up.

I have also read that those who knelt to drink demonstrated too much love of luxury and a lack of self-restraint.  I’m not sure what I think about this.  Too much water is harmful and people generally drink the amount of water they need at the time. 

So what was the quality the Lord wanted in the men?  We might look at what Gideon did with the men and see if we can detect something in them that the water-drinking test might select for.

Gideon didn’t actually need them to fight in that first foray.  They didn’t carry weapons; instead they carried a trumpet and a pot with a burning lamp in it.  They were to follow his lead in shouting, they were to break the pots, they were to blow the trumpets, they were to let their lamps be seen, and they were to just stand still and let things happen.  

What qualities would that require?  Fearlessness, especially with their outnumbered group and being without weapons.  They’d have to be obedient.  They’d have to be really comfortable with being a different kind of army.  They’d have to be comfortable with not being exactly sure what would happen, and they’d have to be really comfortable with being seen (being a clear target) with all those lamps in the dark.

Now let’s look again at that water-drinking test.  The ten thousand men have already seen a separation occur and now they are led to the water and told to drink.  They must have seen that they were being watched and separated by how they drank.  Do they know what the purpose is?  They might guess from the previous separation, but there is no way to be sure.  Do they know what quality is considered desirable?  No, and will they make assumptions anyway?  Probably.

Notice that the final count is 300 men who lapped and 9,700 who knelt to drink.  1 out of every 32 men had that way of lapping to drink.  How might they have felt about being separated from everyone else and so few of them? 

How many men coming to drink made the assumption that the biggest group was going to be the main army and thought it was a safe decision to drink like those in that group, by kneeling down?

How many people lapped because they just had a different way of doing things?

How many lapped because they weren’t bothered by the strange scrutiny or the unaccountable separation?

At the beginning of the test it may have been difficult to see that there was that ratio of different ways of drinking, but as more men were tested, it would become more and more tempting to do what everyone else was doing, for lack of any other clue about what the desired criteria was, especially on something that seemed so trivial and didn’t seem to matter.

The 300 men the Lord chose ultimately were men who did one thing differently.  They were not afraid of scrutiny.  They weren’t bothered by being outnumbered.  They may have felt they would be targeted next for removal from the army, but they still did their thing.   These qualities were what was needed for Gideon’s army.  They had to be unafraid of being a different kind of army with trumpets, lamps, and pots in their hands instead of a sword and shield.  They had to be unafraid of scrutiny to hold lamps up outside an enemy camp where they were outnumbered 450 to 1.

These qualities are instructive and we still need them today in order to be valiant members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We have to be comfortable with being different (in good ways) and doing things differently than the people around us, even in the simple things, like what we drink, what we watch, how we talk, what we talk about, what we wear, etc.  A majority of us live in places where we are clearly outnumbered and we have to be comfortable with that.  We have to be unafraid and undeterred by scrutiny from others, especially when we may be targets of persecution.  We are asked to be lights to the world and to spread the gospel, to lift up our voices, to make a joyful noise, instead of hiding.

Perhaps the Lord hoped that the Israelites could learn from this sifting process that He wanted Israel to be different from the world and to not be afraid of being watched by others.

We learn something too from this strange but simple assurance the Lord gave Gideon.  “I will try them for thee.”  This one test seems so simple, so illogical, and yet it was effective. 

We are still being tested today, not just in the big things, but in the small things.  Commandments large and small test us.

Meaning in the Two Signs of the Fleece

34 But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.

35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. 

36 ¶And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,

37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.

38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. (Judges 6:34-40)

Before Gideon can lead the people he has gathered to fight the Midianiates, he asks for a sign from the Lord.  He asks that a fleece left outside be found to have dew on it and the surrounding ground be dry.  The Lord does the sign as he asks.  Then Gideon asks for another sign with great fear of offending the Lord—that the Lord will have the fleece be dry and the ground wet.  The Lord does this sign also.

We might be inclined to come down on Gideon for unbelief here, especially because he asks for two signs in a row.  A lot of Christian commentators say it is a sign of unbelief.  However, I don’t think so because after this, Gideon is pretty firm, and signs don’t help someone who doesn’t already have a modicum of faith.  Signs follow those who believe, so we can deduce that Gideon believed already, but needed some help in some way.  Consider that he has already summoned an army of Israelites; if he hadn’t believed, he wouldn’t have done that.

If you look at his reason for his request, you’ll see what is going through his head.  “If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said” (v36, emphasis added).  The thing Gideon wasn’t sure about was that the Lord had chosen him to do this.  He must have looked at the men of this army he gathered and no doubt he saw all types of men who seemed much better qualified to lead than him—the muscular type, the commanding type, the fearless type, the cunning type, the charismatic type, nearly every type you can think of—and wondered what could possibly be the reason the Lord chose him to save Israel rather than anyone else.

