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Judges Chapter 7
- Judges 7:1 Then Jerubbaal, who is
Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and
pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites
were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the
valley.
The word, Harod actually means trembling
with fear. Many Midianites and Amalekites were nearby and they were
many so it was natural to fear.
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Judges 7:2 And the LORD said unto
Gideon, 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.
This is what becomes a stumbling block to
many down through the years that God uses for miraculous wonders.
Many get exalted in themselves and do not give God the glory for
what He does through them. I believe strongly that the reason God
wants us to avoid this is because when we start trusting in humans
instead of Him, we can easily be led astray because we fail, we are
flawed and we can get things wrong many times. We must keep our eyes
on the Lord and the written word. This is a must. People need the
Lord. We must win the lost to the Lord but in doing so, teach them
to seek the Lord for themselves and not allow them to become
dependent upon us except to have fellowship, teach and obey the
Lord's calling but always giving the outcome and glory to Him alone.
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Judges 7:3 Now therefore go to,
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.
This is one reason that I am against
drafting young people into the army like they use to have. Not
everyone is cut out for wars and fighting. We are all different. An
army is stronger with those that are inclined not to fear and who
want to learn warfare. I realize there are exceptions. Some have
been fearful and then they overcome that fear. There are always
exceptions but still it should be voluntary. Also, we should never
guilt people into joining the armed services. Better to have those
that desire to be there to serve rather than join because someone
puts pressure on them to do so.
- Judges 7:4 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.
- 5 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.
- 6 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.
- 7 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.
In Judges chapter 8 we see that the
Midianites had a lot more fighters than the 300 Gideon had. To God
be the glory here. We see this promise in the book of Joshua:
- Joshua 23:8 But cleave unto the LORD
your God, as ye have done unto this day.
- 9 For the LORD hath driven out from
before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath
been able to stand before you unto this day.
- 10 One man of you shall chase a
thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as
he hath promised you.
- 11 Take good heed therefore unto
yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.
The promises of God are true. There are many
more verses and passages that assure us that these things are truth.
- Judges 7:8 So the people took
victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest
of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred
men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
- 9 And it came to pass the same
night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the
host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
- 10 But if thou fear to go down, go
thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:
- 11 And thou shalt hear what they
say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto
the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside
of the armed men that were in the host.
God is so good and merciful to Gideon,
giving him much confirmation that the Lord was with him and he was
really hearing from God and not imagining all this. Yet we know that
God chose Gideon and not someone who was brave and had a lot of self
confidence. He chose this man just like He chose Moses who was also
one that had no confidence in himself to lead all the children of
Israel 40 years in the wilderness.
If most of us would have seen the
multitude of men this size, we too would have been fearful. This is
similar to what the original 12 spies saw in the days of Moses when
they went to spy on the Canaanites before getting ready to enter
that land. They saw giants. 10 spies were fearful and stirred up
fear in the rest of the people while two, Joshua and Caleb believed
in the power of God to help them defeat the giants. Gideon was
someone who just lacked confidence and wanted to make sure the Lord
was speaking to him. I don't believe he had the same kind of
unbelief that the 10 spies had.
- Judges 7:13 And when Gideon was
come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and
said, Behold, 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.
- 14 And his fellow answered and said,
This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a
man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all
the host.
Here is where God speaks to Gideon by a
dream Phurah had, giving him reasurrance that this battle was truly
the Lord's battle.
-
Judges 7:15 And it was so, when
Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation
thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel,
and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host
of Midian.
Here is another example that shows Gideon
to be different than the unbelieving spies in the days of Moses. He
was a worshipper. He did believe God and loved God. His lack of
confidence was in himself that he probably wondered, why me? Why
would God choose someone like me?
- Judges 7:16 And he divided the three
hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every
man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
- 17 And he said unto them, 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.
- 18 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.
It was actually fear that defeated the
Midianites. Fear can cause us to fail long before the actual danger
comes. In this case it was to the advantage of Gideon and the
children of Israel.
Gideon Defeats Midian
- Judges 7:19 So Gideon, and the
hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in
the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the
watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were
in their hands.
- 20 And the three companies blew the
trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left
hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and
they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
- 21 And they stood every man in his
place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and
fled.
- 22 And the three hundred blew the
trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow,
even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in
Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
- 23 And the men of Israel gathered
themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of
all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
- 24 And Gideon sent messengers
throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the
Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and
Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together,
and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.
- 25 And they took two princes of the
Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb,
and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and
brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side
Jordan.
This delivered the Israelites out of Midian
bondage. With the sound of the echo from the breaking of the
pitchers broken all at once, the blowing of the trumpets at the same
time plus the light from the lamps, made it seem like the multitude
was greater and more powerful than the armies of the Midianites. The
spirit of fear caused them to flee for their lives. They even
started killing each other in fear. Others ran away. Gideon sent
word to mount Ephraim to come and they all pursued after the ones
that fled. DC
Judges Chapter 8
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