Again, the text is Judges chapter 6, verses 11 through 24. This is God's Word. Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abbey Ezerite. 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. And Gideon said to him, please Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us saying, did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian." And the Lord turned to him and said, "'Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Do I not send you?' And he said to him, "'Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said to him, but I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midians as one man. And he said to him, if now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign. It is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you. And he said, I will stay till you return. So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from a ephod, a flower. The meat he put in a basket and the broth he put in a pot and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put them on this rock and pour the broth over them. And he did so. And the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, alas, oh Lord God, for now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face. But the Lord said to him, peace be to you. Do not fear, you shall not die. Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord is Peace. To this day, it stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Ebe-Erezites." This is God's Word. As a young child, I was often disobedient, disrespectful, rebellious, willful. We know children can't be like that. And as parents, we still love them. Through thick and thin, for blood, it is thicker than water. The Book of Judges, and also other books, but the Book of Judges, it shows that what their transgressions deserve and what afflictions they may come to expect in this life. Those in this covenant nation had those afflictions actualized in a remarkable way But God, our Father, merciful and gracious, although they were disobedient and unfaithful, he loved them with an everlasting love. And though they did wickedness, he will draw them in with his loving kindness. Because God cannot forget his covenant children. My main proposition this evening is that Yahweh has not forsaken his covenant people and chastens them for idolatry. He is gracious towards the weakness and accepts an offering. Again, Yahweh has not forsaken his covenant people and chastens them for idolatry. He is gracious towards the weakness and accepts an offering. I divided this passage into three parts. First, we have Yahweh chastens them for idolatry. Second, we have Yahweh is gracious towards their weaknesses. And lastly, Yahweh accepts an offering. Three parts. First, Yahweh chastens them for their idolatry. Ever since the fall of man when Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Ever since that it's been in this world a majestic theater in which our God orchestrates a separation of the people. people of his and those of the devil. This is the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. And in this point in redemptive history, it is the nations of the world and the covenant nation of Israel. And if you want to dissect it even further, it is that chosen remnant within Israel. These are God's people. And God, what he does because of his mercy, he's going to raise up a judge, a savior, a deliverer. And it's by the name of Gideon. It was God who gave them the holy laws, but they did evil in the sight of the Lord. And just as God had used these Israelites to judge the Canaanites, now he's going to use the Midianites to chasten and discipline the Israelites, to show them of the need that they have for God, to subdue their pride. And so the enemy comes upon the land, destroys the increase of the earth, plunders all of their goods, and they have no choice now but to cry out to God. When we looked at our last passage last week, we were a little unsure how God would answer. But now as we look at this passage here, we see that God will answer in the affirmative. He cannot forget his covenant children, just like a parent cannot forget his own children. And so, what does God do? He comes down and speaks with Gideon face to face. This is Yahweh himself. Our passage ascribes to the angel of the Lord, the works, the worship, and the name, which is proper to God alone. One might wonder, who is this? Is this the eternal Son of God? Is it the second person of the Trinity? Well, if there's no other mediator between God and man, I might suggest it is the pre-incarnate Christ. Other commentators also seem to think so. Yahweh he comes down and he meets with Gideon face to face because at that time extra biblical revelation had not ceased the canon was not closed the angel of the lord he appeared to Abraham to Jacob to Joshua and now he appears to Gideon because of his wise and holy decree to call him with a holy calling. How does a tech or a business company recruit this highly touted college graduate? Perhaps maybe the CEO would get on a plane, fly there and meet him face to face, and then give his best sales pitch. How does a college sports coach recruit that all-American basketball or football player? Well, perhaps he will go to the family's home and sit in the living room and try to convince the parents that your son or daughter, this athlete would fit right in this university's athletic program. It is Yahweh by his most wise and holy decree comes down and meets Gideon face to face. Point one, that is Yahweh chasing them for their idolatry and he provides a deliverer. But now let's go on to point two. Yahweh is gracious towards their weaknesses. Yahweh is gracious towards their weaknesses. nation of Israel they were well aware of the redemptive history. It says in verse 13 that we're beyond the miracles which our father has told us saying did not God bring us out of Egypt. They knew the fathers relayed the news when Yahweh, he dispatched his awesome supernatural plagues upon the land of Egypt. When he redeemed them from the house of the bondman, the hand, the Pharaoh, when he led them through the Red Sea, splitting the routers, and that was their Exodus out of Egypt. And then afterwards, the waves will collapse upon the Egyptian chariots. It is Yahweh who would take his people upon the eagle's wings and he would lead them through the wilderness, a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by the night until they finally reached their destination and it is the base of Mount Sinai and they were given the holy laws. it says in Deuteronomy 4.8, for what nation has the statutes and judgments as righteous as this law which I set before you? At that time, the nation of Israel was the envy of all the other nations, but not only that, they were the fear and dread of all the nations. Still, Israel doubted. They knew the history of the redemption, and yet they were still terrified in knowing the power of God. But Gideon also is one who doubted. And it says here in our text that Gideon is exalted as a mighty man of valor, but yet he insists that he is poor and menace, and that he is the weakest in his father's clan. This is the angel of the Lord. He is saying that he is going to be with Gideon. He will smite the Midians with one hand and yet Gideon, he argues back saying, if I found grace in your eyes, show me a sign that you are speaking to me. Yes, Israel, they doubted. Make no mistake. Gideon is part of the problem. Gideon, however, was graciously given the seed of faith as attested by the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews. It was a faith that needed to grow. It