May 28, 2010
The Israelites again turn their backs on God. The Midianites controlled them treating them cruelly and taking from them the toils of their labor for themselves. When they cried out to God for help he raised up another judge—Gideon.
Gideon couldn't believe God chose him, a simple man from a less-than-average family. He wasn't a big important man with power and prestige. It wasn't Gideon's power and skills God needed He just needed Gideon. His availability, not his ability. Gideon's like, are you sure God? Me? Maybe I'm dreaming this. Gideon asks for proof. He asks God to, "Please wait here until I come back" with my offering to set in front of you. And God says, "I will wait for your return." I just love that. The picture I see in my head of God saying—I'll wait. And God sends fire down and it burns up Gideon's offering. Gideon cries out, "LORD God." He is shocked that it truly is God and that he has seen the angel of the LORD face to face. And again, I love God's response. "Calm down! Don't be afraid. You will not die."
God asks Gideon to tear down his father's idols. Gideon obeys God and tears down the idols, at night, because he is scared. This is not a man that is overly-confident in himself. He is on the edge, where God either shows up or he fails. He asks God for additional proof. He puts out a wool fleece and asks God to make the ground dry and the fleece wet. God does, and he can wring out a bowl of water. But technically, that could have just "happened" since fleece would hold water. Maybe the morning dew on the ground had already dried. So, Gideon asks God to do the opposite, make the fleece dry and the ground wet. Now that would be impossible to accidentally happen and that would prove that God was truly behind this. And, "that night God did that very thing."
We didn't ask God to show us a sign, but in His mercy and compassion He gave us Jane, and oh how grateful we are that He did. (Her Name Was Jane)
So, they get ready to go into battle and God says they have too many men. The exact opposite of typical war time thought but exactly correct in order for God to achieve His agenda. Judges 7:2 - "You have too many men to defeat the Midianites. I don't want the Israelites to brag that they saved themselves." They started with 32,000. 22,000 went home, leaving just 10,000 men, but God said that was still too many so the number was pared down to 300. Just 300 men! God tells Gideon to go down and attack. "I will give them to you." But then, God does an amazing thing. God tells Gideon that "if you are afraid" go down to the enemies camp and eavesdrop on what they are saying, "then you will not be afraid." So, Gideon and his servant goes down and Gideon overhears the dream, how a loaf of barley (the very thing the Midianites had been stealing from the Israelites) rolled down the hill and crushed them. Gideon overhears the interpretation of the dream which meant that he (Gideon) would conquer the land which God was going to hand over.
Get this picture. 300 men—verses—"so many of them that they seemed like locusts. Their camels couldn't be counted because they were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore." There is no way "man" could win with those kind of odds. BUT with God nothing is impossible. Gideon had his 300 men surround the camp and then smash their jars to expose their light and blow their trumpets. 300 men with jars and trumpets surrounding an enemy that was too large to count and what did they do in their vulnerable state? Judges 7:21 - "Each of his men stayed in his place while the Midianites panicked, began shouting and running to escape." They stood strong, totally in the open, dependent only on the LORD to save them.
The Midianites fought each other and ran away.
With God nothing is impossible. Without God there is confusion, panic, and fear. We can't, but God can—and that is all that matters.
Addendum: 12/4/13 ~ The Lord called Gideon to save His people from the Midianites. The Lord called him a "mighty warrior," but Gideon sure didn't feel mighty. Before God could use him to save the Israelites from the cruelty of the Midianites he first asked him to do something else—take care of the sin in his father's house. He was asked to destroy the Asherah idol and altar his own father had built to Baal. He was to destroy them using his father's bulls. After he had destroyed the idol and altar he was to build a new altar—this time an altar to the LORD—and he was to use one of the bulls as an offering to God. Gideon's obedience in destroying the sin in his own family was singularly the most important step in winning the battle against the Midianites and freeing the Israelites. It is easier to go into battle against an enemy then it is to stand up against sin in your own family. Gideon's obedience saved his family. His father Joash, who built the idols, recognized that they were worthless and turned from his worship of Baal and challenged the people who came after Gideon to do the same thing.
Before we can be used of God, and before we can accomplish His will in our lives and in the lives of others, the LORD requires one thing—our OBEDIENCE.
