In yesterday’s Blog we discussed Gideon, who believed
he was insignificant and identified himself as a runt but God called him a Mighty
Warrior; Mighty Man of Valor. It amazes
me that God does not see us in our unfinished state rather our perfected (matured)
state, the person he designed us to be.
Gideon was instructed to save his people but he doubted his
abilities and asked for a sign or confirmation if you will and God obliged
him. This increased his courage and
belief in God. Remember, this was Gideon’s
very first encounter with God, in fact he didn’t even realize it was God
talking to him. John 10:4-5 (NLT): After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead
of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a
stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice. Once God obliged the request Gideon’s faith
was increased. While this isn’t complete
faith, belief without evidence other than the word of God and trust in him it
is an example of a sovereign God showing mercy to Gideon to build his unbelief. When we know more we do more.
The request for a second sign came as a result of the alert
Gideon received that the enemy (Midanites and Amalekites) were en route to desolate
the land. He asked God to keep the floor
dry but allow the fleece to be wet (imagine a fleece jacket which absorbs water
but keeps you dry). When he wakes early
the next morning the floor which should have been wet from morning dew was DRY
and the fleece was so wet he wrung out enough water to fill a bowl.
What I find ironic about Gideon is his initial cowardice
disposition but his courage to ask God for assurance and he was specific about his
requests. God honored his incomplete
faith and obliged him. Most of us don’t
ask God for anything we just assume he’ll do everything for us magically, no ma’am,
no sir. James 4:2-3 (NLT): You want what you don’t have,
so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you
can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you
don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even
when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only
what will give you pleasure. Gideon did the opposite.
Now let’s continue with the story:
The Third Sign: Judges
6:39-40 (NLT): Then Gideon said to God,
“Don’t be impatient with me, but let me say one more thing. I want to try
another time with the fleece. But this time let the fleece stay dry, while the
dew drenches the ground.” God
made it happen that very night. Only the fleece was dry while the ground was
wet with dew. Gideon knew he was overdoing it at this point
but again God in his sovereignty obliged him a third time. After receiving his confirmation he assembled
the army he had summoned but God told him there were too many.
God said to Gideon, “You have too large an army
with you. I can’t turn Midian over to them like this—they’ll take all the
credit, saying, ‘I did it all myself,’ and forget about me. Make a public
announcement: ‘Anyone afraid, anyone who has any qualms at all, may leave Mount
Gilead now and go home.’” Twenty-two companies [22,000] headed for home. Ten
companies were left. Judges 7:2-3
(The Message). Notice Gideon doesn’t
ask for a sign, nor does he question God, he obeys immediately.
God said to Gideon: “There are still too
many. Take them down to the stream and I’ll make a final cut. When I say, ‘This
one goes with you,’ he’ll go. When I say, ‘This one doesn’t go,’ he won’t go.”
So Gideon took the troops down to the stream. God
said to Gideon: “Everyone who laps with his tongue, the way a dog laps, set on
one side. And everyone who kneels to drink, drinking with his face to the
water, set to the other side.” Three hundred lapped with their tongues from
their cupped hands. All the rest knelt to drink. Judges 7:4-6 (The Message). From a
logical standpoint Gideon could have expressed concern about the dwindling. The bible says the enemy was: spread out on the plain like a
swarm of locusts. And their camels! Past counting, like grains of sand on the
seashore! Judges 7:12 (The
Message). That’s a lot of enemy.
Now
that Gideon has his predestined army they set up camp and wait for God’s
instruction. That night, God told Gideon: “Get up and go down to the camp. I’ve given it to you. If
you have any doubts about going down, go down with Purah your armor bearer;
when you hear what they’re saying, you’ll be bold and confident.” Judges 7:9-11
(NLT) Gideon and Purah arrived just
in time to hear one of the soldiers tell his comrade about a dream he had which
was interpreted that Gideon’s God was going to wipe them out. Now how did the enemy get word about this
mighty man of valor? There was no
Instagram, FaceBook or any form of digital communication. It doesn’t matter how they got the news what
matters is that they got it and they were scurrrred. You can only imagine how Gideon and Purah must
have felt as they hurried back to camp.
They woke the 300 and gave them specific instructions and each of them
received their weapons. They were divided
into companies of 100, went to the edge of the enemy’s camp and on Gideon’s
command, withdrew their weapons (trumpets) and blew them simultaneous as they broke
their jars which contained torches (high powered flash lights). It was the middle of the night, the enemy was
drooling and in between dreams. That
noise and the lights scared the living crap out of them. Then Gideon and The 300 shouted in unison: “A sword for God and for
Gideon!” The enemy was so
confused that they didn’t know what to do and before you knew it, it was
friendly fire on steroids as the enemy killed themselves while Gideon and The
300 stood flat footed and ready to engage.
The enemy that didn’t die from friendly slaughter ran but they were killed
too, including the commanders. There is
more to the story, but this was the major battle that gave the Israelites the
courage and freedom they so desperately needed.
In His Excellent Service
Tania
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