Judges 8: Gideon the sinner

Outline

• Sinful conflict resolution
• Sinful justice
• Sinful rule

Introduction

One of the most dangerous temptations we face is success. When we succeed and people begin to approve of us we can get an inflated view of our own importance thinking that our thoughts, plans, ideas, opinions and contributions are more important than anyone else’s. When things go well for a preacher he may get the idea that God is blessing him and not blessing the gospel and that he can do no wrong. We often overlook the character flaws and even the unbiblical teachings of someone who is bringing about good results. We have the tendency of being pragmatists, that the right or wrong of the situation is proven by a good outcome not by testing whether things have been done in conformity to God’s word. We tell ourselves that we must be doing alright if things are going well. Pride comes before a fall and on the heels of success, that is why the most important time to be vigilant is just after a success or breakthrough. Gideon has just had a success; God has used him and his 300 to overcome a great threat. In the cycles of the other judges we might have had a closing remark that Israel had peace for 40 years. However, the author wants to put more meat on the bone. We know that the cycles of the judges are going from bad to worse. The rest of the detail made available about Gideon’s rule is evidence to support this downgrade.