Having a Walk that Matches Your Talk
The Book of Judges • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.
And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.
And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.
And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.
Here we have the finish of another downward spiral in this dark, sordid time of Israel’s history. God had done them so much good yet they continually went back like a dog to its vomit.
Tonight we want to learn several lessons from Gideon who started out good and whose judgeship God blessed, but also a rule as judge that had some glaring shortcomings.
D. Gideon’s talk and walk didn’t quite match.
P. Does your talk and walk match.
1. Solemn refusal to be the boss.
1. Solemn refusal to be the boss.
Judges 8:22–23 “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.”
Explain
The men of Israel appreciate Gideon leading them to victory.
They fail to see Gideon was just used of God to lead the victory
The Battle is the Lord’s. Judges 7:22 “And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath.”
Gideon recognized his humble state and wisely refuses to reign.
Judges 6:15 “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.”
Judges 8:23 “And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.”
This is the first indication of Israel wanting to be like the nations around them. As they want Gideon, his son, and his son’s son to reign over them.
Argue
Why couldn’t they have had a king now?
1 Samuel 8:7 “And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”
Gideon had the wisdom to understand that God should reign over His people, not Him.
Illustrate
Apply
We in like manner have been given spiritual responsibilities.
Fathers - Ephesians 6:4 “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
Proverbs 1:8 Admonishes children to hear the instruction of their dads.
Proverbs 6:20 Admonishes kids to follow the commands of their dad.
These commands were intended to keep the child from evil and the adulterous woman.
Young people heed the instruction of your Father.
Mothers - to guide children - Proverbs 1:8 “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:” (See also Proverbs 6:20)
This is Mom’s rules, instructions.
Young people don’t forsake the good manners your mother taught you.
Teachers and pastors are to lead by example.
1 Peter 5:1–3 “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”
1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”
Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
Fortunately Gideon encouraged the people to make a wiser choice and submit themselves to the Lord as their King.
2. A snaring request sends a wrong message.
2. A snaring request sends a wrong message.
Judges 8:24–27 “And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.”
Explain
A Kingly request.
I would like all the ear-rings from the spoils.
Everyone who has some ear-rings, I would like them.
Kind Response
The people willingly give to Gideon the golden ear-rings
The ear-rings are cast into a garment.
Kostly reward.
The weight of the gold is 1700 shekels. The measurement of a shekel varies from 10-16 grams roughly. 11 grams is a rough estimate of the commonly accepted weight. A gram of gold goes on today’s market is $97.54 according to Veracash.
The gold would have weighed 3.75 pounds and been worth $1,823,998.
Argue
Should have Gideon asked for the gold? I would say not. Why else would he want it except for the love of money.
1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Illustrate: 1. "Someone in my town won $110 million while on a holiday somewhere in the country. The dude became really arrogant and destroyed his relationship with both his wife and son. He bought some of the most expensive cars and multiple houses/properties. He then began wanting maids and private chefs, which led to his wife divorcing him. His son can’t stand him anymore, and the wife is paranoid of him showing up to her house. It’s a sad story."
Apply
Don’t let the love of money ruin your family. It ended badly for Gideon’s son’s after his death as their half brother massacred all but one of the 70.
1 Timothy 6:9 “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.”
Proverbs 23:4 “Labour not to be rich: Cease from thine own wisdom.”
Proverbs 28:22 “He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, And considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.”
Proverbs 15:27 “He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; But he that hateth gifts shall live.”
3. A Sweet Rest breeds shallow Faith
3. A Sweet Rest breeds shallow Faith
Judges 8:26–32 “And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.”
Explain: Shallowness
Worship
The Lord was supposedly ruling over the people, but....
They were a whoring after Gideon’s golden ephod.
It was a cause for unfaithfulness to Israel. They became attached to the object instead of the God who was their Lord.
This was an unwise move as Gideon’s nation was already prone to idolatry.
Wedded faithfulness
Gideon trangressed God’s plan for marriage and had many wives
He had 70 sons of many wives. The Bible doesn’t hide Gideon’s sin. It states his good and his bad.
Genesis 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
1 Timothy 3:2 “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”
1 Timothy 3:8 “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;”
God intended one man and one woman for life. 1 Corinthians 7:2 “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”
Wealth
The greed of Gideon affected his family. They were snared by the golden ephod they made.
Rich people must watch out for pride.
Proverbs 18:11 “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And as an high wall in his own conceit.”
Proverbs 28:11 “The rich man is wise in his own conceit; But the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.”
Wisdom to wickedness
He also had a concubine, which is also unscriptural. Of this he had a son whose name was called Abimelech.
The name means my father is king.
A sad truth is revealed although Gideon rejected the formal title of King he virtually acted as a king.
Deuteronomy 17:17 “Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.”
Argue
Illustrate
Apply
Be careful about laxness in worship.
John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
Exodus 20:1–5 “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;”
We as Christians don’t worship idols per say. But worshipping God with thoughts unworthy and not in keeping with the Bible is idolatry.
Eg. God is so loving he would never send anybody to hell.
4. Shameful Return to idolatry.
4. Shameful Return to idolatry.
Judges 8:33–35 “And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god. And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side: Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.”
Explain
Gideon dies and the people return to sin.
The people forget God and what he has done.
The people are unkind to Gideon and his family.
Argue
Illustrate
We can have a beautiful weather one day and the next day isn’t so nice and we are whining and complaining. How quick we are to forget past blessings and kindnesses of our gracious God.
Apply
Psalm 106:12–16 “Then believed they his words; They sang his praise. They soon forgat his works; They waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; But sent leanness into their soul. They envied Moses also in the camp, And Aaron the saint of the Lord.”
Be diligent about remembering the blessings of God.
Make a thankfulness journal. The beginning spiral of sin always begins with ingrattitude.
Romans 1:21 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
Think about it? Why did Eve and Adam eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in disobedience to God. They were ungrateful that God didn’t allow them to eat of every tree.
Why do you complain? You think you deserve better.
Take some time to think about it and I will think you’ll agree. Ingratitude is the start of the downward spiral into sin.
Keep a record of prayers and answered prayers.
Take time to saturate your mind with the Psalms and meditate upon Him. It will help remind you to be grateful when you have a though of ingrattitude and complaint come to mind.
Keep your heart with all diligence.
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.”
The first thing to doing that is recognizing you have a deceitful and wicked heart. Don’t trust it.
Proverbs 28:26 “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: But whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”
What are your weak points? Ask God to show you and then confess it and foresake it. Don’t hide it. Own it and get rid of it.
Conclusion
While Gideon talk said one thing his walk said another. He said he wouldn’t be King, but in his lifestyle he lived like the kings around him multiplying riches and wives to himself. Making himself some sort of spiritual leader with the cultic golden ephod he made. It led Israel away from God instead of to God.
How is your talk and walk. Do they agree.
