Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."
So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. During that night the Lord said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "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."
His friend responded, "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."
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
"Watch me," he told them. "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.' "
Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the 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. 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!" While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the 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. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah."
So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.
Judges 7
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 6, we saw where God provided Gideon several signs to assure him that He was with him. All this was after God had told Gideon that he was to deliver the Israelites from the oppression brought on by Midian. As Chapter 7 opens, Gideon is preparing to do just that.
We read where the Midianites were camped out in a valley “near the hill of Moreh” which was north of the Israelite camp “at the spring of Harod”. Gideon had formed a formidable group of men to take on the mighty Midianites but God had other plans. For He says to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands”. And so He told Gideon to tell his army, “Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead”, and scripture tells us that “twenty-two thousand men left”.
So why did God do this?
Because He didn’t want Israel to feel like they had won victory over Midian on their own and boast about their own strength. Instead, He wanted to make sure that He was praised and glorified by the results.
God’s concerns were definitely legitimate. For too often, His people fall into the trap of pride, arrogance and self-centeredness. Too often, it’s all about us as we can’t wait to show people how good we are…how talented we are…how affluent we are…how attractive we are…and I could go on and on and on but you get the point. God expects that we give Him credit for everything good that we have or accomplish. For it’s by Him and Him alone that we are blessed.
Back to our passage for today as Gideon is now down to ten thousand men. This is still too many for God who orders another elimination phase where Gideon’s forces will be reduced even further. God command Gideon to take his men down to the water, observing how they drink, and Gideon complied. Then we read that the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink” and all but three hundred got down on their knees to drink. God told Gideon He would give the Midianites into his hands with the “three hundred men that lapped” and so “Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents” as God commanded. The remaining three hundred “took over the provisions and trumpets of the others”.
So the stage was set. Gideon and his three hundred men against the powerful Midianite forces. While looking merely at the number of fighting men on each side, it would have been seen as a tremendous mismatch with Israel set up for slaughter. But there was an additional member of Gideon’s team that more than made up for his lack of men. Gideon had God.
So as Gideon looked down upon the massive Midianite camp, God came to him in the night and said, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So Gideon and Purah his servant went down to the “outposts of the camp” and arrived just as a man was telling a friend about a dream he had. In the dream, the man said “a round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp”, striking the tent “with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed." This led the friend to 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." This was all Gideon needed to hear. God was making good on what He had promised and this led Gideon to a spirit of worship.
How often do we forget to immediately give God praise for what He does for us? For the Lord is always making good on His promises to us and yet we too often fail to stop and worship Him for His goodness and providence. We should all strive to be like Gideon, praising the Lord in worship and giving Him all the glory for the good and perfect things He does in our lives and in the lives of others.
Well, our passage tells us that Gideon “returned to the camp of Israel” after worshipping and rallied his three hundred men together saying, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." He then divided “the three hundred men into three companies” and “placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them with torches inside” before giving them the following orders:
"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.' "
So Gideon and hundred of his men “reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard” and “blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands”. The three companies followed suit, blowing their trumpets and smashing their jars” before “grasping their torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow”. The men shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" and scripture tells us that “while each man held his position around the camp…all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled”.
The battle had begun with Midian running for their lives and “when the three hundred trumpets sounded”, we read where “the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords”. The Midian army “fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath” and were pursued by the “Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh”. Additionally, “Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim and called on its men to “seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of (the Midianites) as far as Beth Barah” which they did. Through all the conflict, “two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb” were captured and killed. Their heads were then taken to “Gideon, who was by the Jordan”.
And so God once again proved that He could make the improbable probable…the impossible possible…the remarkable seem commonplace. By His power, not Israel’s, He had delivered His people from the oppression of Midian and had developed a very obedient, respected leader in Gideon in the process. And in Gideon, we have truly seen where God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. All this adds up to continue to show us that we serve an almighty, powerful, amazing, awesome God who can and will do all things in accordance with His will. Truly nothing is beyond the works of His hands and thus He and only He deserves all our glory…today, tomorrow and forever more. Let us give Him all our praise. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment