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An Ordinary Man Called by an Extraordinary God
Judges 6:1-24
Pastor Marv, Grace Bible Church
Recorded for Sunday, 4-26-20

Introduction. God often uses the most unlikely people to accomplish His great purposes. Today we’ll meet one of them, a man named Gideon. Two parts to the portrait that we will see of Gideon…

• An outstanding hero. God used him to win one of the most amazing victories in history (later, in chapters 7-8). See also Hebrews 11:32.
• An ordinary human. Sometimes weak, afraid, needing special encouragement from God to move forward, and making many mistakes along the way.

1. The Conditions in Israel (5:31-6:10)

• A review of the “cycles” in Judges…

Divine blessing…the current cycle involving Gideon starts in 5:31b…
Disobedience…this phase of the cycle is seen in 6:1a…
Divine discipline…this phase of the cycle is seen in 6:1b…
Divine deliverance…Gideon will be God’s choice as the next judge/deliverer…

• A summary of the conditions in Israel (verses 2-6)…

The invaders (verses 2-3)…

The invasions (verses 4-5)… Each year the enemies came at harvest time…

The impact this had on Israel (verses 2, 6)…


• God’s first response to the prayers of His people was to send a prophet with a message (verses 7-10). The prophet isn’t named, but the message was loud and clear.

2. The Call of Gideon (verses 11-18). A most unusual conversation with a “visitor”…God Himself…although Gideon didn’t realize who it was until later…

• Note what Gideon was doing…and why (verse 11)…

• The conversation (verses 12-18)…notes…

First some backdrop…

Note the two spellings of “lord” in this conversation. When spelled with all capital letters, it is referring to God. When spelled using small letters (as Gideon did), it is a different word the Hebrew text…a title of respect…but one more like our word “sir”…

Note also that the “person” who spoke with Gideon is called “the angel of the LORD” in verses 11-12…but simply the LORD in verses 14, 16. They are one and the same. “The angel of the LORD” is none other than God Himself…taken by most scholars as a reference to Jesus in the Old Testament.

Then the conversation. A conversation in which God announces His choice of Gideon as the next great deliverer/judge…but in which He had to change some of Gideon’s thinking…

• The conversation ends with Gideon’s request for a sign…which God will grant in the next section.

3. The Confirmation of Gideon’s Call (verses 19-24)

• Verse 19…more like a banquet! But see verse 18, a meal with a purpose…an “offering” to God.

• The “veil” on Gideon’s understanding is lifted in verses 20-23…

• Gideon’s last act…verse 24…