Called Out by God

​Judges 6:11-12 ~ “Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, ‘The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.’”
 
Fear is not a compelling reason to reject the call of God.
 
In the days of the judges of Israel, the people would fall into rebellion and idolatry, practicing the sinful behaviors of the nations around them. God, then, would discipline His people and often used other nations as the means by which Israel would be punished. This was the condition of the nation at the time of Gideon. We read in Judges 6:1, “The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.” Seven years of oppression and hardship under the cruelty of the Midianites (see Judges 6:4-5) and then the people cried out to the LORD their God for deliverance. Their rescue was not immediate, nor did it come without a rebuke from the LORD and a reminder as to the reasons why they were in their current predicament, “And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice” (Judges 6:10).
 
Great despair had arisen in the nation of Israel and the hardships of persecution and oppression from the Midianites had fractured the hopes of many. As we come to the opening of our text today, the angel of the LORD finds Gideon, “Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.” There are two things concerning Gideon that we discover in this encounter. First, Gideon was faithful to the work he had been given. When the angel found him, the young man was dutifully beating out the wheat. This task of threshing wheat was often given to the least or the youngest as it was a task that did not require great strength or fortitude. Second, Gideon was fearful of the Midianites. He was hiding from the Midianites, threshing wheat in a place that was singularly designed for another task and would not be a location where wheat could be easily threshed. He was willing to do the chore with great difficulty in order to keep out of sight.
 
But enter the angel of the LORD and we hear a different perspective, “And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, ‘The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.’” Two things we discover in this statement as well. First, the LORD knew Gideon differently than Gideon knew himself. God Almighty proclaimed Gideon to be a “mighty man of valor.” God was not offering some motivational talk to the young man, nor was this merely a statement of encouragement, trying to bolster Gideon’s self-image and improve his outlook on life. This, dear ones, was a declared statement of fact. Second, the LORD established His direct involvement with Gideon as He declared, “the LORD is with you.” There is no greater confidence that can be given from the LORD than the knowledge that He has promised to be involved in the work He has commanded. Moses understood this when he prayed, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15).
 
There are Christians today that tremble at the idea of God calling them out from their sheltered condition. The world is filled with those who would oppress and persecute, and our LORD Jesus promised that we would face trials concerning our faith. We read in John 15:20, “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” And so we find our “winepress” and try and do the work laid before us, hidden away from the watching eyes of the world. But that, dear Christian, just won’t do. Not all are called to great and bold tasks like Gideon, or the work of great proclamations like the Apostle Paul, but all are called to be faithful as a light and a witness for the LORD (see Matthew 5:14-16). Let us also find our courage in the place where Gideon found his—in the promise of God to be with us always. Jesus declared in Matthew 28:20, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” There is not one step of faithful obedience to the LORD that was absent the presence of Jesus.
 
All Christians are called out by God. It does not matter what it is, it will take courage to step away from where we might hide and let our light shine. Hold fast to the promise of Christ and know that Jesus walks with you as you step out by faith.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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