Next Entry: Judges 8:1 – 9:57
The Israelites again turn their backs on God. The Midianites controlled them treating them cruelly and taking from them the toils of their labor for themselves. When they cried out to God for help he raised up another judge—Gideon.
Gideon couldn't believe God chose him, a simple man from a less-than-average family. He wasn't a big important man with power and prestige. It wasn't Gideon's power and skills God needed He just needed Gideon. His availability, not his ability. Gideon's like, are you sure God? Me? Maybe I'm dreaming this. Gideon asks for proof. He asks God to, "Please wait here until I come back" with my offering to set in front of you. And God says, "I will wait for your return." I just love that. The picture I see in my head of God saying—I'll wait. And God sends fire down and it burns up Gideon's offering. Gideon cries out, "LORD God." He is shocked that it truly is God and that he has seen the angel of the LORD face to face. And again, I love God's response. "Calm down! Don't be afraid. You will not die."
God asks Gideon to tear down his father's idols. Gideon obeys God and tears down the idols, at night, because he is scared. This is not a man that is overly-confident in himself. He is on the edge, where God either shows up or he fails. He asks God for additional proof. He puts out a wool fleece and asks God to make the ground dry and the fleece wet. God does, and he can wring out a bowl of water. But technically, that could have just "happened" since fleece would hold water. Maybe the morning dew on the ground had already dried. So, Gideon asks God to do the opposite, make the fleece dry and the ground wet. Now that would be impossible to accidentally happen and that would prove that God was truly behind this. And, "that night God did that very thing."
We didn't ask God to show us a sign, but in His mercy and compassion He gave us Jane, and oh how grateful we are that He did. (Her Name Was Jane)
So, they get ready to go into battle and God says they have too many men. The exact opposite of typical war time thought but exactly correct in order for God to achieve His agenda. Judges 7:2 - "You have too many men to defeat the Midianites. I don't want the Israelites to brag that they saved themselves." They started with 32,000. 22,000 went home, leaving just 10,000 men, but God said that was still too many so the number was pared down to 300. Just 300 men! God tells Gideon to go down and attack. "I will give them to you." But then, God does an amazing thing. God tells Gideon that "if you are afraid" go down to the enemies camp and eavesdrop on what they are saying, "then you will not be afraid." So, Gideon and his servant goes down and Gideon overhears the dream, how a loaf of barley (the very thing the Midianites had been stealing from the Israelites) rolled down the hill and crushed them. Gideon overhears the interpretation of the dream which meant that he (Gideon) would conquer the land which God was going to hand over.
Get this picture. 300 men—verses—"so many of them that they seemed like locusts. Their camels couldn't be counted because they were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore." There is no way "man" could win with those kind of odds. BUT with God nothing is impossible. Gideon had his 300 men surround the camp and then smash their jars to expose their light and blow their trumpets. 300 men with jars and trumpets surrounding an enemy that was too large to count and what did they do in their vulnerable state? Judges 7:21 - "Each of his men stayed in his place while the Midianites panicked, began shouting and running to escape." They stood strong, totally in the open, dependent only on the LORD to save them.
The Midianites fought each other and ran away.
With God nothing is impossible. Without God there is confusion, panic, and fear. We can't, but God can—and that is all that matters.
Addendum: 12/4/13 ~ The Lord called Gideon to save His people from the Midianites. The Lord called him a "mighty warrior," but Gideon sure didn't feel mighty. Before God could use him to save the Israelites from the cruelty of the Midianites he first asked him to do something else—take care of the sin in his father's house. He was asked to destroy the Asherah idol and altar his own father had built to Baal. He was to destroy them using his father's bulls. After he had destroyed the idol and altar he was to build a new altar—this time an altar to the LORD—and he was to use one of the bulls as an offering to God. Gideon's obedience in destroying the sin in his own family was singularly the most important step in winning the battle against the Midianites and freeing the Israelites. It is easier to go into battle against an enemy then it is to stand up against sin in your own family. Gideon's obedience saved his family. His father Joash, who built the idols, recognized that they were worthless and turned from his worship of Baal and challenged the people who came after Gideon to do the same thing.
Before we can be used of God, and before we can accomplish His will in our lives and in the lives of others, the LORD requires one thing—our OBEDIENCE.
Next Entry: Judges 8:1 – 9:57
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