The thing that is really odd is the sign Gideon asks for. Fleece on the ground and dew?  Really?  Why that?  Why not rust on a sword or horns on a ram or leaves on a tree?  This leads me to think there was a specific reason Gideon requested the signs with fleece and ground and dew, so he had to think it through and derive meaning from them.

We have to understand first that dew would ordinarily end up on both the ground and the fleece. 

Gideon’s first request is that the dew would only be on the fleece and not the ground.  This sign is about the Lord’s ability to select what gets something that ordinarily would be everywhere.  It is also about ability to control conditions that are outside human control.  I think Gideon hopes to read from this sign that just as the Lord can select to give dew to the fleece and nothing else, the Lord can select to give Gideon the ability to lead Israel to victory instead of anyone else.  He also hopes to see that the Lord can control conditions that no man or army could control and give Israel that promised victory.  I think the Lord saw that Gideon wanted this and blessed him with this miracle.  It isn’t for kicks, it is meant to teach Gideon these principles.

So what about the second sign?  What might Gideon have hoped to learn from having the dew on the ground instead and not on the fleece?  I think this sign is about reversals and the Lord’s power to quickly change conditions to the exact opposite of what they were.  I think Gideon hoped to see in this sign the Lord’s ability to reverse conditions for the Israelites in a dramatic way—taking them from under the oppression of the Midianites to a position of victory and dominion. 

We see Gideon was worried the Lord would misinterpret his request for the second sign, but the Lord knew his heart and answered him with this sign as well because of its teaching purpose.

The lesson I get from this story is that anyone can ask for a sign, but it takes someone with faith to think up and ask for a sign that can teach them.

How might we ask for signs like Gideon? 

1.     We must be in the process of obeying. 

2.     Ask for something impossible. 

3.     The impossible thing you ask has to be something designed to teach you the principles you know the Lord would want you to learn.

Gideon Destroys Baal’s Altar

25 ¶And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:

26 And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. (Judges 6:25-26)

The very same day that the Lord gave the sign to Gideon that the call to deliver Israel was from God, the Lord tells him to go destroy the altar to Baal and cut down the grove that his father had, then built a new altar to Jehovah and offer on it his father’s second bullock that was seven years old.  Same night.  This is moving quickly, and it is also to clean out the disobedience in Gideon and his father’s house.  This suggests that for us to commit fully to doing right, we have to sacrifice our sins and things we’ve been doing wrong.

27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

Gideon did fear, but he goes and obeys anyway, which shows courage.  Doing it by night would probably be smartest anyway, since there wouldn’t be anyone else around to interfere.

Gideon’s home situation seems kind of complicated.  It is like he has some allies among the servants (or he is able to get them to help him), but he is worried about what his father’s household will say and what the townspeople will say.  Yet he doesn’t fear his father, but the Baal’s altar and the grove were on his father’s land, which makes me think his father allowed it there on sufferance and the townspeople used it regularly.  Maybe his father wanted it gone and didn’t have the guts to get rid of it himself.  It is also possible the altar was there before the Israelites moved in and they had never gotten rid of it, which might explain why it was on Joash’s land and Joash could come out against it.

28 ¶And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.

It was the men of the city who were involved in Baal worship.  Joash and household were not there, so we can probably assume they weren’t involved.

What do they find?  Shock and amazement!  Baal has been destroyed!  It is fascinating that they don’t think this is another god moving in on Baal’s territory.  Instead, they go looking for a human agent.

29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.

I guess the news of Gideon’s act is the kind of thing that spreads.  Whether it was an Israelite loyal to Jehovah who spouted it in triumph or someone shocked at Gideon’s act who wanted him to get in trouble, the thing could not be suppressed.

30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.

31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.

32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. (Judges 6:30-32)

The men of the city calling for Gideon to be brought out reminds me so much of the men of Sodom besieging Lot’s house to bring out the visitors.

The men of the town want to enforce the death penalty because Gideon has disrespected Baal.  Joash must choose between siding with Gideon and Jehovah or siding with the townspeople and Baal.  He chooses Gideon and Jehovah and he actually takes a hard line. 

Joash asks a great rhetorical question, “Will ye save [Baal]?”  The idea of man saving a god is ridiculous; if man saves god, then the god has less power than man and should not be a god at all.

His recommendation that pleaders for Baal be put to death immediately is a reference to the Law of Moses and how it required idolaters be slain.  It is though he says, “You want me to be hard on my son for disrespecting your religion?  You want to have a contest in zeal?  Two can play that game.  Our religion requires us to kill you for your idol worship.  After all, you’re constantly disrespecting our God and our religion!”

Joash challenges them to let Baal do the avenging; if Baal is a god, then he can take care of himself.  Baal is not the most patient of entities; if he existed, he wouldn’t hesitate to strike with lightening or something like that, especially since he’s supposed to be the god of storms.

