Judges Chapter 8
Gideon find himself in a political situation with the descendants of Ephraim. They want to know why there were not in on the original battle hoping to get some of the first fruit of the glory from that fight. Gideon handles the situation well, saying that he only started the battle, but the children of Ephraim have slayed the princes of the enemy and done a far more glorious deed.
Now the tired and thirsty men of Gideon come upon Succoth and ask for refreshments. The people of Succoth probably cannot believe their eyes when they see the small band he has and the comparing them with the things he is insisting. We see here an example for our own lives; in that no matter how great or impossible the promises in God's Word might seem, they are still worth believing in because he will see them through. His ways are not our ways.
Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out.
Be careful which side of the fight you end up on; God's side will triumph in the end. Gideon warns the people of Succoth that he will return. In Penuel he finds the same answer to his requests and he gives the same promise upon his return.
We learn that there has been an awesome and terrible battle. What makes it so profound is the fact that almost all of these people have killed one another. The tenth verse records that there have been over one hundred and twenty thousand men killed in the flight from Gideon. Now Zebah and Zalmunna are taking a short rest with 15 thousand men; when at the same time Gideon comes another way and slays even more men. Upon hearing this Zebah and Zalmunna flee.
Before the night is over, Gideon finds and captures Zebah and Zalmunna, and then returns while it is still dark to Succoth to keep his word and put the city to waste.
Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
He does the same in Penuel, so keeping his word. After this is all over he slays Zebah and Zalmunna, but first he tries to get his young son to do the dead, and he has no part in it. I suppose this was to make their shame even greater. After his son refuses, he does the execution himself.
Here starts a curious thing that this great leader does. Israel asks him to be king and he refuses. He holds to what God wants and wishes, but as a parting shot, he takes all the earrings of enemy and makes an idol. No of us are perfect or without sin, but this seems so out of character for Gideon. We are to always be on guard against the wiles of the devil. Ego and pride can cause us to do things we might not otherwise do if we don't intentionally stay humble and close to God.
Proverbs 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention:.....
We are given some foreshadowing of some of the things to come. His son from a concubine, Abimelech, will come up again in the next chapter. We also see that as soon as Gideon dies, the Hebrews quickly forget to follow God and follow after Baal.
Showing posts with label Jerubbaal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jerubbaal. Show all posts
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
2nd Week of June 2012 Adult Sunday School Lesson
Judges the 7th Chapter
Now that Gideon has his assurance that he is on the right path, he gathers up his men, over 30,000, and prepares for war.God tells Gideon something interesting, that is that he has too many men for the victory. God wants Israel to know that it is God that delivers them and not their own might. So he tells Gideon to ask who doesn't want to fight. Twenty two thousand men leave. A couple of things here; one is you don't want people in battle that don't want to fight, they can cause the battle to turn against you; the second thing is think how demoralizing it would be if you were trusting in numbers and not God when two-thirds of your group walked away. That is something that we would do well to remember, that God can have a greater victory when HE is in charge than when we're relying on numbers.
A pessimistic person would not enjoy what happens next. God informs Gideon that he still has too many men for God to show himself strong. He tells Gideon that he is to only take those that lap water like a dog when they go down to a brook for a drink. I know what I would be thinking, I would be thinking that I hope everyone gets down and drinks water like a dog. The eight chapter tells us that the Midianites had over 120 thousand men, because by the end of the day, that is how many were killed. Gideon and his men probably had some idea of how large the host of Midian and their allies was. If Gideon was looking for everyone to drink like a dog, that is not what he got; instead he got 300 left out of 10 thousand. To be blunt and honest, those circumstances would probably cause me to have a twisting stomach. Gideon though, holds fast and does as God commands, taking with him only the 300.
