Come Up Out of the Wine Press and Win

Judges 6 opens with Gideon down in a wine press, threshing wheat in a place made for crushing grapes. The wine press represents judgment, pressure, and the low place Israel had fallen into because of disobedience. Gideon is not out in the open where wheat belongs, because the Midianites keep stealing what Israel produces. The man is not living bold, he is just trying to survive.

The angel of the Lord meets Gideon in that low place and says, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.” God is not calling Gideon by where he is sitting, but by where He is about to take him. Gideon looks at his trouble and asks the question hurting people ask: if the Lord is with him, why has all this happened? The Lord answers by telling him to go in the strength that he has, and God will make up the difference.

Gideon’s excuses come from his family line and his own sense of smallness. His house is poor, his tribe is weak, and he sees himself as the least. God says “surely I will be with thee,” because broken family patterns, bad history, and low self-worth do not get the final word. God can take broken pieces and make something beautiful.

Gideon keeps asking for confirmation, and the Lord keeps working with him. The fire comes out of the rock. The fleece is wet while the ground is dry, then the ground is wet while the fleece is dry. Even the enemy’s camp starts talking right, because God lets Gideon hear that Midian already knows defeat is coming. Doubting Gideon finally stops doubting.

Gideon gathers thirty-two thousand men, but God strips the army down. Twenty-two thousand fearful men leave, and then the brook reveals who can be refreshed and still watch. Only three hundred remain, because the victory must be God’s victory, not Gideon’s confidence in numbers.

The clay pots, lamps, and trumpets become the battle plan. The treasure is in earthen vessels, and the light cannot shine until the pot breaks. Old habits, old mindsets, old relationships, and old environments have to break. The trumpet must sound clear: whose side, what war, what praise, what stand. When the pots break, the lamps shine, the trumpets sound, and God throws the enemy into confusion. The wine press is not the end. Gideon comes up out of the wine press and wins.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God names what fear hides [16:10] The angel calls Gideon a mighty man while Gideon is still hiding in a wine press. God’s word does not flatter the present condition, but speaks to the purpose He has already placed inside the person. Fear may describe the room, but it cannot define the calling. [16:10]
• 2. Survival mode is still bondage [10:47] Gideon threshes wheat in the wrong place because loss has taught him to stay low and stay hidden. Survival can look safe, but it can also become a prison where a person stops expecting God to protect what He blesses. The wine press keeps the little bit safe, but it also keeps the light covered. [10:47]
• 3. God works with doubting hearts [23:35] Gideon asks for sign after sign, and the Lord keeps stooping down with mercy. God does not excuse unbelief, but He knows how to strengthen a fearful servant until faith can stand up. The fleece shows that divine patience can become the bridge between trembling and obedience. [23:35]
• 4. Not every helper can watch [34:23] The brook separates those who only want refreshment from those who stay vigilant while being refreshed. Need is real, but spiritual carelessness is dangerous in a battle. God reduces the crowd until only watchful people remain, because the work cannot be handed to those who forget an enemy is still near. [34:23]
• 5. Break the pot, sound clear [41:25] The lamp is already inside the clay jar, but the vessel has to break before the light can shine. The trumpet is the sound of clarity, a public stand that refuses to stay vague about allegiance. God’s battle plan joins broken flesh, shining light, and a clear sound.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:29] - Judges 6 and the Word for the House
• [05:41] - Come Up Out the Wine Press
• [07:54] - Doubting Thomas and Doubting Gideon
• [09:13] - The Wine Press as Judgment and Survival
• [16:10] - Mighty Man of Valor in Hiding
• [18:12] - God Uses Broken Family Lines
• [21:23] - Fire From the Rock and More Signs
• [23:35] - The Fleece Wet and Dry
• [26:13] - The Enemy Starts Talking Right
• [30:42] - God Reduces Gideon’s Army
• [33:07] - The Brook Reveals the Watchers
• [38:15] - Lamps, Clay Pots, and Trumpets
• [41:25] - Break the Pot So Light Shines
• [45:00] - Blow the Trumpet and Declare War

Bible Reading

Judges 6:11-16
“And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” [03:00]

Judges 7:4-8
“And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.”

2 Corinthians 4:7
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” [41:29]

Joshua 24:15
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” [45:27]

Observation questions

1. In Judges 6:11, what is Gideon doing, where is he doing it, and why is he hiding there? [10:47]
2. In Judges 6:12-16, what names and promises does the Lord speak over Gideon before Gideon has done anything victorious?
3. In Judges 7:4-8, what difference is there between the men who bowed down to drink and the men who brought the water to their mouth while watching? [34:23]
4. What three items were in Gideon’s battle plan, and what happened when the pots broke and the trumpets sounded? [39:17]

Interpretation questions

1. The Lord calls Gideon a mighty man of valor while he is still hiding. What does that show about how God sees a person in fear, weakness, or delay? [16:10]
2. Gideon asks, “If the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us?” How does that question sound like the kind of question hurting people still ask today? [17:10]
3. Gideon sees his family as poor and himself as the least. How can family history, shame, or low self-worth make it hard for a person to receive God’s calling? [18:48]
4. The army is reduced from thousands to three hundred. What does that reveal about God’s desire to keep the victory clearly rooted in His power and not human numbers or confidence? [31:28]

Application questions

1. Where has life pushed a person into “wine press” living—staying low, staying hidden, and just trying to survive? What would it look like to come out of that place in faith? [11:39]
2. God names what fear hides. What is one area where someone may be defining himself or herself by the present struggle instead of by what God has spoken? [16:36]
3. Gideon kept asking for confirmation, and God kept working with him. When has someone needed reassurance from God before taking a next step, and how did God give strength to move forward? [23:35]
4. Some people want refreshment but do not stay watchful. In this season, where does someone need to be more spiritually alert while still receiving help, rest, or encouragement? [35:57]
5. The light was in the vessel already, but the pot had to break. What old habit, mindset, relationship, or environment may need to break so the light of Christ can shine more clearly? [44:05]
6. The trumpet is a clear sound of allegiance. Is there any area where someone’s stand for the Lord has become unclear, quiet, or mixed? What might it look like to sound a clearer trumpet now? [45:18]
7. “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” What would that kind of clarity look like in a home, dating relationship, workplace, or private life this week? [45:27]