What about Jehovah?  Suppose the same argument was made for getting rid of Jehovah’s altar?  “Jehovah can take care of himself; if he’s a god, let him plead against the perpetrator.”  Well, one thing we know about Jehovah is that He is patient.  We have already seen in the story of Gideon that Jehovah had already been pleading with Israel over their idolatry by delivering them into the hands of the Midianites. 

It is possible that Joash already had this perspective and had been patient with the idolatry of his townspeople, waiting for Jehovah to avenge Himself and saw Gideon’s act as the beginning of the that judgment.  So he challenges the townspeople to exhibit the same patience, the same watchful waiting, if they really believe in Baal-- “if [Baal] be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar” (v31)  

(At the same time, however, I also get the idea that Joash could have been a little more proactive with eliminating the idolatrous facilities on his own property where he had the most control.  Sure, he can’t control what the townspeople worship, but he can keep that stuff off his own property.)

The result of Joash’s powerful defense is that Gideon has a lot of people watching him closely to see if anything happens to him for destroying Baal’s altar and the grove.  We can tell the story spreads because when Gideon spies on the Midianite camp in the next chapter, he hears men talking about him and how God is going to deliver the Midianites into his hand.  People he didn’t even know were seeing him as a favored instrument of God. 

Again, I think this is part of what the Lord meant when He promised Gideon, “I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.”  Gideon had wanted know what he would use to save Israel, and God promised to be his weapon.  God was Gideon’s weapon, showing the Israelites and the Canaanites around them that Gideon was stronger than Baal because of the power of God.

What do we learn from this experience of Gideon’s? 

Get rid of the evils in our own backyards (or houses). 

When we are brave enough to choose the right, others around us see and are strengthened to choose the right too.

Not only do we have to choose the right, we need to defend others who choose the right. 

We learn Jehovah does plead with men to return to Him and that He can avenge Himself.  (This should also remind us to repent and prepare for the final judgment when all evil will be avenged and all good will be rewarded.)

Gideon’s Debate with an Angel and the Sacrificial Sign

11 ¶And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.

16 And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.

18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

19 ¶And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.

20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

21 ¶Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.

23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.  (Judges 6:11-24)

This is a really interesting story to me, especially because Gideon has these miraculous things happen in his life and on the surface, he seems to be reluctant to believe them.  It demands our examination.

Gideon’s request for a sign is often called unbelief, but if you look carefully, he has a good reason for it.  He says, “If now I have found favor in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.” (v17)

This strikes us as strange because we think, “The angel is right there.  It should be obvious he’s talking to Gideon.”  But Gideon wanted to know this was from the Lord and not a false prophet or false spirit.  Apostate religion and idolatry was rampant in the land, and Gideon’s caution marks him as one who wants to be spiritually discerning and cautious.  I think he would like to believe that he could make a difference and be an instrument of the Lord in effecting the deliverance of Israel from the Midianites (who were ravaged the land and destroyed their crops), but he recognizes that this might be a false guide gratifying his vanity and vain ambition.

Gideon does not only ask for a sign.  He also brings an offering, a sacrifice of cakes made from an ephah of flour (about a bushel) and the flesh of a kid (a young goat).  Considering the people were greatly impoverished by the attacks of the Midianites, this sacrifice was very generous.  It is also somewhat similar to what Gideon would bring if he went to the tabernacle.  To me it seems to indicate that Gideon was living the principle “faith precedes the miracle.”

The angel tells him to put the cakes and flesh on a nearby rock and pour out the broth, possibly over the whole to soak it.  Then the angel touched the flesh and bread with his staff and fire “rose up…out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes.  Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.” (v21)  While it says fire came out of the rock, I think what really happened was the touch of the angel’s staff caused the meat and cakes to catch fire and burn, which means the angel was a person of such intense glory that even the touch of his accessories incinerated things. 

Gideon’s subsequent terror is understandably like Ether’s.  He automatically thinks he has been presumptuous, talking and questioning the glorious personage as if he were a normal person when the being was clearly capable of great destructive power.

22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.

23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

The neat thing about this is even with this show of power, the angel of the Lord, which we must suspect is Jehovah Himself, did not threaten Gideon in any way to get him to take this job of delivering Israel.  Instead, He worked to show Gideon his potential, and He issued the call and promised His presence and support all along, using all edifying building methods.  There was no coercion, or threatening, or condemning.

This experience with the power of God builds Gideon’s testimony.  He had perceived before that the Lord had delivered the Israelites into the hands of the Midianites, and he saw his sacrifice was accepted.  Even though the angel was not there, Gideon felt the voice of the Lord through the Spirit saying, “Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” (v23)  This peace taught him that following Jehovah and sacrificing brought peace.  So he built an altar as a memorial to remind himself of that and next was willing to obey the Lord’s instructions to destroy the idolatrous worship facilities—the altar to Baal and the Asherah grove—and build up an altar to Jehovah and offer a sacrifice there.

