Gideon and the Stages of Faith: From Denial to Questioning

Our series on the story of Gideon is turning up some really fascinating things.  As we noted in this past Sunday’s sermon, the typical church-going professing follower of Christ probably has an idea of Gideon that is SOOOOO incomplete!  We tend to think of him as the guy that God called on to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites and their military partners, but who actually didn’t trust God.  We think of him as the guy who then asked God to prove Himself by first making a fleece wet while the ground around it was left dry, and then again keeping the fleece dry with the ground around it being wet.  When this is the primary thing we think about with Gideon, we are missing so much about this fascinating fellow!

We noted this past Sunday that while, yes, Gideon did seem to struggle a bit with his faith, God had asked him to do a pretty major thing!  Remember that Israel had been exceedingly wicked in and before Gideon’s time, and God allowed Midian to besiege Israel for seven years as a disciplinary strategy.  God simply wanted Israel to be reminded that HE was their Source of power, strength and protection.  Finally, Israel had called out to God for relief and rescue from the Midianites.  My question is ‘Why did it take so long for Israel to call out to God?’  Their hearts were pretty hard.  But they did call out to God, and God would raise up Gideon.

The disobedience of Israel, which caused the Lord to leave them subject to the cruelty of the Midianites, was driven, no doubt, by so many in Israel simply forsaking Jehovah God and falling into the worship of false gods of the pagan peoples of Canaan.  This trend was driven by intermarriages between Israelites and the pagan peoples – associations that had been forbidden by God all along. (Duh – God had even instructed them to drive out the pagan tribes!)   As God has shown down through history – and today as well – a very effective means of discipline is being left to experience the negative consequences of our wayward actions.  Such is the case in this story with Israel.   

Let’s take another look at one incident in Gideon’s ‘faith progression’.  Because of the acute nature of the challenges facing Israel, Gideon’s faith progression seems to develop rather quickly due to the urgency of the situation, i.e. Israel having cried out to God and God being ready to rescue the Israelites.

Remember that after Gideon was convinced by the Angel of the Lord (the Lord Himself), of His identity in Judges 6:19-24?  There the Lord struck and burned the food that Gideon had brought to Him.  Gideon had this moment of recognition of God Himself (v.22) and God reassured Gideon that he would not die (v.23). Gideon then built an altar to the Lord right then and there. Judges 6:24 (NLT) says, ‘²⁴ And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the Lord is peace”). The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day.  In naming the altar Yahweh-Shalom, there is here a recognition of God’s identity as The God of Peace!  This is a monumental event that would reinforce one the clear theological attributes of God. 

This would also be a pivotal moment in the process of Gideon moving through the stages of faith.  First, we looked at Gideon’s disengagement in v. 11, as we find him threshing wheat in a hidden place.   Then we saw him in a state of disbelief in v. 13-16, as He questions God’s faithfulness and flat out denies what God said about Gideon himself as a ‘mighty hero’ (v.12)  and how God created him and wants to empower him, i.e.Judges 6:15 (NLT)  ¹⁵ “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”
 
Now, in verse 24, Gideon gives us a clue as to what is going on with him that causes him to begin this movement from a place of disbelief and denial to the third stage of faith – the stage of QUESTIONING.  Gideon demonstrates that He has a response to his own earlier statements of doubt about God and himself.  This response is the naming of this altar that he built.  While we don’t necessarily know from the text on v.24 all that actually transpired between God and Gideon, we can assume that God had likely given Gideon instructions for the altar.  But it is the NAME of the altar that really tells the story of Gideon’s faith.

Could it be that Gideon naming the altar as Yahweh-Shalom – the Lord IS peace…. – was an indicator that Gideon now believed that God was truly about to rescue Israel?  Did this indicate that Gideon truly believed that the Lord Who had come to him actually wanted His people Israel to live in peace?  Dd this indicate thatGideon believed that God would truly save His people Israel – even after Gideon’s v. 13 accusation that God had abandoned Israel? 

Personally, I believe that the construction of naming of the alter was the first major turning point in Gideon’s faith being transformed   He was now willing to BELIEVE it, and he would be allowed not only to SEE it, but to actually be the instrument of God who would actually LEAD it!  Gideon was off to the races in developing a DARING FAITH!

How about you?  Does a Daring Faith appeal to you?  Are you living the life of a Daring Faith?  Or do you simply choose to play it safe – staying in your own place of familiarity (the threshing floor) and living in denial about God calling YOU a MIGHTY HERO?! 

In our story, our Mighty Hero is still early in his faith progression.  Next week, let’s look at what would be a major leap in this continuing progression.

Next Week:  Gideon and Spiritual Warfare – What Happens When You Destroy Satan’s Favorite Landmark!