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In Christ, Mark
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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 our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Judges, chapter 6, we saw where God provided Gideon several signs to assure him that He was truly with him. This came after He told Gideon that he had been chosen to help deliver the Israelites from the oppression brought on by Midian.
As chapter 7 opens, Gideon is preparing to do just that.
For we read where the Midianites had assembled and 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 in his own right to take on the mighty enemy army but God had other plans as He says this to his chosen leader:
“You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands…Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.”
And with that offer, the scriptures tell us that “twenty-two thousand men” who were afraid left and went home.
So why did God do this?
Because He didn’t want the Israelites to feel like they had won victory over Midian on their own, boasting about their own strength and might. Instead, He wanted to make sure that He would gain the praise and glory from the coming victory.
The Lord’s concerns were definitely legitimate. For in biblical times through today, people too often have fallen into the trap of pride, arrogance, and self-centeredness. They seem to thrive on showing other people how good they are…how talented they are…how affluent they are…how attractive they 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 accomplished or gained for any and all blessings we receive are from Him and Him alone (James 1:17).
As we go back into our passage for today, we see that Gideon is now down to ten thousand men but this is still too many for God who orders another elimination phase to reduce the forces even further.
This time, we find God commanding Gideon to take his men down to the water to observe how they would drink, saying:
"Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.”
So how did that turn out?
Well, all but three hundred got down on their knees to drink and so God assured Gideon that 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” while the remaining three hundred “took over the provisions and trumpets of the others”.
So the stage was set. Gideon and his three hundred men would go up against the powerful Midianite forces and if one was putting odds based on the mere number of fighting men on each side, it would have been viewed as a tremendous mismatch with Israel set up to be slaughtered. But as we know, the Israelites had one important additional team member that more than made up for their small army. That important team member was none other than the Lord God Almighty.
Back to the scriptures for as Gideon looked down upon the massive Midianite camp, we find God coming to him in the night and saying:
“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."
And so Gideon and his servant, Purah, went down to the “outposts of the camp” and arrived just as a man was telling a friend about a dream he had. In that 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 with the following:
“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."
These words were all Gideon needed to hear, proving that God was making good on what He had promised. We read where this feeling of reassurance immediately led Gideon into a spirit of worship.
You know, we should follow Gideon’s lead on this. We need to instantly stop and give God praise and worship for what He does for us in the moment when He provides His blessings while putting His goodness and provision on full display.
Well, the scriptures tell 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.' "
And so Gideon and a 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”. Then, the men shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" and we read that “while each (Israelite) man held his position around the camp…all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled”.
So we know this great battle began with Midian running for their lives and “when the three hundred trumpets sounded”, “the Lord caused the (Midianite) men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords”. Further, 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. This led to the capture of “two…Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb” who were put to death with their heads severed and taken to “Gideon, who was by the Jordan”.
In this amazing story, we see where God once again proved He could make the improbable probable…the impossible possible…the remarkable seem commonplace. This is who He was, who He has been, and who He is today. Indeed, He had delivered His people from the oppression of Midian, by His power and no theirs, all the while developing a very obedient, respected Israelite leader in Gideon through the process.
Through this story, we are reminded that we serve an almighty, powerful, amazing, awesome God who can and will do all things in accordance with His will. Truly, there is nothing beyond the works of His hands to include doing extraordinary things through ordinary people like you and me. For this and so much more, let’s give Him all the honor, glory, and praise He deserves, now and forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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