needed to increase. He did believe, but help him with his unbelief, he would ask God. Gideon, because of the weakness of his flesh, because of the remaining corruption in him, because of the temptations of the world, he desired multiple confirmations that God was speaking to him. And what we find out about God is back in Genesis, that he's almighty. But then when we come to Exodus 32, we find another revelation of who God is, and that he is a Lord God of Israel, gracious and merciful and long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth. For Gideon, he doubted, but the Lord Yahweh is gracious. Gideon is a sinful man, but Yahweh is merciful. Gideon, he requires multiple confirmations, but Yahweh, he is long-suffering. He is patient. He's not willing for any of his elect to perish. When the two planes hit the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, although I heard it from a legitimate news station, I just didn't believe until I turned on the TV and saw the news station myself. I remember calling one of my best friends at that time, and he didn't believe me. He ran into my room, and then when he saw the footage, he then believed. We tend not to believe. We have a certain weakness. We don't want to believe even truth itself, and that is God. It reminds me of a Russian proverb, which was said by a former US president, to trust. Yes, trust, but verify it. We have a weakness. We don't want to believe Gideon is part of the problem. We've considered Yahweh is gracious towards their weaknesses, but now let's go on to the final point for Yahweh accepts an offering. Yahweh accepts an offering. In the book of Leviticus, the first few chapters, we have the procedural order of sacrifices written and codified by Moses. And it's here now for the church's good. But however, during the time of the judges, it was largely abandoned. It was misused, it was perverted. And that's proof because when we look at the latter chapter of the judges, we see that there's a Levite wandering outside the bounds of Jerusalem looking for work because he was denied his divine employment. However, it was not entirely abandoned, these cultic sacrifices in the temple. For Gideon recognizes that he is in the presence of a divine person, and he asks him to stay, depart not thence, for he is going to offer a present. And so the angel of Lord agrees to stay. Now, this word translated as present can also be translated as an offering. That same Hebrew word is used in the Book of Leviticus, and it denotes a grain offering. And we see also later in Chapter 3 that this grain offering has the equivalence of an animal offering. And then when we look at Chapter 7 of Leviticus, we see that it is a food offering. For it says that this is the portion of Aaron and his sons of the Lord's food offerings from the day they were presented as the priests of the Lord. Food has a relationship to fellowship. the elders of Israel, they ate and drank on Mount Sinai with God. And when we partake of the Holy Supper, we have communion with God. And even in our secular holidays, such as Thanksgiving, it is the meal and the conversation that is usually the highlight. And what we see now in our texts is that Gideon, he offers a young goat and unleavened cakes with an ephaph of flour. The angel of the Lord, he puts forth the staff that is in his hand, the tip touches the flesh and the unleavened cakes and fire comes out of the rock and the unleavened cakes and the flesh, they are consumed and the angel of the Lord departs. fire that went up, the angel of the Lord went up also. And it prefigures Christ in his offering when he ascends up a sweet-smelling Savior onto the nostrils of God. Did Gideon understand all these things? He did not. Because at that point in redemptive history, he did not have the completed canon. Did he offer a proper sacrifice? No, he did not. He's not a Levite. But this offering was accepted because it was accepted in Christ. Westminster Catechism says, notwithstanding the persons of believers being accepted in Christ, their good works are also accepted in Him. And it's not because they're wholly unablamable and approval in this life, but God looking upon them in His Son is pleased to accept and reward that will be accompanied by many weaknesses. God accepted that offering. Gideon also, in that offering, he ascended also with God because Christ is our forerunner. He is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek forever. And he ascends the mountain of the Lord and so do all of God's elect because it's the lamb that's slain from the foundation of the world. And they also, even the Old Testament, have eternal salvation. It is Yahweh who accepts this offering. This food has a relationship with fellowship and peace and is expressed as a meal. Yahweh has accepted an offering. Those are our three points. Yahweh chastens them for idolatry. Yahweh is gracious towards their weaknesses. And lastly, Yahweh accepts an offering. The children of God in the nation of Israel, they did evil in the sight of the Lord. They had these holy laws, and they broke them. They did not love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their strength, and with all their mind, and their neighbor as themselves. And we would look at them, but then we would understand also we are a covenant community too. We are the church, and we have not kept all those laws ourselves. We cannot keep them ourselves. We are depraved, and we have this remaining corruption just as Gideon has. But what are we to do if we break these laws every day in thought, word, and deed? We are to look at the book of Judges. And we are to understand that, yes, there is a Deliverer, there is a Savior, there is a Judge. And though this Judge saved them from also the oppression of their enemies, this Judge also prefigures the Christ who will save us from the oppression of sin. It is Jesus Christ. It is His perfect obedience and sacrifice of Himself, which He offered up once unto God through the eternal Spirit, and He satisfied the justice of the Father. He purchased not only reconciliation, but also an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of God for all those whom the Father has given Him. You who are in the covenant community of the church, are you one of his children? Because you can be. It's always been, not by the law, but it's always been by faith. to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, because when you are, you will be in union with Christ. And just as Gideon was, and just as the angel of the Lord was with him, and just as they have heard their prayers, we will be in union with Christ, and we will ascend also the mountain of the Lord. We are his children. Yes, children, they can be disobedient, disrespectful, willful, rebellious. I certainly was. And I'll receive every inheritance from my parents when they pass because they loved me through the thick and thin. My children, when I go, I will give them everything that I have for their inheritance. Our God, our Father, has given us an everlasting inheritance. He has given us His Son, and if He has given us His Son, how will He not give us all things? We look at the book of Judges and we wonder and we marvel how God separates His people And then we can just exalt Him, seeing the depth of the riches of the wisdom, the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. It is God who will never forsake His covenant people. Although it seems dim, He will chasten them for their idolatry. He is gracious towards their weaknesses, and He accepts an offering. Yahweh, He will never forsake His children. Let's pray.