God gives Gideon instructions though, just in case he has doubts, to go down into the enemy camp and God will let him hear about the mighty victory ahead. Gideon does as God asks and is blessed for it. It seems to me to be the same in our modern Christian lives, if we will just obey God, go that extra step, he'll not only give us victory, but give us a glimpse on how he will perform it. Gideon returns and tell his 300 brave God fearing men how they will have victory. He more or less tells them to do as he does and God will take care of the rest. Oh what God can accomplish with a God fearing leader that puts all his trust in the one that can perform ALL miracles.
Now imagine if you are the enemy, what a surprise it would be if in the middle of the night, in the middle of your camp, 300 men broke pitchers, shining light on everything, and then blowing trumpets. You probably wouldn't believe there were just 300 men, you would probably assume that you are surrounded, infiltrated and about to be consumed. No doubt, the Midian and the Amalekites start attacking each other, and causing more damage by their fleeing, then the 300 could have caused alone. Like a stampede or an out of control mob running for the exits, the chaos causes more harm then the event that prompted the excitement.
Now the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh are all joining in for the chase to put to defeat the people who held the Hebrews under their thumb. What a rout it must have been to see and behold as what God ordained comes to pass in a chase leading away from God's people. To show that God gave them total victory and not just half victory, the princes of the enemy's people are beheaded and brought to Gideon. You don't get the heads of the leaders unless it is a total victory.
Next week, the fighting continues, and there is a price to pay for not being on God's side.
Now that Gideon has his assurance that he is on the right path, he gathers up his men, over 30,000, and prepares for war.God tells Gideon something interesting, that is that he has too many men for the victory. God wants Israel to know that it is God that delivers them and not their own might. So he tells Gideon to ask who doesn't want to fight. Twenty two thousand men leave. A couple of things here; one is you don't want people in battle that don't want to fight, they can cause the battle to turn against you; the second thing is think how demoralizing it would be if you were trusting in numbers and not God when two-thirds of your group walked away. That is something that we would do well to remember, that God can have a greater victory when HE is in charge than when we're relying on numbers.
A pessimistic person would not enjoy what happens next. God informs Gideon that he still has too many men for God to show himself strong. He tells Gideon that he is to only take those that lap water like a dog when they go down to a brook for a drink. I know what I would be thinking, I would be thinking that I hope everyone gets down and drinks water like a dog. The eight chapter tells us that the Midianites had over 120 thousand men, because by the end of the day, that is how many were killed. Gideon and his men probably had some idea of how large the host of Midian and their allies was. If Gideon was looking for everyone to drink like a dog, that is not what he got; instead he got 300 left out of 10 thousand. To be blunt and honest, those circumstances would probably cause me to have a twisting stomach. Gideon though, holds fast and does as God commands, taking with him only the 300.
God gives Gideon instructions though, just in case he has doubts, to go down into the enemy camp and God will let him hear about the mighty victory ahead. Gideon does as God asks and is blessed for it. It seems to me to be the same in our modern Christian lives, if we will just obey God, go that extra step, he'll not only give us victory, but give us a glimpse on how he will perform it. Gideon returns and tell his 300 brave God fearing men how they will have victory. He more or less tells them to do as he does and God will take care of the rest. Oh what God can accomplish with a God fearing leader that puts all his trust in the one that can perform ALL miracles.
Now imagine if you are the enemy, what a surprise it would be if in the middle of the night, in the middle of your camp, 300 men broke pitchers, shining light on everything, and then blowing trumpets. You probably wouldn't believe there were just 300 men, you would probably assume that you are surrounded, infiltrated and about to be consumed. No doubt, the Midian and the Amalekites start attacking each other, and causing more damage by their fleeing, then the 300 could have caused alone. Like a stampede or an out of control mob running for the exits, the chaos causes more harm then the event that prompted the excitement.
Now the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh are all joining in for the chase to put to defeat the people who held the Hebrews under their thumb. What a rout it must have been to see and behold as what God ordained comes to pass in a chase leading away from God's people. To show that God gave them total victory and not just half victory, the princes of the enemy's people are beheaded and brought to Gideon. You don't get the heads of the leaders unless it is a total victory.
Next week, the fighting continues, and there is a price to pay for not being on God's side.
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