Judges 05

Gideons Private Failure: A Case Study in Character Flaws

The president had a moral lapse. The way that many tried to broad brush it gives us some insight into our own personality mix. Compartmentalize the private and public man. Apparently it worked. One week after the tapes became public the presidents approval rating reached an all time high. Motto seems to be: Finances are good, we have change in our pockets, What difference does it make what he does in his private life? It makes a huge difference. We must hold one another accountable and that is especially true for those in positions of leadership. Same must have been said of Gideon. So appropriate to explore this section of judges at this time. Last saw Gideon the judge a great man who acted courageously to follow God and rout the enemy. But there is a footnote at the bottom of the story which will set up the sad tale which follows in chapter 9. Judges 8:27-35. He set up an ephod. Some question as to what that is all about. Ephod was the garment of the priest. Made of linen. This one is made of gold. Could have been a gold cast of his own shirt. Pretty egotistic. Who knows. At any rate it ultimately became an object of worship. Another tale tell sign of trouble. Especially verse 30. Gideon had seventy sons. . . many wives. Verse 31. Concubine, not a formal wife. . . she lived in Shechem with her family. He had a mistress in Shechem. Obvious moral flaw in this otherwise fine leader. The question: What difference does it make in his private life? As we will see, it makes a lot. You cannot separate who a person is in private and what he does in public. Lets home in for a case study on a character flaw.

Introduction:
This week someone sent me this joke. Fellow goes into a bar and orders three tall beers. The Bar tender says, the beer goes stale after its drawn wouldnt you prefer me to draw one after another. He says, I have two other brothers, one in America the other in Australia. We agreed that since we are too far apart that whenever we drink we would drink like this. So every time he went to the bar he always had three beers drawn all at once. Bartender grew to expect him and make them as he came in. One day he came in and only ordered two drafts. As he took his two beers to sit at the table the other patrons noticed. The bartender had a sad look. Finally he walked over to the man and said, Im sorry for your greif. The man said, Huh, what grief? Two beers I assumed a brother had died. Oh no, both of me brothers er fine. Its just that I joined the Baptist church last week and had to give up drinking! Amazing what we can talk ourselves into. The propensitiy for hypocrisy is monumental. And we dont ever grow out of it. And we dont rise above it. In fact the higher we rise the more dangerous we become to ourselves. Want proof? Look no farther than the president. Ill never forget when the story broke. 72 Hours of tape recordings of a young former white house intern named Monica Lewinsky and her confidant Mrs. Tripp. The subject: President Clintons secret rendezvous with Miss Lewinsky while she was a 21 year old intern. Now 24 Lewinsky went into sordid details of late night encounters. The legal issue was whether the president and his counsel urged her to lie about the affair under oath. At first Clinton denied all charges. But when faced with overwhelming evidence he came clean.

I.

We Must Base Our Lives on Gods Word, Not Cultures Ways.

What happens in chapter 9 is directly tied to the fact that Gideon failed to address his character flaw. This isnt the first occasion of polygamy in the Bible. Gen. 4:19 see it as early as Lamech. Often multiple wives to insure children. Abraham marked a drastic difference. Loyal to Sarah. Hagar her maid was a surrogate mother, but not a wife in the traditional sense.

Nor was she a concubine. Simply an effort to produce offspring like a surrogate. After Sarah died Abraham seems to have followed the path of the culture and had other children by concubines. Abrahams son, Isaac seems to have been monogamous. Esau, Isaacs son was not. Nor was Jacob. But when there was polygamy it was not with the enthusiasm of Gideon. He is the first mentioned as having many wives. None of this was Gods will! Genesis 2:4 explains Gods will: one man, with one woman for life. Reason for that is simple: Children. Children need an extraordinary amount of care and training and nurturing. Two parents struggle to give them the training they need. Add to that the fallen nature and the incredible complexity of siblings and multiple marriages become a disaster. Hard enough to train 4 much less in Gideons case: 70! No way. So the ones hurt will be the children. And we see this in the culture today. Absentee fathers and overworked single mothers are breeding a new generation of barbarians. What is different today is not that this is new, but that it is the norm. Problem: Gideon defined his morality by the culture. Church is doing that again. Listen: It is wrong for a leader or any man to commit adultery. Regardless of his success as a leader in other areas. And the day the church stops saying that is the day we lose our right to exist in this world. We must not build our morality on what the culture is saying.

Leaders must have someone. Key difference between Gideon and King David. David had Nathan and before that he had Samuel. Gideon had nobody. Leaders have a higher standard. Let not many become teachers knowing that as such you incur a stricter judgement. People will seldom rise above the standards set by leaders. If we allow immorality in our leaders, from whence will our childrens heroes emerge? Verse 33. Sad indictment. Why Baal? Why not Yahweh? Baal vs. Yahweh BAAL Sensuous No Moral Demands Superstitious YAHWEH Righteous The Law Personal

Gideons moral flaw failed to lift the people above their own carnal desires. A mans morality will dictate his theology. A leaders morality will dictate the theology of his people. Proverbs 29:12 If a ruler pays attention to falsehood, All his ministers become wicked. Proverbs 28:15 Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear Is a wicked ruler over a poor people. Proverbs 14: Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.

II.

We Must Be Held Accountable.

All of us should be accountable to someone. The great curse of our day is that we are weaving cocoons of technology that cut us off from the normal relationships that would hold us accountable. Every one of us needs someone else in our lives who asks the tough questions. How is it with your wife? How is it on the dates? How are you doing with the Lord. Leaders especially need accountability. One of the sad truths to emerge from the sordid final days of Elvis Presleys life was that nobody could tell him the truth.

III.

Character Flaws Must Be Corrected.

Never underestimate the results of a character flaw. Bible talks about sowing and reaping. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. Maybe not now, but someday. Maybe not you, but certainly your children. Out trust as a people goes beyond the present. WE must preserve the culture for our children and our childrens children.

Deut. 5:9 `You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, [10] but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Deut 7:4. That is exactly what happened with Gideons flaw. The son of the concubine in Shechem , Abimelech went to Shechem and rallied support. 9:4-5. For three years Abimilech reigned in terror. Went up against anyone who would challenge him. Finally, while fighting against the city of Thebez the people went into a tower and a woman dropped a millstone on his head. 9:53-57. Gideons son was killed by a woman. Gideons family name was wiped out. Must deal with and correct character flaws. 1. Recognize the flaw. Agree with God about sin. Dont take the cue from culture. If the President did what he is accused of doing he is wrong. And God help the church that says otherwise. And any good he does economically will not change that. We are like him. We must constantly guard ourselves. 2. Repent of the flaw. Turn from it. James 4 3. Recover from the flaw. Create a climate of recovery. Its o.k. to confess sin. Go on and be healed.