Judges 7- 8
In Gideon Part 1, (go here to read) we learned how Gideon was called, and how he needed reassurance
that God was indeed going to use him to save Israel. .
Now Gideon has a
large number of men with him, Judges 7:3 gives the number of men to be 32,000
men. But the LORD said to Gideon Chp 7:2 "The people that are with thee are
too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt
themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." The LORD
knows the heart of man and He wants Israel to know that it is He is giving the
victory, and not themselves that have won the future victory. It is important to remember that Israel at
this time had done evil in the sight of the Lord, (Judges 1:1) and that is why
they are in the hands of the Midianites.
They had called on the LORD God (1:7) because of their misery, not
because of their faith.
And so the LORD told
Gideon how the numbers should be cut down. V3 "...proclaim in the ears of
the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart
early from mount Gilead. And there returned
of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten
thousand" It is obvious that even
though the LORD had promised that Gideon would have the victory, the majority
of the people were very fearful. But there were still too many people, and the
LORD gave Gideon further instructions. V4-6 "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, Everyone 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 why were those who lapped set putting
hand to mount set aside? Because if they
lapped the water like a dog, with their head to the water, they would not be
able to see what was going on around them, but if they brought the water to
their mouths, they could see what was going on around them, they were much more
alert. Of those 10,000, there remained
only 300 men. Those would be used by the
LORD to deliver Israel.
In V7 the LORD
reassures 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." After this the LORD still leading tells Gideon,
V9 "Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine
hand." But the LORD also tells Gideon V10-11 "if thou fear to go
down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: and thou shalt hear
what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto
the host." The LORD is gracious to provide reassurance for Gideon again. He truly knows his heart, even as he knows
our hearts.
And so Gideon, still
fearful, took his servant, and they went down to the outside of the army, and
saw that the number of the Midianites was V12 "in the valley like
grasshoppers for multitude...." Then Gideon learns a most amazing
thing..V13-14 "..I dreamed a dream and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled
into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and
overturned it, that the tent lay along.
And his fellow answered and said This is nothing else save the sword of
Gideon...a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all
the host.". This is wonderful assurance for Gideon and it is at that point
that he V15 "worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise;
for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian." When
Gideon hears these two men speaking, he worships the LORD, he will not take the
future victory for himself for he knows that the LORD is in control, and that
by His strength, Gideon will be that mighty man of valor the angel first told
him he was at the winepress when he was threshing wheat, hiding it from the
Midianites. When Gideon said to the 300 men upon his return "Arise, for
the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian." he is speaking now with authority, secure in
the knowledge that the LORD is with him.
And so a plan is made
using only the 300 men that are left. V16 he divided the 300 men into three
companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and
lamps within the pitchers." The men
are given this instruction V17-18 "look on me and do likewise: and,
behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so
shall ye do. When I blow with a trumpet,
I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all
the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon" Gideon is giving this battle to the LORD.
And so each company
surrounds the camp. The trumpets are
blown, the pitchers are broken, and the lamps are held. The unsuspecting Midianites awaken to the sound of shouting V20 "The sword of the LORD, and
of Gideon" What a scene that must have been. The Midians were asleep, and
they were suddenly awoken with shouting and the sound of trumpets, and because
the 300 men had spaced themselves, it looked like they were surrounded. All of
them V21 "ran, and cried, and fled, and then V22 "the LORD set every
man's sword against his fellow, even through all the host..."
After the victory,
Gideon is now the mighty leader, and with his three hundred men, he continued
to pursue the enemies of Israel.(8:4) At
Succoth he asked for bread for his men and was refused, and so Gideon promises
them that when the victory is complete, he will return and "tear your
flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and the briars." (8:7) What a different man is this from the one who
hid behind the winepress and asked for the LORD's reassurance. And how that promise must have filled the men
of Succoth with dread.
And before the next morning,(8:13)
Gideon was victorious, took captive two kings (8:12) and brought them back to
Succoth, proving that he had the victory.
And Gideon took the elders of the city, and thorns and briers and the
men of Succoth were made to know that Gideon was a man who kept his word.
(8:16).
Gideon had other
victories, and the men of Israel said to him "Rule thou over us, both
thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also..." (8:22) This must have been a great temptation for
Gideon, a true test of his faithfulness to the LORD who had given him the
victory. And Gideon answers them "I
will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule
over you." Amen.
And Gideon died in a
good old age.
But, sad to say, chp
8:34 "as soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again and
went..after Baali, and made Baalberith their God, and they remembered not the
LORD their God who had delivered them out of the hands of all their
enemies."
The lesson for
believers is this: the LORD is in control..
if we are led by Spirit which indwells believers to do something, no matter how unlikely it
seems to us that we are for this task, trust, just trust the Lord.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In
whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy
Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust
in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Vcg/August 2015
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