JU8-12: Gideon And The Value Of NEVER Giving Up (Part 1)

Today I wanna talk about Gideon and the value of NEVER giving up no matter what.

That’s right folks.

I’m talking about good ‘ole teeth-gritting persistence here.

Which seems to be a quality sorely lacking in this fast-food, microwave and video game world we live in today.

So here’s the unvarnished truth on the matter.

Gideon is one of the most outstanding examples in the Bible of persistence in obedience to God’s commands.

When he achieved a landslide victory over Midian and Amalek in the Valley of Jezreel, most reasonable military leaders would have picked up and went home at that point.

But not Gideon

He didn’t stop there.

In fact, Gideon’s actions show us by comparison just how much Joshua and his successors failed to fully obey God.

Because Joshua and his men stopped fighting after the majority of their military objectives were reached.

But what they should have done was keep fighting until ALL (not just a majority) of God’s instructions were fulfilled.

Let’s just call a spade a spade here, shall we?

Joshua did NOT finish the job God had given him.

His duty wasn’t to just win major battles.

His job was the FULL EXTERMINATION of the enemy.

And he didn’t do it.

Here’s another politically incorrect truth bomb for you.

The reason Israel is surrounded by enemies who want to wipe them off the map today is because of Joshua’s LACK OF PERSISTENCE.

Let me be even more blunt.

The very people who despise Israel and want to wipe them off the map are the descendants of nations and people that shouldn’t even exist.

Why?

Because the Lord ordered their annihilation.

So in this sense, Gideon deserves full credit.

He did what Joshua and many other leaders after Joshua failed to do.

He kept on keeping on until the Holy War was fully completed.

After the victory at the Valley of Jezreel, only a mere 8% of the Midianite enemy was left remaining.

At this point, your average general would have patted his men on their shoulders and said “Good job boys, now let’s go home”.

But not Gideon.

He tracked down the remaining 8% and traveled a good 150 miles to finish the job.

Not to mention he did all of this when he and his men were in a famished stated and the two Hebrew cities in the Trans-Jordan that should have helped them didn’t.

Being turned down by the leaders at Succoth and Penuel must have been discouraging and I’m sure a lesser man would have quit at that point.

But not Gideon.

He just refused to give up.

And what was the result of his dogged persistence?

From that point forward the Midianites would never again be a problem for Israel.

We’ll continue this discussion the next time we meet.