It is also neat to see the conversation that Gideon had with this angel of the Lord before the sign.  Gideon asks some very good questions that go right to the heart of his concerns.

First the angel says, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” (v12)

Gideon doesn’t feel very valiant or mighty at this point, though.  There he is, threshing in the wine press to hide the grain from the Midianites.  He probably thought, “If I’m so brave, why do I have to hide my food like this?”  He says to the angel, “if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (v13)

His question, “Where are the miracles?” is an excellent question and you have to give him credit that he sees the ascendency the Midianites have gained over Israel not as a sign of Baal’s power as an idolater might, but as a sign of God’s leaving Israel to themselves.  Previous to this conversation, a prophet had declared to Israel that they had not obeyed the Lord’s command to not fear the gods of the people around them, so he should have known that Israel’s idolatry was instrumental in Israel’s defeats.

The answer given to Gideon’s question is very interesting.  “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” (v14)  You wonder where the miracles are, Gideon?  You are the miracle.  Sending you is the beginning of more miracles.

You can tell Gideon is really thinking about that, and he is very aware of his limitations.  He asks another good question.  “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” (v15)  Save Israel with what?!  I’m poor!  I don’t have much to fight with!

The answer comes, “Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” (v16)  I the Lord am your weapon, Gideon.  With me, you’ll hit them as easily as you could hit a single person.

Of course, this is where Gideon wants the sign that this is really the Lord talking.  But the Lord’s promise that He will be Gideon’s weapon is fulfilled.  We see it as he breaks down his father’s altar to Baal and cuts down the grove and his father declares Baal must avenge himself and nothing happens.  We see it also in the battle cry, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!”

Here are some important principles I notice:

Idolatry and sin brings defeat. – The miracles disappear when commandments are broken.  They may disappear so gradually that we don’t notice.

Sometimes God calls us to be the miracle. – These are the kinds of miracles that happen not because we are capable and competent but because we are inadequate.  If we were capable, it wouldn’t be a miracle.

God calls, encourages, promises to be with us, and gives us an idea of what we can become with His help. – His stretching is edifying and challenging and may even be chastising, but not in a way that will take away our hope.

It is okay to turn to the Lord with questions about how we are to overcome our inadequacies for the callings He gives us. – We have to have some awareness of the problem before we can ever be open to getting it fixed.  Honest questions asked with faith open us up to revelation.

Seeking discernment in what guides we listen to is a good thing. – Discernment is a safety measure because an ego desperate for validation can be fooled, as can a frustrated, chafing, impatient soul.

Sacrifice comes before signs are given. – You have to meet God halfway.

It is God who gives peace. – God’s peace transcends what seems logical.  It defies understanding and is out of all proportion to the acts that brought it. 

Many church callings I was given I have gone into them feeling very inadequate.  I could say with Gideon, “Wherewith shall I…?” But I have seen the Lord opening the way, making me equal to the task that I couldn’t do before.  The Lord has helped me through callings of being ward organist, bear den leader, Sunday school teacher for 16-17 year olds, and primary chorister.

I am sure you have seen that in your life too.  Will you share with me some ways you’ve seen this happen? 

Scripture Marking Exercise: Revelation given to Gideon in Judges

 Sometimes we don’t know what to mark or how to mark it as we study scriptures. It came to me that it might be interesting to you readers to have posts that suggest simple scripture marking exercises.  If I post something, it will be because I have done it myself and derived benefit from it.

These exercises will help you recognize patterns in the text and can be a starting point for inquiry in your scripture study.

The story of Gideon stretches from Judges 6 to 8 and includes a surprising amount of revelatory experience.

Open your scriptures and in Judges 6-8 highlight every instance where the Lord, or an angel talks to Gideon, or when the spirit of God comes upon Gideon. 

Look for the following types of phrases:

·      “there came an angel of the Lord”

·      “the angel of the Lord appeared unto him”

·      “the Lord…said”

·      “the Lord said”

·      “the angel of the Lord said”

·      “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon”

You might also mark instances where Gideon speaks to God.

Now what?

Some questions to think about after you survey your markings:

·      How much revelation does Gideon receive and what does this say about his spiritual sensitivity?

·      How might the things Gideon is doing relate to whether revelation comes or not?

·      What do Gideon’s experiences teach us about having or developing a relationship with God?

·      How are revelation and miracles related in the life of Gideon?

·      How is obedience and sacrifice related to miracles in the life of Gideon?

·      How much revelation does Gideon receive at the beginning versus the end of these chapters? 

·      Can you think of any explanations for what you see?

Finally, what principles can you formulate to capture what you learn?