DEFEATING STRONGHOLDS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.

Proverbs 21:22            

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Do you remember the story of Gideon?

You may recall that he was chosen by God to lead a small group of men against a much more formidable Midianite army and in the process, save Israel.

Now the people of Israel had been suffering under the oppression of the Midianites for a long seven years, a penalty that God had placed on his people for doing evil in His sight. The Israelites were so impoverished by the incessant Midianite plundering that they cried out to God for help (Judges 6:1-6).

Enter Gideon.

An angel of the Lord appeared to him as he was threshing wheat in a winepress, trying to conceal it from the Midianites (Judges 6:11), offering a simple greeting:

“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Receiving this word, Gideon wondered out loud if that were really the case given the current situation the Israelites were in. He wondered why God has seemingly abandoned His people when they needed Him. If God were truly with Israel, why had He not delivered them like he had their ancestors from Egypt. Little did Midian know the irony in his words for he was about to discover that he would be a present day Moses, chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Midianites.

The Lord’s relayed as much:

“Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” Judges 6:14

This caught Gideon by surprise. You see he couldn’t believe the Lord would place such a critical responsibility in his hands. After all, he was from the weakest clan of Manasseh and was the least within his family in that clan. He should be the last person the Lord should want to select. In response to his doubt, the Lord assured him with the following words:

“I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” Judges 6:16

And so it was. For after the Lord performed several miracles to reassure Gideon that He was indeed with him, Gideon gathered the Israelite army to go up against the Midianites. He was confident that they could find victory because God was with them but then a little twist was placed into the plan.

The Lord told Gideon he had too many men.

You see, the Lord did not want Israel to think that they had saved themselves, that they had won through their own might and strength. And so 32,000 men were reduced to 10,000. And then those 10,000 were further reduced to a mere 300 of which the Lord said the following:

“With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” Judges 7:7

And so Gideon did as the Lord commanded and went forward to fight the Midianites with 300 men.

The Midianite camp was in the valley and the Lord commanded Gideon to go to the camp and listen in for he would hear words that would be an encouragement. And so Gideon went, accompanied by his servant Purah, snuck down into the Midianite camp and heard the following exchange between two enemy soldiers:

One soldier: “I had a dream. A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”

The other in reply, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.” Judges 7:13-14

Upon hearing these words, Gideon bowed down and worshipped God before returning to his camp and rallying his men saying:

“Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” Judges 7:15

He divided the three hundred men into three companies and placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. The men received the following orders from their leader:

“Watch me! Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’” Judges 7:16-18

The one who was considered the least of his family from the least of the Israelite tribes was about to be used by God to save a nation.

And so Gideon and his men went to the edge of the Midianite camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands and then the three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

The Midianites were so afraid that they ran, crying out as they fled. The Lord caused the Midianite men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath, pursued by Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh who were called out to enter into the fight. Gideon also sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim encouraging more Israelites to join the cause of eradicating Midian from the Promised Land.

The end result was a victory for Israel, all because a man who thought he was nothing discovered that through the Lord, he could achieve the improbable.

So what does this have to do with our devotion today?

Well, we have to look at the proverb to find out:

One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty and pull down the stronghold in which they trust. Proverbs 21:22

In Gideon, we find a man who was wise enough to believe and trust in God despite his shortcomings. Gideon wasn’t the most powerful or mighty man God could have chosen but he was wise and that trumped the might of the Midianite army. Gideon, using a very small group of men, defeated a large army and broke the grip of their stronghold on the Israelite nation, not by his own strength but rather by the guidance, direction, and power of the Lord God Almighty.

You see, God will always have the victory. He has defeated the mighty and pulled down strongholds over the course of mankind and will always do so. No one is His rival. No one.

This goes as well for the stronghold that people want to build up around their hearts. They are the ones who feel they can get through life without God, that they can do all things through their own strength and intellect. Unfortunately, they do this in vain for if the wise can defeat the strongholds of the mighty, then the One who is wisdom can easily destroy any barriers we choose to erect within our hearts. You cannot keep God out of your heart, mind, and soul, no matter how hard you try.

Are you one of these people? Are you one who has not fully surrendered themselves to the Lord God Almighty, opening up the gate of your heart and willfully inviting Him inside?

If so, I pray that you will have a change of heart as we approach a new year. I pray that you will willingly and willfully open up the stronghold of your heart, mind, and soul so that the Lord may enter in and abide fully, leading you to victory in all of your life circumstances, despite the odds, just as He did Gideon.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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